A Knight Who Eternally Regresses

The Will of Rejection, awakened thanks to a crazed shepherd’s sword.

The Will of Acceleration, obtained through the pursuit of speed.

The Will of the Pressing Blade, derived from the weight of intimidation.

Enkrid forged his own path, awakening his Will as he progressed.

And in doing so, he naturally examined the road he had walked and envisioned the one ahead.

The Pressing Blade was a greatsword, while the Momentary Blade was a swift blade.

The Will of Rejection was a method of steadying the mind. There was also a technique that, though not imbued with Will, was called the Serpent Blade—a counterattack that was soft yet did not turn steel into cotton.

And now.

He had seen and faced the sword of a man who severed the flow.

It was not a mindless fight driven by exhilaration. He had observed everything. He had taken the blows, experiencing it firsthand.

He had learned through recollection.

What was the secret behind the sword that severed the flow?

It was the eyes.

The man’s Will resided in his sight.

By seeing, grasping, and judging, he could sever the flow.

Thus, it was impossible to sever the flow of someone superior to oneself. It was an incomplete technique.

Enkrid had also observed the Iron Wall technique used by Rearvart before his transformation.

An absolute defense relying on shield and armor.

It was a technique designed to wear down the opponent through prolonged battle.

What was its core?

Was it endurance? The power to hold firm by training the body’s center? Steadfast legs?

There was only one key factor.

Persistence.

It was the Will of Endurance.

Among all the techniques Enkrid had seen, it was the one that sustained Will for the longest duration.

The Iron Wall Defense was a technique that placed the power known as Will at the body’s core to endure.

Sight and persistence.

He had grasped them, reviewed them, and understood them.

Now, he would mix in the essence of attack. He would incorporate the sharpness of intuition, opening the gate to heightened perception.

In truth, what he was attempting was to allow Will to permeate the Capturing Blade technique.

And he knew why it was possible.

He had already experienced it. He had already done it.

It was during his fight against the centaur leader who wielded a glaive.

His heightened senses had run rampant, drawing upon countless experiences to predict his opponent’s movements. His sharpened perception had foreseen attacks, allowing him to dodge and parry.

Accumulated experience had led to enlightenment.

The moment when determination became willpower, shining brightly, altering reality.

The moment when the intangible force known as Will manifested into reality.

Enkrid’s gaze took in his opponent’s entire body—the shifting of muscles, the movements of fingers, the direction of their feet, the changes in breathing, even the way airborne dust altered the air.

His senses flared wildly. For an ordinary person, it would have been an overwhelming flood of information, enough to shatter their mind.

Enkrid filtered and accepted only what was necessary.

This was a skill made possible by the countless deaths he had endured through repetition.