The Laughing Swordsman

For a moment, nobody suspected anything when Apollo's hand swung through the air. That was when a loud bang resounded within the dojo. A wind blade had shot out, before embedding itself into the wall.

It formed a very large gash along with surrounding cracks, a testament to how strong the strike was. Everybody looked towards this crack, speechless.

Silence hung in the air, but only for just a moment.

People began freaking out one after another.

"How... How is this possible? What level of swordsmanship is this?"

"The peak of swordsmanship is far greater than any of us imagined!"

"I want to do that too! How do I do that? You have to teach us!"

Eden held the wooden figurine closer to herself, as though it would somehow protect her. Although she knew there was a large gap between her and Apollo, seeing it so clearly in front of her...

Well, Eden was insecure.

She didn't think any of her qualities were redeeming enough to even be near him. Eden began to feel ashamed for insisting on holding Apollo.

How could she have that kind of audacity?

As for Suki, her eyes boggled. Originally, she only wished to improve her swordsmanship because it was fun. Yet, that all suddenly changed when Suki noticed the devastation of Apollo's strike.

She wanted to do that.

It opened Suki's eyes as to what a technique meant. More than a new way to attack, it also meant power.

Overwhelming power.

Suki anxiously stood up from the bench. Her legs trembled slightly before giving out entirely, making her collapse. However, Suki still reached out to Apollo.

"Please... please teach me how to do that!"

Apollo tilted his head to the side, confused as to why everyone was asking that.

"But I already taught you how to do it! You swing your hand."

As though he wanted to prove a point, he raised his hand before bringing it down on the wooden stage.

Another deafening bang rang out. The wooden platform cracked in two, split apart by Apollo's strike.

The crowd got even louder.

"But that doesn't tell us anything!"

"Please explain it to us with proper swordsmanship terms!"

"There has to be something more to just saying to swing with my hand, right?"

Apollo tilted his head to the side.

"But I fully explained it all to you already."

Several groans of disappointment came from the crowd. They continued to complain, all desperately wanting to be taught the technique. As for Apollo, he truly did believe that he taught the others. This was his version of 'fully explained'.

Suki furrowed her brows. For a moment, she got angry.

From how Suki saw it, Apollo had no intention of teaching them. He just wanted to show off. After all, Suki went through so much work to explain what the terms meant, but he used none of them!

She began thinking, what else could Apollo's intentions possibly have been?

Suddenly, Suki's eyes widened.

What if Apollo was trying to tell them all something?

Clearly, he had no intention of explaining his form, as even when he should've had the vocabulary, Apollo just continued to say, 'swing the sword'.

Suki closed her eyes tightly.

Time and time again, he just emphasized that one point. But why?

If Apollo was able to refine his swordsmanship to that extent, there was no way he was dumb, right?

That meant there had to be a meaning behind it.

Suki felt enlightened.

Apollo must've described how he grew and became a swordsman. He swung the sword.

In other words, he practiced.

Forms and techniques are all great, but they are inevitably more suitable for different people. In the end, none of the ones made for the general public won't be fully optimized for the individual.

There was no way to account for the body size or flexibility.

That must've been why Apollo said all those things. It was because he couldn't teach others how to be a swordsman, as the very peak was a path one had to discover by themselves.

Suki let out a soft sigh and crawled back onto the bench. She no longer desperately cried out among the others in the crowd. Instead, she closed her eyes and meditated.

In Suki's heart, she exclaimed how much of a genius Apollo was.

...Though that wasn't Apollo's thought process at all. Frankly, he was trying to explain his form and technique. However, the way he did so was just far too vague for anybody to understand.

Eden had been paying attention to Suki from the corner of her eye. As such, she ended up noticing the change within her. Eden made her way over to Suki to ask her a question.

"Do you... understand?"

Suki nodded enthusiastically and began to whisper.

"Apollo is sending a message, but you have to decipher it. Only those that can somewhat follow his genius will be able to understand his teachings!"

Eden blinked a few times.

"I-It's like that?"

Suki nodded.

"Yes! He is trying to tell us that to rise to the peak of swordsmanship, we have to practice ourselves, without any forms. By being formless, we slowly create an optimized way to attack, a form specifically for oneself!"

Eden gasped then looked at the floor.

"I... I didn't think of that at all!"

Suki chuckled.

"That's because his message truly was too cryptic! There seems to be meaning in everything he does."

Eden remained silent for a moment.

"Then what does it mean if he gave me this wooden carving?"

She slowly turned over the wooden figurine in her hand, inspecting it.

"I-Is it a parting gift?"

Suki tilted her head to the side.

"I don't know the context. Maybe you should ask him?"

Eden looked up to Apollo who was still trying to teach in his own unique way. She walked up to the wooden stage, ready to ask a question.

But that was when several armored guards burst into the room.

"Get away from the fallen angel!"