"You're a genius."

She had heard those words so often since childhood that she was sick of them.

"Cadet Seolyun, you are a genius."

A genius. A heaven-given talent.

Yes. That was another name for the girl, Seolyun.

"They say the Central Plains of the eastern continent teem with people gifted in the martial arts. It seems those weren't empty rumors."

That other name allowed her black hair and black eyes to be something special, rather than flaws, on this unfamiliar continent. She had known from the very first moment she took up a sword. So long as she held this blade, she would be more special than others.

"In time, everyone will know your name."

She graduated at the top of her class from 「Temple」, one of the Iron Kingdom's three leading academies. Countless knightly orders sought to recruit her, and renowned swordsmen offered to become her teachers.

Yet, for some reason, none of it interested her.

Seolyun wanted to see the wider world, and she wondered how far her sword could take her. She also wondered whether the legend passed down in her hometown, on the outskirts of the eastern continent, was true.

["Seolyun, they say that when your mastery of the sword reaches the heavens, you can ascend as an immortal and depart for paradise. In that paradise, the people you cherished are waiting for you, and it is filled with sweet happiness."]

Seolyun believed that accepting help from others or belonging to an organization was not the right way to reach the heavens. To ascend like the immortals in the legend, she had to accomplish everything entirely on her own.

"Happiness."

She wondered about the sweet happiness that might exist in that legendary paradise. She wondered, too, whether the people precious to her were really there. Her family and neighbors, who had given her love—the warmhearted people she could no longer see. It was a fantastical legend, but Seolyun still believed in it.

That was why Seolyun came to the 「Arena」.

"Fighter, what name will you use?"

"... The Black Bride."

In this place overflowing with blood and struggle, no one could stop her sword. As she began to grow bored with the fighting pit, an offer steeped in sordid desires arrived.

"You want me to crush a rookie who's only a sword beginner? Thoroughly?"

"Yes. Surely you can manage that."

It was a thoroughly unwelcome offer.

But the 「Arena」's planners were as meticulous as ever.

"If you accept, we will give you the eastern continent's Dragon Sword from the Arena's storeroom. I hear it holds considerable significance for swordsmen from the eastern continent."

For her, that was an offer she could not refuse.

Having accepted it, the best Seolyun could do was visit the unfortunate gladiator herself and urge him to forfeit.

Liam, the Little Gladiator, looked small and weak, just as his nickname suggested.

"Forfeit tomorrow's match."

Seolyun fervently hoped that this rookie swordsman would not come to the match.

That her sword would not mercilessly shatter him.

'If we meet with swords in our hands, I won't be able to show him mercy...'

Looking at the moon in the night sky, Seolyun wished once more. But reality never quite went as one hoped.

* * *

I saw Tom smiling kindly in front of the Hall of Fame. After hearing what I had to say, he stroked his chin and replied.

"What sort of favor?"

"I don't know whether you've heard, but tomorrow I have a promotion match to change the color of my medal. A match to advance from a Bronze Medal to a Silver Medal."

Tom smiled at my words.

"Congratulations. You've secured a fine opportunity."

I nodded as I spoke.

"Yes. A fine opportunity. A chance to engage in a greater struggle and prove myself, isn't it?"

"Indeed."

"But the promotion match ahead of me is truly harsh. I must duel a gladiator far stronger than I am. The great goddess Lepri said that the greatest glory lies in struggling against a mighty foe, but as a mere frail human, I am afraid of tomorrow's duel."

Tom looked sympathetic.

"Oh, you've fallen victim to the Arena's cruel little prank. Rising fighters often receive that harsh treatment once. That is truly unfortunate."

"..."

"May I offer you a word of advice? You are a young lord who appreciates the splendor of historic weapons and understands the greatness of the goddess Lepri. I would hate to see you fall in vain."

"Please do."

Tom spoke in a voice filled with genuine sadness.

"Sometimes, avoiding a struggle is the wise thing to do. The goddess Lepri said we must always stand against even a towering wave, but we are not as great as she is. Sometimes it is all right to take shelter until the wave has passed."

I briefly bit my lip as though hesitating, then shook my head. I worked my facial muscles as hard as I could to form a resolute expression.

"I cannot. As a fighter who prays to the goddess Lepri, I could never avoid a struggle. I am truly grateful for your advice, but I intend to face this challenge."

"... How admirable. Truly."

Tom let out an exclamation as though genuinely impressed.

After studying his expression closely, I spoke.

"That is why there is something I wish to ask of you."

"What is it?"

"The outcome of a struggle is never certain, is it? I believe something could go wrong in tomorrow's duel, and I might lose my life. I intend to fight with all my strength rather than flee, after all. Just as the goddess Lepri has always told us to."

I smiled with a little sadness in my eyes, so that Tom would feel pity for the boy before him.

"I am not afraid to die in a glorious struggle. I will go to the goddess Lepri, after all. But I need a little courage. So, if you would permit it, I would like to enjoy in advance the glory that comes with wearing a Silver Medal."

"Enjoy it in advance?"

"I would like, now, the right to take one of the swords in the Hall of Fame as a keepsake. So that tonight I might draw strength from a fighter who fought magnificently in the past."

I spoke with tearful eyes, as though on the verge of crying.

"If I survive, I will be wearing a silver medal, so there will be no problem. If I die, you can retrieve the sword from my inn, so I thought there would be no problem then, either."

"Ah..."

"If my request is too greedy, please turn away and pretend you never heard it. I only, only needed a handful of courage."

Perhaps overcome by my words, Tom's eyes welled with tears.

After a brief silence, he spoke.

"... Normally, normally this would be absolutely forbidden."

"..."

"But as a man who has loved the Hall of Fame, I, its caretaker Tom, simply cannot turn you away, young lord. I will grant your request."

"W-will that be all right? If it would put you in a difficult position because of me—"

Tom shook his head.

"It's all right. This old man may look unimpressive, but I am quite well regarded. I can certainly give this much courage to someone as admirable as you. Certainly."

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

"No thanks are needed. Ah, it's been so long since I last saw such a splendid young man that I feel like crying. Goodness, old age has made me needlessly tearful..."

Tom sniffled, his eyes red.

Amid this warm exchange, Liam spoke.

「Even if you lose your arms and legs, you won't starve. You could crawl into some tavern and make a great success of acting.」

Well, as always, I paid him no mind.

After sharing a heartfelt embrace with Tom, I chose one of the swords in the Hall of Fame and brought it back to the inn. A blade Liam had personally selected, one that would be a great help to me right away.

"... Master, are you sure this will really help me?"

「Yes. It is the best fit for your current body and style. Stop doubting and just eat it.」

I put the blade into the fire and heated it thoroughly.

As I watched it turn red from the heat, I recalled what Tom had told me.

["It's an old sword, so let me explain how to store it properly. Wouldn't it be sad if the blade were damaged? This storage method incorporates all my expertise..."]

Had Tom seen this sight, he might have screamed, foamed at the mouth, and gone into convulsions.

'I'm sorry.'

After that brief apology, I took the sword out of the fire.

Before putting it in my mouth, I gave the new sword destined for my stomach one last look. My second sword was a dagger exactly the size of my palm.

A blade more suited to the assassins of the Free City than to swordsmen.

Its name was straightforward.

「Fang」.

"Hup."

I squeezed my eyes shut and once again silently apologized to the caretaker, Tom. After that brief apology, I put the blade in my mouth, crunched it between my teeth, and swallowed. Once again, terrible pain I could never get used to assailed me. Along with the agony running from my throat through my esophagus to my stomach, my entire body burned hot.

"Kehack, khuuugh."

Along with the violent coughing came a headache so fierce it felt as though my eyes would be torn out. Searing breaths poured from my mouth as though I were breathing fire. At the same time, memories surged from the blade inside my stomach.

Someone else's memories, not my own.

The memories of the former owner that the sword, Fang, held within it.

『The Free City of Crowd failed to live up to its name. To its citizens, myself included, this city had lost its freedom long ago.』

『To reclaim that freedom, someone had to stain their hands with blood.』

* * *

The sun sank slowly from the sky, leaving a vermilion sunset with darkness settling behind it. The moon gradually showed its face, and people finished their day's work, chattering boisterously and clinking beer mugs.

And today, as always, the place in the steel city of Perma where beer mugs clinked the loudest and voices rang out most noisily was the 「Arena」.

A fighting pit that never grew dark even when night arrived, always shining brightly. Excited people filled the stands of the enormous circular stadium. Beneath the dazzling lights, a fighter with black hair hanging loose entered the sand-covered ring.

"Black Bride! Black Bride!"

The fighter, 「The Black Bride」.

Seolyun looked at the stands with troubled eyes. Those people, cheering without hiding their sordid desires, disgusted her. At the same time, she found herself disgusting for having come here anyway, eager for the gift the Arena would give her.

'Please, let him have forfeited.'

Looking at the risen moon, Seolyun wished once more.

But what she hoped for did not happen.

"And her opponent, Liam, the Little Gladiator!"

The iron gate on the opposite side opened, revealing a small boy walking toward her with a helmet over his head. Through the haze of sand and dust, she saw the long, slender blade in his hand. Needle, the weapon that was practically the Little Gladiator's symbol.

'Ah. What a fool.'

Unable to hide her conflicted feelings, Seolyun slowly drew her cherished sword. In the moonlight, her blade gleamed a fierce blue. The moment it was bared, a heavy scent of blood wafted out. The sword, which had harmed so many people, was looking forward to the battle about to begin.

'... I warned him enough. Yes, I did enough.'

The boy approached.

Seolyun steadied her breathing. Her 「mana heart」 beat with a thud, and the 「path」 extending from that second heart glittered, granting superhuman strength to her slender body.

And then...

"...?"

She felt that something about Liam, the gladiator, had changed.

'What is it?'

His muscles, his build, even the lower half of his face visible beneath his helmet were all the same.

What had changed?

Frowning as she focused her gaze, Seolyun soon met the boy's eyes through his helmet. They were completely different from the eyes she had seen outside the inn. As though only the shell remained the same, while the soul inside had changed.

'Was his gaze that sharp...?'

The boy's eyes were as cold as ice.

Like those of the Free City's assassins, who lived amid blood and death.

At that moment, Seolyun saw another blade in the boy's hand opposite the one holding Needle. It was a dagger. Immediately after she noticed it, the boy's figure warped and twisted before her eyes.

And for a brief moment, in Seolyun's eyes, the boy became someone else. An assassin who lived in the shadows, wearing a worn hood rather than a helmet.

A horrifyingly powerful scent of blood emanated from him.

'What... is this...?'

She had never seen anything like it.

As she struggled to hide her bewilderment, a vigorous voice rang out.

"Liam, the Little Gladiator, faces the undefeated gladiator, the Black Bride!"

Seolyun felt a sense of foreboding spreading thickly through her.

"The fighters' duel will now begin!"

It was an immensely powerful killing intent, unlike anything she had felt in her life.

"This sacred duel shall be dedicated to the goddess Lepri, guardian of justice!"

And so, amid that inexplicable foreboding, the duel began.