“...”
Silabein’s gaze grew even more solemn, but it was quickly replaced by killing intent. He gripped his mithril sword tightly, bracing his lower body as he prepared to exert his strength.
At that moment, Shulim also raised her wand.
“【ᛓᚠᛏורᛈתᛖᛜᛖᚾᚠᚲᚢהᛤᛜᛁᛄᚾᛒᛜᚻᛏᛋᛡᛓᚠᚢᛒᚳᛓᛖᛜᛖᛃᚱᚪיᛏᚠᛜᛋᛏᛜᚻᛏᛋᛜᛖᛞᚢ】”
“Deep Freeze!!!”
“!??”
Watching the ice rapidly spreading toward his feet, Silabein was startled. Aborting the attack he was about to launch, he leaped upward with all his might, shattering the ice beneath him as he soared into the air.
Shulim's gaze followed Silabein into the sky; this was the exact opportunity she had been waiting for.
She pointed her wand directly at Silabein in midair.
Silabein noticed Shulim's movement. He held his mithril sword across his chest, resolved to shatter whatever ranged attack she launched at him the very instant it drew near.
However—
“【ᛖᚢᛋᛒבᛤᛜᛖᛓᛃᚺᚾᛜᛣᛈᛏᛡᛣᛃᚾᚠᛏᛁᛋᛚᚪᛜᛗᛜᛣᛃᛗᚢᛜᛖᚲהᛤᛜᛞᛈᛃᛡᛚᛖᛋ】”
“Lightning Strike!!!”
The moment thunder rumbled in the sky, Silabein already knew things had taken a turn for the worse.
But it was too late. Besides, a lightning strike was not something a sword could block.
“Arghhh—!!!”
Lightning instantly enveloped his entire body. Unlike the stinging pain of physical wounds, this was an excruciating, paralyzing agony. Instead of keeping him alert, the shock robbed his entire body of sensation. The surge of electricity allowed the hard-pressed drowsiness to rebound with a vengeance, causing his eyes to lose focus.
Boom—!!!
Silabein's smoking body fell from the air, crashing hard onto the ground.
“Cough! Dammit... my consciousness is...”
He lay on the ground, summoning every ounce of his strength as he tried with trembling hands to grip his weapon.
But before he could secure his grip—
“Lightning Strike!”
Boom—!
Another bolt of lightning plummeted from the heavens.
Then came a second, a third...
“Lightning Strike!”
“Lightning Strike!”
“Light...”
Boom! Boom! Boom...
The sound of thunder rippled outward from the pier, echoing continuously through the surrounding city districts...
“It's thundering. Is it going to rain?”
“Hard to say. It's been cloudy all night, so rain wouldn't be surprising!”
“Let's hurry up and get home...”
Spurred by the rumbling thunder, the people still outdoors hurried back to their homes.
But there were also some who noticed something amiss.
“...No, that's not natural thunder. That's lightning magic!”
“The Third-Tier lightning spell, Lightning Strike? Interesting...”
“Hmph! Who dares to recklessly cast magic in the royal capital!? Knights, assemble!”
...
Zzzt! Zzzt!
Residual electricity occasionally sparked on the ground. At this moment, Silabein resembled a charred log, black smoke drifting from his body, and even the earth around him showed signs of melting.
“...”
Shulim watched him warily.
Is it over?
He is only human, after all. His Life couldn't possibly be as resilient as a monster's.
Yet, at that very moment, the fingers of that charred log twitched.
What!?
Shulim's eyes widened in shock, and she immediately raised her wand once more.
“You... you brat... don't look down on me—!!!”
His charred right hand gripped the mithril sword lying to his side. Summoning what seemed to be every ounce of strength left in his body, Silabein roared:
“Frenzied Aura—!!!”
“Lightning Strike!”
Boom!
A flame-like crimson battle aura erupted from Silabein's body, just as the newly cast Lightning Strike came crashing down on his head.
However, the dazzling lightning was blocked by that crimson battle aura, failing to harm him as it had before.
“Arghhh—!!!”
Silabein stood up and let out an incomprehensible roar toward the sky. Wrapped in the crimson battle aura, his entire being looked as though it were ablaze.
Then he lowered his head, his blood-red eyes locking onto Shulim:
“I'll kill you—!!!”
“Wings of Wind!”
Boom—!
With a single swing of his sword, the ground was torn wide open.
At the absolute last second, Shulim successfully activated Wings of Wind, taking to the sky and narrowly evading the fatal strike.
“Don't even think about escaping—!!!”
Silabein seemed to have completely lost his mind, his consciousness entirely consumed by homicidal mania.
Boom—!
He stomped heavily, shattering the ground beneath him as his body launched into the sky like a cannonball.
Shulim immediately raised her sword in front of her to block.
Thud—!
In the next instant, her body was blasted backward by the sheer force of the impact.
“Storm Blast!”
Whoosh—!
Just as she was about to crash into the ground, she unleashed a Storm Blast toward the earth, the resulting gale propelling her back into the sky.
Once she stabilized her posture, Shulim slid her wand behind her back and gripped her mithril sword with both hands.
He's too fast. I don't have the time to cast any spells...
Boom—!
The cannonball-like figure flew before her once more.
Shulim did not shrink back. She swung her sword toward him with all her might.
Clang!
Following the clash, Shulim was sent flying backward once more, though much slower this time. After doing a few flips in midair, she stabilized herself again.
“Whew—!”
Shulim took a deep breath, holding her sword in front of her with both hands, her concentration pushed to its absolute peak.
“Hayeral Swordsmanship, Fourth Stance—”
His eyes bloodshot, Silabein dragged his mithril sword at an angle with one hand as he closed in on Shulim. In the next instant, he shattered the ground beneath him and vanished. Reappearing, he brought his raised sword crashing down with enough force to cleave the earth itself.
“—Star Flash!!!”
At the exact same time, Shulim executed her most powerful sword technique with everything she had.
The mithril sword in her hands seemed to transform into a barrage of falling stars, soaring up to intercept the massive, plummeting meteor.
Boom—!
A massive shockwave erupted.
Shulim was once again blasted backward by the terrifying force, while Silabein was forced back several steps.
Bang! Bang!
Without any warning, two simultaneous cracks resounded as the ground shattered beneath them, and both figures shot forward like catapults.
Star and meteor clashed once more, rebounding only to instantly stabilize and plunge back into the fray.
Only to be blasted back yet again...
Clang! Clang! Clang...
The two mithril swords clashed relentlessly in the air, on the ground, inside and outside the buildings, carving trails of bright sparks through the dark night.
On one side was the devastating power wrapped in the Fourth-Tier Non-Elemental magic spell, "Frenzied Aura." On the other was a flawless synergy between flight pushed to its absolute limits and Hayeral Swordsmanship.
Moving at blinding speed, their afterimages soared and plunged across the entire dock. From the sky to the ground, the entire pier had been turned into a battlefield.
The once orderly pier lay in absolute ruins from the shockwaves of their battle. At the center of the battlefield, the warehouse serving as the underground organization's base had been completely reduced to rubble...
“What's wrong? What's wrong!? Aren't you going to use your magic anymore—?!!”
Silabein grew increasingly manic.
At this point, his purpose in fighting seemed to have shifted from simply killing Shulim to absolute destruction.
“Use it!!! Use your magic!!! Weren't you using it just fine a moment ago!!?”
Boom—!!!
Shulim's figure was once again blasted away.
She crashed through the outer wall of the only intact building left on the pier, finally stopping only when she hit the wall on the opposite side.
Thud—!
A figure enveloped in raging red flames landed inside the building. Glancing at Shulim, who was slumped against the wall, he cracked his neck and spoke in a tone of mock regret:
“How boring. Is this really all you're capable of?”
“...Whatever, I might as well just kill you now—”
Shulim slowly raised her head. Despite her extensive injuries, her eyes remained as calm and tranquil as they had been at the very beginning.
“You want to see my magic?”
“Then, as you wish—!”
Rate on N.U.
