On the Verge of Death

"Victory is decided. Isolte wins."

As the words fell, Linus let out a breath of relief too.

Just now, watching Isolte and Hilde seem evenly matched, he had almost thought Isolte was really going to lose.

That would have made things rather difficult to wrap up.

"...I lost."

Hilde was breathing lightly, painfully aware of her own inferiority.

What an exquisite technique. This was the most orthodox form of the Water God Style.

As she was now, she truly still had a long way to go.

Her defeat was beyond dispute.

"You're strong, Hilde!"

Isolte lowered her sword, a smile spreading across her lips, her eyes seeming to shine.

"It's fine! It's fine even if you lost! The exam doesn't matter at all. If Grandma won't agree to take you in, I'll go beg her myself! Even if I have to pester her to death, I'll make sure she lets you stay!"

"Pester me to death? What an unpleasant way to put it."

A careless voice came from outside the front hall doors.

Everyone turned to look, then bowed one after another in salute. "Lord Water God!"

Hilde turned her head in astonishment.

An old woman with both hands clasped behind her back strolled in at an unhurried pace.

Her figure was slightly stooped, yet she did not feel small. Her black hair, streaked with a little white, was tied into a ponytail behind her head, and beneath her plain short robe hung a sword that looked as if it had been cast from gold.

The Water God, Leda Lia.

Though she was not among the Seven Great Powers, no one would doubt that she was one of the pinnacles of human swordsmanship.

"Grandma?" Isolte was just as surprised. She had not expected Leda Lia to suddenly appear.

"You fought very well just now."

Leda Lia smiled and patted Isolte on the head, making the latter look a little bashful.

But she quickly remembered the matter at hand and hurriedly spoke up.

"Oh, right, Grandma, let Hilde stay. She's really talented! She lost to me, but as long as she trains for a few more years..."

"Hehe. You go rest first."

"But Grandma..."

"That's enough, Isolte. Lord Water God will make her own decision."

Linus quickly stepped forward and coaxed Isolte away.

Isolte's head drooped, her face full of reluctance, but she still listened to her teacher and said nothing more.

Hilde's gaze fell on the old woman.

She could not describe the feeling she got from the old woman. If she had to find one word for it, it would be unfathomable.

Like an insurmountable chasm.

She had clearly not taken any special stance, merely standing there leisurely as if on a casual stroll.

Yet Hilde had no idea where she could even begin to attack.

This was the sword master standing at the pinnacle of the Water God Style, the genuine strongest of the present age.

"You and your father don't look alike at all."

Leda Lia suddenly spoke.

Hilde froze.

Not only Hilde. Everyone froze.

No one had expected Leda Lia to say something like that. And more to the point...

Leda Lia actually knew this child's father?

"Lord Water God, you still remember my father?"

"Mm, I do. Rather, I'd say he left quite the impression."

Hilde remembered Paul saying that he had once met the Water God Leda Lia, though he had not explained in detail what kind of meeting it had been.

She had assumed it was no more than a chance encounter on the street.

Now, it seemed that was not the case at all.

"Your father was a very talented man."

Leda Lia's gaze passed through the gaps between the people and looked toward the sky outside the dojo.

As if she were recalling the past.

"Talented as he was, that man was the sort who never knew how to work hard unless he was pushed to the very brink, so he wasted that talent."

"People with no talent who do nothing but work blindly are pitiable."

"People with talent who don't know how to work hard are shameful."

"But you're all right. You have more talent than your father, and you know how to work harder than he did. Someone who has both of those things is only one step away from becoming a proper swordswoman."

"What step?" Hilde asked without thinking.

"Perseverance."

As Leda spoke, her fingers settled on the hilt of the golden sword at her waist.

Under everyone's shocked gazes, she said slowly, "Next is the final test. Let me see how far you can go."

"...I'll say this up front. I don't think I can beat you." Hilde's mouth twitched.

"Haha, how bold of you to say you were going to beat me. You really are just like your father."

Leda couldn't help laughing.

At first glance, she looked like a somewhat old-fashioned old woman, but in truth, she was openhearted and easygoing.

But what she said next was enough to send a chill down one's spine.

"Two seconds... no, three. As long as you can last three seconds without falling, I'll count it as passing the test. Of course, even if you don't pass, I'll still let you stay. Whether you give up after that will be your choice."

"..."

Last three seconds in front of practically the strongest swordswoman of the current age?

Shouldn't she write a will first?

For an instant, Hilde's mind was filled with all sorts of chaotic thoughts, but in the end, she still calmed down.

If all she had to do was last three seconds without falling, then it wasn't as though she had no chance at all.

"Thank you for the opportunity, Lady Water God."

Hilde tightened her grip on her sword.

"Good, good. Much better than your father was back then. Just like I said, you're not like him at all."

The smile on Leda's face deepened. She slowly lowered herself and took a sword-swinging stance.

"Everyone, back up! Give them space!" Linus shouted.

Only then did the onlookers belatedly realize what was happening, and they all retreated.

Taking advantage of the gap that opened in the crowd, Hilde said nothing, turned, and ran.

In the blink of an eye, she had crossed through the crowd, rushed out of the front hall, and sprinted all the way toward the outside of the dojo.

Fight? How was she supposed to fight?

Did they really think she could beat the Water God?

In any case, all she had to do was still be standing after three seconds. Running away was not a bad strategy at all—in fact, it might be the best one!

Everyone was stunned by the sight.

Wait...

You could do that?

"Interesting."

Leda nodded, then swung her sword.

An unmatched sword aura surged like a tide, sweeping forward with the force to cut through everything as it slashed toward Hilde, who had already run a fair distance away.

Even without turning back, Hilde could feel the bone-piercing sword intent coming from behind her. Damn it, they were on completely different levels. If she had to make a comparison, she was a junior who had just stepped onto the grand path of cultivation and reached the Foundation Establishment stage, while the other party was a senior powerhouse who already stood at the very peak of the entire cultivation world. With a casual wave of her hand, the other party could shave her flat along with the ground beneath her feet. There was no need to fight at all!

But!

She didn't need to think about defeating her, nor did she need to think about counterattacking, and she didn't need to think about anything after this! All she had to do was survive. As long as she survived this strike and then stood in front of her, that would be her victory!

As if possessed, Hilde followed her body's instincts and threw herself forward at a bizarre, twisted angle.

The tide-like sword aura roared past, nearly swallowing her whole, kicking up a cloud of dust over the open ground outside the dojo.

The onlookers all subconsciously closed their eyes to avoid seeing an overly bloody scene.

"Grandma?" Isolte was shocked too.

"Three seconds are up," Leda said.

"So, does this mean I passed the test?"

Under everyone's gazes, Hilde patted the dust off her body and stood up.

As everyone knew, if there was smoke, there was no damage.

So aside from the thin layer of dust on her and her slightly pale face, she looked...

Completely unscathed.

Everyone looked at one another, finding it hard to believe.

Wait, was this for real?

Had the Water God missed?

No, of course that was impossible.

This was not the Water God's true strength. It had only been a controlled strike meant to test a young person. Even so, it had still been delivered by the Water God herself. The fact that this girl had not been injured at all was simply unbelievable.

Seeing this, Leda could not help curling up the corners of her mouth.

Then, as if she had remembered something amusing, she burst out laughing.

"Hahahaha... Interesting!"

"I take back what I said earlier. The way you dodged that move just now was exactly the same as your father back then!"

Those words left everyone present dumbfounded.

They all began asking who this child's father was, what famous swordsman he could possibly be to have dodged the Water God's sword.

Of course, they were destined to receive no answer.

"Lady Water God, may I ask if this counts as me passing the test?"

Hilde asked again.

She did not care about praise. She only wanted to hear the genuine answer from Leda's own mouth.

"Of course. You passed."

Leda nodded.

Then she said to Linus, "Starting today, this child will follow you and train together with Isolte. Report her training progress to me every day."

"Yes." Linus immediately bowed in acknowledgment.

A slight commotion rose from the crowd again.

Without question, this counted as a reward for passing the test.

It was an immense honor. Even Isolte's elder brother had never received such treatment. It meant the Water God had acknowledged Hilde's talent.

"Oh, and while you're at it..."

Leda changed the subject and looked at Hilde again, a strange expression on her face.

"Take the child to see a doctor first."

"A doctor?"

Linus turned to look at Hilde. She was standing calmly in place, not looking injured at all.

Could it be an internal injury?

Curious, Isolte circled around behind Hilde and took a look. Her face instantly went deathly pale with fright.

The clothes on Hilde's back had all split open. Across her fair, smooth back was now a huge, terrifying wound, running from her left shoulder across her entire back down to her waist. The gash was so deep that her cold white spine could even be seen. The torn flesh along the edges of the wound had flipped open like blooming red spider lilies, hideous and horrifying.

God only knew how Hilde was still standing even now.

This could no longer be called willpower. It was practically a miracle.

"Are you... all right?"

Isolte's voice trembled.

"I'm fine. Just a little about to die."

Hilde had barely shown any expression since earlier.

It was not that she was truly that calm. She had simply poured all her energy into enduring the pain, to the point that she looked expressionless.

She had used healing magic to stop the bleeding in a basic way, but that was the extent of it.

The wound was a bit too severe.

In her haste, intermediate healing magic alone could not possibly heal it.

"Y-you come with me... No, I'll carry you!"

"It's fine. I can still walk..."

Hilde tensed her body and took a step forward.

A sudden, piercing pain shot through her back, and darkness swallowed her vision.

Then she fell straight down.