Chapter 482: Duel on the Deck (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 482: Duel on the Deck (4)
Crack, crackle!
As Jin unleashed his lightning, Mary felt as if thousands, even tens of thousands, of needles were pricking her skin.
He’s only just gathered his energy, yet the mere pressure of facing him is this overwhelming… Jin…!
Within the storm of lightning that spread like massive, blue veins, Jin’s eyes, gleaming with killing intent, shone with a brilliant light. When their gazes met, she found herself involuntarily swallowing hard.
At the same time, her blood boiled with a familiar madness. Her life had been a constant string of battles and wars, but few fights had ever made her heart pound with such fervor.
“Ugh!”
Even from a considerable distance, Cosmos was forced back by the sheer weight of Jin’s aura. Fortunately, his sturdy constitution allowed him to merely stumble back, but the other pirates nearby had already fled to the far edge of the deck.
The searing, sharp lightning even spread toward the spectators on Tikan’s railings. Of course, Jin’s comrades had already raised their shields, so no harm reached the viewing area.
Under the influence of that energy, the waves surged violently.
The sea breeze, now crackling with particles of lightning, whipped across the ships, flashing with intermittent sparks of light. It was as if a miniature, star-filled night sky had descended upon the fleet.
If Jin were to let that energy explode, not only would the fleet and the pirates be pulverized, but even the spectators behind the shields could be caught in the catastrophe.
“A-Amazing! Sir Jin! It’s the Pluto Sword! The sword of the ones who were once the strongest beings in the world is being displayed before you right now!”
Despite the danger, Cosmos continued his commentary in a state of high excitement. The spectators had no intention of leaving their seats either; they refused to miss the greatest spectacle of their lives over a little danger.
Whoosh!
Taking a moment to steady her breath, Mary was the first to move. She hadn't been idle during those few seconds; she had been reading the flow of the lightning, searching for a gap to penetrate. She couldn’t fully grasp its patterns, as it was fundamentally different from aura, but she knew that if she waited any longer, she would be facing a perfectly executed technique.
Has he reached a new realm since the Garden of Swords, or is this a different style of swordsmanship entirely? Even with all this energy being discharged, the fleet isn't being damaged at all. His control is so perfect that a disqualification isn't even a remote possibility.
Mary found that to be the most peculiar part of the phenomenon. The sea was churning and a pressure so powerful was reaching all the way to the spectator seats, yet for some reason, not even a single hairline crack appeared on the deck.
Regardless, Mary had no choice but to brace herself and dive in.
Sizzle—!
The moment she entered the densest part of the lightning field, a violent pressure assaulted her, as if trying to tear her body apart. Mary intensified her own Volcano aura to push back the lightning, but Jin’s energy was the stronger force. Her movements became sluggish, as though she were moving through water.
The only saving grace is that he seems to be rooted to the spot while maintaining this energy.
Even as Mary gradually closed the distance, Jin remained as motionless as a stone statue.
I’ll end this in one blow.
Jin wasn't the only one who had reached that conclusion. Mary was also certain that a prolonged fight would put her at a disadvantage. It was the same reason she’d opened the duel with the Light Speed Thrust.
With every step she took, the lightning grew denser, like a rising tide. The view inside the storm was a hazy, brilliant blue, making it hard to believe she had seen Jin’s piercing eyes from the outside just moments ago.
The distance between them was now about ten paces.
Deciding this was close enough, Mary halted. Like Jin, she took a stance and began to focus her mind.
“W-What is happening inside the lightning!?”
Rumble…!
Aura bloomed from her like smoke, pushing back the lightning and carving out a pocket of space. A hole was torn in the side of the hemispherical lightning field, allowing the spectators to see Mary standing within.
What followed was a vortex.
Centered on the blade of Viper, a massive amount of aura began to rotate in a cross-shaped whirlpool. As the vortex spun, the pocket of safety around her expanded.
At that moment, a chill ran down Jin’s spine, as if a cold blade had been pressed against the back of his neck.
Sister intends to end this in a single moment, too.
And fortunately for him, Mary still mistakenly believed that the lightning Jin had deployed was a form of Pluto’s Sovereign Sword, or at least a technique on par with it.
That must be why she’s trying to meet power with power.
However, just as Mary was unaware that Jin’s technique was merely a feint, Jin had no idea what kind of technique Mary was about to unleash.
First, her current stance is for a thrust.
He deduced she was planning to use the Light Speed Thrust again. But that couldn’t be all. Even a Light Speed Thrust reinforced by Volcano was a technique that had already failed once. She wouldn’t try to end the duel with the exact same move.
Jin tightened his grip on Sigmund.
He widened his eyes, waiting to catch the very instant Viper moved. The match would be decided in that moment.
This is the technique I prepared for you, little brother.
Mary’s shoulders twitched.
The scene seemed to play out in slow motion. By straining his senses to their absolute limit, Jin was barely able to perceive the movement.
Runcandel 5th Secret Technique
Light Speed Thrust
As expected, the attack traced a trajectory that caused no damage to Tikan, but this second Light Speed Thrust possessed a power incomparable to the first.
The hemisphere of lightning was torn apart, and countless blue particles scattered in all directions. Jin’s vision blurred, as if tens of thousands of panes of glass had shattered at once. A rainstorm of crackling lightning particles poured down around him.
Even Jin’s comrades couldn’t immediately tell if he had managed to evade it.
But the Light Speed Thrust didn't end there.
Since this was her final duel with her beloved brother before he left for his mission, Mary had resolved to pour everything she had into this assault.
A second time. And a third.
The Volcano-powered Light Speed Thrust didn't stop at a single strike.
Swa-shhh!
The belated sound of tearing air confirmed the truth: she had unleashed the Light Speed Thrust in rapid succession.
She used the Light Speed Thrust three times in total…!?
That was a move Jin hadn't anticipated.
However, it wasn't an unavoidable one. No matter how fast or powerful the Light Speed Thrust was, she could ultimately only unleash it in a way that wouldn’t destroy the fleet or Tikan.
But because the successive thrusts had struck to his left and right almost simultaneously, the space Jin had to maneuver was now extremely limited.
The center.
Even the center wasn't safe. The aftershocks from the two streaks of light that had just passed him were still ravaging the space between them. Amidst the storm of lightning particles and a literal flesh-searing gale, Jin barely held his balance.
The two thrusts were just a way to pin me down.
Now, Jin couldn't escape. With the aftershocks of the Light Speed Thrusts raging on either side of him, the siblings were effectively standing on a single-log bridge, with nowhere to go but forward or back.
Light was spreading.
The flashes and afterimages left by the thrusts, combined with the brilliance of the shattered lightning, flooded the space between them.
And she was charging.
Like a predator that had cornered its prey, Mary sprinted down the only path left. It was a single exchange that couldn't be avoided and had to be met head-on. In a sense, this narrow path was the true stage of their duel—a stage Mary herself had created.
Honestly, she’s just like fire.
And she was magnificent.
Mary’s Volcano blazed with a light even more dazzling than before, trampling over all other sources of light as it grew larger and larger, rapidly closing the distance to Jin.
He hadn't predicted Mary would create such a scenario. Usually, a failed prediction put a fighter at a disadvantage.
For Jin, however, this was the exact situation he had wanted all along: an unavoidable, head-on clash.
To that end, he had wastefully scattered his lightning, pretending it was the Pluto’s Sovereign Sword and feigning a level of delicate control even greater than what he’d shown during his Patriarchal Declaration. The lightning that had formed the hemisphere—now just glowing, scattered particles—was nothing more than a smokescreen.
It had been a complete feint.
The moment Mary, bathed in the light of Volcano, arrived right in front of him…
Jin loosened his grip on Sigmund. The pale blade fell limply, and as soon as its tip touched the deck, it discharged the lightning it held in a violent explosion, blasting the sword away.
What!?
Mary couldn't help but flinch. She had naturally expected her brother to counter with the Pluto’s Sovereign Sword or a technique of equal caliber.
This brat… did he drop his sword because he was afraid he might kill me…!? He was never this soft!
Of course, she had no desire to kill her youngest brother, either. He was the one person she wanted to spar with and fight alongside forever.
Right, he told me once. When he fought Dante Hairan in the Arena, he held back at the decisive moment.
But even if Jin had gone soft, Mary had no intention of doing the same. That wasn't the Runcandel way.
Just before thrusting Viper toward her brother’s chest, Mary felt a sharp pang of disappointment. Considering the terrifying figure he’d cut during his declaration, this spineless display was utterly incomprehensible.
The fourth Light Speed Thrust.
That was the technique she chose. Originally, she had planned to use something else—an incomplete Ultimate Technique, as a sign of respect for her brother.
If this is how you're going to be, then you need a lesson. As your sister, I'll remind you!
A Light Speed Thrust down the center would surely cause damage to Tikan.
…But I suppose I’m not without a soft side myself.
It was family affection. The two people Mary felt the strongest bond with were Dipus and Jin. That was why, even as she intended to damage her brother’s home under the pretext of teaching him a lesson, she resolved to execute the fourth Light Speed Thrust in a way that wouldn’t cause irreversible damage. Afterward, she’d just beat him within an inch of his life for his insolence.
She would even thrust her sword carefully, monitoring his condition to ensure the blow wasn't fatal.
But Mary only realized the arrogance of such thoughts when she heard the sound.
Shring!
The clear, chilling ring of a sharp blade being drawn from its scabbard.
In her disappointment, Mary had momentarily forgotten what kind of person her youngest brother truly was. And she had forgotten that his favorite swords came in a pair.
Her immense love for her brother had softened her heart, even in the middle of a duel. But the world of combat is a cold one.
You… you tricked me!
Spirit Sword 7th Form: Shadow Assault