I Kidnapped the Hero's Women-Chapter 200: Guilt and such (17)

"Why now...!?" "Ugh...!"

Sylvia desperately clutched the sword handle that had just barely popped out of Aslan's mouth.

But no matter how hard she tried, the sword wouldn’t come out.

As the young Sylvia, with an expressionless face, approached, Sylvia had no choice but to kick Aslan away.

"Ugh!?"

The young Sylvia immediately charged at Sylvia, swinging her sword.

Sylvia narrowly dodged and barely managed to escape.

But, given the similar physical specs, the distance didn’t increase, and instead, it only grew smaller.

‘Nothing is going my way! This damn sword!’

Sylvia was at her wit’s end.

When she first got the sword, she was unable to wield any other weapon.

The sword had become bound to Aslan’s body, and she had to extract it from his mouth.

Though she had grown stronger thanks to the sword, the penalty was so severe that she almost wanted to throw it away.

And now, of all times, it was causing trouble!

"Where do you think you’re going!?" "Tch!"

Sylvia rushed towards the young Sylvia, trying to grab the dagger from her waist.

But as soon as she touched the dagger, it was repelled, as though it had its own magnetic force.

‘This is so useless...!’

The only sword she could hold wouldn’t come out now.

The only thing she could use was mana and her bare hands.

But now, she couldn’t even feel mana, meaning her only option was her hands.

And the opponent had the ability to use both weapons and mana, while she could use nothing...

‘How am I supposed to win?’

She was facing an upgraded version of herself.

There was no chance of winning.

It was a battle that shouldn’t have even been started in the first place.

‘What should I do? If I charge, I’m definitely going to lose. Should I just keep running, hoping they get tired? No... we’re both the same physical level, so we’ll both get tired...’

The young Sylvia charged at her with incredible speed.

Sylvia, in desperation, could only keep dodging and running.

There was nothing else she could do.

‘I’m nothing without the sword... Without the sword, I’m nothing...’

I am nothing without the sword.

Without the master, I am just weak and powerless.

There’s nothing I can do here.

Sylvia was holding back tears in her heart at that moment.

"Hmm?" "...?"

As Sylvia was relentlessly cornered, launching her attack, the young Sylvia suddenly turned around.

Her gaze fell on Aslan, and she immediately changed direction, charging straight at him.

"No, stop!"

Sylvia, startled, began chasing after the young Sylvia.

The young Sylvia reached Aslan’s face in an instant, and the sharp blade aimed for his forehead.

‘I have to stop this...!’

But the distance was too great.

Not only was it impossible to reach in time, but there was nothing she could throw to stop her.

At this rate, Aslan’s head would be cut off with a single strike.

She had to stop it, but no method seemed possible.

Sylvia, with tears welling up, closed her eyes.

"Wait!? A barrier!?"

Clang!

Just before the young Sylvia’s sword could cut through Aslan’s forehead, it was repelled by something hard in the air.

The young Sylvia froze in shock, and Sylvia, equally stunned, had her mouth hang open.

"...What?"

A barrier spell?

I should have been completely incapable of detecting mana, with my senses ruined, so how is the barrier spell working?

How did it activate?

"This ungrateful, thick-headed girl..."

But Sylvia didn’t have the time to ponder this question anymore.

That girl had nearly killed the master just now.

That worthless girl...!

Anger filled Sylvia’s mind, and her posture, previously ready to flee, quickly shifted into one for offense.

Her fist clenched tightly.

The sudden shift in atmosphere made the young Sylvia recoil in surprise.

"Can't do it without the sword? Can’t do it without the master? That’s impossible..."

Sylvia took a step forward, and with each step, her strength grew.

It was an entirely different momentum from before when she had only been running away.

Am I nothing without the master?

I’m a bodyguard, I can’t be like that.

The master isn’t here to protect me, I’m the one who needs to protect him.

Is the sword the only thing that matters?

That’s nonsense.

Just now, the barrier magic was cast from bare hands without a weapon.

The premise of aura—what is it?

Does having a good sword in hand mean you can summon aura?

Does the aura of a swordmaster with a cheap sword decrease because of it?

No, that’s impossible.

The "rank" is something assigned to the person, not the sword.

Therefore, aura must be drawn from the person, not the sword.

I awakened aura through sword training, but in the end, it’s the person, not the sword.

I had forgotten this simple fact.

‘I had already awakened aura. I just didn’t know it...’

Aura was something I had to awaken myself.

I had always depended on the master, always relied on the excellent sword, and never once drew the sword on my own.

So it was only natural that I hadn’t awakened aura until now, even though I had all the necessary conditions to do so.

"Hah..." "Am I going crazy?"

Sylvia let out a hollow laugh, while the young Sylvia furrowed her brows and tilted her head.

The laugh was inevitable.

I had the aura in my hands all along, and I just realized it now.

There was no shortcut to becoming stronger.

No helpers, no mana, and not even a good sword were necessary.

What I needed was only my own body.

The only thing I can rely on in this world is myself.

It was only after losing everything that I realized this too late.

I am already strong enough.

Sylvia, now fully aware, rushed forward with nothing but her own body.

As she clenched her fist, a strange red light emanated from it, taking the shape of a sword.

"Sh-Swordmaster!?"

The young Sylvia gritted her teeth and swung her sword.

But Sylvia, smiling faintly, swung her own red flash, shattering the blade into pieces.

The young Sylvia, unable to hide her shock, immediately entered a defensive stance.

"That won’t work!"

With a light swing of her sword, Sylvia shattered the barrier.

A new barrier immediately formed in the young Sylvia’s hands, and Sylvia swiftly struck again, destroying the barrier without hesitation.

In this endless cycle of barrier formation and breaking, the young Sylvia began to tire as her mana ran out, her limbs trembling.

The red flashes, which had scattered without shape, slowly began to form into the shape of a great sword.

The young Sylvia, now growing in size, began to mature physically, her appearance transforming as she grew.

"Ahhhhh!"

Finally, when the young Sylvia ran out of mana, she screamed and rushed forward.

It was do or die now.

She had no choice but to fight with her bare hands.

Thinking she had finally found an opening, Sylvia dodged the aura just narrowly, thinking she could tackle the young Sylvia.

"I got her!?"

"Not yet."

With her palm placed right in front of the young Sylvia’s chest, Aslan knew the end was near.

Boom!

With a deafening noise, an aura whirlwind erupted from Sylvia’s palm, sending the young Sylvia flying far away.

The young Sylvia collided with a rock and slid across the ground for some time before finally stopping.

Aslan hurried over to check on her.

She was bleeding heavily and unconscious, but she was still barely breathing.

"She’s alive. Thank goodness."

"I want to kill her right now..."

"Hey, hey. This is you from the past. Get a grip."

"I know. She dared to point a sword at the master, she deserves to die, but... I’ll spare her for now."

"..."

Sylvia released the tight grip on her fist, and as she looked down at the now adult-sized Sylvia, Aslan swallowed nervously.

When she’s angry, she has no mercy, even if the opponent is herself...

"What do we do now? It seems like we should brand her after all..."

"No. We can save her without that. There’s no need to limit her freedom with a brand."

"Alright. Then let’s move her to the fortress city... Ah?"

At that moment, a white light burst out from Aslan’s chest.

The light quickly took the shape of a sword, then shot off into the air, breaking through the space.

"...!? "

A crack appeared in the air, opening wide enough for a person to pass through.

Inside, the familiar landscape of the Vermont estate began to emerge.

It was a peaceful summer day, just like any other, with children anxiously waiting and pacing.

It was clearly the present time.

"Master, we need to go now. The crack is closing quickly. If we don’t leave now, we might never return."

"We can’t leave yet. I can’t just leave her here..."

"Master, the crack is closing fast. It’ll disappear in five minutes. We need to decide now."

"Damn..."

The crack was narrowing rapidly.

Aslan stood in front of the unconscious young Sylvia, closing his eyes tightly.

Just as Sylvia said, he had to make a decision now.

If they left her now, the young Sylvia would be swept away by the mana storm and die.

But, even if they left, there was no way to reach the fortress city and return in five minutes.

There was only one way to move the young Sylvia to safety, to forcefully move her while unconscious.

There was no other choice.

This was the only way...

"Sylvia, help me. I need to destroy her heart and engrave the brand inside."

"Yes, I understand, Master."

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Aslan, swallowing his tears, made his decision.

Sylvia, as if waiting for those words, smiled and stepped forward.

What was meant to happen would happen.