Episode 88
Chapter 30: Defeat Alisa! (Part 4)
Had the tension from their daily sparring sessions finally begun to wear thin?
On the following day, during their 96th duel, Alisa suffered her first defeat at Jin’s hands. Just past the 70th move in their exchange, Jin’s thrust pierced through Alisa’s shoulder.
“Ugh!”
The moment the attack landed, both Alisa and Jin looked visibly stunned.
The wound was severe enough to halt the match immediately. Jin hurriedly sheathed his sword and called for healers, while Alisa forced a wry smile.
“Lady Alisa! Are you alright?”
“Ah… I’m fine. It’s been a long time since I’ve had an injury like this.”
Blood poured onto the floor. As the healers worked their magic, Jin tilted his head in confusion.
“That was a strike Lady Alisa couldn’t have dodged. This was a fluke victory.”
And it was true.
Jin hadn’t even been fighting at full strength. In their past duels, he usually held back his trump card until well past the 100th move.
In other words, he had defeated Alisa during what was essentially the ‘probing phase’—a stage they’d both grown accustomed to. But since this win came from Alisa’s momentary lapse rather than his own growth, it left a bitter taste.
“I misread the sword’s trajectory when my vision was briefly clouded by my spiritual energy… To make such a mistake. Retirement has dulled me more than I thought.”
Maintaining the same level of tension against an opponent he had beaten 94 times was no easy feat, even for a warrior of Alisa’s caliber.
Wiping her brow, Alisa shook her head.
“Phew, I lost.”
“No, I think this match should be declared invalid. It’s an unconvincing victory.”
“I expected you’d say that, Lord Jin. You’re right—it’s hard to accept. I let my guard down for a moment and committed a grave disrespect.”
Thanks to the healers’ swift work, the wound closed in an instant.
“But Lord Jin, even so, this match can’t be invalidated. Three months ago, no matter how careless I was, you would never have been able to defeat me.”
Just three months—more precisely, 97 days since their dueling began.
Despite witnessing Jin’s growth firsthand every day, Alisa still found it hard to believe how fast he was improving.
“Even considering he’s from Runcandel, this level of progress is unbelievable. Soon, he’ll reach six stars in both swordsmanship and magic.”
Being from Biment herself, Alisa had encountered many prodigies from the renowned Hailan swordsmanship family.
But she was certain: even including all the talents she’d seen, Jin was on a completely different plane.
“So does that mean I can no longer spar with Lady Alisa?”
“Of course not. Within the next three months, try to achieve a victory that satisfies you, Lord Jin. Until then, I’ll keep my evenings free.”
December 1, 1795.
On the day of their 110th duel, Alisa took the day off. She wasn’t on guard duty and wanted to face Jin in perfect condition.
So, unlike usual, their match began in broad daylight.
Thirty minutes before the duel, Kashimir came looking for Jin.
“Lord Jin, we’ve received information on the matters you mentioned earlier. It took longer than expected…”
“Have you found Alu’s real name?”
Alu, the spider-handed leader of Tesing.
At first, Kashimir thought uncovering the background of a low-level gang leader would be easy. With the Chilsakjo’s intelligence network, such information should have been a breeze.
But finding Alu’s true identity had been a constant struggle.
“Unfortunately, no. The Chilsakjo elite have been combing through everything, but Alu seems to have many secrets. There’s no trace of his past before he became Tesing’s leader.”
Kashimir shrugged.
“The fact that the Chilsakjo haven’t found anything means one thing: someone deliberately erased all information about Alu. As you said, he might have ties to Runcandel.”
“Hmm… I’m starting to regret not killing him back then. So, the information the Chilsakjo brought is about Vishkel?”
“Yes. Vishkel Ibriano—the heir to the Ibriano family. Lord Jin, are you familiar with the group called ‘Kinzelro’?”
“I know them. I even crossed paths with them during my first mission with the cadets this year.”
Kinzelro.
A fanatical militant faction aiming to make their king the ruler of the entire world. They rose to infamy when Jin, in his previous life at 27, assassinated the king of Jean and massacred civilians.
“It’s not confirmed, but there’s a possibility Vishkel belongs to Kinzelro. He visits the Duchy of Kurano once a week and always stops by a certain sculpture workshop.”
“Please continue.”
“The workshop is called ‘Art is Explosion’—a bizarre name. Its owner is Bubar Gaston, who is also a Kinzelro executive. Since Vishkel meets him weekly, it raises suspicion.”
“Bubar Gaston?”
Jin feigned ignorance. He couldn’t yet tell Kashimir that Bubar had the ability to ‘transform’ others.
Not because he distrusted him, but because he lacked proof.
“Yes, a somewhat overweight man in his early thirties. And Vishkel always brings him sweet potato croquettes, like he’s running errands.”
“Hmm, assuming both belong to Kinzelro, Bubar might hold a higher rank.”
“Probably. I’ve met Vishkel personally—he’s quite proud. If he’s the one delivering bread every time, well…”
In reality, Bubar was an executive, and Vishkel a deputy leader, so Vishkel’s rank was higher, but the Chilsakjo hadn’t figured that out.
Kashimir and Jin shared a dry laugh. Jin couldn’t quite picture Vishkel delivering bread himself.
‘I suspected something was going on between Vishkel and Bubar, but Kinzelro? That’s unexpected. And Bubar seems to outrank Vishkel… What could Vishkel gain by joining Kinzelro?’
The answer was simple.
The Ibriano family, though not quite on par with Runcandel, was once as influential as Hailan in Biment.
But lately, except for Vishkel, they hadn’t produced any outstanding warriors and were in decline.
‘Vishkel plans to restore his family’s glory using Kinzelro’s power—or he’s been swayed by their ideology.’
But was Kinzelro really that powerful? Enough to attract a warrior like Vishkel Ibriano?
‘Looking back at the height of Kinzelro’s influence in my previous life… it’s not impossible. Runcandel, Ziphl, and Biment all avoided provoking those lunatics.’
It was strange, really.
Both in his past and current life, Runcandel hadn’t struck against Kinzelro—even though his own youngest division nearly got slaughtered on their first mission.
‘Is it because Runcandel considers Kinzelro insignificant? Or do they see them as a serious threat? I’ll find out in time.’
Jin gave Kashimir a slight nod.
“Understood, Sir Kashimir. Thank you for your hard work.”
“The real work was done by the informants—I just listened. So, my next task is to investigate Kinzelro and keep digging on Alu.”
Jin appreciated how well they worked together without needing to spell everything out.
“Always grateful, Sir Kashimir.”
“Then please spend some time with Yuria later. She comes to my office every day calling for ‘Brother Jin,’ and with Enya joining in, it’s driving me crazy.”
“I will. Oh, by the way, it’s almost time for your duel with Lady Alisa. Would you like to come along?”
“Gladly. I’ve been wanting to see how much Lord Jin has improved.”
Kashimir’s face was relaxed as he spoke.
He was still confident Jin couldn’t beat Alisa.
‘I’ll see his progress firsthand today and write another letter to Sir Shiron.’
Alisa was already waiting for Jin at the training ground.
“Oh, what are you doing here?”
Alisa teased Kashimir the moment she saw him.
“Uh, was I not supposed to come? Lord Jin invited me to watch.”
“No, it’s not that. I just don’t want to show you losing.”
“Losing? You? What are you talking about!?”
Kashimir’s eyes widened in shock as he stared at Alisa.
‘It’s been barely over three months, not even the promised six.’
When Kashimir asked with a glance, Alisa quietly nodded.
Alisa Batsja, former member of Biment’s Special Forces Unit 2 and current captain of the Tikan guard.
The reason she took the day off and prepared in perfect condition was because she sensed defeat was inevitable.
‘I’ve already been overtaken by Lord Jin. Yesterday.’
While Kashimir briefly lost touch with reality, Jin and Alisa faced each other and took their positions.
“This will be our final duel, Lord Jin.”
Jin didn’t respond, merely giving a slight nod, and Alisa continued softly.
“I hope that even far into the future, you’ll remember me as a worthy sparring partner. Even at the very peak of the world.”
“Not just a sparring partner,” Jin replied gently, “I will always regard you as a great teacher and friend. And I hope to remain a worthy student in your eyes as well.”
Barely holding himself together, Kashimir slowly stepped toward the edge of the training ground, careful not to disturb their final duel.
Crack.
Alisa clenched her fist tightly, and Jin whispered quietly.
“Summon.”
The Phoenix.
A mystical beast from another realm, only summonable by magicians of six stars or higher.
Over the course of their 109 duels, Jin hadn’t just honed his swordsmanship—his spiritual energy and magical power had soared as well.
Whoosh!
A massive bird, its entire body wreathed in flames, emerged from the dimensional portal that had just opened beside Jin.
Watching Jin’s phoenix, Kashimir couldn’t help but let out a breathless sigh.
Because he knew the name of that phoenix.