XElenea
patreon
MT - 72 Another Duel
🕑 Added 2024-12-23 12:02:57 +0000 UTCRoy was momentarily surprised to see such a polite side to his opponent, though his expression remained calm and indifferent.
From the end of the road came an angry shout.
"Are you the kidnapper?"
In the blink of an eye, a figure darted forward, covering dozens of meters in an instant. There was no mistaking it—it was Ghislaine.
Eris opened her mouth to explain, but Roy interrupted her, a faint smile on his lips as he turned to Ghislaine. "I am. What of it?"
Ghislaine wasted no words. She drew her sword in a single motion, her aura surging like a tidal wave. The sheer pressure bore down on Roy, her speed increasing dramatically. In an instant, her body split into three afterimages before vanishing entirely. By the time she reappeared, she was right in front of him.
Roy pushed Eris aside with a single motion, his gaze locking onto Ghislaine with evident interest. His deep, resonant voice carried an air of intrigue.
"Impressive. Your aura is strong—worthy of me taking this more seriously."
Ghislaine didn't respond. Her only focus was tearing him apart.
She swung her massive sword with breathtaking speed, its velocity so immense that it left a trail of sonic booms in its wake. The atmosphere around them screamed under the strain of her power.
Roy's lips curved into a smirk. So, this is Ghislaine's true strength.
But he wasn't relying on his swordsmanship alone.
The moment Ghislaine entered within five meters of Roy, countless threads began to spread from the ground like a living web.
In that instant, everything within the radius became Roy's domain.
The ambient magic in the air, the energy coursing through the earth—it all fell under his control. This was his territory, and here, no one could defeat him. Not even a Sword King.
The dark aura surrounding Roy's right hand intensified, bursting into a brilliant black radiance. It was a shade darker than night itself, a hue that seemed to devour all light. The ancient, ominous energy emanating from his sword was palpable, yet it somehow magnified his presence, making him appear even larger and more imposing.
Roy swung his sword with sudden ferocity. The blade of dark magic collided with Ghislaine's full-force strike, creating a shockwave that rippled through the ground.
The overwhelming power surged into Ghislaine, forcing her to retreat several steps. Each step she took shattered the bricks beneath her feet and carved deep imprints into the dirt.
When Ghislaine finally steadied herself, her expression was one of utter shock. She stared at the spot where Roy stood.
He hadn't moved an inch.
Roy remained planted in place, his dark sword gleaming ominously. The blade's abyssal black surface absorbed all light, giving it the appearance of a bottomless void.
There he stood, motionless and serene, yet exuding an almost divine aura. The sinister energy of his sword merged with the crushing pressure of his presence, creating a sense of invincibility. For the first time, Ghislaine felt a flicker of doubt—an illusion of her own defeat.
Roy suddenly lifted his left hand and snapped his fingers.
Ghislaine's instincts screamed in warning. She darted to her right without hesitation, narrowly evading the attack. The spot she had just been standing in was now engulfed in a writhing mass of dark threads, tightly coiled like a predator that had missed its prey.
Threads of black magic wove themselves tightly together, spreading like a creeping tide. The once-solid ground where Ghislaine had stood was utterly consumed, leaving nothing but devastation in its wake. Watching this unfold, Ghislaine's eyelid twitched involuntarily.
On the sidelines, Eris grew increasingly frantic. She called out in desperation, "Ghislaine, stop! He's the one who saved me!"
Roy raised an eyebrow at her words. Uncle? he thought. When did I become an uncle?
Meanwhile, Rudeus observed the cloaked figure before him with a mix of curiosity and unease.
There were few who could have intervened in such a timely manner, fewer still who knew the plan. Among them, Roy was the most likely candidate.
Adding to his suspicion was the iconic black sword and the abyssal magic that radiated off him in waves—a force so intense it instinctively reminded Rudeus of his eldest brother.
What is he doing? Rudeus wondered. Trying to redeem himself after losing earlier in the day?
As Rudeus pondered, Roy snapped his fingers once more.
In an instant, the space within hundreds of meters was engulfed in magic, the ground emanating a dark, unyielding aura.
Rudeus instinctively looked down, his mouth twitching as he noticed the sheer concentration of magical power flowing around him. Internally, he couldn't help but marvel. This guy's gotten even stronger.
The suffocating presence of black magic sealed off the entire area, and Roy's voice echoed, calm and steady, yet laced with authority.
"A skilled swordsman, indeed. Your blade is admirable. But it's still not enough. Allow me to show you what true power looks like."
Roy began to walk toward Ghislaine, his steps deliberate and measured. His physical strength wasn't the reason he could withstand her earlier attack—it was the overwhelming force of his enchanted sword that tipped the scales.
With each step, the magic around Roy surged, shifting and writhing like a living entity. Behind him, a towering shadow began to materialize.
It was a black specter, five meters tall, growing more solid with every step he took. The shadow exuded an air of divine authority, its ominous presence burning with a dark flame that seemed to seep into the very fabric of reality. The same flames licked at Roy's garments, trailing upward to engulf the specter in a shroud of flickering black fire.
Magic swirled toward Roy like a tidal wave, its oppressive weight pressing down on everything in the vicinity. Even Ghislaine felt her heart pound wildly in her chest, an unfamiliar dread creeping into her mind.
I can't let this continue.
Calculating her chances, Ghislaine prepared to ignite her own lifeblood in a desperate, all-or-nothing attack.
Eris's words were drowned out by the roaring magic; she hadn't heard a single word.
But just as Ghislaine braced herself for a decisive strike, Roy stopped abruptly.
The immense shadow behind him halted as well, looming like an ancient god at his back.
Ghislaine gripped her sword tightly, channeling all her energy into a single, focused point. Her weapon, Hiramune, was one of the seven sacred blades of the Sword God style, forged from the bones of the Dragon King. Its crimson light gleamed ominously, granting unparalleled effectiveness against both metal and spiritual entities.
Her entire aura flowed seamlessly, a testament to her mastery of the sword. This perfect stance even earned Roy's quiet admiration as he cast a brief, appraising glance her way.
With an impassive face, Roy took a single step forward.
It was a simple movement, yet it caused every hair on Ghislaine's body to stand on end. Her right hand trembled against the hilt of her sword.
Raising his black sword, Roy's right hand moved in perfect unison with the massive shadow behind him. The specter's colossal blade mirrored his own, brimming with raw, unrelenting magical energy.
The sheer magnitude of it made Ghislaine's heart race. She had never encountered such overwhelming power in her life.
The torrent of magical energy roared like a tidal wave, its crushing weight bearing down on Ghislaine with the force of a mountain.
Her right eye, the Magic Power Eye allowed her to perceive the flow of mana. Because she could see it so clearly, she fully grasped how terrifying the figure before her truly was.
The Magic Power Eye was not without limitations; it could only function under specific conditions, and its utility was bound to moments when an opponent employed magical energy. But what it revealed now was enough to rival the oppressive aura of her own formidable master.
Suddenly, Roy raised his sword.
The instant he moved, every muscle in Ghislaine's body tensed, her focus sharpening to a razor's edge. The moment Roy struck, Ghislaine responded in kind.
Her muscles swelled, every sinew taut with power. Her sheer physicality would make any fitness instructor weep with envy.
Her sword stroke was impossibly fast. So fast, in fact, that Roy couldn't even register the movement.
The legendary blade Hiramune cleaved the air effortlessly. There was no sonic boom this time; instead, the strike appeared at Roy's chest in the blink of an eye.
Roy could feel the blade's edge near, its speed and precision nearly incomprehensible.
Yet, even as it closed in, his lips curled into a smirk.
The blade that could pierce the scales of a dragon with ease came to an abrupt halt, unable to penetrate within a meter of Roy's body.
Ghislaine's beast-like pupils contracted sharply, her shock evident. A barrier of impenetrable black magic had materialized around Roy, neutralizing the force of her strike. No matter how much strength she applied, the blade refused to move any closer.
The barrier consumed the energy behind her blow, steadily dispersing its momentum. For Roy, the amount of mana expended was negligible.
The consequences of her failed strike were clear to Ghislaine, and she could barely fathom what would come next.
With a sudden movement, Roy lashed out with his foot, sending her hurtling backward. The force of the kick launched her dozens of meters, smashing through walls and leaving craters in her wake.
Blood spilled from her lips as searing pain coursed through her body. She could feel her ribs cracking, her blood circulation reversing, and every inch of her frame aching.
Roy had not held back with his kick, but Ghislaine's resilient body had withstood worse.
As expected, she struggled to her feet, albeit unsteadily. Her fierce gaze locked onto Roy once more, but her grip on Hiramune faltered. Her fingers, trembling from exhaustion, could no longer clutch the blade with their usual ferocity.
Roy's black sword remained steady in his grasp, glowing faintly with ominous energy. In that instant, Ghislaine felt the cold hand of death. His overwhelming aura locked onto her, making her keenly aware of her vulnerability.
The battlefield seemed to shrink until only one thing remained: Roy's sword.
Slowly, Roy began to advance toward her. His deliberate steps only heightened the tension. Perhaps he moved slowly on purpose; it wasn't as though he actually wanted to kill her.
The hundred meters between them stretched unbearably long as Roy took half a minute to close the distance.
Finally, Eris dashed forward, planting herself firmly in Roy's path. "If you want to kill Master Ghislaine, you'll have to go through me first!" She shouted defiantly.
Rudeus, equally alarmed, rushed to stand beside her, both of them blocking Roy's way.
Internally, Roy let out a sigh of relief. This intervention spared him from having to deal a killing blow to Ghislaine.
He paused, observing them briefly before speaking in a calm yet commanding voice. "A sword's purpose is to protect, not to waste its edge in a meaningless duel against me."
Behind him, the shadowy specter began to dissolve, its dark flames retreating and fading into the void. The oppressive sensation that had pinned Ghislaine vanished, and she exhaled in relief.
Roy remained motionless for a moment, his dark cloak standing starkly against the backdrop of the night. Then, he smiled faintly, turned, and walked away.
The magical barrier that had encased the area unraveled, the threads of black mana converging at Roy's feet to form a circular domain of shadow.
Eris's eyes followed his retreating figure intently. His silhouette blurred into the distance, disappearing into the night as though he had never been there at all.
