White Shadow Flash
Raon took in the vast blue radiance pouring from Cadis's blade, tucking his chin in tight.
So this is how I come to face it.
The Holy Light Sword Art was a swordsmanship of Derus Robert's own creation. It had rarely been displayed in public, but every time it was unleashed, the heads of infamous villains had gone flying — and so it had become one of the signature arts that defined Derus himself.
Twenty years had passed. He had surely invented or mastered new techniques in that time. But there was no question that the Holy Light Sword Art remained one of Derus's principal sword arts.
If he could unravel its principles, he would take another step toward his revenge.
And besides…
Shatter Cadis while he was using the Holy Light Sword Art, and Derus's pride would shatter with him.
The image of Derus's face — smiling on the outside, exploding with rage within — made Raon's heart pound like a war drum.
"I never thought I'd have to use this sword art against the likes of you."
Cadis set his gleaming blade at mid-guard, lips pressed into a thin line.
"But now that I've drawn the Holy Light Sword Art, the outcome is as good as decided. You should have finished this before I brought it out."
"You said from here on was the real Azure Cloud Manifestation Sword — and now you're pulling out a different art entirely?"
Raon looked at Cadis and let out a short laugh.
"Isn't that a little unsightly?"
"I don't care if it's unsightly."
The words said otherwise, but rage dripped from Cadis's eyes.
"It's better than losing."
"That's true enough. Winning by any means is all that matters, isn't it?"
"You…"
Raon nodded in agreement, and Cadis's aura thickened. It was a killing intent that could have slain a man with a look alone.
The provocation's landing perfectly.
Perhaps it was because he'd been raised so gently. From their first meeting, Cadis had worn his contempt on his face, and he still couldn't hide what he felt.
No — of course he can't.
Cadis was a genius among geniuses, born to a great house with talent to match. He had lived as the protagonist wherever he went. That a little mockery would get under his skin was hardly strange.
"A little mockery? That was vicious mockery!"
Wrath let out a long, weary sigh.
"That tongue of yours has gone too far. Just watching from the sidelines is enough to make This King's blood boil!"
He ground his teeth, insisting he himself was the one getting angry.
The light pouring from Cadis's sword burned hotter and hotter. The instant the sword-light took on the deep blue of the open sea, he moved.
In a fraction of a heartbeat he crashed in, carving a diagonal stroke of blue Ganggi. The flow was magnificent and blindingly fast — similar to the Azure Cloud Manifestation Sword, yet an entire rank above it.
Raon drove Glacia to its limit and unfurled the Silver Wind Recirculation of the Snow Wind Sword Art. Rotating blades of wind bored into the gaps between the Holy Light Sword Art's blue radiance.
A thunderous crash. The tremendous rebound generated by the Holy Light Sword Art sent pain lancing through him as if his wrist might tear clean off. He forced strength into his trembling hand and lifted his head.
The flow Cadis had raised with the Holy Light Sword Art did not break — not even against a secret art. It simply kept coming.
So it's different from the Azure Cloud Manifestation Sword.
Unlike the Azure Cloud Manifestation Sword, which had buckled under Silver Wind Recirculation, the light of the Holy Light Sword would not be erased. It meant this was a sword art of incomparably higher caliber.
He almost seems like a different person. Interesting.
At last, real tension seeped into his chest. From here on, this was the true duel.
"You saw it, didn't you."
Cadis raised his sword, a cold smile on his lips. He, by contrast, now wore the look of a man who had finally found his composure.
"You will never cut this sword art."
"We'll see about that."
"Insolent brat."
Cadis's face twisted as he charged. Knowing the Snow Wind Sword Art could not sever the Holy Light Sword Art, his movement was utterly unrestrained.
With the Azure Tide Step he punched through space in an instant and brought a form of the Holy Light Sword Art crashing down.
Raon resonated the Ring of Fire to its extreme. With the pulse of his heart booming in his ears, he stepped forward.
The more I give ground, the more I'll be forced onto the defensive.
The Holy Light Sword Art, like the Azure Cloud Manifestation Sword, was a swordsmanship that seized space itself. The further you retreated, the stronger it grew when it came back around. He could not afford to take a single step back.
Raon dropped his center of gravity and unleashed the Silent Light Wind of the Snow Wind Sword Art. A sword-strike laced with wind — light, yet blindingly fast — smashed into the heart of the Holy Light Sword Art.
Even though he had struck first, pain ripped through him as if the muscles of his shoulder were tearing apart.
Kh.
It hurt, but he clenched his teeth and endured it, drawing the Snow Wind Sword Art down in a relentless chain. Every time blade met blade, a shock sharp enough to make his bones ache crashed through his skull.
The problem, however, was not the pain. Even with the Snow Wind Sword Art at full power, the flow of the Holy Light Sword Art would not break. Instead it kept widening its domain, beginning to dominate the entire arena.
I still have to keep going.
Raon let out a ragged breath and drove his left foot forward. Raising Glacia to its peak, he loosed the Snow Wind Sword Art's secret technique — Annihilating Frost Wind.
Ganggi steeped in biting cold poured down like a meteor shower, but the light of the Holy Light Sword Art did not vanish.
It warped, perhaps — but it flowed on without end, raising a radiance more tremendous still.
Raon could not stop the precise, concentrated sword-strike born from that flow, and he was driven all the way to the edge of the arena.
"Kh—!"
The churning in his gut grew worse. The internal injuries he'd taken from Garona seemed to have flared up more severely.
"Hoo…"
Raon wiped the blood running from the corner of his mouth and straightened his back.
What's the difference?
The essence of the Azure Cloud Manifestation Sword and the Holy Light Sword Art was the same: a swordsmanship that grew steadily stronger by sustaining its flow. For one to model itself on water and the other on stars and light, the gap in caliber was far too severe.
I have to understand that gap.
He shook his head to clear the pain and stepped into the Supreme Harmony Footwork. Shifting to the rear of the arena, he raised the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation. A blade wreathed in tremendous heat plunged toward Cadis's head.
"Pointless."
Cadis turned his ankle and swept his sword up in a supple arc. Brilliant light surged along the path of the blade.
The flame-beast that had been prowling the earth melted away inside that blue radiance.
"Changing sword arts won't help you."
Cadis pointed his blade at Raon's throat, the corner of his mouth curling up.
"The result is already decided."
He turned the provocation back on Raon, arrogance pouring from his eyes.
"Did you know?"
"Know what."
"Everyone who's ever said that to me ended up face-down in the dirt."
Raon's eyes flashed with crimson light as he plunged into the blue radiance of the Holy Light Sword Art.
"You'll be next."
"Th-the Holy Light Sword Art!"
"The Heavenly Sword Saint's Holy Light Sword Art?!"
"To think he was hiding a secret art like that!"
"That's the Blue Sword for you! He's on a different level!"
The gamblers erupted in cheers as they watched Cadis overwhelm Raon.
"See? The favorite always wins!"
"Blue Sword! Blue Sword! Blue Sword!"
"We're finally cashing in!"
"Lena! Daddy's gonna buy you something tasty on the way home!"
They clutched their betting slips as if the match were already over, faces blooming with laughter.
"Lord Rimer. Starting to sweat a little now, are we?"
"That's not pocket change — if you lose all that gold, how are you going to live with the heartburn?"
"Don't tease him like that. He won't sleep a wink tonight."
"It's over. Shall we go settle up?"
"Over?"
Rimer had been taking mockery and ridicule from the gamblers without a flicker of change in his expression. If anything, his eyes had grown more at ease as he turned his head.
"Over where, exactly?"
He shrugged, as if he couldn't fathom what they were talking about.
"The Frost-Flower Sword Hero's fire and frost aren't landing at all. Isn't that the end of it?"
"He's right. Those sword arts brought down Matisse, Borini Kitten, even Garona — and not a single one of them is working."
The gamblers shook their heads, calling it a finished fight.
"None of you get it."
Rimer gave a short laugh and lifted a finger.
"Does that face look to you like a man on the back foot?"
His long finger pointed at Raon's face. Even as he was struck by the Holy Light Sword Art and sent flying, Raon's eyes were shining with an almost rapturous light — like a child who had just discovered treasure.
"Huh…?"
"Why is he smiling?"
"I-is he a freak?"
"What is that kid…"
The gamblers swallowed dryly as they watched Raon smile even as he coughed up blood.
"My disciple is a madman who smiles when he's in a corner."
Rimer swept his hair back. He looked at Raon with eyes full of certainty and smiled.
"Once that brat makes that face, he never loses."
Talk of victory and defeat was not confined to the betting floor.
"The Holy Light Sword Art… it seems the Blue Sword is truly in earnest."
King Lecross smiled as he watched the vast light blooming from Cadis's sword.
"It grows more interesting by the moment."
Ogram nodded in hearty satisfaction.
"My hands are itching."
He wriggled his thick fingers, clearly wanting to fight.
"Sit still, you muscle-brained idiot."
Chamber waved Ogram off and floated up into the air.
"Cadis has the advantage this time. I really can't tell who's going to win."
She murmured that it was fascinating, a flush rising to her cheeks.
"Indeed."
Derus Robert nodded with a grave look.
"The Frost-Flower Sword Hero's eyes haven't gone dead yet. We'll need to watch a little longer to know who wins."
Even seeing Cadis hold the upper hand, he did not declare victory.
"Hey, old man. What are you thinking now?"
Chamber tossed Glenn the same question as before.
"It hasn't changed."
Glenn answered without so much as glancing at her.
"Raon will win."
"That's affection for you."
Chamber gave a short laugh and withdrew.
Derus looked at Glenn for a moment, then turned his gaze to Cadis.
"Cadis."
He conveyed the words not through an aura message, but through will itself, so that no one else could hear.
Cadis lowered his eyes, as if apologizing for using the Holy Light Sword Art.
"It doesn't matter. Breaking him is more important."
"Get him worked up — then cut off his right arm."
At the order, Cadis gave a small nod.
Derus looked down at Raon with cold eyes and let a smile slip across his face.
I can't afford to miss a chance to see Glenn's reaction.
Raon spat the black blood that had pooled in his mouth. Colliding head-on with a Holy Light Sword Art swollen with high-caliber Ganggi had worsened his internal injuries, and dead blood was rising from within.
I still don't have it.
He had unfurled both the Mad Fang Sword and the Snow Wind Sword Art, yet he could neither find a gap in the Holy Light Sword Art nor break its flow. From everything so far, it was a sword art that came close to perfection.
But there is no such thing as a perfect sword art in this world.
If he were fighting Derus Robert, perhaps. Cadis's swordsmanship could not be perfect. There would be an opening he could exploit. There had to be.
"You ran your mouth like you were something special, and this is how you end up."
Cadis lifted his chin, arrogance blazing from his eyes.
"This is what a difference in level looks like. You cannot break the Holy Light Sword."
He curled the corner of his mouth in a taunt and leveled his blade.
Raon narrowed his eyes at Cadis's sword, from which that majestic light still poured.
No choice, then.
I'll have to smash it with force.
He let the tension drain from his shoulders and slowly evened his breath. Driving Glacia's frost to its peak, he adjusted his grip on the sword.
Cadis stamped his foot. He drove in like a killer whale riding a wave and brought his sword crashing down. A blade burning with the principles of the Holy Light Sword Art coiled through the space around him.
Killing intent?
Unlike before, a stealthy killing intent now clung to Cadis's sword. It was a killing intent so subtle that only an assassin — and only the one standing directly across from him — could feel it.
He's going for the arm?
Provoke this side, then take the arm off at the shoulder. That seemed to be the plan.
So he took an order from Derus.
Just from Cadis's movement, Raon could tell how the situation was unfolding.
And who said I'd let him?
Raon snorted and drew the Heavenly Sky Sword along a straight line of the arena. A blue blade wrapped in extreme speed collided with the Holy Light Sword Art.
The sword-strike failed to split the clusters of light — but it wasn't over.
Frost thorns raced along the blade's trajectory and bored into the light.
The flow of the Holy Light Sword Art heaved violently under the blade of fierce cold, but once again, it did not break.
Not even Frost Lotus, then.
To fail to cut it even with Frost Lotus's two slashes — the flow of the Holy Light Sword was truly vast, as if it had become the sea itself.
"Is that all you've got."
Cadis was already certain of victory. Flushed with confidence, he was laying the groundwork to take Raon's arm.
This is my chance.
Right now, while the fool was thinking only of the result, was the best moment to tear open the secret of the Holy Light Sword Art.
Raon stamped a true step and swept the Heavenly Sky Sword back over his shoulder. Extreme heat flared in a fraction of a heartbeat. In raw power, it was no exaggeration to call it the strongest — the Flame Dragon Form.
The roar of a fire dragon descended upon the blue-tinged blade and blasted toward the light of the Holy Light Sword Art.
"That much will never break it."
Cadis drew in the flow of the Holy Light Sword Art that had already swallowed the arena and raised a wall of Ganggi before the Flame Dragon Form.
Even colliding with that explosive heat, the flow of the Holy Light Sword Art did not break.
Instead a denser light erupted, raising a vast sea of stars. It was as if the entire arena had been wrapped in the radiance of the Holy Light Sword Art.
Raon stared into that dizzyingly intense light and clenched his fist.
At last…
Thanks to the fierce offensives of Frost Lotus and the Flame Dragon Form, he had grasped the secret of the Holy Light Sword Art.
It was pre-placement.
The reason the flow of the Holy Light Sword Art never broke was that it was an unusual swordsmanship that laid Ganggi down in advance — in the very space where the enemy's attack would come.
It occupied the space first, so breaking that flow was naturally close to impossible.
To think the method was this simple.
Simple, and therefore hard to perceive — and just as hard to break. It was a method that suited a space-dominating sword art almost too well.
"Haa…"
Raon let out a long breath.
It feels like stepping into ice water.
His insides churned from the internal injuries. His hands and feet were trembling. And yet a cool, clean exhilaration arrived in his mind.
The harmony of the Mad Fang Sword and the Snow Wind Sword Art. It felt as if the last piece of that puzzle had finally clicked into place.
The Ring of Fire accelerated until it seemed to burn, drawing countless lines of swordsmanship through his mind. His vision filled with an endless field of sword-traces.
"Thanks to you, the sea of stars is complete."
Cadis smiled, pointing at the clusters of Holy Light that now coiled around the entire arena. This space was all his. No one could escape it.
"If you mean to give up, this is your last chance."
He ran his tongue over his lips. A killing intent meant for Raon alone spread out, cold as frost. He told him to surrender, but in truth it was a provocation.
"Give up? Is that even a word?"
Raon laughed coldly and lifted his head.
"I knew you'd answer like that."
Cadis nodded, looking satisfied.
"Come! Show me everything your sword has!"
As if he had suddenly become a magnanimous man, he flicked his fingers, offering to receive every sword art Raon had. But that was a trap. The instant the sword flew, a counter would come to take the arm.
I know that, but…
I have to go.
To complete the swordsmanship scattered through his mind, he had to move forward.
It was time to step in — the way Marta had plunged without hesitation through a shattered blade.
Raon drew up every last shred of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and drove his sword forward.
He carried the rotation of muscle and joint from his ankle all the way to his wrist, and poured it into the heat of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation.
A sphere of light sprouted from the tip of the Heavenly Sky Sword, generating a fierce rotation. It was the Hundred Flowers Revolving Heaven of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, transformed into something like a secret art.
The fiercely spinning, condensed Revolving Heaven detonated, blasting out a colossal wave of heat.
"A fine sword-strike."
Cadis smiled coldly and spun the Holy Light Sword Art. The sea of light covering the space erased the energy of Revolving Heaven in an instant and came back at Raon.
A counter. The secret of the Holy Light Sword Art, like the Azure Cloud Manifestation Sword, was a swordsmanship that contained the principle of reversal. His entire field of vision filled with the majestic blue light the Holy Light Sword Art had raised.
Even facing that despairing sacred radiance, Raon's mind did not stop.
The Mad Fang Sword that had brought down Matisse. The Snow Wind Sword Art that had severed Borini Kitten's flow. The true rotation and reverse-side attacks he had gained fighting Garona. And last of all, Cadis's Holy Light Sword Art, which left Ganggi lying in wait before his eyes.
All of those experiences began to draw a single line — a line that would erase the sword-traces crowding his mind.
Cadis's sword-strike touched his right shoulder. In the instant his skin split and blood sprayed, the line that had been tracing itself as slowly as a child's hand reached its end.
A flash. Radiance filled his mind along that line.
Raon let the strength drain from his hand and drew the Heavenly Sky Sword along the flickering line in his mind.
A white shadow bloomed over the blue-tinged blade.
The blade, imbued with White Shadow, flowed forth and erased the sea of starlight. Flow, Ganggi, even breath itself — nothing remained. Everything returned to nothingness.