Pain exploded through Takai’s body, unlike anything he had ever experienced before.

It felt as if a thousand invisible blades were slicing into his skin all at once.

He gasped, struggling to breathe as his vision blurred with agony.

Warm liquid trickled down his face, and with horror, he realized he was sweating blood.

Tiny cuts appeared all over his skin.

Blood seeped from these wounds, staining his clothes a deep crimson.

Takai’s legs trembled, threatening to give out beneath him.

But somehow, he managed to stay standing, his determination to protect Lilo overriding even this excruciating pain.

With shaking hands, Takai reached for his sword.

The simple act of unsheathing it made him almost retch with effort.

As he poorly wielded the sword in front of him, shaking like a leaf, he noticed something interesting.

Lilinoe had backed away.

Takai peered into his sister’s eyes, finding surprise and wariness there.

Another thought, though, crossed his mind, which made him laugh while his eyes teared up.

I’m going to die, Takai thought. I’m actually about to die.

“You’re going to die!” Lilinoe hissed at him.

“Y—yes,” Takai managed to say, nodding.

Lilinoe’s expression twisted into a sneer, but Takai could see uncertainty in her eyes as she peered over all the blood he was suddenly shedding.

“You’re throwing your life away for her? Why, Takai? What do you even know about nobles?”

“Nothing,” Takai said earnestly.

“Then why are you standing over her like that? Move, and I’ll spare your life. Father wants to meet you.”

Takai wasn’t swayed in the least.

“I don’t care,” Takai said, moving his free hand on the hilt of the sword, trying to steady himself.

“You don’t care about Father? The greatest swordsmen in the Deep? Explain to me, little brother, before I cut you up, why are you protecting that noble?”

Takai shrugged, looking back at Lilo and wondering about the same thing.

“It’s just the right thing to do,” he said candidly. “I—I don’t need another reason.”

“What a damn idiot,” Lilinoe said, shocked. “You’re a damn idiot!”

She seemed frustrated, much more than Takai had anticipated.

He had imagined that, by now, his sister would be charging down and trying to reap his life into this solitary street corner of Placid City.

Instead, she was hesitating.

Even when he had seen her raise White Rose while he had been in front of Lilo, it had felt almost as if Lilinoe hadn’t wanted to strike him.

Takai felt the supreme fear of what he was doing coursing through his body.

He had imagined that once the Skill had been used, he would have been resigned to his fate.

But still, knowing that he was close to death, he felt no more reassured than he had been before.

In fact, he felt even more scared.

He wished he could take it back, honestly.

Not that he would, but…

He wished that at least the option could be on the table.

Just to feel better.

“Do you love her?” Lilinoe asked, gritting her teeth. “Is that it?”

Takai shook his head.

“What is it?! Why are you doing this?! Do you understand that you could be groomed by Father?! You have the opportunity to meet the Sword Demon himself, and you’re choosing to die for this girl you barely even care about?!”

Takai’s grip felt shakier and shakier, with the blood loss caused by all the cuts across his body making him feel dizzy.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Are you doing this b—because of Father?” Takai frowned.

“I’m doing this for myself!” Lilinoe said, affronted, furious because of such an accusation. “I am here to kill her and gain a Cursed Sword! I need to plunge this Soul Weapon into her heart! Do you even understand what that means? Do you know how strong a Cursed Sword is?! In the entire Great Archipelago, there are only three! Father currently wields the strongest, and one day, I’ll be the one up there, the strongest swordsman of all!”

Takai nodded, unsure of what even to say next, feeling awkward.

It seemed like even in his death throes, he would be the weird, awkward kid whose social skills couldn’t level up, not even while sacrificing his life for someone else.

That made Takai laugh to himself and cough, feeling like the cuts of the Heavenly Heart Rending Technique had reached deep into his body.

“Are you laughing at me?!” Lilinoe shouted.

Takai shook his head.

“No,” he said regretfully. “But… I’m about to die, and I don’t know what to say.”

“I know that you’re about to die,” Lilinoe spat.

“No,” Takai shook his head again. “Not because of you. I just used this technique that Principal Kaimana gave me. It’s called the Heavenly Heart Rending Technique. It’s… It’s going to kill me.”

“What?!” Lilinoe’s eyes went wide.

She had heard of that technique from their father before.

Awa, the Sword Demon, their father, had said that, in his opinion, there was only one technique superior to the ultimate form of [Silver Mist].

Thankfully, he had added that when he had explained that to Lilinoe, there was only one man who had mastered that Skill without dying to do it.

The same man who had killed the Kraken not once, not two, but six times in a row, more than any other Kraken Slayer, possibly the strongest man not just in the present era but to ever live.

Principal Kaimana.

Awa had told his daughter that he was the one person he would have refused to meet in a fair battle.

That was the one-time Lilinoe had ever heard their father talk about someone in that way.

He feared no one, not even the one monster at the head of their organization.

Principal Kaimana’s main technique had been none other than the Heavenly Heart Rending Technique.

“Is that why you’re bleeding?” Lilinoe said warily. “Father wasn’t strong enough to learn it, and you thought you were?”

She looked at him with pity.

Takai was so drained of energy he didn’t even have enough energy to respond.

“Very well,” Lilinoe said, raising White Rose. “I’ll put an end to your suffering.”

Lilinoe had felt slightly nervous when Takai had announced that he had learned the same Skill that had made Principal Kaimana the legend he was.

However, seeing the pathetic condition Takai versed in, she knew that her brother had probably not even properly learned the technique.

“Goodbye, little brother,” she said.

Lilinoe took a deep breath, focusing her mind on the technique her father had taught her.

[Silver Mist] was more than just a Skill to her—it was her heritage, her birthright as the Sword Demon’s true heir.

As she called upon it, she felt a rush of pride.

This was what set her apart, what made her special.

She wasn’t just some ordinary girl; she was destined for greatness.

Takai didn’t understand the blood they carried in their veins.

She did.

The mist exploded forth from White Rose.

It formed around her in a thick curtain and moved forth like a silver avalanche of death.

Lilinoe felt the familiar sensation of her consciousness expanding, merging with the mist itself.

Every droplet became an extension of her sword and her senses.

She had mastered what could be considered the second stage of [Silver Mist], the ability to cut through the mist.

But she was probably still years away from reaching what their father could do with it.

Takai, the poor fool, had barely scratched the surface of the Skill instead.

As the mist spread, enveloping the area around her and Takai, Lilinoe felt a pang of pity.

She remembered the hours they had spent training with her father, his stern voice guiding her, pushing her to be better, stronger.

Takai hadn’t had that.

He had grown weak and surrounded by snakes.

The mist enveloped the entire block, and Lilinoe sighed, shaking her head and focusing.

She would one day surpass her father and become a legend in her own right.

But it all started here, with this pathetic excuse for a brother who dared to stand in her way.

Nonetheless, she resolved to make his death painless.

The fool had just used a Skill beyond his abilities, and, despite them sharing only their parent's blood, it mattered to her.

It mattered to Lilinoe that they shared their father’s blood.

As the Silver Mist thickened, obscuring everything from view, Lilinoe allowed herself a small smile.

She stood before Takai, being able to see through the fog as if it wasn’t there, White Rose raised high. Despite her determination, she felt a twinge of something almost like pity. Her brother looked so small, so pathetic as he trembled in the mist. Blood dripped from countless tiny cuts, staining his clothes crimson. His eyes were wide with fear and pain, yet still he stood his ground.

Everything has a price.

And among all things, power is the costliest, little brother.

I’m sorry.

I’ll make this quick.

* * *

The silvery fog had engulfed Takai, wrapping around him like a cold, damp blanket.

Takai tried to move, but the mist seemed to push against him, disorienting him further.

He could no longer tell which way was up or down, left or right.

The mist pressed in from all sides, isolating him in a world of shifting silver.

Is this what Lilo felt?

He hadn’t even noticed how terrifying his sister’s Skill had been during their first encounter.

Without knowing it, right when Lilinoe was about to sever his head from his body, Takai’s trembling hand raised his sword.

His voice, weak and stuttering, managed to form just a few words.

“H-Heavenly Heart Rending Technique.”

At that moment, knowledge flooded Takai’s mind.

The Heavenly Heart Rending Technique was the ultimate cutting attack, capable of slicing through anything - physical objects, energy, even space itself.

It was the ultimate Skill for a swordsman.

Now I understand why Principal Kaimana is so strong, Takai thought curiously, slashing just once with his weapon in no particular direction. I also see why this Skill would kill me… it’s just too strong.

For a heartbeat, nothing seemed to happen where the two siblings stood.

No clear victor was in sight since mist covered both their forms.

Then, suddenly, the mist dispersed as if blown away by an invisible wind.

Takai stood there, sword in hand, still shaking from pain and exhaustion, cutting the same sorry figure.

Across from him, Lilinoe’s eyes widened in shock as they slowly lowered to her chest.

A deep gash ran from her hip to her collarbone, blood pouring from the grievous wound.

She stumbled, White Rose, slipping from her grasp.

Around them, the scenery had changed dramatically.

Buildings on either side of the street had been cleanly severed, the cut surfaces smooth as glass.

It was as if a giant blade had swept through the area, cleaving everything in its path.

Lilinoe fell to her knees, disbelief etched on her face.

“How...” she gasped, her voice weak. “How did you...”

She fell unconscious to the ground.

Moments later, Takai followed suit.