Tsuyokute New Saga (LN)

Book 7: Chapter 17

Kyle headed down the secret passage to the [Tower of Beginnings]. Having reached the underground chapel, he was greeted by a familiar face.

“What can I do for you today, Master?” Kyle expected Leyla to show up, so he casually greeted her.

“So you decided to take it…” Leyla grumbled like she was suffering from a headache. “Kyle…I’ll handle the rest, so you turn around. Right now.”

“You say that now? Bit too late for that, teach.”

Surely, Leyla was saying this for his sake, but he had already made up his mind, so it was too late to hesitate.

“I don’t know what you think you know, but a blessing from the gods isn’t as great as it sounds.”

“Doesn’t sound very convincing to me.”

Something was off about Leyla. Her usual nonchalant attitude was long gone.

“I know…But, I don’t want you to end up the way I did.” Leyla said and continued. “I never had any talent with the sword. I went through hell and back to get stronger.”

“Huh?”

Leyla had no talent? Kyle thought it was an ill-tasted joke, but the look in her eyes was serious.

“So…Well, I don’t like to brag, but I think I’ve worked harder than anybody else for this. All so that I could survive. But, I found out that there was a way to skip all this effort.” Leyla spoke like she was confessing to her sins. “I thought that blessing would be the beginning of everything…And yet, I now see it as a curse. It’s the same as having your whole soul tied up.”

“Teacher…”

“Praying to the gods is fine, but relying on them is a fool’s errand.”

“…Even if it’s necessary to save the whole world?”

“…”

Leyla didn’t answer. Or rather, she couldn’t. She still hadn’t found an answer. Was it worth stopping Kyle here? And from the looks of it, she hadn’t heard about Cordi’s death yet.

“Thanks, Teacher. I appreciate you looking out for me…but I’ve decided.” Kyle thanked her from the bottom of his heart, but he had no intention of stopping there.

“Wait. I can’t let you go!” Leyla reached for the sword hanging down her back.

However, Kyle had anticipated this. In fact, he was surprised she didn’t do so from the start.

“That makes things easier for sure…” Shildonia commented quietly as Kyle reached for his sword, when—

“Hey now. Let the kids take care of their parents, will ya?”

A voice broke through the tension. Kyle grit his teeth, cursing the arrival of the person he, in fact, anticipated to arrive, as even Leyla shook her head.

“Made it in time, huh? And at such great timing, no less. The hero’s gotta have a legendary entrance, after all.”

Seeing her foster son appear, Leyla audibly clicked her tongue.

“Guess holding you back was too much to ask of them.”

“They’re not bad, but not good enough to slow me down. And…I doubt you can fight both of us at the same time, right?” Seran grinned and then shooed Kyle along. “Off you go, my darling.”

“Thanks.”

“This is my time to shine…But, there is one thing I wanna ask. What happened to me during the final battle?”

Seran must be asking about the final battle against the Demon Lord. They heard the gist of the events, but not the details.

“…We were 100 people at most. When we had the final door to the Demon Lord’s throne room in front of us, a mountain of demons attacked. You stayed behind to stop them and buy us time.”

“So I sent you ahead, eh? Can’t believe I actually did that.”

And just as he declared back then, he took care of the demons…without ever catching up with Kyle.

“Yeah, I couldn’t stop myself from bursting out laughing.”

They both snickered.

“All right, off you go. I can’t follow you this time, so you hurry on back.”

“Gotcha.”

The two bumped their fists together and then turned their backs to each other. So that Kyle could take the trial, Seran was fighting his own mother.

“Someone’s excited for the love of Mera…And stop treating me like I’m a demon.” Leyla grumbled, but she was still forced to watch Kyle run off.

She knew that if she tried anything, Seran would attack her immediately.

“Don’t come back crying later…” Leyla said.

“You can stop being so overprotective. We’re grown up now.”

Of course, not even Leyla could stay calm when met with this provocation, but Seran only continued.

“Now, let’s do this. I really wanna beat you today, old hag.”

“…Huh?” Leyla looked at Seran in disbelief. “I think you’ve got the wrong idea about something. I never once got serious against you two.”

“Say what?”

Seran always thought that their last battle was where she got as serious as she could.

“Of course, I’ve no doubt that you can eventually become stronger than me,” Leyla’s expression carried complicated feelings.

She was happy at her child’s growth but also felt jealous at how talented he was compared to her.

“That said…Only eventually. Not right now.” Leyla’s look in her eyes changed.

It was something Seran had never seen. The pressure it emitted was enough to make his hair stand on edge. Leyla took one step forward to close the distance between them, which made Seran stagger backward.

“You shouldn’t overdo it, old hag. Know your age,” Seran resented himself for underestimating his own mother, but he couldn’t back down now.

The more grave the situation, the more sinister the smile you make—even now, Leyla’s teachings were coming into play.

“Don’t talk about my age! Just focus on not dying too quickly, brat!”

“Nobody else is gonna come to your funeral, so get your last words out right now! Any wishes?!”

Like this, the strongest mother and son fight began.

***

“Are you certain that was the right choice?”

Shildonia was hanging down Kyle’s back as she asked him.

“This is how they bond. I’m not gonna judge how they run their family.”

The moment he said that he heard the sound of clashing swords. The sounds were sharp, harsh, and almost explosive in nature, telling Kyle just how fierce the battle was.

“Sounds like quite the extreme exchange they’re having,” Shildonia grumbled as she listened to the distant sounds, agreeing with Kyle’s assessment.

“To be perfectly honest, I can’t afford to worry about him. I’m going to wage war against…No, pick a fight with the gods.”

“You seem rather relaxed despite that. Or I guess…you’ve made up your mind now?”

Unlike yesterday, when Kyle was full of hesitation and reluctance, he now showed like he had made up his determination.

“Anyway, I’m getting off here.”

When they reached the garden of the Sacred Palace, Shildonia said to get off.

“Mera told you to come alone, right? Technically, I’m not human, but I probably am not welcome. Plus, there’s something I want to do,” Shildonia looked around the garden as she flashed a suggestive smirk. “Well, good luck with your trial,” she tapped Kyle on the shoulder.

“Leave it to me.”

Kyle followed the same teaching as Leyla, where he smiled no matter how nervous he was, as he entered the Tower of Beginnings.

***

The battle between Seran and Leyla immediately changed into mortal combat. Since they were moving around the entire chapel, the walls, the floor, and the ceiling all began showing marks of their fight. They read each other’s attacks, defending as cleanly as possible, but Leyla was definitely the one pushing the fight. She was using her trusted greatsword, packing immense impact but also difficulty in using it. Normally, it was used to finish the fight in one fell strike. However, Leyla showed no issues when wielding the greatsword. In fact, she did it as smoothly as any other. Yet, there was no gap for Seran to take, as he was showered with a relentless wave of attacks.

“What the hell is that strength?! You’re more than just inhuman!”

Normally, this kind of offense would be utterly unthinkable. Seran managed to block the first few strikes, but his stamina was slowly being depleted, as he cursed while evading all attacks he could.

“Whoops!”

Right as Seran evaded another attack, the chair behind him practically exploded from Leyla’s attack. That was the very last chair the chapel had to offer.

“Hey! Should you really be running around destroying this place?! The gods will punish you!”

“The very goddess who would care is gonna meet Kyle’s blade, so she won’t know!”

“Is that the issue here?!”

When Leyla attacked ten times or more, Seran maybe managed to sneak a counterattack in once or twice. This was the best he could do being attacked relentlessly, but it was still frustrating.

“Also, what kind of messed up fighting style is this?!”

“What’s wrong? It’s too early to cry and beg for forgiveness.”

Coming all this way, Seran had fought Leyla countless times in his mind. Contrary to her tense appearance and wild personality, she actually used her experience to counter the opponent’s attacks and use them to her advantage. That should be her strength—so Seran intended to overwhelm her with attacks to the point she couldn’t keep up. However, the moment the battle began, Leyla had been the one on the relentless offensive, giving Seran no time to react. The way Leyla fought was mostly what Seran excelled at. Yet, she surpassed even his style.

“Why do I have to fight at your level?”

This was Leyla’s fighting style specifically when she was dealing with an opponent she knew all too well. And for Seran, he got completely done in. Met with a fight he couldn’t hope to win, it would take him time to get adjusted to this, but Leyla wouldn’t let him. As a result, he was forced to stay on defense all the time.

“What’s wrong?! Try fighting back for a change!”

“Don’t ask for the impossible!”

Seran evaded a slash that would have easily sliced him in half, as she screamed.

“You’re just making excuses! It’s not about being able to do it or not. It’s about actually doing it or not! Like I always tell you!”

It was Leyla’s habit to speak like that, and she would even say this when Seran or Kyle were acting weird.

“Also, you damn old hag! How did you get even stronger?!” He complained like it wasn’t fair.

Leyla was strong. However, he assumed she had already reached her peak and that she didn’t seek great strength. In fact, humans always arrive at a limit where they can’t grow stronger anymore. As for Kyle and Seran, not even in their twenties, they had still much room to grow. Seran didn’t know Leyla’s exact age, but she must have gone beyond her 30s. She should be way past her growth period. And yet, she had obtained even more strength.

“Consider your age for once, you old hag!”

“Stop talking about my age already!”

Furious because of her foster son’s comments, Leyla attacked with even more force. She must be rather concerned about her age.

“The enemy is strong? So what? Consider yourself lucky that you get to fight someone stronger than you. Though, I guess I’m the lucky one this time around…Because I got stronger thanks to you guys,” Leyla happily exclaimed, making Seran gasp.

She stated that this excessive strength she had obtained came to be because of Seran and Kyle. She must be referring to the time when even Kyle managed to fend off one of her strongest attacks. That’s why she proceeded to train even further. Seran remembered what Mera said just yesterday. She liked those who work hardest out of everyone…and that Leyla was one of her favorites. She was such a hard worker that even the gods admired her.

So she’s been this strong all this time…

Seran was confident that he had worked hard enough to shed actual blood, having tasted near-death enough to build up excessive experience, and yet he was now forced to realize that Leyla went even beyond that. It made her feel distant and not someone he knew. He was shown the difference in their desire for strength.

“Fine then…”

Yet, this didn’t break Seran’s spirit. In fact, there was another emotion boiling inside of him to a much stronger degree. He was burning with desire to blow past this seemingly unbeatable enemy.

“Oh, I like the look in your eyes now. Always be the challenger, right? Just as I taught you,” Leyla smirked and attacked with all her might.

This time, Seran didn’t try to evade it and instead took it blade-to-blade. He not only used the strength in his arms, but his shoulders, back, hips, knees, soles, and the ground—all of it to defend against the explosive attack. And that was the end of them dancing across the cave. As both of them continued to press against the other’s sword, they stared at each other.

So he’s back on his feet now…

Realizing that Seran managed to get past his slump to improve even more, Leyla clicked her tongue. She knew all too well that, if she didn’t quickly finish him off with an oppressive onslaught of attacks, she would eventually be at a disadvantage. She could already see the two of them ending up on equal levels.

I feel like this battle is going to drag on for a while…

Seran had suffered a few minor injuries from the fight so far, but his focus only grew stronger the longer they fought. But of course, since they were both humans, the wounds and exhaustion would eventually create mistakes. Leyla could only wait for that to happen.

“Honestly, I ain’t got the time for that,” Seran jumped backward, acting as if he had read Leyla’s thoughts.

They were both far too skilled to wait for the other to show a simple slip-up. And on top of that, neither of them were the type to wait for this result to happen. Hence, Seran was suggesting they end it all with their very next strike.

“Fine by me…” Leyla accepted the invitation. “But, while I’ve got you here, there’s something I should tell you about. It’s…about your mother,” Leyla began explaining before their final clash.

“My mother? Oh, the one who gave birth to me.”

Seran has two mothers. One who gave birth to him, and the other who raised him. He was told that his birth mother passed away shortly after he was born, but he was never told the details.

“Can’t say I’m too interested,” Seran said as he never showed any curiosity before.

“You have the duty to know!” Leyla roared in anger. “Her name was Orphe. She was like an older sister to me, and her grave is located in the Empire, a small town called Morton. I just ask that you go visit her someday…Because she didn’t die and leave you behind because she wanted to.”

“Yeah, will do.”

Leyla was satisfied with Seran’s response and smiled and put more focus on her blade as if this was her last strike.

“Starting to sound like that was your last wish. Be undefeatable no matter when, right?”

“Yeah, that’s absolutely right.”

From then on, no more words were needed. They were both preparing to put everything into their next swing. Leyla readied her greatsword for a direct clash, as Seran lowered his body in a way that resembled a cat with its prey in sight. They glared at each other as they stood still like time had stopped.

Since they were underground, despite their considerable distance, they could hear each other breathing. If Lieze and the others were here, they’d definitely be met with a sense of deja vu. After all, this was the same situation as when Leyla and Kyle fought back at the tournament in the Galgan Empire. Back then, Kyle managed to block Leyla’s attack. However, she wasn’t serious back then. She was just playing along for the audience. But, this attack now was different. Leyla was preparing herself for most likely the strongest strike she could muster. If Seran couldn’t fend off this attack, it would be Leyla’s victory. If Seran survived, he would win.

“Let’s do this!”

Leyla swung her giant sword, aiming directly at Seran—

“…Yeah, just kidding!” Seran suddenly threw the sword he held in his hand.

“Wha…?!”

Leyla was caught completely off-guard by that. A swordsman casting away his sword was completely unthinkable. Seran should have no way of beating Leyla without his sword. And because of that, Leyla was frozen stiff. The sword that flew at her face she barely avoided but lost her balance in the process. She tried to get back up in time, but it was too late. Seran only needed a second.

“…”

“…”josei

As Leyla was still in a position to swing down her sword, Seran’s fist was right in front of her face, which may have even touched the tip of her nose, but that’s about as far as it went. Neither of them said a word, but Leyla was the first one to act.

“Why did you stop?” she complained.

With how things were resolved, she felt like she had been spared.

“I mean, I definitely can’t smash your teeth in. Even more so actually cutting you with a sword,” Seran acted like this was just common sense and moved away to declare the end of this battle.

Of course, Leyla wasn’t willing to accept that.

“Plus, even if I punched you, it wouldn’t really do much damage, right? Maybe a split lip at best.”

“What are you talking about? If you wanted to, you could have easily grabbed a knife. And then you could have finished the fight.”

“But then you would’ve swung your sword in a last-ditch effort, right? No matter how much I struggled, we’d end up with a draw.”

A draw—This was the conclusion of their fight.

“Are you not…here to win?”

“Hm? We can redo this fight another time, so I can just beat you then. What I’m most interested in is strength. I don’t care if I lose as long as I’m stronger than the other.”

As a mother, as well as a teacher, there were many things that Leyla wanted to tell this boy, but since she got one point taken from her, she couldn’t say another word. Seran would never choose his options when it came to battle, and he didn’t care if others called him a coward. This was Seran’s strength, his unwavering determination, allowing him to grow stronger with every fight. He was only obstinate about winning or losing when it came to his battles with Kyle. Anything else didn’t matter.

“Plus, I can’t exactly remove you from the picture…now that Kyle killed off Cordi.”

“Say what?!”

Judging from that reaction, Leyla genuinely didn’t know about what happened to Cordi.

“About that…” Seran explained what happened, leaving Leyla dumbfounded.

“Cordi…You utter fool.”

She seemingly had known Cordi for a long time, as she showed a glimmer of sadness in her voice.

“I bet that Radain guy’s gonna have a lot of fun cleaning up.”

Since Kyle left Cordi’s body right then and there, the followers of Cairys cleaning up the temple must be in utter shock.

“But…hold on. I didn’t get any report of that…What happened to Maria and Milia…?”

“They were connected to Cordi. Seems like they were stuck between two sides.”

Hearing that, Leyla held her head in her hands, seemingly realizing that there was some truth to it.

“Anyway, with Cordi outta the picture, I’m gonna have to ask you to take care of the extremists. You can go wild, too.” Seran said with a smile, but Leyla only glared back at him.

“You should know better than anybody else that I’m not made for a role like that.”

“Of course I do. But what’s important is that you…Do it or don’t. Nothing more.”

“Ugh…” Leyla didn’t like being played by her own rules, but she couldn’t say anything back to him.

“Well, we’re gonna clear up the rest once Kyle gets back. It’ll be helpful for him down the line. He seems to be plotting something, too.”

Leyla finally was hit with a headache as she massaged her temple.

“Also, there’s something that’s been on my mind. You took me in when I was, what…four or five?”

“That sure came out of nowhere…So, what about it?”

“I don’t remember much about it, but the place we lived in had a temple or something like that.”

The bigger temples in this world even acted as orphanages to take up children without parents.

“I remember often getting scolded because I’d be a little brat…And one of the doctors said I was so weak, I probably won’t make it past my first year…right.”

“…”

“And yet, right as that conversation flared up, my condition suddenly improved drastically. Some said it was like a miracle by the gods. I vividly remember hearing that.”

“…What are you trying to say?”

“Nothing much? Just, using a miracle from an actual goddess to save a single brat…is a bit of a waste, no?”

“…I said I was regretting it. Why did you have to grow up with such a nasty personality anyway…”

With her secret out in the open, Leyla felt bashful and tried to hide her face.

“Thanks for everything, Mom.” Seran nonchalantly placed his hand on Leyla’s shoulder. “Anyway, just because your plan didn’t work doesn’t mean that Kyle’s gonna hit a wall.”

“Someone’s chill about all this…What if he loses?”

“There’s no way in hell he’d lose before me,” Seran said without a glimmer of hesitation.

Leyla looked up at the ceiling.

“You two sure are close, huh?”