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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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Chapter 202: Duel (1)
***
Thousands?
No, it must have been tens of thousands of droplets flying in.
They were moving so fast that their shapes seemed to elongate. It was as if arrows were being shot, not droplets.
“That’s what I thought.”
Javier sneered inwardly as he watched the scene.
Once one reached High Class, one could protect one’s body with mana.
And when one reached Master Class, this technique became even stronger.
People called it the aura armor.
Aura, magic spells, monsters, etc.
Nothing could penetrate the aura armor. It was enough to call it an invincible shield.
But the moment the droplets hit his body, Javier had a gut feeling that something was wrong.
It felt like iron balls were slamming into him, not droplets. The shock made his body stagger.
With thousands of them pouring down, Javier’s body was gradually pushed back.
‘What the hell kind of magic is this…!’
Javier covered his face with both arms. He dug his feet into the ground.
Only then did his torso stop being pushed back. The sound of the droplets hitting his body continued incessantly.
After a while, the attack ended.
Javier lowered his arms that had been covering his face. Then he heard the sound of something collapsing behind him.
He turned around and saw the shattered cliff and the trees that had disappeared from the top.
A single dark magic spell had turned everything to ashes.
“That was a bit dangerous.”
Javier said, looking back at Damien.
He was a little taken aback by the power that exceeded his expectations, but that didn’t change anything.
After all, this dark magic didn’t penetrate his aura armor.
“What the hell are you? How can a High-Class knight use dark magic at the level of a Grand Dark Mage?”
Javier had met and fought many mages so far.
So he could tell. Only a Grand Dark Mage could wield dark magic of this scale.
No, even an ordinary Grand Dark Mage couldn’t exert this much power.
Vision.
Damien must have reached a higher level by completing the dark mages’ long-cherished dream.
There was no other way he could have completed such a large-scale dark magic in one breath.
“I don’t know what your identity is, but… it’s a truly coveted talent.”
Not only did he have talent comparable to the Sword Saint or Imperial Supreme Sword, but he was also a Grand Dark Mage?
“I promised to wait three minutes, but… I changed my mind.”
There was so much he wanted to ask. He wanted to take that talent to his son as soon as possible.
It was too dangerous above all else.
A dark mage who had completed Vision was someone even a Master Class couldn’t take lightly.
Javier tore off the necklace and held it in his hand.
With a flash of light, a longsword was in Javier’s hand.
It was a sword with a slightly longer blade than a longsword and a concave shape in the middle.
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to kill you.”
Javier infused mana in the blade.
A green aura burst out and then compressed around the blade. Soon, a blade with a deep green hue was created.
Aurablade.
Javier lowered the blade. The pebbles that touched the Aurablade crumbled and turned to dust.
“But I’ll have to cut off your arms and legs so you can’t cause any more trouble.”
“That’s quite scary.”
Damien shrugged. He didn’t look scared at all.
“I guess I’ll have to face you with all my might.”
A pattern glowed on the back of Damien’s hand. Then, a magic circle appeared at his feet.
“No, you don’t!”
Javier lunged at Damien.
He kicked the ground and released mana from the soles of his feet.
In that instant, Javier’s body disappeared. He leaped over the distance and appeared right in front of Damien’s nose.
“Let’s start with your right arm!”
Javier swung the blade down at Damien’s shoulder.
The Aurablade traced a green trajectory and slashed Damien’s shoulder.
But just before the blade could cut through his muscles, Damien’s figure disappeared.
“…Hmm?”
He raised his head to see Damien standing a short distance away.
“Acceleration?”
Acceleration was a magic that allowed one to move a short distance in the blink of an eye.
It was one of the magics that mages had created to fight knights, and its speed was so fast that even Master Class knights had a hard time keeping up.
It was a great magic, but most mages didn’t use Acceleration.
This was because the difficulty level was too high.
Acceleration was a 10th-tier magic. To use such a difficult magic in the middle of a battle?
And against a knight who moved much faster than mages?
“That’s impressive. But how many times do you think you can dodge my attacks?”
Javier moved again.
He seemed to vanish and then was suddenly behind Damien.
Javier swung the blade at Damien’s forearm.
But Damien used Acceleration again to dodge the attack.
Just as Damien was about to vanish, Javier immediately spread his senses and pinpointed Damien’s location.
“There you are!”
Javier immediately stomped on the ground.
The moment Damien appeared, Javier brought down his blade.
Just as the Aura Blade was about to slice off Damien’s shoulder, Damien’s body disappeared again.
“Let’s see how long you can keep dodging!”
Javier chased after Damien again.
The afterimages of the two men multiplied and soon filled the area.
Even in the midst of the fierce chase, Damien activated dark magic and attacked Javier.
Black flames engulfed Javier’s body. Shadows turned into sharp blades and attacked Javier.
“It’s useless!”
However, no amount of dark mana could penetrate Javier’s aura armor.
Javier broke through the dark magic and chased after Damien. Then, at one point, Javier couldn’t help but be taken aback.
‘……How is he continuing to dodge?’
Acceleration was a very difficult magic to activate.
The magic itself was also of high difficulty. It was even more difficult to use it in the middle of a battle.
No matter how high a Grand Dark Mage’s concentration was, there was no way he could use it this often without making a mistake.
However, Damien was using acceleration without a single error.
‘No, how is he even reacting to my attacks?’
At first, Javier thought that Damien had dodged the first one or two times as luck. However, as the number of times exceeded a few dozen, Javier’s thoughts couldn’t help but change.
It was then.
Because he was lost in thought, he missed Damien’s movement.
Javier quickly spread his senses. And then, he felt something above his head. He looked up and saw Damien standing in the air.
Around Damien, countless black droplets were floating. It was the same dark magic that had attacked Javier earlier.
‘He has good battle senses too.’
Javier twisted the corners of his mouth. Not only did he dodge his attack, but he was also prepared with dark magic.
However, there was one thing that was a bit disappointing.
“Do you think you’re going to use that dark magic again, even though you know it won’t work on me?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the second dark magic manifested.
Red lightning began to spark between the black droplets.
The lighting grew stronger and stronger. In an instant, the smile that had been on Javier’s lips disappeared.
“Bring it down.”
Lighting and sound filled the air.
When the world finally fell silent, the ground was charred black.
“Ugh…”
Javier emerged from the wreckage, his body covered in crimson marks.
“A vision spell indeed.”
Damien’s dark magic had failed to penetrate Javier’s aura armor, but it couldn’t shield him from the sheer impact.
Javier had felt like his entire body was being pummeled just moments ago.
“Dangerous… far too dangerous…”
Javier’s eyes darkened. He had lost all sense of composure. In that instant, he recognized Damien as an enemy.
“You’ve surprised me as well… so it’s only fair that I return the favor.”
Javier took a deep breath.
He retracted the aura that had been radiating from him, calming his surging mana.
Javier no longer exuded an intimidating presence; instead, an air of tranquility enveloped him.
“I warn you, few have ever escaped this.”
Javier took his stance.
“So don’t bother struggling.”
More than fifty meters separated Javier and Damien.
Yet, Javier swung his sword. The longsword sliced through the air.
In that instant, blood erupted from Damien’s shoulder.
***
Just before his shoulder was about to be completely cut in half, Damien used Acceleration.
He was pulled backward. Instead of Damien, the ground was cut open for a long distance.
“…You dodged that?”
Javier looked at Damien with a surprised expression.
Damien touched his shoulder. Fortunately, the wound was not deep. It was thanks to his quick use of Acceleration.
“That was close.”
Damien was able to avoid Javier’s attack thanks to the amplification of his eyesight and reaction speed by the Authority of Wrath.
But something was different about the attack just now. His shoulder was cut as soon as Javier swung his sword.
“Cutting things regardless of distance… no, is it cutting things regardless of distance?”
Javier made a round mouth and exclaimed at Damien’s words.
“You’ve got it exactly right. My realm, ‘Formless Sword,’ has the ability to cut things that are far away.”
[PR/N- When a knight reaches the Master class, they create a ‘unique and signature’ swordsmanship technique by combining their existing techniques. They then continually refine and develop it. To them, their swordsmanship technique is akin to their realm, which they have mastery over. They must constantly expand it to wield even greater power.
This is just my theory to solve your doubts. (I could be completely wrong so take everything said here with a pinch of salt.)
Also If you guys have any theories or opinions regarding this, tell me in the comments section or you can feel free to contact me on Discord.]
Swordsmanship that cut enemies by flying sword energy was called intangible swordsmanship.
Then what is the true intangible sword?
When Javier was young he always had such questions in his mind. Then he reached Master Class and got the answer.
“You were lucky to dodge it just now… but you won’t be this time.”
Javier prepared his swordsmanship again. Damien looked at Javier and fell into thought.
“…I see. It’s also possible to cut multiple things at the same time.”
Javier stopped at Damien’s words.
“…What are you talking about now?”
“Your realm. I think you can cut multiple things at the same time with one swing of your sword.”
Damien was right.
Formless Sword had no limits in terms of distance, let alone number.
Javier could cut all the leaves on a tree at the same time with just one swing of his sword.
“Not only that, but you should be able to freely change the direction as well.”
That was also true.
Javier could swing his sword horizontally and cut it vertically.
That’s not all. He could also create afterimages by drawing various shapes with one swing of his sword.
“Perhaps you were planning to cut this entire area in half with one swing of that sword? So that you could cut me down no matter where I ran.”
That was the answer too.
Javier looked at Damien with trembling eyes.
Realm was the culmination of the skills that a knight had honed throughout his life.
He figured it all out in such a short time?
“How…”
“Just.”
Damien said indifferently.
“I can just tell by looking.”
At that moment, Javier felt a chill.
The being before his eyes did not look human.
“…It doesn’t matter if you noticed.”
The Formless Sword was better hidden, but it didn’t matter if it was discovered. It was a realm that could not be dealt with even if one knew about it.
Javier took his stance.
In that instant, the way the world appeared in Javier’s eyes changed.
The whole world was filled with the trajectory of the sword. It was a sight that only Javier, who had mastered the Formless Sword, could see.
“Try to dodge it if you can.”
Javier swung his blade.
And in that instant, the whole world was painted in crimson.
***
The surrounding trees were all scattered into tiny pieces. Countless sword strikes were etched into the ground.
The clouds floating in the sky were torn apart, and the birds that were flying in the sky fell to the ground as pieces of meat.
It cut everything around it to the extreme by maximizing the characteristics of the Formless Sword.
This was Javier’s ultimate technique.
“You bastard…”
Javier slowly opened his mouth. His voice was trembling violently.
Damien stood before Javier’s nose. And he was unharmed.
“How did you know?”
The Formless Sword could cut things regardless of distance and number.
It was a very powerful realm, but it had one major disadvantage.
That was that it couldn’t cut things that were too close.
To be precise, the Formless Sword could not cut things within the range of the sword.
Damien was able to escape the ultimate technique by using Acceleration to cling to Javier.
“Just I know.”
Damien said indifferently. Javier felt an indescribable anger at his words.
“You bastard!”
In fact, this could not be considered a disadvantage. The opponent in range of the sword meant that he/she was within Javier’s reach.
Damien had now voluntarily entered the danger zone.
“I’ll break your neck like this!”
Javier grabbed Damien by the nape of the neck. But before he could do anything, Damien reached out and placed his hand on Javier’s chest.
“The dark magic I used at first wasn’t actually an offensive dark magic.”
Javier stopped at the unexpected words.
“Those weren’t only droplets. They were a lumps of condensed curses.”
A curse would not do anything to a Master Class. With the mana and vitality of a Master Class, they could ignore any amount of curses…
A pattern glowed on the back of Damien’s hand.
Then, blackthorns sprouted from Javier’s entire body.
***
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
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