Chapter 96
Chapter 96
Swaeeek!!
The moment Ron’s sword cut through the air, Adrian barely twisted his body and avoided it. The sharp blade grazed past his formal attire.
Under the moonlight, the torn red cloth fluttered. Adrian’s eyes widened.
“……So this is Winterbell’s true sword.”
“True? What are you talking about? I haven’t shown anything yet.”
Adrian’s voice trembled slightly. If someone who didn’t know him saw this scene, they might have thought he was afraid.
However, that was nothing more than a misunderstanding.
The reason Adrian’s voice trembled was because of the exhilaration rising deep within his chest.
Right now, he was excited.
A powerful opponent he hadn’t encountered in a long time.
At the thought of crossing swords with him, his blood boiled.
Ron’s Clear Sword flashed once more. This time it was faster and stronger. His previously defensive stance had completely vanished. His sword flew toward Adrian without stopping for even a moment.
Chaeng! Chaeng! Chaeng!
Under the relentless barrage, Adrian was steadily pushed back. His feet scraped against the floor of the training ground. There was not a single gap or waste in Ron’s attacks. It was swordsmanship as cold and sharp as ice.
Cheers erupted from the stands.
“Waaaaaah!!”
“As expected of Winterbell. It feels like he’s a completely different person compared to before.”
“It must have been a probing phase. He deliberately held back his strength to figure out what kind of swordsmanship his opponent uses and what style he prefers.”
It was completely different from the earlier probing exchanges. Ron’s attacks poured down like a waterfall, each one lethal.
Sweat formed on Adrian’s forehead.
“As expected……. This is truly Winterbell’s swordsmanship.”
But he was no easy opponent either. He tightened his grip on the Flame Sword. As the moonlight reflected off the blade, a red glow flashed.
“However, Helios will not fall behind.”
At last, Adrian began his counterattack. His swordsmanship was completely different from Ron’s. He aimed for openings with unpredictable trajectories. It moved freely, like blazing flames.
Kwaaang! Kwaaang! Kwaaang!
Every time the two swords collided, the moonlight shattered into pieces. The shockwaves created by the clash of force spread across the entire training ground, making it tremble.
It was such overwhelming power that even the spectators—who had forgotten that this was a duel between swordsmen not using any mana or Makina—felt chills run down their spines once again.
Ron’s linear attacks and Adrian’s irregular counters crossed. Their footsteps carved complex patterns into the training ground.
As Adrian deflected Ron’s attack, he spoke.
“I heard Winterbell’s swordsmanship was domineering……. It’s different from what I expected.”
Ron unleashed another barrage.
“Helios’ swordsmanship is the same. I thought it was only flashy like flames……”
Both of their breathing gradually grew rougher. A pure swordsmanship duel with no mana and no Makina. They had to decide the match using only their own skill and stamina.
‘Should I turn this into a battle of endurance? No. That’s not my style. The probing is over.’
‘It’s not like I’d lose if this drags on, but I don’t like it.’
Ron’s Clear Sword sliced through the air once again. This time it was even faster. Adrian barely managed to block it, but the impact made his wrist tingle.
Ron’s gaze changed. A thick killing intent settled into his fierce eyes. It was the look of a wolf hunting its prey.
“Now then……. Shall we start for real?”
His steps changed. Movements far sharper and more lethal than before—on a completely different level. Only then did Adrian realize it.
Even until now, Ron had not shown his true self.
A laugh escaped me on its own. It wasn’t a mocking laugh directed at my opponent. It was a laugh born from how intensely this situation stirred my chest.
It was, quite literally, a laugh mixed with exhilaration and excitement.
The inner flame that every member of the Helios Family was born with flickered wildly.
“I can’t stop smiling because I’m enjoying this. I look forward to seeing how long you can keep entertaining me. What else will you show me?”
Adrian shifted his stance as well.
It was as if the Flame Sword had newly awakened within his grasp.
Even though no mana was being used, I felt the illusion of heat as scorching as the sun.
“Though this may be a spar, I’m staking my life on it. Once you take up a sword, you swing it to kill your opponent—that is Winterbell. You of the blood of the sun. Do you have the resolve to stake your life as well?”
“……You ask a pointless question. From the moment I stood facing you here, I have been swinging my sword to kill you.”
“Satisfactory.”
Adrian’s sword accelerated.
Chwajajajak!
Its speed was so great that afterimages remained each time he swung it. It created the illusion that dozens of swords were being wielded at once.
Before long, small cuts began to appear all over Ron Winterbell’s body. There were no major injuries yet, but the damage was steadily accumulating.
‘Can it get even faster than this? His skill with swift sword techniques is also top-tier.’
The moment Ron took a step forward, the training ground shook.
Thud!
The sword he directed at Adrian now emitted a different kind of killing intent. There was no longer any testing in his swordsmanship. Only victory remained.
Chwajajak!
The Flame Sword blocked it, but Adrian felt not just his arm, but his entire body tremble.
‘…What kind of monstrous strength is this!’
There was no hesitation left in Ron’s attacks. A domineering sword that wasted not even an inch, that held not even a moment of hesitation, unfolded relentlessly with the will to tear apart its opponent.
‘Now I see why it’s called a domineering sword. Those who don’t understand the blade might call it crude, but that would be wrong. Before overwhelming power, technique and skill lose all meaning.’
Before Adrian could even finish speaking, Ron’s Clear Sword moved again.
This time, it was even faster.
‘Faster. Stronger. More! More!’
The blade, dyed in moonlight, emitted a dazzling radiance.
Chaeng! Chaeng! Chaeng!
Their swords collided at an incredible speed. It was so fast that the sound of air being torn apart echoed in all directions, and some of the spectators in the stands clutched their ears in pain.
“Excellent! More! More! Harder! Stronger! Show me everything you have!”
Ron’s Clear Sword, without the slightest tremor, aimed only for Adrian’s vital points, while Adrian’s Flame Sword burned like fire as it blocked each strike.
Even though no aura was being used, his sword seemed to blaze with raging flames. The Flame Sword, responding to Adrian’s spirit, produced flames on its own. The use of mana and aura was forbidden, and the use of artifacts was also prohibited, but the unreasonable phenomena created by famed swords were an exception.
After all, possessing such a sword was itself a qualification of a swordsman. That was a belief shared by the heads of Winterbell and other families.
The sound of the two swords clashing filled the training ground.
“Flames and ice are dancing…….”
“W-what did you say? My ears are ringing—I can’t hear anything.”
“You fool. Your mana hasn’t been sealed, so what are you doing?”
“Amazing. Those are the greatest families that divide the world in two. Are those the swordsmen they have raised…….”
Ron’s sword brushed past and cut Adrian’s cheek. Red blood flowed down. Yet Adrian’s gaze only grew sharper. His eyes burned like a beast with its prey right before it. He too bore the eyes of a predator.
Adrian’s laughter echoed through the training ground.
“Kuhahahaha!”
His Flame Sword suddenly picked up speed. The blade that grazed Ron’s shoulder shredded his blue formal wear to pieces. Flesh was exposed, but Ron paid it no mind.
“Yes. This is it. This is how it should be…… This is what makes it fun! More! More! Let’s go further, Ron Winterbell!”
Adrian, who had been speaking more and more excitedly, now rolled his eyes as if he had become an entirely different person.
The eyes of the two swordsmen had completely turned into those of beasts. The rational probing phase was already over.
Now, they fought purely on instinct. Their craving for victory devoured their reason.
Kwaaang! Kwaaang! Kwaaang!
Chaeng! Chaeng! Chaeng!
Ron’s left arm was slashed long, blood spraying out. At the same time, Adrian’s left thigh was deeply cut, flesh and blood soaking the floor of the training ground.
But neither of them stopped.
Rather, they clashed even more violently. The more they were wounded, the more their eyes were dyed with madness.
Haa. Haa.
Haa. Haa.
As their breathing grew rougher.
As the thick scent of blood filled the air.
Their hearts pounded harder.
Their arms moved faster.
And their minds were filled with a single thought—to kill the opponent.
With a shout from Ron, the Clear Sword flashed.
“Uraaaah!!”
Adrian tried to avoid it, but he was too late. His chest was torn open. Red blood soaked his formal wear.
“Keuk.”
But Adrian did not retreat.
Instead, he seized that opening and drove the Flame Sword into Ron’s side. Pain didn’t matter. Now, for them, only victory—or death—existed.
“Keuk!”
Blood splattered. Yet mad smiles hung on both of their lips. Their gazes deepened further. Now, no one would be able to stop them.
The sound of breathing in the stands ceased.
“…….”
“…….”
This was no simple match. It was a scene of two beasts tearing into each other. Some trembled in fear, while others shuddered in exhilaration.
“More, let’s keep going!”
“Yeah! Let’s go all the way!”
“My sword will pierce your heart.”
“I’ll slice through your neck!”
“Kuhahahahaha!”
“Uahahahahahaha!”
At some point, their entire bodies were drenched in blood. As if they had thrown themselves into a river of blood, from head to toe they were completely soaked. Even so, they did not stop. The trajectories drawn by the Clear Sword and the Flame Sword grew increasingly more violent.
Their movements had now gone beyond the realm of normal swordsmanship. It was like a battle between wild beasts.
Sparks flew every time their swords collided.
In Ron and Adrian’s eyes, there was now nothing but each other.
They were completely immersed in the fight.
Even as their bodies became riddled with wounds, they only found more enjoyment in it.
“Hahaha! Now this is proper swordsmanship!”
“That’s right. This is true swordsmanship!”
Their formal wear had already been torn to shreds, and blood flowed from all over their bodies. Yet their movements only grew faster. The elegant swordsmanship from the beginning had completely disappeared.
What remained now was only the beast-like instinct to cut down the other.
Ron’s Clear Sword flashed once more.
This time, it aimed for Adrian’s neck. Adrian barely preserved his life, but a new wound appeared on his cheek.
But he laughed. He laughed like a madman.
His face, filled with exhilaration, looked as though it was trembling in ecstasy.
“Hahaha! Hahahahaha! Uahahahahahaha!”
Adrian’s counterattack was just as fierce. His Flame Sword, as if alive, burrowed into Ron’s openings.
A new wound formed on Ron’s arm, but he too did not stop laughing.
“Hahahahaha! Uahahahaha!”
The training ground was now stained with their blood. The moonlight reflected off it, creating an eerie glow. Yet the two swordsmen did not stop until the very end. They sank even deeper into madness.