Ch.260Chapter 260: At the End of the Duel

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About 30 minutes had passed since the clash between the holy sword Lumen and the demon sword Devastator began.

Liliansis was severely depleted of stamina from hurrying to follow Kal.

And the agent of the Demon God, who called himself Imperfectio, had his strength unknowingly chipped away while parrying Kal’s sword.

The confrontation between these two beings, who had to settle things from the moment they recognized each other, was not a battle fought with both sides in perfect condition.

Woong-!!

Liliansis wrapped her holy sword in pure white fighting spirit, creating a pleasant sound of cutting wind as she swung it.

Kaang-!!

Imperfectio received Liliansis’s holy sword with his Devastator, which was wrapped in crimson fighting spirit. Their fierce battle was so magnificent that it seemed wasted on this barren wasteland.

Despite being a duel between just two people.

It was infused with an intensity difficult to experience even in large-scale battles conducted under the leadership of the two major powers, the Demon Realm and the Empire.

Thunderous sounds echoed across the wasteland beneath the night sky, where stars and the moon were the only companions.

The sound was so loud and resonant.

It was so majestic that it seemed to create the illusion that new life was stirring in this wasteland where life had ceased to sprout long ago.

It wasn’t just the sound that was majestic.

In the wasteland that should have been dimmer than daylight despite the blessing of moonlight and starlight.

The sparks that flew when the two swords met didn’t diminish as time passed but rather grew in quantity and size.

Kaaang-!!

“…”

“…”

As the two continued their silent confrontation after another exchange that caused no damage to either side, small flames flickered around them, momentarily reminiscent of daylight.

The sight of sparks from the clashing swords burning on the cold, barren ground almost created the illusion of a flower blooming in this harsh land, but.

Krrk-!!

Without time to catch her breath, Liliansis gripped Lumen tightly.

“Try to block this too!!”

She shouted boldly at her opponent as she swung the holy sword, creating a violent wind that shook the air.

“…!!”

Seeing this, Imperfectio’s lips—the only part visible from the helmet—twitched subtly, and he hurriedly brought Devastator to the edge of the sword path that Liliansis was creating to block it.

Kuuung-!!

A thunderous sound that couldn’t be fully captured by the expression “shaking the earth’s axis” echoed.

Thick dust rose as the two swords collided, enveloping the two combatants in the midst of their duel.

The dust cleverly hiding the two fighters at the height of their excellent battle would have been considered a shame if there had been many spectators, but.

For the one man who was the only audience to this magnificent duel, the dust didn’t seem to be a major obstacle.

“…At this rate, there won’t be a winner.”

He merely offered a brief comment on the evenly matched battle between the two, narrowing his eyes.

His comment revealed that he hadn’t lost sight of the two fighters even in the dust that filled his vision.

The man, Kal Ranos’s eyes moved quickly.

Even without relying on his hearing, which would normally substitute for vision when dust blocked the view.

“…They’re both fast.”

Kal’s expression was tense as he revealed in his muttering that he possessed senses keen enough to track the movements of both fighters.

The problem was that the participants in this dust-raising battle were more evenly matched in strength and skill than he had thought.

If one side, specifically Liliansis who was more precious to him than his own life, had overwhelmed Imperfectio in skill, he wouldn’t have needed to intervene, which would have been convenient.

Even if her skills were inferior to the agent’s, he could have found a suitable excuse to draw his sword and intervene in the middle of the duel for his precious person, but.

In the current situation, where both sides showed signs of gradual fatigue while continuing their evenly matched battle without giving an inch, it was extremely awkward for him to step in.

The moment he carelessly intervened and disrupted the balance of the match between those two.

He couldn’t predict what that woman, unpredictable enough just by her position as an agent of the Demon God, might do.

No, he did predict.

Given that the agent had shown familiarity upon seeing him and even declared she would take him to the Obsidian Palace.

He thought she might vent her anger at the interruption by kidnapping him, but.

‘…Surely not.’

After briefly pondering this thought and pushing it aside.

“It’s ambiguous, extremely ambiguous.”

Although there was no one around, Kal’s expression grew increasingly complex as he muttered very quietly as if afraid someone might hear.

To prepare for any dangerous situation that might arise.

When should he step in to save his precious people, including her and the others lying on the cold wasteland ground?

As Kal’s expression grew more complex while contemplating when to intervene.

The battle between Liliansis and Imperfectio continued in the still unsettled dust cloud, and though it had lost some of the initial intensity compared to the beginning.

Chaeng-!!

The song of steel continued to echo more frequently than before.

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The battle between the representatives of light and darkness that Kal was observing through the dust cloud was so evenly matched that it could be described as a perfect balance.

And Liliansis, representing light among the duel participants, took advantage of the vision obscured by dust to swing her holy sword straight at the Demon God’s agent rushing toward her.

The stamina depleted from following her precious person at a pace close to forced march gave her considerable fatigue when wielding the holy sword, but.

Despite this, the horizontal slash that Liliansis executed now was a perfect cut that didn’t fall short compared to any other time.

Woong-!!

The pleasant sound of cutting wind that came with the swing was evidence of how high the quality of her cut was, but.

Despite this, Liliansis’s expression didn’t show the faint smile she would wear when certain of victory.

“…”

She merely observed carefully how the path of her sword would continue with a hardened expression.

More precisely, she was watching the figure of her opponent positioned at the end of her sword’s path.

‘There is no fear.’

Seeing Imperfectio’s expression in that fleeting moment, Liliansis was daunted by the almost emotionless, mechanical response of her opponent.

It was a stark difference compared to the numerous beings of the Demon Realm she had faced before.

Whether it was a mindless demon beast driven by destructive instincts and as large as a castle.

Or a high-ranking demon with intelligence equal to or even surpassing that of humans.

Or a mage who pursued endless power, crossed a line that shouldn’t be crossed, and transformed into an irreversible existence.

Or even a devil born as a twisted being from birth.

Everyone feels fear to some degree when faced with overwhelming power that threatens their existence, and yet.

“…”

This agent, who focused only on the trajectory of the holy sword being swung at her without saying a word, showed not even a fragment of such emotion.

Rather…

Kaang-!!

After deflecting the incoming holy sword—still sharp though duller than before.

“You look tired. I am too, but judging by how your sword is wavering slightly, I’ll be taking this victory.”

Liliansis felt a very subtle fear taking root in her heart as she faced the agent who confidently declared her victory in a very calm, distorted voice that felt rigid.

This won’t do.

Krrk-!!

As another of her best attacks proved futile, Liliansis’s right hand tightly gripped the handle of the holy sword named after a legendary hero.

It wasn’t because she was angered by her opponent’s confident declaration of victory.

‘In that case…’

As she inwardly muttered, she was preparing to use her trump card to quickly decide the match before this invisible gap became noticeably larger.

As soon as her holy sword was blocked, Liliansis widened the distance between herself and Imperfectio to an appropriate level.

She intended to avoid the opponent’s fierce counterattack that would come as soon as her attack was blocked, but.

She also clearly intended to buy time to prepare for the most certain killing move she could use in the current situation.

Imperfectio didn’t just leave Liliansis alone as she widened the distance between them more than at any point since the duel began.

She couldn’t let her go if Liliansis was trying to flee because she felt no chance of winning, but.

“You should stop.”

There was no ferocity in Imperfectio’s movements as she dove into Liliansis’s space after the distance had been widened considerably, no sign of trying to deliver a final blow to a fleeing opponent.

Rather…

“That won’t work on me.”

She merely showed behavior as if she had already predicted what her opponent, who hadn’t yet taken a proper stance, was going to do.

Composure, yes. She overflowed with the attitude of a predator showing composure before its prey.

But even for Imperfectio, who by attitude alone was in the perfect position of a predator, there were two unfortunate points.

One was that her body, unknowingly tired from the prolonged battle with Kal Ranos and Liliansis Proxian, the Empire’s renowned rising talent, made her steps slow as she dove into the distance Liliansis had created.

And the other was that the trump card Liliansis was about to use, which Imperfectio had already predicted, happened much faster than she had thought.

“Haaaa…!!”

A different color from the pure white fighting spirit she had been emitting was now rippling around Liliansis’s body as she let out a quiet battle cry.

It was the same color as her hair, which created the illusion of glowing by itself even in this dark night sky.

Imperfectio’s somewhat dulled but still sharp footwork stopped at that moment.

“…It’s blinding.”

Though she said it was blinding and stopped her steps.

In reality, she was trying to prevent the crimson, shimmering, and unjust fighting spirit enveloping her body from disappearing as if melting into the golden fighting spirit Liliansis was emitting…

“Good.”

Even Kal, who instantly recognized what Liliansis was trying to do and was confident of victory, sensed this.

The moment had finally come for the end of the battle that had lasted over 30 minutes, long if considered long, short if considered short.

Liliansis had played her trump card, and Kal was confident in Liliansis’s victory, and.

“Well… fine.”

Imperfectio, standing still in a place untouched by the influence of the golden fighting spirit, raised her right hand holding the demon sword with a calm voice.

“I’ll teach you that it won’t work.”

Emphasizing to the two who were confident of victory that they were still far from it.

Wuung-!!

She imbued the demon sword with a dense fighting spirit that made what had been shown before seem like child’s play.