I Returned with the Cheat Holy Sword

Gray and Panhyma were both the twisted, stubborn type—but if nothing else, they had one thing in common:
If someone pissed them off, they never let it slide.

They’d done it so many times before that measuring each other’s capabilities happened as naturally as breathing.
Which meant they quickly came to an unspoken agreement: if they were really going to throw down, they’d need to move somewhere with no one else around.
“Young lady… are you really going to fight?”

Carlyle asked with concern, but Gray only shot him a cold glare before turning her head away sharply.
As if to say: you’re next.
…No matter what I say, she’s not going to listen, is she.

[Of course not.]
Once she got this worked up, trying to explain things would just make her even angrier.
[Let it be. We need to assess Panhyma’s current skill level anyway.]

Fair point.
She was destined to become the Sword Saint in the future, but they didn’t yet know how far along she was now.
And [N O V E L I G H T] her opponent was Gray—couldn’t ask for a better gauge.

…One of them’s going to get hurt.
[Don’t worry about that.]
The Holy Sword snorted.

[If she feels like someone’s taking what’s hers, she’ll want to make them suffer slowly—teach them their place. Not hurt them seriously. She won’t even use her full power. She’ll want to play fair… so she can win on equal terms.]
…
[…Not me, mind you. Just saying that’s what the me over there is probably thinking.]

Ah. Got it.
Carlyle was still never quite ready for how brutally honest this person was about herself.
Anyway.
He turned to watch as Gray and Panhyma faced off across the training grounds, blades drawn.

And then—
-!
Without a word, Gray’s sword shot forward.

No greetings. No formality. Just a straight, immediate strike.
The Holy Sword clashed with Panhyma’s dao, sending sparks flying in every direction.
When Panhyma parried the blow without so much as flinching, Gray’s brow twitched.

“…So you don’t even know the basic etiquette. Barbarians, I swear.”
Not only had this woman deflected a Hero’s attack, she even clicked her tongue and muttered under her breath.
Sure, Gray hadn’t gone all-out, but for someone to block that so effortlessly… clearly not a normal opponent.

“Guess you’re not just all bark.”
With a scoff, Gray’s mana began to surge.
“Draw your power too. Even if you can’t understand me, you get what I mean, right?”

She smirked.
“Let’s do this fair and square. I’ll fight exactly at your level.”
“Strange technique, that,” Panhyma muttered.

And then, radiant light erupted from her body as well.
[Chi. Haven’t seen that in a while.]
A foreign power from the Far East.

Like mana, it enhanced the user’s physical abilities and served as the basis for other techniques—but the path was different.
Its attack and defense effects were similar, but the nuances varied.
Mana leaned into brute-force aggression, while chi emphasized smooth redirection and counters.

…Which probably explained what was about to happen.
-!!
Gray and Panhyma collided.

Two superhumans, both drawing on supernatural power—far beyond the range of normal eyes to follow.
The clash of their blades looked more like streaks of light weaving through the air than a sword fight.
And as the thunderous impacts and flying sparks continued, one truth became increasingly clear.

“No way.”
Vespa, who had come to spectate just in case, gasped beside him with her hands over her mouth.
“This is the first time I’ve ever seen someone fight the young lady on equal terms…!”

Even if Gray was holding back a huge portion of her mana output, still—
She was the strongest human alive.
And yet—

In terms of technique, Panhyma was going toe to toe.
She was absorbing Gray’s beastlike onslaught with fluid redirection.
Their styles were just that incompatible—but still, it was a breathtaking sight.

But—
…Well, it makes sense.
Carlyle nodded quietly to himself.

She’s the future Sword Saint, after all.
Even the Hero—who could summon a pillar of mana into the sky with a single swing—had trusted her completely as a frontline vanguard.
So it wasn’t too shocking that she’d reached this level at such a young age.

She’s already good enough to pull her weight anywhere.
[More than just “pull her weight.” I doubt many professional knights could even keep up with her.]
And of course, there was one person in the world who hated that.

“……”
Gray stared silently at Panhyma, her expression stiff.
She clearly hadn’t expected her to keep up this well.

“…Hmm.”
Panhyma’s face, too, had tightened with tension.
“I apologize. I didn’t expect that even among Western barbarians, someone could match my blade.”

“…Not that I can understand a word of what you’re saying. What’re you babbling about?”
“Amazing skill. I assumed anyone bold enough to harass my comrade must also fight like a rat.”
She gestured with her blade—pointing it at Carlyle.

Probably just a natural motion in the middle of her speech.
But—
“……”

The instant she pointed at Carlyle, Gray’s face went cold.
“…Ah, right. I forgot for a second. You’re the reason we’re fighting in the first place.”
She growled.

And with that—
Her mana exploded outward.
Now she was serious.

In a blur far faster than before, she lunged at Panhyma.
She reached her in an instant, fingers closing around the hilt of the Holy Sword.
“!”

Panhyma reacted, raising her dao—but Gray was faster.
She stomped the ground, shattering the stone beneath her, and dust and shards exploded upward.
“Try handling this—!”

With that, she scooped up a handful of gravel and flung it directly at Panhyma’s face.
“-?!”
Caught off guard, Panhyma instinctively leapt backward.

She still managed to counter, swinging her dao at Gray’s face—but—
Gray caught the blade.
…With her teeth.

“……”
“……”
“……”

Not just Panhyma.
Carlyle and Vespa, watching from afar, both fell silent too.
There were too many insane details in this scene to know where to focus.

Should they be shocked that a Hero was using dirty tricks like a back-alley thug?
Or should they be impressed that she caught a flying weapon with her teeth?
“--!”

And then—
Before Panhyma could react further, the blade caught in Gray’s mouth shattered into pieces.
Panhyma’s eyes flew wide in disbelief.

“What the—”
She barely got a word out before Gray seized her by the shoulder and smashed their foreheads together.
CRACK.

Panhyma’s head snapped backward.
She crumpled like a puppet, collapsing to the ground.
“Don’t fuck with me, you nobodyyyyyyy—!”

“……”
“……”
Carlyle and Vespa fell silent again as Gray shrieked triumphantly.

…She is a Hero, right?
What happened to “fair and square”…?
***

Fortunately, once Panhyma went down, Carlyle was spared the full brunt of Gray’s rage.
Sior had arrived just in time—having rushed over upon hearing about the fight—and calmly explained the situation.
“That was my idea, actually.”

“…What?”
“I told her to stick close to you. Help her adapt. She didn’t like it, so I forced it on her.”
“……”

“You really shouldn’t beat people up without understanding the situation first. Okay?”
“……”
Watching Gray, speechless for once, was a rare and precious sight.

Thanks to the headmaster, the misunderstanding was cleared—but Gray still looked sulky as ever.
She stomped silently ahead of them on the walk back to the dorms after dropping Panhyma off at the infirmary.
“…Young lady?”

“……”
Carlyle spoke cautiously, but got no reply.
“Give me your arm.”

“…What, like, cut it off?”
“…What the hell are you talking about? Just give it to me.”
…Honestly, with her, that was a valid question.

Whatever this was about, Carlyle obeyed.
He held out his arm—and Gray grabbed it and pulled it tightly against her chest.
“……”

“……”
Silence.
What the hell is she doing?

He thought maybe she was going to throw him with jujutsu or something—but no.
She just stood there holding him like that.
And then glanced at him, trying to gauge his reaction.

“……”
“……”
He had no idea how to respond.

“…Why aren’t you reacting?”
“…Huh?”
“……”

“Young lady?”
“…Tch.”
Clearly fuming, Gray shoved his arm away and stormed off ahead.

[……Haaaaaaaahhhhhh……]
The Holy Sword let out a soul-deep sigh.
What?

[……………Haaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh……]
“…Okay.”
Whatever. Might as well cheer her up.

He had a secret weapon.
“Would you like to go get some sweets, young lady?”
“……”

She followed.
Even with her rage maxed out, that always worked. It was practically a cheat code.
Carlyle carefully scanned the dessert menu.

He had to choose wisely. One misstep and he’d be nursing broken bones.
Meanwhile, Gray stared at the shop’s displays and muttered:
“…Do you like big ones?”

Still scanning the menu, Carlyle answered.
“Isn’t bigger always better?”
If you’re going to eat, might as well go big. Especially for Gray—who loved sweets. Definitely full-size only—

-!
Gray smacked him hard across the back.
Even the shop clerk flinched in alarm.

“……”
Yeah, that definitely broke at least two ribs.
Back to the infirmary, then.

Carlyle coughed up blood.
Right. Time to switch gears.
“…But small ones have their own charm too.”

“……”
“I actually like the small ones a lot.”
He wasn’t saying it out of sincerity—he just wanted to survive.

But he saw the corner of Gray’s mouth twitch.
“…Really?”
“…?”

Her tone was way softer than before, and Carlyle tilted his head in confusion.
Was she… dieting?
He didn’t get it, but—

…Whatever. As long as she’s in a better mood, it’s all good.
At least this crisis was over.