Chapter 70: Chapter 70 - Battle of Legends ( Part 1)
For one heartbeat...
Time stopped.
Gold.
Black.
Two absolute beings clashed on the line between heaven and earth.
And then—
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The clash unleashed a second sun upon the kingdom.
A pillar of radiant light tore apart the scarlet sky, destroying all the clouds in its path. Gold light and darkness spun in a giant vortex, unleashing shockwaves upon the kingdom.
The ruins of Gray Hollow sank into the explosion.
Stone turned to dust.
Dust turned to nothing.
The earth opened itself to gigantic fissures stretching towards the distant mountains.
Outside the battlefield...
Whole forests were evacuated by birds.
Territories of monsters disappeared as they ran away in blind panic.
Even rivers changed their courses because of the trembling ground caused by the incredible power.
"...What... is that?"
The hunter asked, staring at the sky with empty eyes.
Nobody answered.
Nobody could.
Heaven seemed to break in pieces.
When the light finally faded...
They were gone.
Jennie.
Azrakiel.
Neither of them stood where they had stood before.
The battlefield returned to silence.
"...Where?"
Lucas whispered, holding the shattered remains of his sword.
And then—
CLANG!
An ear-shattering metallic noise exploded from the heights of the sky.
Everybody instinctively turned their heads upwards.
A ripple of compressed air spread across the sky.
Only two points of light were visible.
One was bright as the morning sun.
Another was dark as the endless void.
They clashed.
Moved apart.
Clashed again.
Every collision sounded like thunder rumbling across the continent.
"They’re..."
Roland narrowed his eyes, and tears appeared in his eyes.
"...They’re dueling each other above the clouds."
Jennie landed first.
Her silver hair danced behind her back, like a glowing moonbeam.
Mana currents of gold swirled around Excalibur, reflecting the runes of ancient magic inscribed upon the sacred sword.
She was breathing calmly.
Her heart was beating steadily.
Five hundred years had passed.
Yet she could feel the familiar rhythm of the battle.
Below...
The whole world became distant.
There was only her opponent.
There was only the sword.
There was only the next move.
Azrakiel smiled.
"That’s what I want to see."
"The same face."
Without another word, he disappeared.
Jennie’s instincts started yelling at her.
She moved sideways.
A black sword missed her face for just a millimeter, throwing several strands of silver hair into the air.
She instantly responded.
Excalibur created a graceful crescent shape in the sky.
Azrakiel blocked.
The explosion of their weapons shook the clouds for miles in all directions.
Neither of them was giving an inch of ground.
But...
Their swords began to dance.
First move.
The peak of the mountain was split perfectly in halves.
Second move.
The clouds flew apart, exposing the blue sky hidden behind the storm.
Third move.
Even the air was screaming under the force of their swords.
Jennie’s swordsmanship danced like the water.
Every move was smooth, natural transition into the next move.
There was no waste of energy in her movements.
There were no useless flourishes.
Each slash was done for a purpose.
Azrakiel’s swordfighting style was completely opposite to hers.
Every strike carried incredible force.
Ruthless.
Direct.
Incessant.
His sword tried to crush anything that was standing in front of it.
The contrast was beautiful.
Grace vs destruction.
Precision vs the overwhelming might.
Far below...
Spectators saw only flashes.
A flash of golden light was visible over the eastern ridge.
One heartbeat later—
A flash of black light from the western cliffs.
An explosion.
Another explosion.
Parts of the surrounding mountains started collapsing because of the invisible shockwaves of their duel.
A nervous young student of academy swallowed hard.
"...Are they... humans?"
Orion slowly lowered his gaze.
"No."
His voice held quiet respect.
"...They are legends."
Above...
Azrakiel smashed his sword towards the sky with enough force to split the heavens.
Jennie sidestepped for the width of a single finger.
His sword missed her.
Unfortunately...
It missed the mountain behind her.
The top silently split off and fell into the valley.
Dust burst upwards like volcanic eruption.
Jennie used falling rocks as footholds to accelerate herself.
Excalibur flashed.
Once.
Twice.
Seven times.
Every slash was done from different angle.
Azrakiel’s greatsword became a wall of black steel.
All the attacks were blocked.
Sparks burst into air like golden fireworks.
"Excellent."
Azrakiel laughed.
"You have become sharper."
Jennie responded with another slash instead of words.
Metal collided with metal.
The shockwave rocked the sky.
Inside her mind, Excalibur whispered softly.
"Master."
"He’s testing you."
"I know."
"He remembers your old style."
Jennie narrowed her eyes.
"So I’ll give him something new."
She slightly shifted her position.
Very little.
But Excalibur noticed it.
"You combined your old technique..."
"...with the wind spirits."
Jennie smiled faintly.
"I have five hundred years to think about it."
The wind answered.
Invisible currents of air surrounded her feet.
She defied the expectations.
She didn’t dash forward.
She curved through the sky like a falling leaf and accelerated suddenly.
Azrakiel’s eyes widened.
For the first time during the battle...
His sword arrived one split-second late.
Excalibur slipped past his guard.
A thin golden line appeared over the black armor covering his shoulder.
Silence.
Azrakiel slowly lowered his gaze.
His fingers touched the mark.
The armor...
Was cut.
Not very deep.
But enough.
A hearty laughter burst from his mouth.
At long last...
He got his blood drawn by the Demon General of Sword.
He lifted his crimson gaze up to Jennie.
There was no hatred in it.
Only excitement.
"I wanted to experience this feeling again."
Dark mana surged around him, devouring the daylight.
The clouds became black again.
He smiled wider.
"Come."
"Show me if the sword which defeated me five centuries ago still has the strength to challenge ruin."
Jennie raised her sword.
Golden light reacted to the darkness.
Wind spirits happily circled her sword.
Without another word...
Both legends disappeared from the view.
The sky exploded into thunderous clash...
The true duel finally begun.
The crash caused both warriors to be launched in different directions.
Jennie landed softly on the pieces of the mountain peak, her boots barely touching the stone, causing not even one pebble to roll away underfoot.
On the other side of the valley, Azrakiel was standing on the floating pieces of fractured stone, his greatsword being held against his shoulder.
For the first time since his awakening...
He looked determined.
That mischievous smile, which used to be in his crimson eyes, was gone.
And he had been staring at his opponent like the veteran swordsman facing a fellow veteran.
A cold wind rushed between them.
Neither moved.
Neither spoke.
The silence itself turned into a new battlefield.
Below them, everyone involuntarily held their breath.
Headmaster Orion slowly lowered his broken sword.
"...They are reading each other."
Lucas frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"They are looking for any weaknesses."
Orion kept looking at the duel.
"On their level, one mistake changes everything."
"As long as no one will make such a mistake..."
"They won’t attack rashly."
The hunters glanced uneasily at each other.
For them, the duel seemed to be frozen.
However, everyone who had experience with swords knew how it really was.
The battle was going on all the time.
It just became invisible.
Above, crimson eyes of Jennie carefully observed Azrakiel.
His shoulders.
His stance.
The tiniest movements of his hands.
Even his breathing rhythm.
Five centuries had changed him.
His stance had become heavier.
Control over the demonic mana had become much finer.
He had changed.
Jennie smiled faintly.
"So..."
"You did not sleep those five centuries."
Azrakiel gave a quiet laugh.
"And you."
"You have become calmer."
"I remember the king who was smiling during his charge on enemy army."
Jennie only shrugged.
"I grew up."
"You have reincarnated."
"That too."
For a brief moment...
Both of them laughed.
And it seemed strange to hear such peaceful sound amid battlefield, which was turned into ruins.
However, in the next moment...
They disappeared.
BOOM!
Their swords clashed in the clear sky above the valley.
The golden sparks flew around like meteor shower.
Jennie twisted in midair, letting the power of their clash move her into spinning attack.
Excalibur drew glowing circle in front of her.
Azrakiel bent his body and let the radiant blade brush against the horns of his helmet before giving powerful upward slash.
Jennie pushed herself from the blade with her foot and flew higher.
The attack had narrowly missed her, but it’s shockwave went further upward.
The clouds tore apart along a straight line reaching horizon.
The sunlight flooded through the gap.
For a second, gold and crimson had painted the sky.
It was beautiful.
Voice of Excalibur echoed in Jennie’s mind.
"Master."
"You have started smiling."
Jennie blinked.
"...Have I?"
"You were always smiling."
"In case of meeting a swordsman who was able to challenge you."
Jennie did not notice it.
However, she could not deny it.
For the first time after her reincarnation...
She had released her swordswoman instincts.
It was not a burden for her anymore.
Not a task.
Not a duty.
It was the duel between two swordsmen who understood each other without saying a word.
Across the valley, grin of Azrakiel widened.
"Yes..."
"There you are."
"The warrior who I was looking for."
The black mana rushed around his blade once again.
However, this time it did not burst.
No.
It compressed.
Layer upon layer.
Until his giant greatsword was enveloped in the thin veil of darkness.
Jennie’s face turned serious.
She recognized the technique.
It was not a stronger technique.
It was much deadlier.
Perfectly controlled strike.
It was aimed not at destroying the battlefield...
But at eliminating one opponent.
Azrakiel slowly pointed his blade at Jennie.
"No more testing."
Jennie lowered Excalibur into her stance.
Golden wind was gathering around the divine sword, creating glowing circles of light around its edge.
The valley below became silent.
Everyone could feel the change.
Next strike...
Would shake not only the mountains.
It would give the upper hand to one of the legendary swordsmen.
