Chapter 396: A Master of Art!
Luke could not quite understand the situation.
He knew Sara wanted to paint him, so it made sense that she had brought art supplies. It was also obvious that she had used her ability to enter through the neighboring room.
But… why had she already started painting?!
'Seriously, doesn't this girl feel any embarrassment?'
Luke glanced helplessly at Edelweiss, who was lying beneath him. He suppressed the urge to get out of bed and use a "memory erasure method" (physical) on Sara.
The only reason he hadn't already drawn his sword and slashed her was that Sara was a girl—and an acquaintance of Edelweiss.
However, before he could get off the bed, Sara noticed the slight movement of his body.
Sitting on the chair she had brought, Sara was laying the foundation on the canvas before her. She immediately frowned and shouted unhappily,
"Don't move!"
"…?!"
Luke froze.
It was not because Sara had intimidated him, but because he felt the aura that appeared alongside her shout.
This was not the first time Luke had encountered such a heavy presence.
Excluding himself, he had felt something similar from only two people—God of War Nangou Torajirou and Twin-Wings Edelweiss.
It was the aura belonging to a true master.
Such pressure only began to form when someone had raised a particular skill to its absolute peak.
There was no need to explain Edelweiss. As someone standing at the summit of the world, her presence was terrifying, vast, and immeasurably deep.
As for God of War Nangou—or rather, Flawless Nangou—he had raised one particular sword style to its highest possible level.
That was also how he earned the title Flawless.
Luke only developed the beginnings of a master's presence after Fan Xinglu's guidance, nine years of refinement, and defeating Edelweiss, the peak of swordsmanship in this world.
The formation of this presence had nothing to do with strength. It was purely the result of technical skill undergoing a complete transformation.
Luke was still far from reaching the peak of his personal swordsmanship, so his master's aura had not truly formed.
The beginnings he possessed came from the many completed sword arts he had learned, such as Hiten-Mitsurugi-Ryu.
Although a master of art differed from masters of martial skill, their fundamental nature was identical.
Both could only possess such an aura after bringing a craft to its highest realm.
What shocked Luke most was not that Sara possessed a master's presence, but what that implied.
Since they walked different paths, Sara's aura could not suppress Luke. However, if another painter stood nearby, they might be so overwhelmed that they could not even lift their brush.
Luke had only ever seen this world-class presence and complete devotion to a craft in one other person.
Remembering a certain songstress and the foolish things he had done during his reckless youth, Luke's opinion of Sara improved considerably.
She changed from someone unreasonable and impossible to communicate with into someone he could understand.
People were sometimes like that. When you disliked someone, everything they did seemed irritating. Once you liked them, even their flaws became tolerable.
Luke still had no particular feelings toward Sara, but he no longer found her as unpleasant as before.
At the very least, he admired her complete dedication to her craft.
However, admiration was one thing. Luke still had no intention of letting her paint the scene as it was.
He slipped back into his bathrobe, grabbed another one to cover Edelweiss's graceful form, and then got off the bed and walked over to Sara.
"Why won't you let me paint?!"
Sara glared at Luke with puffed cheeks.
His refusal to cooperate made her extremely angry, but she did not dare attack him directly.
Sara was confident she could defeat Luke, but that required preparation and distance.
At their current range, Luke could restrain her in moments if they fought. Sara still possessed that much self-awareness.
Moreover, Sara didn't want to risk waking Edelweiss, who she believed had been drugged. As a member of the Rebellion, Sara knew all too well the terror of the Twin Wings.
Even without the use of her body, Edelweiss could manipulate Desperado Power to alter fate the moment she regained consciousness, instantly turning Luke into mincemeat.
This was a scenario Sara refused to accept. Luke had to live—absolutely!
At least until she finished that crucial painting, Luke had to survive. For that, Sara was willing to face the world's peak without fear!
Besides, a perfect subject like Edelweiss was hard to come by. When she was awake, she would never agree to let Sara paint her nude; this opportunity was truly once-in-a-lifetime.
To Sara, who viewed art as everything, the risk of being silenced afterward was irrelevant.
Of course, her most urgent priority was to capture the inspiration currently flooding her mind.
Such sudden bursts of inspiration were rare and fleeting. Theoretically, not a single second could be wasted.
That was why she was so furious at Luke for interfering now.
"Letting me paint one picture won't hurt you! Why are you resisting so much?!"
"It probably wouldn't hurt me, but I have no interest in letting some random girl paint an intimate portrait of me. So I refuse!"
Luke's firm rejection angered Sara, but she had no way to force him and needed to calm herself.
She could tell Luke was preparing to act.
Once a fight began, whether she was knocked unconscious, silenced, or Edelweiss woke up, every possible result was unacceptable to Sara.
Growing anxious, Sara immediately forced her mind to work. Her thoughts raced as she blurted out every condition she could imagine.
"I only want to paint one picture! It won't harm you, and I won't use mana to activate my ability. It will be ordinary painting!"
"M-My paintings have enormous collectible value, and they're extremely expensive!"
"Once I finish it, I can give it to you. Whether you keep it or sell it, you'll never lose anything!"
"And… and… my paintings are far more lifelike than high-definition photographs!"
"I can perfectly reproduce everything about a person, including their presence. I can even make it almost impossible to distinguish from reality!"
"J-Just think about it! Look at how delicate and beautiful Edelweiss-sama appears right now!"
"Don't you want to preserve this moment forever as a treasured memory?!"
As Sara finished her final sentence, Luke arrived before her.
Starfall Sword was already in his hand.
Then, he stopped.
…
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