“This is bad.”
Hagel Vinter, leader of the Dragon Horse Cult — the man who always maintained a composed demeanor — was, for once, visibly troubled.
It was inevitable.
Just as he’d rejoiced at finding promising talent, a middle-aged man with an impression that could only be described as a “crash landing” had suddenly appeared.
Light brown hair.
Sun-tanned skin.
Light armor patched with the hides of various demonic beasts.
And crucially — a pure white sword, blade and hilt entirely snow-white.
The sword’s name was 『White Tooth (A+)』. It was the weapon famously symbolizing Sword Saint Edval Heimfjord.
So why was a heavyweight like the Sword Saint in a mediocre ruin like this? Hagel had one guess.
There was only one reason the Sword Saint would lie in wait here, tracking the Dragon Horse Cult.
He must have realized the cult was deeply involved in the mysterious disappearance of his acknowledged rival — the Thousand-Man Slayer, Regenshauer.
“The famed Sword Saint himself — what an honor. Are you here chasing the Thousand-Man Slayer’s whereabouts?”
“…And if I am?”
Mentioning Regenshauer’s nickname caused even Edval’s ironclad expression to twitch slightly. Hagel bringing it up first had apparently surprised him. Edval frowned faintly and glanced at Aiden, but Hagel — feeling the pressure — failed to notice.
“I heard directly from Regenshauer himself about your duel long ago. A draw, was it?”
Edval stared intently at Hagel.
Hagel met the gaze and continued.
“…Let me tell you one thing. Regenshauer doesn’t consider you worth his time. And yet you still plan to keep chasing him?”
A blatant lie.
Just a desperate falsehood to escape the crisis.
Back in his novice days, while receiving guidance from Regenshauer, Hagel had occasionally heard stories about the Sword Saint. Each time, the Thousand-Man Slayer — arrogant as he was — never spared praise for Edval. As far as Hagel knew, Edval was the only person Regenshauer respected more than himself.
But unaware of this, Edval nodded calmly.
“That might be true. Perhaps since that day twenty years ago, I’ve been the only one unilaterally considering him a rival.”
“Then…”
“But as a swordsman, I cannot leave the match of a lifetime unresolved. Especially after training without pause for twenty years to defeat him.”
“…!”
Tap!
With a light step, Edval closed the distance to Hagel’s nose in an instant, unleashing a flurry of sharp strikes. Realizing persuasion had failed, Hagel clicked his tongue and hastily erected a mana barrier.
Crack! Crack! Clang!
The dazzling yet weighty chain of attacks shattered his barrier instantly. But it bought a sliver of time. Retreating swiftly, he chanted.
〈Elemental Bullet〉
Countless elemental projectiles formed around Hagel — each sphere packed with enough energy to slay an elite knight in one hit.
Bangbangbangbangbangbangbang!
Spheres of varied attributes shot toward Edval, tracing colorful arcs through the air.
Whoosh!
But with a casual swing, Edval pulverized them all.
“Ha…!”
Witnessing the absurd sight, Hagel let out a hollow laugh.
The pressure from Edval’s sword just now was “Energy Strike” — an advanced application of the Vital Method, beyond Energy Armor and Energy Blade. To cleanly negate his 〈Elemental Bullet〉 with a single Energy Strike?
And even after displaying such astonishing skill, Edval’s breathing remained perfectly steady. He had plenty of reserve left.
Hagel broke into a cold sweat.
“He’s strong. Worthy of the swordsman who drew with Master Regenshauer long ago. But…”
No matter how renowned the Sword Saint, Hagel didn’t think he matched the current Regenshauer. The Thousand-Man Slayer had grown incomparably stronger than twenty years ago, when he’d earned his title.
Of course, Edval was still far stronger than Hagel himself.
At this rate, his chances of victory were near zero.
Alone, escape would likely be impossible.
Quickly deciding, Hagel unhesitatingly pulled something from his pocket — the Arabal family heirloom, the 『Bell of Promise (S)』.
Ding!
The moment he rang it, space beside him rippled, and a small rift appeared. A man stepped through.
Dragon Horse Cult vice-leader Lucian Arabal.
“What is it, Hagel?”
“I ran into a tough opponent. Care to team up, Lucian?”
“A tricky one…”
Suddenly summoned, Lucian shifted his gaze to Edval. Seeing the famed sword 『White Tooth (A+)』, he instantly recognized the opponent as one of the Triple Star — the Sword Saint.
“You were playing with a monster.”
Facing an unexpected powerhouse, Lucian frowned briefly but calmly drew his sword.
Hagel spoke to him.
“If I chant 〈Glitter Loop〉, I can bind him — even briefly. Finish him with your strike then.”
“Understood, Leader.”
<Lucian Arabal>
[Level: 55/59]
[HP: 10] [Strength: 16] [Agility: 15]
[Mana: 20] [Spirit: 06] [Sense: 18]
[Divinity: 04]
[Traits: Sword Demon (S+), Magic Genius (A), Disjointed Physique (A), plus 3 others]
[Skills: Gray Tower Secret Spatial Magic (A), Snowfield Mana Fusion Vital Method (A), Imperial Guardian Swordsmanship (A), Gray Tower Training Method (B), plus 4 others]
[Description: Age 35, human. Second son of the Baskaya Empire’s Marquess Arabal. Currently a vice-leader of the Dragon Horse Cult.]
Confirming the sheet, I muttered dazedly.
“When I first came to Snowflower Swamp, I never imagined this escalation.”
“Aiden! Shouldn’t we help that Sword Saint guy? He’s outnumbered!”
I shook my head at Epio’s words.
“If we jumped in now, we’d be no help at all.”
A level-68 Sword Saint against a level-59 cult leader and level-55 vice-leader. Kids in the level-20 range like us jumping in wouldn’t affect the outcome in the slightest.
We were already struggling just to track their afterimages.
Whirr!
Hagel’s high-tier light-attribute binding spell 〈Glitter Loop〉 manifested as rings of light tightly coiling around Edval’s upper body.
In that instant, Lucian used a spatial leap to close in and swung at Edval’s neck.
But.
“Get lost!!!”
A thunderous roar halted Lucian’s charge. Even with arms bound, Edval wrapped Energy Armor around his head and delivered a headbutt. Lucian, struck directly, flew nearly dozens of meters.
“Hup!”
Crack!
With Edval’s shout, the light rings binding him snapped. Immediately regripping White Tooth, he unleashed an Energy Strike toward Hagel, who was chanting his next spell.
“Tch!”
Hagel hastily cast 〈Front Shield〉 to block it.
Boom!
But the shockwave from the Energy Strike rattled even inside the barrier, and Hagel spewed dark blood.
Yes.
Facing two Twelve Heroes-tier powerhouses who’d coordinated for years, Edval was displaying utterly overwhelming dominance.
“…That’s a continent-top-tier swordsman.”
Chesa muttered in disbelief.
Epio and Linia could only perceive vague afterimages flying around with constant flashes exploding. But Chesa, with her 『Analytic Magic Sight (A)』 trait, clearly recognized the extraordinarily high level of their exchanges. Even the Nano Eater in her pouch trembled, detecting the massive mana flow.
I, thanks to Serene Clarity (A) and original knowledge, could observe the battle as calmly as possible.
And my judgment was…
“Those Dragon Horse Cult bastards — judging by their demeanor, they’ll probably choose escape soon.”
Explaining that to the three, I pulled out the rolled-up paper from my pocket — the 『Perpetual Spell Scroll: 〈Padio Blink〉 (S)』 I’d taken from the lower layer.
Then I equipped the plain pair of bracelets recovered from Brenda’s corpse — the 『Accel Register (A+)』 — on both wrists.
『Accel Register (A+)』
- Common / Fire-attribute dominance increase
- Left / Spell: 〈Spell Boost〉
- Right / Spell scroll storage
※ Efficiency halved if not worn together
This set bracelet has different functions for left and right.
The left holds 〈Spell Boost〉, greatly amplifying the next spell’s power.
What I aimed for was the right’s function — it can “store” a spell scroll by absorbing it. Then the stored spell can be activated with will alone, without tearing the scroll.
Normal spell scrolls are consumables. But the one from the lower layer is perpetual — it auto-repairs when torn. Storing it in the right bracelet creates a treasure allowing permanent use of spatial leap magic.
Whoosh!
Soon, the 〈Padio Blink〉 scroll melted into the bracelet. Confirming it, I carefully moved toward the deepest section’s entrance, unnoticed by the cult duo.
Lucian felt his breath growing ragged.
“Huff, huff…”
The Sword Saint’s skill was astonishing. Struggling even against the combined assault of Hagel and himself — truly a monster among monsters. The reputation as the strongest of the Twelve Heroes was no exaggeration.
For Lucian, who prided himself on rivaling the continent’s top tier, it was a massive shock.
“…Leader.”
“Yes, I know.”
The answer was clear: escape from here.
The two reached a silent agreement.
Among the spells mastered by spatial magic authority Lucian was 〈Double Flash〉 — allowing two consecutive spatial leaps in one cast. Its true value lay in allocating those two chances — one to an ally, one to himself.
Hagel completed the spell he’d been preparing for a while.
〈Rainbow Curtain〉
A massive barrier manifesting to block internal and external interference. A special spell usable only by those with 『Compressed Fusion (S)』, forcibly fusing multiple elements.
This would buy enough time.
Their eyes met briefly. At the same moment, Aiden’s telepathy via Plebelziam reached Edval.
[Sir Edval, those two plan to escape using spatial leap magic. That rainbow barrier is a ploy to tie your feet.]
Hearing this, Edval’s eyes widened.
The Dragon Horse duo was now charging him.
“As expected — that charge is just to deceive my eyes.”
Edval’s gaze settled.
Surprisingly, instead of countering, he gripped White Tooth with both hands in a defenseless stance.
It was preparation for a killing ultimate technique. Thanks to his trait 『Super Intuition (A)』 confirming Aiden’s words as truth, he could make this bold choice.
Right after.
〈Double Flash〉
Lucian and Hagel — their charging forms suddenly flickered. Their leap destination was near the deepest section’s entrance.
“Success…! With the Leader’s 〈Rainbow Curtain〉 interfering, the Sword Saint can’t catch—”
Slash!
A clean cutting sound.
Immediately after, vice-leader Lucian Arabal — face beaming with joy — was bisected left and right. A perfect straight cut from brow to groin.
Edval Heimfjord’s unique skill, 『Flowing Dimension Slash (U)』.
Against that space-severing strike, the physical interference from 〈Rainbow Curtain〉 was meaningless.
Hagel’s expression twisted horribly.
“Lucian…!”
In casting 〈Double Flash〉, Lucian had prioritized the leader’s safety against contingencies. Pouring all remaining mana, Hagel leaped farther — unintentionally escaping the Flowing Dimension Slash’s range.
But Hagel had no time to properly mourn his loyal aide’s death.
A shadow appeared before him.
It was Aiden, using 〈Padio Blink〉 stored in the 『Accel Register (A+)』 for a spatial leap.
Temporarily exceeding limits via the Brandish school’s ultimate “Fluid Harmony,” he channeled vibrating energy breathing and aimed for Hagel’s vital point.
Slash!
“Guh!”
But Hagel twisted his body, barely dodging. Though Aiden’s “Vileshaker” shook his insides slightly, it ended with mild nausea.
Regret flashed across Aiden’s face.
And in that moment.
Chesa felt a strange vibration at her waist. The 『Nano Eater (S)』 in her pouch was signaling something.