Published: July 4, 2025
In the center of the training grounds, at a distance of about twenty meters apart, the two faced each other.
"Ryo, are you ready?"
"Yes, anytime!"
"Then, here I come!"
At the same moment as those words, Sera's figure disappeared.
(So fast!)
In an instant, she lunged into Ryo's range and executed a downward strike at maximum speed.
Ryo did not retreat; instead, he thrust his sword forward to parry.
Before reaching the point where her speed peaked, he managed to parry at a point where Sera's strength had not fully built up.
If he didn't do this, he could end up having his sword broken by the powerful downward strike of his opponent.
He deflected the strike and aimed for Sera's hand.
However, Sera slipped one hand off the sword to evade it. With just one hand, she swung her sword horizontally.
Ryo shifted his weight back and dodged like a sway back.
Without changing his foot position, he returned his weight forward and struck down.
Sera evaded this by bodying away, then followed up with a double thrust.
Ryo dodged the first thrust and, while evading the second, cut upward in a reverse diagonal.
Sera lightly backstepped to evade.
This exchange took only a few seconds.
It was a chance to reset.
"You're amazing, Ryo!"
Her face beamed with joy.
Sera spoke to Ryo with a voice that was genuinely happy.
"No, Sera-san, you’re too fast!"
Indeed, it was terrifying speed.
The dive was nothing compared to the demon prince from yesterday.
It was like the sonic dive of Demon Leonor or the one-eyed assassin hawk.
A fearsome speed that invaded his range in an instant.
"But Ryo, you dodged it! In the knight order, no one can evade that dive!"
Saying this, Sera looked around.
As Ryo followed suit and glanced around, he spotted several knight order members scattered among the audience.
"If you reacted to that, does that mean you’ve experienced that kind of speed before?"
"Yes... a long time ago."
"I see... then next, I will go all out!"
"W-wait..."
Before Ryo could finish speaking, she lunged again... this time with a supersonic dive.
Moreover, the speed at which her sword was swung...
(It’s faster than before!)
The speed of her sword swings had increased by about fifty percent compared to earlier.
At this speed, evading entirely was impossible.
Furthermore, defending against it was becoming difficult.
If he tried to receive it at the peak of her speed, he realized just how heavy her sword was.
(Sera-san, despite being so slender, what is this weight...)
Ryo thought of a phrase that would surely anger a woman.
In the first exchange, he had been able to launch a counterattack after deflecting, but now he was entirely on the defensive.
He would occasionally launch thrusts or slashes as feints, but that was merely to act as a distraction.
However, Ryo’s defensive stance was like an impregnable fortress.
Even the one-eyed assassin hawk and Demon Leonor could never break through Ryo's steadfast defense.
That was how formidable Ryo had become.
Yet...
(Ugh, this is tough. It feels like I’m continuously receiving blows from my master’s sword...)
Even his ironclad defense was beginning to crack.
In terms of speed, he might even be slightly surpassing the sword speed of his master, the dullahan, known as the Fairy King.
(This is it; it’s wind attribute magic.)
Of course, there was no rule against the use of magic.
But in the midst of such a speed duel, there was no opportunity to use magic.
If he diverted even a little concentration to something else, he would be defeated in that moment.
Even with Ryo's magical generation speed, it was impossible to cast spells at such velocities.
But...
(However, Sera-san is using it. Through wind attribute magic, she enhances the speed of her arm swings, footwork, and even her body movements...)
It was an astonishing level of magical control.
Using magic as effortlessly as breathing… it was almost too mild a description... achieving magical control to the extent that she could use magic unconsciously… as if her heart was always beating without her having to think about it... to that level.