Academy’s Genius Swordsman

“···Abel?”

Cain spoke without realizing it. The boy in front of him looked so much like him that one could believe they were twins. The boy, who was sniffing, grabbed Cain’s sleeve and said,

“Brother. I’m cold.”

“What’s this··· No, wait a moment···!”

Cain hurriedly removed his outer coat and draped it over the boy. He didn’t know what was happening, but he couldn’t ignore a child thrown into this cold. The boy, wearing the coat, flapped the remaining sleeves and said,

“This coat is so big··· sniff. And it’s still cold.”

“Y-yes. Just hang on a little. I’ll warm you up soon.”

Strangely, even though he had taken off his coat, Cain didn’t feel the cold. He took the boy’s hand and settled in a ruin that still had walls and a roof to act as a windbreak.

He built a fire using the debris and whale oil. The boy, sitting across from Cain with the fire between them, grinned.

“It’s nothing··· But let me ask you one thing.”

“Yeah?”

“···Who are you?”

Cain asked. It was too big an issue to gloss over. The boy, who was cupping his hands to blow warm breath on them, tilted his head.

“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”

“Just answer me. Do you··· know my name?”

“You’re being really strange today. It’s Cain.”

“······!”

Cain’s eyes widened in shock. He hadn’t told the boy his name yet. Everything was becoming increasingly confusing.

“Then, what’s your name?”

“Abel. Brother. Are you really okay?”

“How··· then what about mom? What’s dad’s name?!”

Cain stood up in agitation. The frightened boy shrank back. He answered Cain’s trembling questions without missing a beat. Cain, stepping back slowly, muttered to himself.

“This··· this doesn’t make any sense.”

“I-I’m scared, brother··· I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“No. Something is wrong···!”

His head was spinning. The pain had gone, but a new sensation enveloped his body. It felt like something other than blood was flowing through his veins. Cain, who had washed his face several times, burst out of the ruin and ran.

“No!”

“Brother! Where are you going?!”

The boy shouted, but Cain didn’t answer. The brilliant starlight was still pouring down from above. He started running toward the pit where he had fallen.

‘Since I fell into that pit.’

Cain’s thoughts were racing hundreds of times faster than usual. He concluded that the mysterious events happening to him all started after he fell into the giant’s blood. Even the thought of wanting to go back before drowning.

The pit was still yawning open in the center of the village. Cain stopped in front of it. Despite having run with all his strength, he wasn’t out of breath.

‘I want to go there once more.’

Cain closed his eyes, repeating this thought. It was the same process as when he returned to the village. Soon, the sound of the wind diminished. When he opened his eyes three seconds later, he drew a shaky breath.

“···My God.”

Cain had entered the pit he had fallen into. The giant was still stuck in the ice wall. The blue blood was still steaming and bubbling like hot spring water.

‘I got what I wished for.’

He felt like he understood something. Cain wished again to return to the village. This time, he did not close his eyes. The surrounding scenery twisted as if it were breaking apart, and the ruined village unfolded before him.

As he imagined the pit again, he returned to his original standing place. When he wished for a fishing rod, this time a fishing rod that matched what he had pictured appeared in the air. Cain, who had reached a conclusion, clenched his fists.

“With this ability, I can also···!”

Even while doing it, he couldn’t believe it. His wish was being fulfilled exactly. The boy claiming to be Abel was surely a manifestation of his wish to see his younger brother.

There was no need to hesitate any longer. Taking a deep breath, Cain pictured the restored village and his parents welcoming him warmly. The moment he opened his eyes.

“Indeed···!”

He was standing in the middle of a perfectly intact village. Tears streamed down Cain’s cheeks, overwhelmed with emotion. The huge pit had completely disappeared, and familiar streets and buildings had replaced it.

“Mom! Dad!”

The strange child who claimed to be his younger brother was long erased from his mind. Cain ran to his house without even thinking about wiping his tears. His father would probably tease him for crying like a grown man, but that didn’t matter at all.

From now on, he would never lie again. Whenever he felt the urge to say something like “I love you” or “I like you,” he would say it immediately. Bang! Cain threw open the door to his house. His eyes widened.

“···Huh?”

There was no one inside the building. The spear his father used, the rocking chair where his mother used to sit, even the firewood burning in the fireplace were all still there, but his parents were nowhere to be seen.

“Th-this can’t be···?”

Noticing the eerie silence, Cain went outside. There were no passersby, no sled dogs or reindeer that added life to the village.

Even after checking each house, none of them had people inside. A terrifying thought crossed Cain’s mind.

‘Could it be that dead people can’t be revived?’

His breath grew ragged and cold sweat broke out. It couldn’t be. Such a thing must not happen. The casual words about going fishing should not have been his last conversation with his family.

‘That’s it. There isn’t enough blood.’

Cain, gasping for breath, snapped his fingers. He immediately used his wish to return to the pit. Kneeling down, he whispered softly.

“Wait. I’ll save you.”

Cain scooped up the giant’s blood with both hands. The liquid shimmering inside his palms glowed with a color that did not exist on the surface. Taking a sip, a searing pain as if his throat were on fire washed over him.

“Ugh···!”

It was different from the time he had unconsciously drunk it. But he couldn’t stop. He started gulping it down, pressing his face into the blood.

With each gulp of the giant’s blood that passed his throat, his senses became more acute. Cain, who drank until he could no longer, closed his eyes and prayed.

Please, return them.

“···In the end, it didn’t work.”

Ronan said. The savior, who had been talking eagerly, suddenly fell silent. Behind his sunset-colored eyes, the scenery of that day, where everything began and ended, was being replayed.

The empty house despite countless prayers. The indescribable taste of blue blood. In the end, a boy, sitting at the edge of a village where only the buildings were intact, was crying out in despair. The savior nodded.

“Yes. No matter how much you try, it doesn’t work. Reviving the dead.”

“Damn it. Then what about that Abel guy? He died but appeared alive.”

“I don’t know that either. Although I’ve lived for countless ages, Abel is the only one who has been resurrected by this power.”

The savior twisted his lips. He had ultimately accepted Abel as his younger brother.

Although he knew that Abel was merely a suspicious child claiming to be his younger brother, Cain, who had lost everything, had no time to question such things.

“After that, I traveled the whole world with Abel. Until that day when I was stabbed in the back on the cliff. Looking back now, it was a long time spent together.”

“It sounds tiresome. Come to think of it, even if father drank the giant’s blood, how did that Abel fellow live for so long?”

“I don’t know. Abel did not age or fall ill like me. At some point, he suddenly started using the giant’s power. As if he were a doppelgänger born from my body.”

The savior explained that he did not know Abel’s true nature. Although past technological advancements had reached the peak in creating what was called ‘clones,’ they could not reproduce the original to this extent. Ronan raised his eyebrows.

“Couldn’t he have secretly drunk the giant’s blood himself?”

“No. Abel is not known to have done that. No one but you and I know. Although I was young back then, I was aware enough of the danger of this power.”

The savior said. He mentioned that he and everyone else, including Abel and Elcia, did not know about this place. It had been hidden in a very deep location, and he had maintained its secrecy because he wished not to be discovered.

No matter how many times one heard it, it was a fraudulent ability. Ronan suddenly had a question.

“Then why, with such an absurd ability, did you go through all that trouble to help people? Wouldn’t it have been enough to wish for peace without even having to create something like a cult?”

“Even though it seems omnipotent, it’s not exactly like that. There are clear limitations. It can neither kill nor revive beings, and if used excessively, it causes pain and leads to a long sleep—at least for several decades.”

The savior smiled wryly. He shared a story of how he had once used his power to preserve a nation that should have perished, only to fall into a sleep for nearly a hundred years. When he awoke, that nation had already been destroyed.

“Ha.”

Ronan gave a bitter laugh. Indeed, as powerful as it was, the side effects were severe. The savior continued speaking as he descended from Ronan’s back.

“And this is the power that Irell inherited from me.”

“Eh?”

“The power to fulfill one’s wishes. It’s one of the most powerful abilities I obtained from drinking the blood. Even Abel, who can mimic most of what I do, couldn’t replicate this power.”

The savior’s voice grew serious. Ronan’s eyes widened. Suddenly, a memory from the vision he had seen during the Haeju period flashed in his mind. The savior had poured far more curses into Irell than he had into himself.

“So that’s why you cursed my sister too.”

“Yes. To keep it hidden from Abel, and also to prevent her from unknowingly using the wish power and shortening her lifespan. But even with twenty curses placed to suppress it, it still had some influence on the surroundings.”

The savior reminisced. He declared that the reason Irell had experienced no mishaps while growing up was due to her abilities.

Kind-hearted Irell wished for the goodness and peace of people, and her wishes were fulfilled. Before Ronan got seriously involved with Nebula Clazia and became entangled in fate.

“Then that son of a bitch who kidnapped my sister···!”

“Yes. He must have noticed the power of my daughter. He will surely try to use it to achieve his vile goals.”

The savior’s voice lowered. Ronan almost grabbed his sword hilt at the sudden surge of hostility. His previously relaxed expression was nowhere to be seen on his tense forehead.

“Foolish younger siblings always present themselves as evolution and opening new horizons. But to put it simply···”

The savior trailed off. The true nature of the ‘Descent of the Stars’ that Ronan had encountered countless times while dealing with Nebula Clazia was about to be revealed. Finally, he spoke.

“It’s to kill everyone living on this planet and absorb them into the giants. Their souls, inside their bodies.”