With a crisp, ringing hum of a blade, Allie charged forward first.
Her sword was like a silver dragon swimming through the air, drawing a graceful arc as it went straight for Roland's throat.
“Heh, what a spirited young girl. You're growing more and more to my liking.” Roland advanced instead of retreating. He raised his longsword horizontally to block, and the two blades clashed in midair, letting out a sharp ring.
Sparks flew in all directions. Both retreated half a step before lunging forward again almost simultaneously.
Their swords clashed in a flurry of light, the metallic rings as dense as raindrops. Their figures shifted rapidly across the street, leaping onto roofs one moment and dropping back to the ground the next. Wherever their blades swept, deep gashes were carved into the walls.
A Demon King Cultist happened to rush out of a nearby alley, raising his weapon to attack some civilians close by.
Allie didn't even spare him a glance. She swept her sword in a casual backhand, releasing a whistling wave of silver-white sword aura that sliced both the man and the wall behind him clean in half.
At the same time, Roland forced Allie back with a strike, using his off-hand movement to pin another fleeing Demon King Cultist to the ground with his sword.
Perhaps this was a literal depiction of “when gods fight, mortals suffer.”
Not far away, several Imperial Knights responsible for maintaining order noticed the battle.
They initially wanted to step in and assist, but after seeing the two flashes of sword light crossing each other like illusions, they all stopped in their tracks.
A young knight swallowed hard and muttered, “W-Wait! Isn't that the Empire's Sword, Lord Roland...!?”
An older knight rubbed his eyes upon hearing this.
“It seems my eyes are truly failing me. To think I'd see a young girl fighting on equal terms with Lord Roland... How could I be seeing such a hallucination?”
The leading knight captain fell silent for a moment. “Keep your distance. Do not approach. A duel between swordsmen of that level is not something we can interfere in.”
On the street, the battle between Allie and Roland raged on.
Their swordsmanship styles were completely different.
Roland's style was steady and heavy, every strike carrying the seasoned cunning and precision of decades of accumulated experience.
Allie's style, on the other hand, was incredibly powerful, each slash possessing a majestic momentum that seemed capable of splitting mountains.
Both felt it had been a long time since they met an opponent who could match them sword for sword, bringing them a long-lost rush of excitement.
Although Allie disliked the old man in front of her, she thoroughly enjoyed the battle itself, so she didn't use her embryonic Domain at the start.
Instead, she wanted to see how far her pure swordsmanship could take her against such a veteran swordsman.
Meanwhile, Roland noticed that although Allie's aura was powerful, it was still somewhat unstable.
He judged that the girl must have broken through to LV70 within the past month, meaning she probably hadn't had time to master an embryonic Domain yet.
Under these circumstances, he had no intention of using his own Domain to take advantage of her.
After all, it was rare to find a youth who could trade blows with him on equal footing. He wanted to defeat her fair and square with pure swordsmanship.
“Old man, your sword is too dull!”
“Heh, let me give you some advice, young lady. Don't let your youth make you arrogant, or you'll suffer for it!”
The two continued their clash, their sword light weaving a dense net across the street.
But gradually, relying on his decades of accumulated experience and technique, Roland began to gain the upper hand.
His sword strikes grew increasingly steady. Each move forced Allie back half a step, slowly compressing her room to maneuver.
Allie's breathing grew slightly rapid, and fine beads of sweat formed on her forehead, but the excitement in her eyes only grew more intense.
Just as Roland forced Allie back three steps with a strike and prepared to press his advantage, a completely new aura suddenly erupted from her.
She had suddenly gained enlightenment mid-battle, leveling up twice in one go.
That aura surged forth like spring water bursting through ice, instantly causing the mana coated on her blade to skyrocket.
This pushed Roland, who had been gradually securing his advantage, right back into a disadvantageous position.
“Gaining enlightenment and breaking through mid-battle? What kind of ridiculous talent is this!?”
Roland's expression shifted slightly. He realized that if he didn't use his real abilities now, he might actually lose.
Unable to accept defeat, he shook his longsword, and a fierce crimson light erupted from the blade:
“Sword Domain—Blood Slash!”
This was the embryonic form of a Domain that he had spent ten years mastering after breaking through to LV70.
A crimson light spread out like a tide, enveloping a radius of dozens of meters around them.
The metallic scent of blood filled the air, and dark red patterns emerged on the ground, looking as if something were squirming beneath the surface.
Roland's aura climbed to a brand-new peak at this moment. The longsword in his hand seemed to come alive, letting out a low, resonant hum.
“Young lady, watch closely. This is the power a true powerhouse should possess. Don't blame me for bullying the young!”
Then, he saw Allie grin.
“Sword Domain—Judgement.”
An even more domineering and pure silver light erupted from Allie's body, instantly tearing a massive rift in Roland's crimson Domain.
The silver-white light shone in all directions like the light of judgment, completely suppressing the dark red patterns.
Allie stood at the center of the light, her dark gold hair fluttering in the air currents, her eyes flashing with a near-fanatical brilliance.
“W-What... is this!?”
Roland was utterly dumbfounded.
His eyes widened as he stared at the scene before him in disbelief.
“You... Your aura hasn't even fully stabilized yet! How could you have mastered a Domain!?”
Allie slowly raised her sword.
“I don't know. I just suddenly figured it out.”
Roland: “...”
He felt as if his brain was failing him once again.
But Allie gave him no time to think. She swung her sword down in a violent sweep.
The silver-white sword light collided violently with the crimson sword light in midair, letting out a deafening boom.
The surrounding buildings shook violently from the shockwave, spiderweb-like cracks spidering across their walls.
The knights nearby were blown off their feet by the blast. They scrambled behind cover on all fours, their faces filled with sheer terror.
Both of them exerted their full power. As sword light clashed and Domains collided, everything on the street was torn to shreds by their exchange.
In the end, however, Allie's embryonic Domain was far more domineering.
Her sword light pierced through Roland's defense, carving a deep wound into his shoulder.
Roland let out a muffled groan and stumbled back several steps. Propping himself up with his sword, blood dripped down his arm onto the ground. He used the last of his strength to look at Allie.
“Truly... a monster...”
With that, he collapsed.
“Is that it?”
Allie glanced at the old man, who had completely lost consciousness on the ground, and shook her head in disappointment.
She thought that if he could have kept her company just a little longer, she might have been able to level up once more.
She sheathed her longsword and prepared to go after Greg.
But the very instant she took a step, several blurry phantoms suddenly emerged from all directions, launching themselves at her like ghosts.
Those phantoms had no physical form, yet they carried tangible killing intent.
After dodging an attack and leaping onto a roof, she discovered that these phantom-like enemies were now everywhere throughout the Imperial Capital.
Allie suddenly had an ominous premonition.
She felt that this might have something to do with her young master's situation.
Rate on N.U.
