The Battle for Astrea (Part 5)
Winston had followed the Sword Saint Reinhild.
Under the guidance of a girl and the blessing of the [Divine Protection of Training], the gladiator's potential was fully awakened.
His previously instinctual beast-like combat style gained wisdom; the techniques he had merely learned were now completely mastered, and even what he thought were the limits of his physical ability had been surpassed once more.
For Winston, who pursued strength above all, that period felt like living in heaven.
He came to regard the girl as his "god."
To repay her for her teachings, he gradually became the steward of the mansion.
Perhaps because of his transformation, the girl began to treat him as family.
What destroyed that time was the warrior's pursuit of power—or perhaps his own arrogance.
It was on the day of his third birthday there.
Every year, the girl would give him a carefully prepared gift—his gauntlets, something from Kararagi for his room... But this time, he chose his gift: a full-power battle against the Sword Saint.
Mountains reaching the clouds, seas of unfathomable depth, the moon reflected in water…
Three years of growing confidence were shattered by the vast difference in strength.
Anxious feelings filled his heart.
Winston had seen the aging Sword Demon and knew his own strength would soon decline.
Meanwhile, the girl had yet to reach her peak.
He wanted to fight her seriously.
His warrior pride cried and roared.
Winston understood that if he trained normally, at best, he would become the next Sword Demon.
He would briefly reach the "Heavenly Realm" and then decline.
But that wasn't enough.
So he turned to forbidden techniques—those that gave a temporary power boost but had serious side effects.
His perfected fists clashed with sword strikes that had reached the Heavenly Realm.
A cursed blade among the Ten Great Swords and the world's strongest gauntlets shattered simultaneously.
Though his body, honed through endless training, was incomparably tough, it couldn't withstand the broken sword of a swordsman who had touched the Heavenly Realm.
The broken blade tore skin, split flesh, and severed bone...
With a blank expression, Cecilus reversed the broken sword in his hand and sliced horizontally.
A massive wound appeared on Winston's hardened body.
The two warriors who had fought fiercely slowly separated.
Cecilus silently bowed.
"Though I'm still immature, I'll keep training and someday defeat her."
Winston smiled at the polished blade he had forged through effort, then slowly collapsed to the ground.
.
.
.
The earth shook.
The plain instantly turned into a snowy field.
A colossal quadrupedal beast, towering overhead, once again resumed its fight.
Though it looked invincible, the signs of deterioration were obvious: fangs too large to fit in its mouth were broken, its heavy breathing indicated exhaustion, and only its fierce golden eyes still glared ahead with dominance.
At that moment, Reinhild, who was blocking the Beast of the End, felt her heart tremble.
She instinctively sensed that someone important had died.
Looking toward the western sky, her eyes held a hint of sorrow.
"Great Spirit, do you still intend to continue?"
"This is for Lia."
Looking at the stubborn Great Spirit before her, Reinhild gave a slight nod.
But having sensed a death, she finally made up her mind.
The Sword Saint's hand gripped the hilt at her waist and drew the legendary weapon.
The "Sword Saint" Reinhild van Astrea raised the Dragon Sword upright and pointed it at the beast.
"I understand how you feel. I feel the same way.
We both want to do something for our families.
But I am the Sword Saint and the current ruler of the Astrea territory.
I cannot allow this rampage to continue.
This war must end. For that, please allow me to defeat you, Great Spirit."
Despite the overwhelming difference in size, even an outsider like Subaru could see who held the advantage in combat power.
Even against Puck, who had released his true power, Reinhild maintained her calm expression.
The Dragon Sword roared, and the frozen air trembled from the sheer force it emitted.
Faced with this overwhelming power, the fallen beast rose onto its forelegs, forcing itself up, baring its teeth.
"If you surrender, I can guarantee you won't suffer."
"That won't do. For Lia's sake, I'll struggle until the end of my life… as long as I still draw breath."
Both took their stances, ready to make their final moves—a duel where the outcome was clear.
"I must prevent further damage. If you must hate someone, hate me."
"I won't hate you, Reinhild. I started this war of my own will. Lia had no part in this."
"I understand."
In the next instant, Reinhild raised the Dragon Sword high.
Light flashed—splitting the sky, the earth crumbled, mana surged and swirled, and the world shifted along the path of the slash.
The end and rebirth of the world occurred simultaneously—this was the Sword Saint's strike.
Clang!
Reinhild sheathed the Dragon Sword into its white scabbard.
"Why?"
A small glowing cat asked in confusion.
Although the contract was severed and he was gravely injured and near immobile, he hadn't died.
"Because you, Great Spirit, didn't cause any real casualties.
And you're part of the Dragon Kingdom.
If possible, I hoped to resolve this peacefully.
Even I couldn't be 100% sure I could guarantee your survival."
Reinhild spoke the most important reason.
He had prepared evacuations in case of a possible spirit attack and had perfectly avoided the worst-case outcome.
Of course, Puck's desperate efforts for his family had earned Reinhild's respect as well.
"Looks like I lost completely."
Reinhild used a prepared magic crystal to seal the weakened, fading Puck.
Meanwhile, in Setia City, Witch Cultists and assassins clashed with the royal guard and mercenaries.
The battle was completely one-sided—but the side with the overwhelming advantage wasn't the enemy Subaru had feared.
It was the guards and mercenaries, led by Leander and Eileen.
Kurgan of the Eight Arm was undoubtedly a top-tier combatant.
If he had been alive, the fight wouldn't have been so easy.
But the Kurgan before them was just a corpse soldier.
Even so, a corpse soldier of his caliber should've caused major problems.
His stats were monstrous.
However, against Leander, it was awkward.
Leander already possessed the strongest power in the mansion.
With Eileen's top-tier support buffing him, even Reinhild would hesitate to take his guandao head-on.
But the corpse soldier lacked the awareness to dodge.
With a thunderous crash, half of the eight-handed body was smashed into the ground.
Of the four hands used to block the attack, two were severed, and the other two had fractured wrists.
But Leander didn't show mercy and immediately followed up with strikes—again and again, like hammering iron.
On the fifth blow, Kurgan was finally cleaved in half.
Then came the clean-up phase—one blow per enemy.
Beasts, Witch Cultists, and assassins alike couldn't withstand a single buffed strike from Leander.
Even the more agile ones like Elsa were kept busy by the mercenaries.
Despite the advantage, the Witch Cultists and assassins were formidable, and none had the intention of fleeing.
In the end, Leander's side paid a price of 37 lives.
With the fall of the last enemy, the Battle for Astrea came to an end.