Chapter 541
Chapter Title: A Battle Between Legends
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Leo kicked off the ground.
He closed the distance to Berchia at an incredible speed.
His movement went beyond simple speed.
*Thwack!*
In that instant, Leo's sword was blocked.
Leo's eyes narrowed.
Before he knew it, a sword was in Berchia's hand.
*Screeeech!*
Sparks flew between the two blades.
In that moment, Leo's pupils dilated.
'Hypersense.'
Leo instantly entered the realm of Hypersense.
At the same time, he activated the aura throughout his body.
*Kagagagagagagagang!*
In a split second, ten sparks flared as Leo's and Berchia's swords were simultaneously repelled.
Leo narrowed his eyes.
Ten exchanges had occurred in that brief moment.
*Thud!*
The moment Leo's feet touched the ground, he charged toward Berchia again.
With his sword aimed, Leo unleashed a thrust.
Without even looking at Leo, Berchia pivoted on his planted foot, spinning rapidly counter-clockwise.
The blade flew precisely toward Leo's neck.
*Tap!*
In that instant, Leo placed his palm on the flat of Berchia's sword and pushed.
The sword didn't budge, as if he were pressing against a giant boulder.
But Leo wasn't flustered.
His intention had never been to alter the sword's path.
*Fwoosh!*
Leo's body shot upward.
He used the force from Berchia's sword to launch himself into the air, dodging the blade.
*Clack!*
Berchia twisted his wrist, trying to slash Leo's palm.
Leo pushed Berchia's sword away, creating distance between them.
*Whoosh!*
Berchia didn't miss the opportunity and closed the gap.
*Shing!*
The sound of a blade cutting through the wind.
'I can't feel anything.'
There was nothing to be felt from the swung sword.
No passion, no anger.
Not even killing intent could be felt.
It was to be expected.
The current Berchia's reason had collapsed.
All that remained was the instinct of a wraith, seeking to drag the living down to its own state.
It was natural that there was no killing intent.
Leo shifted his grip on the hilt.
So close that moving his index finger and thumb would touch the blade.
This lengthened the remaining part of the hilt.
*Thud!*
As Berchia closed in, Leo charged to meet him.
*Clang! Clang!*
Sword met sword endlessly, sharp sounds echoing all around.
*Screeeeeeeeech!*
The sharp screech of blades grinding against each other.
Sword ki scattered through the air.
The surrounding area was devastated by the fragments.
*Flick! Flick!*
Shards of sword ki cut Leo's body.
Blood seeped from various parts of his body, but Leo paid it no mind.
In that moment.
Leo relaxed his hand, loosening his grip.
The sword slid in his palm.
Leo's attack range extended slightly.
Just a little.
It was an incredibly risky move.
In the midst of the relentless exchange, a single misstep could have cost him his sword, yet Leo was composed.
The briefly but definitively extended attack range confused Berchia's sense of distance.
The idea was simple.
But it was an unorthodox move that allowed no room for error.
Failure would mean a fatal wound, but its effect was just as certain.
*Slice!*
Leo's sword severed Berchia's sword-wielding wrist.
Normally, this would have decided the victor.
But Berchia didn't hesitate, closing the distance to Leo even further.
*Bam!*
With his intact hand, he struck the back of Leo's sword hand.
Leo blocked the attack with his armor.
However, he felt the bones in his left hand, the one holding the sword, shatter.
For an ordinary swordsman, it would be a crippling injury.
But Leo didn't even flinch, driving his fist into the abdomen of the advancing Berchia.
*Crack!*
With an unsettling sound, Berchia was sent flying.
Even as he flew back, Berchia snatched his own severed hand from the air and kicked Leo's arm.
*Thwack!*
The bones in Leo's right arm broke, and it dangled uselessly.
*Craaaaaash!*
The flying Berchia crashed through several buildings before coming to a stop.
Eiran and Chen Xia stared wide-eyed at the battle unfolding before them.
“They're on a different level.”
Lunia muttered in a trembling voice.
She wasn't a knight.
But she could tell just how absurd the level of the fight before her was.
To Lunia's eyes, the fight was literally on another level.
“It's not just a different level.”
Eiran swallowed dryly.
“That's a different dimension.”
“Yes, that's right.”
Chen Xia continued Eiran's thought.
Her fists clenched tightly.
“They live in a different world.”
'Because this is a battle between those who had to live through that era.'
She understood why Leo had left those words behind.
She knew their experiences were different.
It couldn't be helped.
'Because they lived in a different era. The battlefields they've faced, the number of times they've had to risk their lives—it's all different.'
There are plenty of strong people in this world.
But the battlefield is a place of endless variables.
In a way, it's like a living creature that constantly evolves by devouring countless lives.
Being strong doesn't guarantee survival on the battlefield.
Conversely, being weak doesn't mean you're destined to die there.
But those who have transcended the battlefield are strong.
'This is an absolute, unchanging truth.'
That's why Chen Xia had thought she could one day stand beside Leo.
It just seemed like he was impossibly far ahead, at a distance she couldn't reach.
But…
'That's a wall.'
Chen Xia bit her lip.
Simply experiencing battlefields and risking one's life isn't enough to reach them.
She realized she would have to overcome that wall to even get close.
Chen Xia and Eiran had seen Leo wield his sword many times before.
Each time, they had marveled at Leo's skill.
What seemed like a simple swing of the sword held immense depth and strategy within it.
But seeing Leo's swordsmanship today, they realized that wasn't the end of it.
'It's because his opponent is Lord Berchia.'
It was different from his spar with Ar-on.
Back then, neither Leo nor Ar-on was aiming to kill.
But now is different.
His sword carries his true resolve.
The swords wielded by those who had to live through that era, swung to take each other's lives.
'That's not about variables or unorthodox tactics… it's not that kind of concept.'
Didn't they say Ar-on sees the future through Hypersense during battle?
To Eiran and Chen Xia, it seemed Leo was doing the same.
He uses variables and unorthodox moves to make his opponent act exactly as he wants.
It's literally no different from knowing what will happen a split second ahead.
If there's a difference from Ar-on, it's that Ar-on's precognition is an innate ability blossomed through extreme training.
Whereas Leo is merely forcing an imitation of something he doesn't have.
'I understand now… why Young Master Leo said he could never defeat Lord Ar-on.'
Ar-on could simply see the future with his Hypersense and avoid it.
Faced with Ar-on, the original, Leo's ability would be powerless.
But what did that matter?
To Eiran and Chen Xia, the fact that Leo had come so close to an innate ability through sheer effort was all the more thrilling.
And another person.
Berchia was also stepping into the same realm as Leo.
“But is that even possible?”
“…It's already beyond common sense.”
“What do you mean?”
Chen Xia answered Lunia's question.
“Right now, Lord Berchia's ego has collapsed.”
“I know.”
“Which means only the instincts of a wraith remain.”
“Right. He's in a berserk state.”
“Yes, that's right. But even in that berserk state, he's not just attacking randomly. He's fighting with swordsmanship comparable to Young Master Leo's.”
She was right.
A berserk wraith would madly destroy its surroundings.
A mage would obliterate the area with crude blasts of mana that couldn't even be called spells.
A hero of Berchia's caliber could wipe several countries off the map just by existing in that state.
And yet, Berchia was currently using refined swordsmanship as if he had his own will.
He was even fighting on equal footing with Leo.
It was the first time Lunia had seen this.
Until now, Leo had always defeated those with stronger mana than him through 'skill and experience.'
But the reason-less Berchia was displaying swordsmanship on par with Leo's.
That meant Berchia's instinctive way of fighting was itself at that level.
“Is that… even possible?”
“It must be, since he's fighting like that.”
Chen Xia clenched her fists.
She couldn't even begin to fathom how much one would have to polish their skills to reach that state.
It was a realm bordering on the divine.
'I thought I had gotten a little closer.'
The thought now seemed laughable.
But…
'I won't give up.'
Watching Leo's back, Chen Xia's eyes widened with determination.
It wasn't just Chen Xia.
Lunia and Eiran also watched the battle between the two heroes who had lived through the Age of Calamity.
Dreaming of the day they could support that strong, lonely back.
“What's the current situation?”
“…If Lord Berchia weren't undead, that exchange would have been more advantageous for Lord Leo. But as he is now…”
“Mmm…!”
Lunia bit her lip hard.
“Isn't there anything we can do to help?”
“As of now…”
Just as Eiran wore a frustrated expression.
“It seems. We have some intruders.”
“What?”
Lunia and Eiran's eyes went wide at Chen Xia's words.
They followed Chen Xia's gaze.
It was the sky.
Heavily armed knights and mages were descending from the sky.
Seeing them, Lunia's face twisted in disgust.
“The Templars of Eldon.”
Having seen the darkness of this city in Eldon's underground, Lunia found them repulsive.
It wasn't just Lunia.
Disgust naturally appeared on the faces of Eiran and Chen Xia as well.
As Chen Xia watched the sky with cold eyes.
*Voom—!*
Once again, Bihar's dagger resonated from within her clothes.
Chen Xia gripped the dagger, a slightly bewildered look on her face.
In that moment.
—Master… Berchia…
Hearing the voice that came through the blade, Chen Xia's face filled with bewilderment.
'This voice… could it be…'
“Ancestor?”
—Do not call me Ancestor.
The voice replied heavily.
—For I am a person who does not deserve that title.
***
Leo tightened his grip on his sword.
Immense pain washed over him.
'The bones are definitely shattered.'
Leo glanced down at his sword hand, then at his other arm.
The pain was no less than that in the back of his left hand.
His right arm dangled like a broken branch.
'This one's clearly broken, too.'
Leo summoned his aura.
*Crack! Crunch! Creak!*
Muscles reinforced by his aura forcibly held the broken bones in place.
Healing magic wasn't his specialty, but given some time, he could mend the bones to some extent.
But Leo didn't do that.
In the split second it would take to use magic, Berchia would attack.
And the foreign sensation of the bones knitting together would interfere with his fighting.
Of course, forcibly setting the bones with aura like this was also accompanied by immense pain.
But to Leo, pain was not a factor that hindered his concentration.
On the contrary, it was something very familiar.
The path Leo had walked was far too harsh for his movements to be hindered by pain.
If anything, injury was like a friend.
A laugh escaped him amidst it all.
Not because he welcomed the pain.
It was because this razor-sharp battle, which allowed not even a moment's lapse, made his heart tremble.
“You've become incredible.”
A sentiment unfitting for the current situation.
But he was happy to see how much his student had grown.
'Anyone else would think I'm a complete madman.'
But it didn't matter.
After all, he couldn't have survived that era if he weren't mad to begin with.
“I wanted to stand on the same battlefield with you, this strong, Berchia.”
He spoke words that would not reach him now.
“I wanted to stand on the same battlefield with Bihar too, not as a shadow, but as a hero.”
Voicing a wish that could no longer be fulfilled, Leo aimed his sword.
“This isn't the end, is it?”
*Gwoooooooh—!*
As if in response to Leo's words, aura and mana began to pour from Berchia's body, his severed wrist now reattached.
Watching this, Leo said.
“I'll take it all.”
The moment Leo was about to summon his mana.
“My, my.”
A voice mixed with a sigh was heard.
“To think a great elven figure has become a filthy undead.”
Leo turned his head.
An elven young man in scholar's attire was walking toward them.
“A tragic turn of events.”
The elf, Ulain, with a bitter expression, spoke to Leo without even glancing at Berchia.
“I've been wanting to meet you, Leo Flove. My name is Ulain. I am the chairman of this city's coun—”
*Thwack!*
In an instant, Leo's sword flew toward Ulain's head.
Piercing through a barrier, Leo's sword stopped right in front of Ulain's nose.
Leo, who had thrown the sword, said with a blank expression.
“Say that again. Who did you call filthy?”
Ulain gave a troubled smile and pointed at Berchia.
“I said *he* was filthy.”
A chilling killing intent filled Leo's eyes.