The Laughing Swordsman

The Vanquisher's strike was slow at first but suddenly sped up.

Despite hitting nothing but air, the crack of a whip resounded.

A large gale of wind was stirred up, blowing aside the grass.

The Vanquisher retracted his arms and legs, standing up normally.

"Alright, now you try."

Layla nodded.

"Ok!"

Her fist started to accelerate slowly.

The Vanquisher's eyebrows raised. She was doing it perfectly? On her first try, no less.

Suddenly, in the middle of her strike, her fist expanded into a claw.

The Vanquisher's eyelid twitched.

"That's not how-"

He was interrupted by the sound of a thunderclap.

Layla's strike only shot out a gust of wind, but the ground underneath raised like it was forming a mountain.

Dirt scattered throughout the air and cracks formed in the grass.

Layla raised her hands in the air.

"Yay! I did it!"

The Vanquisher's jaw dropped.

"What the... how did you?"

Layla tilted her head to the side.

"Ah, it felt a little weird, so I changed it!"

The corner of The Vanquisher's lip twitched.

"I see..."

Normally, people would have to spend countless days practicing even the simplest techniques he made.

The fastest he had ever seen someone pick up his technique was in a day.

Yet, not only did Layla do it on the first try, she found a derivative of the technique.

The Vanquisher held his forehead with one hand.

"If you can do it that easily, why couldn't you just copy the instructions in the book?"

Layla put a finger on her chin.

"But I couldn't understand anything it said!"

The Vanquisher suppressed the migraine coming on.

"The only thing I did was do what the book said."

Layla flailed her arms around.

"And I am telling you, I can't understand what it said!"

The Vanquisher sighed.

"Alright, alright."

He turned to Apollo.

"I imagine you can understand, no?"

The Vanquisher made that assumption after seeing Apollo's skill with the sword. He assumed Apollo had gone through rigorous training and comprehended many books for the sword.

So when Apollo turned to him with an awkward smile, he felt his heart drop.

"Um... I don't get anything."

The Vanquisher pressed his fingers firmly on his forehead. The migraine he was trying to suppress was released like a raging flame.

"...Seriously?"

Apollo scratched the side of his head.

"Yeah..."

The Vanquisher sighed.

"I suppose I can show one technique for each of you."

He raised a palm.

"But! The rest must be learned through the book."

Layla pouted.

"Whatttt? There's no way I will be able to understand!"

The Vanquisher frowned.

"I worked hard on those books! You're going to read them!"

Layla hummed with dissatisfaction.

"Ok..."

The Vanquisher sighed.

"Anyways... watch me."

Apollo nodded.

"Yes!"

The Vanquisher held his palm out as though it were a sword.

He slowly pointed it towards the sky.

Without warning, he swung it down.

Apollo's eyes widened. He caught a minute action within The Vanquisher's swing.

While his arm moved, his hand suddenly twitched forward.

There was a soft whistle.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a deep line formed on the ground. It stretched for five meters across the plain.

The Vanquisher retracted his palm, putting it behind his back.

"The problem with your wind blade is the lack of speed. Although it is not slow, beyond a certain distance, it becomes too simple to dodge."

He shrugged his shoulders.

"At that point, the range of your blade becomes pointless. This technique sacrifices this unnecessary range to reach speeds on par with lightning."

The Vanquisher smirked smugly.

"The wind blade is so fast, few will realize they have been cut in the first place. The only problem is that few can actually perform this technique because of the precision required."

He chuckled.

"You see, improperly changing the speed can make your blade less powerful if it's too late. While if it is too early, the speed will be-"

The Vanquisher was cut off by the sound of crackling thunder.

A tiny ravine formed in front of Apollo, extending roughly seven meters away.

The Vanquisher choked on his breath.

"Gah... what?... You, you..."

He took a deep breath to compose himself.

"You also created a derivative?"

Apollo tilted his head to the side.

"A what?"

In reality, Apollo wasn't trying to create any derivative. However, since the demonstration was done using a palm, he had to improvise.

In the middle of his swing, he pressed his thumb against the hilt of his bokken. This imitated the sudden acceleration of The Vanquisher's strike but did so more violently.

The corner of The Vanquisher's mouth twitched.

"...Please leave my realm."

Layla pouted.

"Ehhh? But it was so fun playing with you!"

Apollo nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah! I learned so much!"

The Vanquisher cleared his throat.

"...You must leave as there is a mandatory... cleaning I must do."

Layla tilted her head to the side.

"What is that?"

The Vanquisher's eyelid twitched.

"Nothing! Just leave!"

In reality, there was nothing he had to do. He was just too embarrassed by the fact two kids so easily improved on his life's work. For the sake of his pride, he wanted to be alone for now.

Layla pouted.

"Ok..."

Apollo handed back the book with his lips pressed together.

The Vanquisher held out his palm, gesturing to stop.

"No need to return the books. Keep them with you. Some day, you may learn something from them."

Layla giggled.

"Thanks!"

She continued rubbing her cheek against the cover of the book.

The Vanquisher sighed.

They would read the books... right?

Layla tore open the space and wrapped her arm around Apollo's waist.

She waved her hand in the air with a smile on her face.

"Bye, Vanquisher!"

Apollo also enthusiastically waved.

"Bye, bye!"

The Vanquisher smiled.

He held his palm at chest level and leisurely waved it.

"See you..."

Layla jumped into the torn space, taking Apollo with her. It sealed up right after they left.

The Vanquisher furrowed his brows.

"Ah, I forgot to ask for their names."

He laughed to himself.

"Well..."

The Vanquisher looked towards the sky.

"If fate allows it, we will meet again soon."