Chapter 69: Chapter 69 - The First Demon General ( Part 13)
Chapter 28: The Sword King Against The Demon General
Just at the moment their swords clashed...
The world exploded.
BOOOOOOM!
An incredible shockwave shook Gray Hollow like a stormy hurricane. Windows broke. Tower fragments collapsed to form stone pillars of dust. Old trees were bent until they broke like dry branches.
The red sky was torn into pieces.
Golden radiance clashed against endless darkness, creating two opposing realms within the heavens.
One was filled with hope.
And the other one was filled with devastation.
All spectators involuntarily closed their eyes.
"They’re gone!"
A hunter looked around in panic.
But he couldn’t find them.
Only two lights remained.
One black.
One gold.
They flew through the sky at unimaginable speed.
CLANG!
Another explosion shook the sky.
Jennie appeared above Azrakiel with Excalibur flying towards the enemy in a perfect arc.
The divine light of the sword lit up the clouds.
Azrakiel lifted his cursed greatsword.
Swords crashed into each other.
The air around was literally torn apart.
A spherical shockwave tore through the distant hills, knocking enormous boulders from the mountainsides.
Neither of the opponents budged an inch.
Neither of the opponents gave even a little.
Azrakiel laughed.
"Well..."
"You haven’t forgotten about the hand that once beat you, have you?"
Jennie’s crimson eyes stayed cool.
"I have remembered just enough."
She slightly twisted her wrist.
Excalibur slid over the cursed blade with sparks flashing around as if from falling stars before the graceful turn behind Azrakiel.
One stroke.
Perfect.
Silent.
Azrakiel was not there anymore.
The sword sliced through empty space.
The mountain behind the Demon General split.
For a few seconds...
Nothing happened.
Then the upper half started moving away from the other half and fell to the valley.
All spectators were looking speechlessly.
"She cut..."
"A mountain?"
Azrakiel laughed.
It was real laughter.
"Magnificent!"
Mana burst out from under his feet as he jumped forward.
Unlike Jennie who wielded the Excalibur with elegance, Azrakiel was a warrior with straightforward swordsmanship style.
Every strike was aimed at absolute destruction.
His sword was descending.
Jennie moved back for the width of the finger.
Cursed blade fell onto the ground.
The village square was erased.
Stone melted at the impact point and was thrown upwards like a volcanic eruption.
Jennie appeared right next to Azrakiel.
Three quick strokes.
Shoulder.
Neck.
Waist.
It was like dance made up of moves repeated thousands of times.
Azrakiel parried all of them.
Metal was screaming.
Gold and black sparks flew across the battlefield.
Lucas was watching them in disbelief.
"...I can’t see what’s happening."
Headmaster Orion slowly nodded.
"It’s not just battle."
"It’s reading."
Every feint.
Every change of balance.
Every heartbeat.
It was a battle between the warriors who mastered the art of swordsmanship completely.
The strength didn’t matter.
One mistake...
Was enough to change everything.
Azrakiel suddenly disappeared.
Intuition reacted instantly to the opponent’s movements.
Jennie turned.
Too late.
The cursed blade was descending.
She raised Excalibur.
CRAAAANG!
The impact threw her backwards through three ruined houses where she dug the sword in the ground.
Stone exploded around her feet.
She stopped.
A small cut appeared on her cheek.
A single drop of blood was sliding down her face.
Crimson eyes of Azrakiel were wide open.
"You’re bleeding."
Jennie smiled gently.
"And you’re bleeding too."
Only then Azrakiel noticed the thin golden line running across his armored chest.
His armor...
Was cut.
For the first time in five hundred years.
The Demon General touched the wound.
Then he laughed louder than before.
"Magnificent!"
"I began to suspect that the era had become boring."
The darkness poured from his body.
Mana surrounding him became more and more dense, devouring the light itself.
Behind Azrakiel enormous wings of pure demonic energy were forming.
The sky darkened.
The thunder rolled across the horizon.
Jennie breathed slowly.
The golden wind formed around the Excalibur.
Runes one after another were awaking on the blade of the sword.
The sword seemed to be alive.
Happy.
As if it had waited for centuries to finally reunite with the owner.
"Master."
Voice of the Excalibur sounded soft.
"Your synchronization is incomplete."
"I know."
"If you give me more divine power..."
"Everyone in the battle below will be affected."
Gaze of Jennie shifted to the battlefield.
Lilia was getting treatment from the healers.
Lucas was standing despite the injuries.
Knights were protecting the frightened students under the broken shields.
She couldn’t risk it.
"...Then we’ll end this fight without it."
Excalibur chuckled gently.
"Just like before."
Azrakiel lifted his sword to the sky.
Black lightning was forming along its edge.
Clouds turned into giant vortex.
All spectators felt how tightly their hearts clenched.
Even the monsters hidden deep in the forests far away were fleeing in fear.
"This technique..."
Headmaster Orion whispered.
"It is gathering mana from the whole area."
Deep voice of Azrakiel echoed through the sky.
"Leonis!"
The ancient name resounded through Gray Hollow.
"For five hundred years..."
"I dreamt about finishing our duel!"
He swung.
A monstrous wave of black sword energy passed through the heavens.
It spread from one horizon to the other.
Everything under it was lost in darkness.
Jennie tightened her grip.
The golden light was shining around the Excalibur.
Wind spirits came happily around her again, singing in the voices audible only to Jennie.
She shifted her position.
Her breath slowed down.
The battlefield was fading.
The screams were vanishing.
There was only her sword.
Only her opponent.
Only the way of the blade.
"One stroke."
She whispered.
Then she acted.
A single step.
One perfect stroke.
A crescent of golden light was rising to meet the sea of darkness.
The two ultimate techniques clashed above and below.
For a few impossible heartbeats...
Time itself seemed to be stopping.
Then the world was filled with the blinding light.
