Swords clashed against each other.

After locking blades, Raphael took a step back. He had unleashed a powerful strike from the start and yet Elna had intercepted it.

This alone confirmed that Elna was stronger than Chloe. Yet, Raphael was certain of Elna's current weakened state.

“Is it alright for you to come out when you're not at your best?”

“Even if I'm not at my best, handling someone like you is no problem.”

She wasn’t making empty boasts. While she still couldn’t fully muster her former strength, she could wield her sword based on her experience, but her mind and body weren’t in sync. Elna fought relying solely on muscle memory and her body's fighting instincts was her current strength.

“You can't beat me as you are now. Wouldn’t it have been better to stay within the Celestial Princess’s barrier?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself. Someone like you is no problem.”

With that, Elna launched an attack.

Her mind was still foggy, as if she was under a spell, but once she gripped her sword and entered combat, her body moved on its own. Several powerful attacks flew toward Raphael, who deflected them all with ease while laughing.

“Well, well... Is this all? Was the death of Prince Arnold that much of a shock to you?”

In an instant, Elna’s sword aimed for Raphael’s neck. The speed of that slash was vastly different from before. Unable to react, Raphael relied on his wind barrier and yet even that barrier was pierced. Raphael barely twisted his neck to avoid a fatal blow, leaving him with a wound.

“Loose lips sink ships.” TL: Author is referencing an english idiom “beware of unguarded talk” here

“I see…”

Raphael quickly distanced himself and readied his sword again.

The Elna before him was indeed weakened… However, she was still Elna von Amsberg.

While looking resolute, Raphael spoke softly.

“Do you know my goal?”

“How would I know?”

“My goal is to eradicate the hero's bloodline. This accursed blood is the root of all evil.”

As he spoke, Raphael wiped the blood from his neck. The red blood on his hand that was loathed by him.

While muttering a few curses, Raphael removed his contact lenses and poured water over himself from his canteen. His original eye color, jade green, and his cherry blossom pink hair, were revealed — they were traits of the hero’s lineage.

“This blood has brought me nothing but misery.”

“Is that all?”

Elna wasn’t surprised by Raphael’s eyes or hair. She wasn’t fazed by the revelation that he shared the same bloodline.

The fact that he could fight on par with her made the prior reveal unsurprising.

“Is that all you have to say?”

“It's a grave sin to spill blood, but it’s not unprecedented. Is your tale of tragedy over?”

“Since you put it that way, how about this?”

Raphael then unleashed his wind powers. It was the same kind that Elna had seen multiple times in the previous battle. Undoubtedly, it was an authority... But authorities were the domain of demons alone.

“What happens when you mix hero’s blood with demon’s blood? I am the result of that experiment.”

“And so you chose to side with the demons?”

“...I had no choice. My mother was a witch that was possessed by a demon and my father was the previous Sword Marquis Emelt, already aged. They experimented to see what happens when a possessed human gives birth and I am the result. After countless failures, they had succeeded with the ultimate blend of blood. I could control wind since childhood while thinking it was magic. After discovering that it was actually a demon’s power… do you understand how I felt?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Of course not. The current Sword Marquis Emelt sought out my mother and, after being exhausted from the forced possession, she arranged for me to be taken under the Emperor’s protection to save me. Despite being a demon, she loved me. It's ridiculous. Because of that, I grew up in an orphanage while being watched over by a kind Emperor who treated me like his own sons. Initially I had aspired to become an imperial knight, but reality was cruel. The Sword Marquis Emelt told me that I was the child of a grave sin and worse, I discovered that I was an abomination — a descendant of the heroes and a demon’s child. I was a being that should not exist from the moment I was born.”

Raphael laughed as he spoke. Elna simply listened.

“I thought even a child of sin like me could serve the Emperor. At least I could serve the one who loved me like a son and so, I became an imperial knight. But after realizing that I could never be accepted by humanity, I chose to side with the demons. I adored the Emperor like a father, but after knowing that he would kill me upon learning my true nature, I had no choice. Isn’t it tragic? Meanwhile you, with the same blood, were hailed as a prodigy and cherished by the Emperor like a real family. The world is truly cruel in which I might have had a similar future. That’s why I want to eradicate the hero’s blood as it brings the people both fortune and misfortune.”

“Is that it?”

Elna’s brief question made Raphael frown. She neither sympathized nor got angry, she merely seemed uninterested in what he had said.

“I thought that you’d have more of a reaction. This concerns your lineage.”

“I don’t care. Bloodlines and environment don’t matter. Everything that has happened is a result of your own judgment.”

Elna truly wasn’t interested. While the contents of his story surprised her, that was all.

And she wasn’t intrigued because…

“You’re blaming your betrayal of the Emperor, whom you adored, on your own origins but it was your judgment to choose to betray him. You assumed that he would kill you if he found out, so you betrayed him. Your hero’s blood and demon’s blood are irrelevant. It was your weak heart that led to this moment.”

“You’re quite the talker… But you’ve never been in such an environment.”

“That’s right. But everyone has some degree of grievances about their environment. Arnold was a prince yet he was despised as the ‘dull prince’ and bullied many times. Even so, he never sought revenge on those who looked down on him. Leticia was nearly sacrificed by the kingdom she served, but she too also never sought revenge in the end. My friend Guy grew up in the outermost layer, and with a father who wasn’t sane and in deep poverty. Yet he never clung to us. He lived with his own pride. While one’s environment and birth can be important, in the end it’s the person’s decisions that shape who they become. Your current state is the result of your own choices. That’s all.”

With that, Elna began to walk forward.

Raphael instinctively took a step back while realizing he had unconsciously feared her. Despite her weakened state, he knew that she was still Elna von Amsberg.

“You’re certainly privileged, but you’ve also been blessed. Not everyone can become an imperial knight or be treated like a son by the Emperor. You threw that all away yourself.”

Elna swung her sword into a straightforward overhead attack.

Raphael blocked it, but the force was different from before and sent him flying.

Realizing that thinking was futile, Elna focused solely on attacking with all her might. The sharpness and weight of her current strikes betrayed no sign of weakness.

“Damn it!”

Despite his shock at being overwhelmed, Raphael tried to push back but he couldn’t counter Elna’s attacks. Even if she struggled to find a new purpose, her strength was still undeniable.

“If that’s the case… how about this!!”

Raphael distanced himself and raised his arm to the sky. Elna narrowed her eyes, quickly understanding his intent.

“Hear my voice and descend! Shining sword of the stars! The hero needs you now!!”

A white light descended from the heavens, transforming into a sword. The Holy Sword Aurora. While sealed by the first hero, it could only be summoned by those with talent on par with the Hero.

Raphael’s ability to summon it confirmed his potential.

“How about this? Your identity, the Holy Sword, is in my hand!”

Raphael boasted, but…

“So what?”

“What…?”

“That’s not my identity. I summoned it only because I wanted my childhood friend’s praise. That’s all. Becoming stronger in the past was for the same reason. Now it only holds little value to me.”

The Holy Sword and the hero’s blood meant nothing to her. While she took pride in them, she didn’t base her existence on them.

Her sense of purpose though… that thought caused a small pain in her chest. And while bearing that pain, Elna charged at Raphael.

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