Chapter 15
She swings. She cuts. She pierces. And she kills.
It was an act she had repeated countless times in her third life.
Unlike her first and second lives, the world where Erin was reincarnated for the third time was one where she could not survive without killing.
In that world, fighting monsters was a daily occurrence. It was a world overflowing with monsters, devoid of order and law.
In this world, killing was still a choice—but in that place, one had to kill in order to live.
Even children and the elderly picked up swords. However, few were truly capable of handling monsters properly.
As in this place, those who could fight monsters were called knights.
And in that world, Erin was the strongest knight of all.
The fact that Amon and the princess were not present felt like wings had been given to her instead.
Erin was defeating monsters at an astonishing speed. There was not a single wasted motion in her sword swings.
If there had been even one person nearby trained in swordsmanship, they would have been speechless at her technique.
Wherever her sword passed, the corpses of monsters piled up.
Erin did not avoid the monster blood splattering onto her body. Even though she easily could have.
Because of that, she was drenched from head to toe.
Behind monsters that died without even a sound, more creatures with all kinds of appearances continued to pour in endlessly.
Some had two heads, some resembled beasts, and others even looked somewhat like humans.
A faint aura of mana clung to the sword cutting through them all.
The cheap iron sword should have been nothing more than scrap metal, but the moment her mana flowed into it, it released a sharpness surpassing any legendary blade.
Once one became an upper-rank knight, they could handle small groups of mid-level monsters mixed in.
But the horde Erin was facing now consisted of dozens of monsters, including high-level ones that ordinary humans could not even dare to face.
Facing such a horde alone was something only a Sword Master could do.
However, Erin had once seen the pinnacle of the sword in her third life.
Sword Master. Only three existed in the entire empire. Even across the continent, their number did not exceed ten.
It was the realm that every student of the Swordsmanship Department at Atens Academy, known for its overflowing talent, aspired to reach.
But only a very small number of geniuses could ever break through that towering wall and become Sword Masters.
And that was the achievement she had once attained.
Erin’s palm split open under the immense pressure. It was what happened when her body could not withstand the realization of that level.
Her entire body screamed in pain. She likely wouldn’t be able to move properly for a while after today.
“If Caleon sees this, he’ll start nagging again.”
She imagined her younger brother endlessly lecturing her.
Strangely enough, she did not hate that.
She clearly remembered how devastated Caleon had been when he lost one arm in her past life.
If enduring his nagging meant she could protect his future, she was willing to bear it.
The last monster.
Her sword pierced straight through its head. Blood ran down her arm.
With this, she had changed one of her greatest regrets from her past lives. The princess had survived, and Caleon’s arm was safe.
Wiping her bloodied hand carelessly on her clothes, Erin collapsed to the ground.
It felt as though something that had been tightly bound in her chest for decades was finally unraveling.
She covered her mouth and cried silently.
An emotion that had tormented her across all three lives.
Guilt.
The moment Amon spoke, Ferdin mobilized the troops. The entire subjugation unit began searching for Erin.
The knights were tense upon hearing Ferdin’s report that a monster horde had appeared.
Moreover, the order Ferdin had given was to find “Erin Lysers,” who was supposedly fighting the monster horde.
Naturally, complaints arose among the knights.
“Find Erin Lysers? If a monster horde appeared, shouldn’t we be running away right now?”
“We don’t even know the scale, but abandoning her would be the right choice…”
“What difference does it make if that villainess disappears? No, frankly, I don’t even believe she’s fighting monsters.”
“Honestly, it might be better if she just dies there.”
The knight who said that chuckled as if amused by his own words.
Another knight spoke with a hardened expression.
“Isn’t this her own fault? She provoked Sir Amon like that.”
“You don’t understand what kind of person Sir Amon is. He’s a promising future Sword Master. How could she speak to him like that? A lady raised in a noble house wouldn’t understand.”
“Exactly. She must have acted arrogantly because she doesn’t know his worth.”
Among the knights were many who had recently graduated from the academy.
Like the students of the swordsmanship department, they all disliked Erin. So they believed the duel between Erin and Amon had been entirely her fault.
A faint sense of unease hung in the forest. As the moon was covered by clouds, the surroundings grew darker.
The young knights lacked real combat experience, so facing a monster horde would be difficult for them.
And yet they were being told to search for Erin instead of avoiding the monsters.
Complaints were inevitable.
If Erin Lysers had never come to the Swordsmanship Department, none of this would have happened.
They all agreed that it would be better for that useless villainess to simply die to the monster horde.
“…Don’t you think it’s strange? It’s too quiet.”
At one knight’s words, others began to feel it too.
It was unnatural for a forest where a monster horde had appeared to be so silent.
Normally, such places would be filled with eerie sounds, especially since monsters grew stronger at night.
At that moment, a chilling aura raised the hairs on their necks.
“…This feeling… I’ve felt it before…”
The knight realized where he had felt it.
It was the same pressure he had once felt from the Sword Master Roman of the Kingdom of Edwin.
The overwhelming presence of a being who had surpassed human limits.
Whenever such a being slaughtered monsters, this kind of aura remained behind.
“Gah!”
A scream shattered the silence.
The knight at the front turned back with a pale face.
“M-monsters…”
He pointed ahead.
There were piles of monster corpses.
It was a grotesque sight beyond description.
Even high-level monsters known only by name were there.
One knight staggered back and fell, then crawled away in fear.
The monsters were already dead—but instinctive terror remained.
The lingering aura made them imagine what would have happened if they had encountered whoever did this.
Then who killed them all?
Could it have been a Sword Master passing by by coincidence?
But who?
The knights all knew where every existing master was stationed.
They were positioned across key battlefields.
Normally, no master would come to this forest.
“Unbelievable… look at this.”
One knight crouched down, examining the bodies.
The cuts were incredibly clean. Just by the traces, it was clear how overwhelming the skill of the attacker was.
Despite their fear, the knights felt awe.
Most knights respected Sword Masters.
They knew better than anyone what it meant to reach that level.
Not everyone who tries can reach it.
So it was only natural they would be shaken by the results left by an unknown master.
“It’s incredible. Whoever did this… it gives me chills.”
“Where could such a knight have been hiding?”
“To slaughter this many monsters… I can’t even estimate their level.”
They continued to admire the scene.
“We must report this immediately! A hidden Sword Master may have appeared!”
One knight stood up, speaking urgently.
By now, Erin Lysers had completely disappeared from their minds.
Erin walked forward.
With every step she took, blood dripped to the ground.
She knew it was monster blood, but she couldn’t help feeling disgusted.
Just then, the rain began to fall, washing the red from her hair back to its original color.
Erin stared blankly at the red droplets falling from her body.
They looked disturbingly similar to the blood of those who had died because of her.
With every drop that fell, it felt as though something in her heart was being crushed as well.
