Published: July 4, 2025
Sword fight.
A battle between swordsmen.
The blue man is of similar height and build to Abel.
The sword he wields is nearly the same size as Abel's magic sword.
"You've got an interesting sword there, swordsman."
"Blue man, people usually have names, you know."
In response to the blue man's provocative words, Abel retorts with words that are purely provocative.
"I see, I didn’t know that. So, swordsman, what’s your name?"
"Is that so? You didn’t know. Then, do you also not know this? When asking someone for their name, you should introduce yourself first."
"I didn’t know that either. My name is Lau."
"…You’re quite honest."
The blue man Lau answers straightforwardly with a laugh, while Abel ultimately does not respond.
"If you won't answer, that's fine too. I'll just call you the descendant of Richard."
For a moment, Abel is at a loss for words at Lau's teasing remark.
Even as he loses his words, his sword and body keep moving.
Both of them are in the midst of a sword fight.
"How do you know about King Richard...?"
"Do you know him? Well, that's because I fought him long ago."
"Seriously... With monsters and ghost ships, how broad is the activity range of my ancestors?"
"Hmm? I don't think it was a ghost ship at that time, but whatever."
Lau's last words were whispered and didn't reach Abel's ears.
"So? Why do you think I'm a descendant of King Richard?"
"Well, there’s no other reason than that sword, right?"
"This?"
Abel tilts his head inwardly at Lau's suggestion.
His magic sword, while glowing red today, is not a sword that has been passed down through generations of kings.
It's one of the swords that was resting in the royal treasure vault, but he just randomly picked it up when he became an adventurer.
He admits he was indeed curious about it in the treasure vault, but...
"I just picked up a sword that was lying around, you know?"
"'Ex' was lying around? The world is full of mysteries."
Abel answers quite honestly.
Lau tilts his head at that.
"Well, whatever. If I can captivate the descendant of Richard, that will be interesting too."
"Give it a try!"
After three years of serving as king, Abel's sword skills had become rusty.
Of course, he had practiced swinging his sword whenever he found the time and engaged in mock battles occasionally, but even so, it was different from the life-and-death situations of his adventurer days.
There was no tense atmosphere.
It was natural for him to become rusty.
However, after returning to the battlefield, defeating the demon's kin Orenju, and charging into enemy ships in the Archipelago Sea Region to seize the flagship, his senses had sharpened.
Through an unprecedented series of experiences, he gained new insights.
Unseen sword techniques, knife techniques, and the entirety of combat skills that encompassed them.
Those insights had pushed Abel to a new, higher level than during his adventurer days.
Abel himself was unaware of this.
He merely felt that his body was moving more than he had expected.
It was Ryo who realized that Abel had grown stronger.
On the deck of the Rondark, while still swinging his sword as usual, he was convinced of it.
Ryo himself was a magician who wielded a sword.
And he had been watching Abel's swordsmanship for a long time.
So he had noticed.
However, he hadn’t told Abel about it.
He thought it might not be necessary to say it.
If it had been before the Great Demon War, Abel probably wouldn't have been able to defeat Lau.
Perhaps, the match could have been decided in about ten exchanges.
But now...
"Ku... Descendant, you're strong!"
"What do you mean, 'descendant'? That's way too abbreviated. My name is Abel. Remember it."
A three-stage thrust followed by a horizontal slash.
Abel's sword aims for Lau's neck.
Clang.
But Lau certainly wouldn't be taken down so easily.
He deflects Abel's slash, and the roles of offense and defense switch.
The sword fight between the two intensified, with fierce exchanges of attack and defense.
At a slight distance from the two swordsmen, another pair was engaged in a sword fight.