The Flash Swordswoman Irene vs The Ex-Hero, The Current Demon King Kim Jae-hyun
Rehyun finished speaking, and Irene's sword, still locked against his, flowed with fluid grace as she deflected the Holy Sword. In the next instant, she drove her blade straight for his shoulder.
The blue aura blade spun with perfect circular rotation, its force concentrated into a single point of overwhelming penetration power as it targeted his shoulder. Yet Rehyun simply sidestepped, evading the attack with effortless ease.
Even without a direct strike, the mere proximity would have been devastating, slicing through flesh and shattering bone. But Rehyun was shielded in full by an aura barrier manifesting as a defense, and every protective spell layered upon his body, while spatial power was completely sealed off.
"She's grown stronger."
Rehyun realized in that single exchange that Irene's power had surpassed anything seen before. She wasn't merely reinforcing her aura blade—she had infused her own will into every strike.
If she applied that strength with even greater skill, it might become a power of annihilation capable of slaying gods themselves, provided they were willing to stand unarmed.
Moreover, her swordsmanship had clearly surpassed previous levels.
"But this is still the limit."
Rehyun swung the Holy Sword in a simple horizontal arc toward her. Though the force inside was far from ordinary, he had drawn nothing but the pure divine energy of the Holy Sword, using zero of his demonic power as the Demon King.
The Holy Sword amplified any user's strength to its absolute limit. At Rehyun's current level—without unleashing his own strength—the divine power alone was overwhelming.
"Ugh!"
Irene blocked the blow, her brows furrowing as she staggered backward. It was unmistakable: she was being pushed back.
"Griffith! Griffith!"
From the moment she evaded, Ferdinand shouted Griffith's name desperately. Alone, Irene could never hope to defeat Rehyun, so he was calling for Griffith and any other strong allies to reinforce him and strike down the Demon King.
In the worst case, he planned to flee the capital with Irene and Griffith, abandoning everything else.
Once he had artificially enhanced Irene to even greater power, he believed he could kill Rehyun.
"Impossible, Your Majesty. The surrounding area is completely sealed—no sound or energy can escape!"
While holding back Rehyun's attack, Irene spoke. After all, she had once been the one to teach him swordsmanship and magic. Even after brainwashing and learning from him in return, she had clearly been his master in those arts.
Though her mind had been tampered with, the gap between her ten years ago and now was like heaven to earth. That was why she had sensed that Rehyun had used high-level magic to seal off the inner and outer regions.
"You've really improved."
Rehyun swung his sword lightly toward her, unleashing a relentless series of strikes. His blade connected flawlessly with no breaks, driving Irene back with relentless pressure. She countered with lightning-fast slashes, but could not keep pace.
Ten years earlier, when called the Flash Swordswoman, it was because her sword moved at speeds even the summoned hero Rehyun could not match.
At least in pure speed, she held the advantage. Rehyun had always pursued balanced, stable swordsmanship rather than raw speed. That was why her speed-based style was naturally superior.
And while her blade had always been as fast as lightning before, it was now even swifter, turning its speed into a weapon of immense destructive power. Yet Rehyun's stable defense had fully blocked even that.
In their previous duels, aside from the first exchange, Irene had never once beaten Rehyun using her speed-focused swordsmanship against his balanced technique.
Her magic style was likewise centered on swift Flash-type spells, which had earned her the title of Flash Swordswoman. Her fighting pattern had been far too familiar to him.
"Light Ray & Illuminate!"
Irene channeled mana at high speed, activating the seventh-circle pinnacle piercing spell Light Ray of the Flash school. At the same instant, she layered the overlapping spell Illuminate upon it. Seven blinding flashes streaked toward Rehyun at impossible speed.
Moreover, because they stood so close—sword tips nearly touching—Irene had only just begun gathering mana when Rehyun had already finished his own preparation.
"Infinite Dispel Barrier."
The spell Rehyun invoked was a ninth-circle masterpiece unknown even to the denizens of the Intermediate World. He had created it himself.
A transparent shield bloomed before him. All the incoming flashes were instantly canceled, reverting to raw mana.
Dispel magic weakened against higher circles, so most archmages preferred to manipulate their own mana and forcibly disrupt an opponent's spell rather than rely on the counter-spell. Rehyun, however, had perfected Dispel to infinity. One single failure meant infinite Dispel waves striking at once.
He shaped the entire effect into a barrier. His front and, in truth, the entire surrounding area now possessed an almost invincible defense against any magic.
Even one insufficient Dispel was meaningless when countless others struck simultaneously. Seven eighth-circle spells could fall, and the outcome would be the same.
Irene had been blocked, yet she did not panic. Instead, she redoubled her sword assault with fierce intensity. The more she moved, the more her lithe, athletic body swayed and bounced with hypnotic grace.
Each firm breast, now nearly watermelon-sized and fully ripened, jiggled and bounced rhythmically. Between the golden curls, her secret red folds peeked and glistened.
"Feeding my eyes… but I think I've played with you enough for now."
Rehyun's sword speed suddenly exploded. Astonishingly, it surpassed even the Flash Swordswoman's own legendary speed!
Rehyun's realm had long since transcended what Irene could imagine.
If he had truly intended to kill her, she might never have even realized he had moved—her head might have been lopped off before she could react.
Of course, since he had no desire to kill her, even full power would have left her simply pinned.
"Agh!"
In the end, Irene's palm slammed against the side of Rehyun's blade, knocking her own dagger from her grip. In that moment, the colossal demonic power emanating from Rehyun's hand instantly locked her movements.
"Haaat!"
Irene struggled desperately, pouring out her own aura and mana to shatter the bonds. But Rehyun's power was pure black magic of the Demon King—vast, boundless, and overwhelmingly thick.
Moreover, he had already killed and absorbed the life force of over a hundred thousand people, converting their vitality into mana. That alone dwarfed any previous amount. The sheer quantity of black magic was apocalyptic.
Even without that, the total spiritual energy he possessed already surpassed the former Demon King Laylana's by tenfold.
"Uaaaaak!"
The one being overpowered was Irene, yet the scream came from elsewhere. While Rehyun and Irene fought, Ferdinand had fled the chamber, shouting for Griffith and the others. But not only had sound and energy been sealed—they had also sealed the exit. He could not leave.
Seeing Irene about to be crushed, panic overwhelmed him and he screamed.
Rehyun felt nothing but disgust at the sight. That worthless trash was lower than nuclear waste.
It was an intolerable shame that he had become so miserable because of a creature like this.
"Ugh!"
Irene thrashed wildly, trying to break free of Rehyun's grip. Watching her struggle, he stepped forward and stroked her cheek with his palm.
"Because you're just a doll, no matter how strong you grow, you'll still end up at this level. Your original talent was never this weak."
Rehyun clicked his tongue.
Having sparred with Irene countless times, he knew her fighting style intimately. She had once been his teacher, then his disciple. Ten years had passed since then.
Ten years—anything new should have been developed.
Yet Irene had only grown stronger in realm and accumulated more spiritual energy. Nothing more. She had created no new techniques, hidden no trump cards.
Her combat style showed no change from before.
That was because she had been limited by brainwashing and forced to grow under restrictions, never truly blooming her full potential.
Rehyun knew exactly what kind of talent she possessed—one that appeared only once every thousand years. At the time, she had been weaker than Laylana and lacked the time to challenge the hero, but if Laylana had arrived just five years later, without needing the summoning, Irene would have been shattered by the Demon King's army and defeated before his very eyes.
With his guidance, she would have grasped the gaps instantly and filled them. The five years she needed should have been reduced to two or at most three.
Yet after ten years, she still had not reached even that level.
She seemed stronger than the Laylana of her swordswoman days, but not by a decisive margin—and she could not be counted on to win for sure.
While Rehyun's hand stroked her cheek, Ferdinand yelled.
"You lowly bastard! What are you doing to my possession?! Remove that filthy hand at once! Apologize for the crime of defiling Your Majesty's imperial palace, you filthy dog!"
From the depths of his fear of death, whether he was trying to escape or clinging to the delusion that he could still preserve his imperial dignity as a ruler, Ferdinand pointed and shouted at Rehyun.
Rehyun smirked and ignored him completely, turning back to Irene.
"Enough of the sleep. Wake up, Irene. Ten years of slumber should be more than enough."
At his words, Irene's blue eyes slowly closed and her body went limp. Held in his black magic, she did not collapse, but it was clear she had lost consciousness.
Yet within ten seconds she recovered.
"Uhn…"
With a soft moan, Irene's blue eyes fluttered open once more.