More precisely, it was Aqua Duna.
The Second Captain of the Third Legion, the strongest Sword Saint of the Great Crusade era, the strongest among the remaining two hundred Emperor's Children, and the most powerful and domineering swordsmanship master.
She was known as the "Leader of the Two Hundred Swordsmen," the "First Court Swordsman," and "Fulgrim's eld—eldest daughter?"
Thanks to her outstanding feat of lasting five minutes in a one-on-one duel with a primarch and stabbing her opponent twice during that time, she ranked third among mortals in records against primarchs.
(The top two were people from Nuceria.)
She possessed swordsmanship that was nearly divine, along with unmatched and seemingly unbeatable prowess in single combat.
As well as cooking, emotional intelligence, and artistic painting and papermaking that were utter shit.
After all, the Third Legion had always been a gathering place for eccentric geniuses.
And ever since Kasgar joined, it seemed they were only missing a talking white Labrador.
Aqua, who had just returned, had neat, capable white hair cut to ear length and wore a polite smile. She was dressed in a baker's uniform sized for a Space Marine body.
At each side of her waist hung an Xhanabal Saber.
The one on her left was ancient yet no less magnificent. Even within its sheath, one could still sense the blade's chilling gleam.
The one on her right, meanwhile, was wrapped in golden silk.
Even when she was merely making cookies, she wore both sabers at all times, never parting from them.
"Are you the two Emperor's Children recruits Fulgrim arranged for me?"
Seeing that the two people in the room still did not know her "true nature," Aqua hopefully raised the tray in her hands.
".Want something to eat first?"
Then she saw her two new disciples shaking their heads faster than Warp travel.
"Tch."
Already used to this, she clicked her tongue helplessly.
"Then let's begin directly."
She drew the saber from her left side with a crisp ring.
In an instant, the aura around her sank.
It was as if drawing the blade had switched her personality.
Though she wore nothing but a cook's uniform, her icy eyes and sharp gaze, which seemed able to see through everything, revealed her immense combat experience.
"Lucius, you first."
After drawing her sword, Aqua entered the training cage, and even her tone turned several degrees colder.
"Attack me with the swordsmanship you are most proud of. Do not hold back."
"Then excuse me, Master!"
Not knowing his opponent's true ability, Lucius immediately got fired up, eager to put on a performance before his new master.
He casually grabbed a mortal-sized dueling sword and charged at her.
As he rushed forward, he spun the dueling sword through a beautiful flourish.
Back when he was still on Chemos, Lucius had been a renowned gladiator in Karax Arena.
Relying on his dazzling sword techniques, despite his youth, he could be said to have won every duel without meeting a single worthy opponent.
He was hailed as Chemos's strongest young swordsman.
He was confident that although, as a mortal, he could not inflict much harm on his master, his splendid sword forms would be enough to earn her appr—
Clang!
Faced with Lucius's elaborate flourish, Aqua merely watched him coldly. With an exceptionally clean and concise, yet extraordinarily elegant motion, she blocked his attack with her saber.
At the same time, she stepped forward and heavily struck Lucius's shin with the back of her blade, making his leg go numb from the impact.
The entire sequence was extremely slow, as though she were deliberately accommodating his movements, rather than swift like a Space Marine.
Smack!
"Your footing is unsteady."
Lucius anxiously tried to turn and counterthrust, but she had already anticipated that move as well.
Smack.
"Your movements are flashy."
Another brutal blow from the back of her saber sent both him and his sword flying.
Hope he's okay.
Watching Lucius's miserable state, Kasgar silently prayed.
"All flash, without a shred of substance."
Aqua shook her head coldly.
"Your talent is decent, but you are not fit for greater things."
"You're next, Kasgar."
At Aqua's gesture with her sword, Kasgar picked up a small Xhanabal training saber for mortals from the side and nodded at her.
"Excuse me."
The pressure of facing her directly was far more intense than watching from the side.
Fortunately, the thirty years of learning and training under Fulgrim had already brought his swordsmanship tremendous progress.
He dared to say that even the gifted Lucius would still be no match for him if they truly fought.
Kasgar lowered his center of gravity, focused his mind, and charged at her.
Clang!
But she easily blocked him, immediately deflected his force, and counterattacked.
Smack!
The back of her blade struck his right hand in an instant, numbing his arm and nearly knocking the saber from his grip.
"Your movements are impatient."
Damn it!
He had predicted she would attack like that, and he had seen the strike, but he simply could not block or dodge it!
A fierce, unyielding fighting spirit and resentment surged within him.
"Come on, Kasgar!"
Meanwhile, Lucius, who had just gotten back on his feet, jeered encouragingly from the side.
Seeing that her first strike had successfully disarmed her opponent, Aqua moved with extreme speed and placed her blade against Kasgar's neck, signaling that the outcome had been decided.
Clang!
"Proud and arro—hm?"
Yet Kasgar had actually blocked her lightning-fast blade.
Using only the strength of his left hand, he raised the two-handed saber and held it crosswise to stop the strike.
Though she had not put any force into it and had merely intended to rest the blade against his neck, Kasgar's ability to react so quickly truly surprised her.
Wielding a two-handed sword with one hand.
Aqua inexplicably thought of the other saber hanging at her waist.
"Interesting."
"Your movements are too focused on quick gains, and haste makes waste. But you seem talented, and you practice diligently as well."
"Judging by your footwork and sword forms, Lord Fulgrim must have taught you quite a lot, right?"
Kasgar nodded.
"Then that was truly a waste of time."
Aqua generally did not spare people's feelings when she spoke.
Kasgar could only respond with a bitter smile.
"The two of you have merely passable foundations and talent."
"But unfortunately, one of you is vain and values reputation over substance; the other is impatient for success and always dreams of reaching the heavens in one step."
Aqua shook her head with displeasure.
Her assessment was indeed painfully accurate.
"If you do not correct these flaws, there is no point in teaching you any further."
"You two, take training swords and spar with each other for now."
"Uh, Master."
Lucius sidled up to Aqua with a fawning smile.
"When we duel normally, there should be some stakes, right?"
As he spoke, his gaze fell upon the wall covered in exquisitely crafted masterwork sabers.
"What do you say, how about—"
"Fine."
Aqua agreed quickly.
She turned and picked up the tray. "You two, whoever loses will eat the cookies I made for dinner."
!
!
In an instant, the way Kasgar and Lucius looked at each other changed slightly.
When enemies met, their eyes blazed with hatred!
Clang!
Their weapons collided at astonishing speed.
"Lucius! You damned bastard! Eat them yourself, why drag me into this?!"
"H-how was I supposed to know it would turn out like this?! Take this!"
"Fuck! A sneak attack? Where is your honor as a duelist?!"
"What do you know! I'm fighting to stay alive!"
"Hmph! You despicable bastard, try this!"
"You?! You actually—"
"Hehe, I'm definitely going to win!"
The two new disciples were certainly full of motivation now.
"Is what I make really that bad?"
But Aqua, their master, did not seem pleased by this at all.
Knock knock.
The Chief Apothecary, Melusine, wearing a white coat and heavy dark circles beneath her eyes, lightly knocked at the door.
She interrupted the two as they fought with every trick at their disposal.
"Recruit Lucius, come prepare to receive your augmentation surgery."
Oh no, surely nobody actually thinks I'm an idiot, right?
Before you continue