Ch.160This Is My Sword. (2)

I have extensive experience fighting warriors.

In battles against warriors, the most important things are speed and magic refined enough to deceive their highly developed senses.

All the magic I’ve used until now has been of that nature.

But in confrontations with true “masters,” all those things are merely prerequisites.

What ultimately matters is power.

And the computational ability to pour out an overwhelming amount of magic that the opponent cannot counter.

Olivia’s heart pulsates rapidly, circulating magical power throughout her body. Her heart has now completely merged with nature, transforming into part of the world.

She harbored cold energy in her heart. Lightning and cold resonated together. The reason Olivia chose these two seemingly unrelated attributes was because their combined power was devastating when used simultaneously.

Until now, she had used the two attributes separately. This meant she had never shown her true “full power” in the genuine sense.

Crackle!

Blue lightning streams surged from Olivia’s shoulders. The lightning currents swirled in the same place, unable to extend fully, as if caught by something. The moment ice essence crafted from Olivia’s nature power swallowed the lightning current, blue wings spread wide.

[Using transcendent magic, ‘Dual Fusion’.]

[Fusion elements: Lightning Current (雷流), Ice Crystal (氷晶)]

Crackle!

Wings so beautiful they evoked angels. The thousands of intricately crafted feathers contained magical power so vast that even dragons would find it indescribable.

[Transcendent magic, Heavenly Wings.]

Olivia’s body slowly rose into the air.

If there had been a halo above Olivia’s head, anyone would have thought her a celestial angel descended from heaven—her aura was that sublime.

“……”

Kiel did not back down. The mind sword he had drawn now took the form of the greatsword he favored using.

On the verge of reaching the end of his sword path, Kiel realized how extraordinary Olivia’s level was. What appeared to be simple feathers each had magic circles inscribed in them equivalent to grand magic.

With a gesture from Olivia, a blue feather appeared in her hand.

The moment the feather containing both attributes touched the ground, the narrow cave interior began expanding endlessly. It was the result of applying lightning’s expansive property to space itself.

For now, they wouldn’t need to worry about the surroundings being swept away.

“…A magic you didn’t use last time.”

“This is a single magic spell.”

Olivia’s body slowly rose. Her hair fluttered in a winter breeze that appeared from nowhere.

A magic spell designed for use against people, with tremendous power proportional to its long deployment time.

Even for Olivia, this level of magic couldn’t be used with restraint. That was also why she hadn’t used such sublime magic until now.

Magic that shows no regard for the opponent’s life.

If hit, death follows.

Even a graze would be fatal. Ice crystals would necrotize the flesh at the cellular level, and lightning would penetrate even faster, causing all organs to lose function.

All sublime magics that touched truth were like this. The Staff of Antiquity was usable only because it enhanced magical power itself.

But now she could use such sublime magic. Because the current Kiel had somewhat reached the “end.”

He would be able to break through it.

‘…If not, I’ll die.’

Olivia’s blue eyes held a cold light. She had made her decision.

“Here I come.”

As Olivia’s wings moved forward, countless feathers shot through space.

Slash!

In an instant, dozens of sword strikes intercepted and cut through the feathers.

It wasn’t simply cutting. The moment the sword connected with a feather, it read the magical power arrangement and precisely cut along the grain.

Swish-

Feathers that touched the mind sword vanished, becoming part of nature.

In the midst of a rain of magical feathers that could cause tremendous explosions on contact, Kiel held his ground without retreating a single step.

Space Sword, Ninth Form.

Guardian Sword.

Swoosh!

The afterimages created with each movement of Kiel’s sword formed a massive wall.

He received Olivia’s magic without allowing a single attack through.

Boom!

The feathers rushed at openings as if they were living entities, but Kiel’s body remained unharmed.

The silent Kiel opened his mouth.

“…I haven’t reached the end yet. If so, I should be struggling to block your magic.”

The feathers continued to split apart.

“But right now, I don’t feel the slightest difficulty.”

Olivia’s face grew colder. Her fingers twitched, condensing lightning in empty space.

However, it was silent. The explosive noise characteristic of lightning had been isolated to another space. Olivia wasn’t satisfied with just that. By manipulating magical power at the particle level, she also isolated the light contained in the lightning.

As a result, lightning that could neither be seen nor felt was created.

Kiel knew how absurd this was. Olivia had calculated magic faster than lightning that shot at terrifying speed, isolating the sound and light to another dimension.

Kiel closed his eyes. In this situation, sight would only be a hindrance. No matter how well Olivia had erased the lightning’s presence, she couldn’t eliminate its movement. Even now, the lightning would be steadily closing the distance to Kiel.

Space distorted slightly. It was a phenomenon caused by surrounding space expanding to fill the gaps created as lightning forced its way through.

The moment he sensed it, Kiel’s greatsword moved. A heavy force loaded into his shoulder. It wasn’t a force that could be met head-on. Kiel concentrated his consciousness to the extreme and deflected the lightning.

His bones resonated.

But he could still take more.

Seeing Kiel’s resolute determination despite bleeding from his shoulder, Olivia gave a hollow laugh.

Without a doubt, not a single person who had fallen into this world had ever looked at her with such eyes.

It was neither anger nor resentment.

Just proof.

Kiel, as a knight, was proving himself.

That he was a useful sword.

That he could protect against any opponent, as was proper.

“…Stubborn bastard.”

But that was what made him so quintessentially Kiel.

A one-sided attack unfolded.

This didn’t mean one side had the advantage. One side only attacked, while the other only defended.

Kiel didn’t counterattack at all. After all, this place wasn’t meant to prove that.

Slash!

As the barrage continued, minor wounds multiplied on Kiel’s body. Though each strike should have been fatal, he endured with superhuman mental strength.

Attacks without the slightest restraint. When was the last time she had fought with such intent? Olivia could confidently say never. Of course, she hadn’t held back against the great demons either, but they were never worthy opponents for her full power.

A few grand magics. Perhaps one transcendent magic would have sufficed.

But now she was using her full power.

Thud thud thud!

As the battle intensified, the scattered magic added more colors.

The dark blade revolving around Kiel turned all surrounding magic to dust.

He wasn’t blocking everything. He was infinitely close to the end but hadn’t reached it yet.

But far from collapsing, he wasn’t even being pushed back.

Crack, crack…!

Even as his bones screamed in protest, Kiel gazed at Olivia with sharp eyes.

“Why stop, Olivia?”

His breathing was irregular. His body was covered in minor wounds, and blood vessels scorched by lightning stood out in stark relief.

But despite all that, his eyes remained steadfast.

“I can still do more.”

“…You crazy bastard.”

As she said this, the corners of Olivia’s mouth curved upward.

For some reason, she felt as if her chest had been blown wide open. A complex emotion that even she, who had touched truth, couldn’t describe.

The numerous hardships she had endured with the sole determination to see this world’s ending. It seemed that while going through all those trials alone, her heart had been eaten away without her realizing it.

Crack!

As the wings on Olivia’s shoulders dissipated, all the preserved feathers shot out at once. He blocks them. If he can’t block, he destroys them completely. Kiel couldn’t avoid having his joints shattered. His hands had long since ceased to function properly.

The attack that seemed endless was coming to an end.

Exhaling rough breaths and shaking off residual magical power from his mind sword, Kiel spoke.

“Look, Olivia.”

How his five years had been was vividly revealed in that sentence.

Despite bleeding profusely all over his body, not a trace of pain showed on his face.

In Kiel’s eyes, flames raged.

That resolute will to finally stand by her side no matter what.

The will to not be a burden.

Regret and repentance for his past anger toward Olivia when he knew nothing.

Olivia finally understood how Kiel had been able to stay in this terrible deception for five years without succumbing to madness.

Smiling, Kiel exclaimed as if genuinely proud of himself:

“Look at me.”

With both arms broken and internal organs damaged, what could make him so happy?

What could bring such joy that he smiled so broadly?

“I am worthy.”

This stubborn human who had endured five years just to confidently utter that one sentence.

Kiel’s body staggered. He tried to maintain consciousness until the end, but it was impossible to control a body that had long since reached its limit.

Thud…!

Olivia silently supported Kiel as he collapsed after those words.

“…Yes, you idiot.”