The Tale of A Man Who Believed That His Reincarnation Had Granted Him A Japanese Sword And The Greatest Battle Sense, Only To Have The God Finally Inform Him "Huh, I Didn't Give You Any Combat Sense… That's Scary…" - Episode 48

The arena was empty. Only three remained.

One was me. One was my opponent. And the last was the goddess.

The wind blew through the vacant stands, swept past the goddess, who remained as the sole witness, and finally circled between the two of us standing face to face.

Rito tilted her helmet slightly, its smooth curves gleaming. Without making a single sound from her armor, she held her crimson, menacing magic spear in her right hand and took a forward-leaning stance.

I realized again that this was the moment I had longed for the most. Lyra had allowed me to live alone. In Redinbara, I had met many people, done good things, and made mistakes.

But in the end, I arrived at this empty battlefield. There was no need for spectators. No need for a referee. The only thing necessary was an opponent. Surely, the one standing before me felt the same way.

The familiar thrill of battle surged within me. My body burned with heat. My heartbeat pounded like a drum. Like a child receiving their first birthday present, my eyes shone with excitement at the duel before me.

Ah, yes. In the end, after everything… I was a killer. The depths of my soul had never changed.

“I want to fight someone stronger.”

Ultimately, that was the unwavering foundation of my actions.

“Here I come, knight!”

“Come at me, Enri!”

We exchanged brief words as rivals.

I gripped my beloved katana, Sakurako, with my pinky and ring finger, holding it close like something dear and irreplaceable.
At nearly the same moment, we both dashed forward. Like the first spear in a charge seeking honor, we thought of nothing—neither past nor future—rushing straight ahead. Naturally, we clashed.

The knight struck with a powerful thrust, pouring all her weight into the attack.

I took the blow head-on and, like a leaf carried by the wind, deflected it effortlessly to the side. It was as if a massive tree had been falling toward me, but I redirected the force, turning my blade toward her and striking upward by tapping the pommel.

A lesser spear wielder would have fallen to this counter. But the knight, staying calm, used the momentum of her shifted balance to roll forward, narrowly dodging the slash aimed at her chest.

We both leapt back, measuring the distance between us.

She grinned, catlike. I found myself grinning back.

I spun my katana’s hilt in my right hand and sheathed it. Placing my right foot forward with my heel facing outward, I stepped my left foot far back. Twisting my entire body like a wound-up spinning top, I grasped the sheath firmly with my left hand, while my right hovered just above the hilt, poised to strike.

The gravel crunched under our feet as we took cautious half-steps toward each other. The distance between us: about eight meters.

The moment she saw my iai stance, the knight gripped her crimson magic spear with both hands and raised its tip toward the heavens.

“Full release—break them, my cursed spear!”

She lifted her face toward the sky as if gazing at the stars.

Without realizing it, the sky had darkened with rain clouds. Then, color fell from the heavens—crimson. It was the weight of her curse, the very essence of the spear she wielded.

Like a priestess summoning rain, she pointed the spear skyward.

Invisible weight poured down upon us. But thanks to my battles against witches, my trained eyes could see it. The unseen rain of pressure revealed itself in red, and in that instant, I drew my sword and slashed the air.

With a reversed grip, I cut through the invisible, cursed rain, splitting it cleanly in two.

A heavy thud echoed—a sound like a thick log being cleaved. Then, the stone stage around me, unable to bear the weight, cracked and sank.

“Ahaha! A gravity spell no one should be able to see… But of course, Enri, you’d just cut through it!”

Laughing in admiration and exasperation, the knight lowered her spear from its skyward stance and adjusted her posture.

I, too, shifted my stance. Abandoning iai, I raised my katana high.

“I may not be able to bring down the heavens yet… but let me show you something interesting.”

She braced herself, her limbs tensing to react to an attack from any direction. But there was no need for that caution.

Because—this strike would reach from here to there.

I recalled the moment when I split the earth while being chased by the witch. I raised my sword even higher, aligning its back with my spine.

I deliberately exposed openings as I lifted it higher and higher, syncing my breath with hers, and then—
I swung down in one decisive strike.

“—!?”

Sensing something abnormal, the knight dodged sideways at the last moment.

The strike came down where she had stood—cleaving the ground in two.

Position, distance, logic—none of it mattered. Only the undeniable fact of the cut remained, like white foam left behind after a wave retreat.

Behind the knight, a portion of the arena split vertically, cracked, and crumbled with a resounding crash.

“To reach the level of magic with just your swordsmanship… You really are ridiculous, Enri.”

Her words made me smirk. I grinned, showing my teeth, and sheathed my sword once more.

A premonition struck.

The next time we drew our weapons, it would be the end for both of us.

The final moment of our joyful battle to the death.

The knight crouched low, pressing her left hand to the ground and holding her spear close, her body positioned like a cat about to pounce on its prey.

My opponent would surely come for my head with everything she had.

Even a new recruit would faint from the sheer intensity of the bloodlust radiating from her.

And I, too, would respond with all my strength.

My body trembled with excitement. It had been a long time since I’d fought such a worthy opponent. But every battle must end.
For my final stance, I chose iai.

I slid my right foot forward, drew my left foot back like pulling a bowstring, and stood straight like a sturdy branch. My left hand gripped the sheath, my right pinky hooked onto the hilt.

“Forced Full Power Release—Overload!!”

The moment she shouted, all her armor melted away like candy in fire.

Red-black lightning erupted from her body.

A vortex of wind roared around her, pulling in everything nearby.

My body was dragged forward. If I let myself be sucked in without a plan, I would be swallowed whole and die instantly.

“This puts too much strain on my body… Pallas told me not to use it. But I said I’d fight with everything I had!”

Her black garb was now exposed, bl00d seeping from all over her body.

She was truly risking her life in this fight.

Then—I would do the same.

There was no escaping fate. No stopping her technique now.

I had only one option—to behead her before she could strike.

I gripped my sword tightly and let my body relax, lifting off the ground.

Like a doomed moth drawn into the knight’s vortex, I soared toward her.

She thrust her crimson spear straight at my heart.

The tip shattered my ribs, pierced my flesh, and found my heart.

Pain like searing fire spread through my chest. My vision darkened.

But the fight wasn’t over.

I knew this spear needed a final opening motion before the kill.

“Pierce, open, and—”

Through the burning pain, I forced my fading consciousness to move—

And slashed.

Her body staggered, the vortex dissipated—

And her head flew cleanly through the air, landing soundlessly on the ground.

Almost a draw, in the end.

Then, the lone witness proclaimed:

“Match over! Winner—Enri, swordsman of House Grosvenor!”

No cheers. No applause. Only the goddess’s judgment.

With my bl00d-soaked sword, I whispered—

“Rito… Thank you. This was the most thrilling, most exciting… and the most fun battle I’ve ever had.”

And so, in Redinbara, the final match of the swordsmanship tournament ended with my victory.