Her ability to resurrect monsters meant that once she finished taming the ghosts from the Great Dungeon, the city would effectively have an army of powerful undead guardians.
Then there was Avery’s bond.
According to her, the land where she had formed the bond still allowed her powers to function even while she was inside the Trial. That meant she had already set up something close to an automatic defense system.
On top of that, Isaac had recently allied with the Solkara race.
They were not weak.
Catherine was also there.
And several trained troops were stationed across Isaac’s territory.
When he thought about it carefully, the city was probably stronger now than it had ever been.
’There’s also the Seventh Queen.’
The strange woman had clearly shown interest in Isaac before he entered the Trial.
She seemed to want him as an ally.
If something truly dangerous happened to Isaac’s territory, there was a real possibility she might interfere.
Isaac slowly lowered his hand from his temple.
’Yeah... things will probably be fine outside. So I should focus here.’
For now, the only thing that mattered was the Trial in front of him.
"Are you done sorting out your thoughts?" a soft voice called out to him.
Isaac turned his head.
Not far from him, the Sword Empress sat cross-legged on a simple chair that had appeared in the endless white space. Her arms were folded, and her expression looked stern as usual.
Still, Isaac paused for a moment.
She looked the same as the Sword Empress he knew. The same sharp eyes, the same straight posture, the same calm authority that made most people instinctively lower their heads when standing in front of her.
But there was something different.
Maybe it was the atmosphere of this place, or maybe it was because this was a ’different’ version of her. Either way, there was a presence around her that made her seem even more striking than usual.
’She looks the same as she does in the present... no, actually, there’s something about this version that makes her look even more beautiful.’
’How did she remain single when she is this strong and beautiful?’ he thought.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked.
"I was thinking you are so beautiful that it’s breathtaking," Isaac said.
The words left his mouth before he could stop them.
Isaac froze.
’Why did I say that?’
His eyes widened slightly.
He had just said his thoughts out loud.
The situation was alarming, but Isaac forced himself to stay calm and immediately observed the Sword Empress’s reaction.
He clearly remembered how angry she had been after the things he revealed during the lie detection test. Saying something like that to her now should have gotten him instantly cut down—
’Huh?’
Isaac blinked.
’She... is blushing?’
A faint red color had appeared on the Sword Empress’s cheeks.
The moment she noticed Isaac staring at her face, she coughed lightly and lowered her gaze slightly as if trying to hide the expression.
"This place is a Domain of the War God. Here, your bare heart is revealed. You cannot lie in this space," she said, forcing her voice back to its usual calm tone.
She paused briefly before continuing.
"So... are you really my disciple?"
"Yes."
The answer came out immediately.
"And the things you said earlier—"
She stopped mid-sentence.
After a moment she shook her head slightly.
"Never mind. Let’s not talk about that."
Isaac quietly watched her.
He had been fully prepared to receive a beating.
After being trained by the Sword Empress for months, he knew very well that she had no hesitation when it came to disciplining people physically.
But this reaction was not what he expected at all.
She was not angry.
If anything, she looked... embarrassed.
Isaac became curious.
Too curious.
And because of that curiosity, he did something he had specifically decided he would never do with the Sword Empress.
He used Inspect.
Two lines of information appeared immediately in front of his vision.
[Status 1: What the hell is her future self doing!? How can she peek on someone’s personal time when he is obviously not even twenty!? What does she even see in him!? Just because he has a great face doesn’t mean she should do that! Aaaaaaah!!]
[Status 2: I-If he knows her future self has been peeking on him, her future self should easily be able to tell that he already knows. Then w-why is her future self still peeking? What is the relationship between the two!? AAAAAAH!!!! She was curious!!! She just wanted to know!!!]
’Wow... that’s a lot.’
The emotional storm inside those two lines was intense enough that Isaac almost felt secondhand embarrassment reading them.
It seemed the Sword Empress possessed some kind of extremely powerful mental defense skill or item. That probably explained why she was not worried about someone reading her thoughts.
But unfortunately for her, those kinds of skills and items were completely useless in front of Isaac’s Inspect.
"Can you perform my Sword Art?" the Sword Empress asked.
She had regained most of her composure by now and was trying to maintain a calm and dignified expression.
"Even after everything you said, I still find it hard to completely believe that you are from the future. But if you can perform my Sword Art, then I will be able to trust you more."
Isaac nodded. "That’s fair."
He stepped forward and took a slow breath.
Then he began.
His body moved smoothly as he started performing the movements of the [Dragon Slaying Sword Art] that the Sword Empress had personally taught him.
The white space around them did not have wind or gravity in the usual sense, but Isaac’s body still moved as if he were standing in a normal training ground.
Each movement flowed into the next.
The first stance.
The second.
The third.
Isaac’s arms moved with practiced familiarity. The angles of the sword, the shifting of his weight, the small adjustments in his footwork. Every part of the technique carried the marks of high mastery.
Time passed slowly as he continued the sequence.
By the time he finished the final motion, Isaac was breathing heavily.
Sweat covered his forehead and neck.
Even though he was only demonstrating the forms and not actually fighting, the sword art itself demanded intense focus and physical effort.
Isaac wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and glanced toward the Sword Empress.
She was frowning slightly.
For a moment she remained silent.
Then she nodded once.
"I will accept it. You are my disciple. The intricacies you showed could’ve been taught only by me," she said calmly.
"Is that all you wanted to know?" he asked while wiping the remaining sweat from his face.
"I do have more questions," she replied.
Then she turned her head slightly and gestured behind Isaac.
"But before that, you should speak with him. He has been waiting for quite a long time."
Isaac blinked.
"Who?"
He turned around.
At some point during the conversation, another figure had appeared behind him.
Isaac had not sensed anything. Before he had completely turned around, he heard the figure behind him say,
"The War God, ■ Hargraves."