Chapter 336

Chapter 336 Strongest Sage, Identity Seen Through

I was still young when I fought Zadokilgias in my previous life .

This demon held the upper hand in term of pure combative skills back then .

As such, winning proved difficult in a direct confrontation .

That was why I developed [Resonant Sword] .

This demon would dodge every single one of my magic attack and block all my sword slashes .

However, Zadokilgias's body itself wasn't sturdy enough to receive those slashes .

As such, letting it take my sword slashes and break its body with [Resonant Sword] is very effective .

[Resonant Sword] is virtually a technique specialized in killing skill-based demons like Zadokilgias .

" . . . To think there's someone who deploys that magic in this era . "

Zadokilgias took some more distance away from me as it said that .

Gaining distances is the basic method for fighting a Disqualified Crest .

Magical ranged attacks are favorable to Zadokilgias especially for avoiding clashing its sword against my [Resonant Sword] .

But that's speaking only if Iris wasn't here .

Getting away from me means getting into Iris's range .

『There it goes! I'm gonna get it!』

Iris swung down her claw the moment she saw Zadokilgias getting away from me .

Moving away from me here naturally got it closer to Iris .

Inviting her for another attempt at the demon .

Zadokilgias deployed a new set of barriers mid-air as a foothold to dodge her attack .

They were farther apart than earlier thus it made it in time .

However–that instance it deployed barriers created an opening if only for a second .

It's not a problem with skill, it's simply due to the latency of outputting magic .

It's not long enough to get a hit in–but more than plentiful for getting in the range .

Making use of this chance, I made us engage in a close quarter combat .

" . . . What an irksome tactic . "

Zadokilgias blocked my sword slash which had got [Resonant Sword] added .

Then–the moment our swords touched each other, mine got repelled back .

–『Reflective Strike』 .

A magic that outputs a huge blast of mana all at once to instantaneously flick the opponent's sword away .

This magic will forcefully repel away the opponent's sword no matter what magic enchanted on that sword, it's unparalleled in a close quarter sword combat .

Against someone with an inept sword skill, the opening created by this magic could even be used to deal a finishing blow .

There was even a period of time where sword enchant magic was seen in a bad light due to this [Reflective Strike] magic .

However, such a mighty magic does not come without a price .

This [Reflective Strike] outputs a vast amount of mana through one's sword, it's a basic magic in a sense .

Which is precisely why it's mostly unaffected by other magic–but as a drawback, you're required to release a huge amount of mana all at once .

Even amongst Disqualified Crest bearers, only a few with exceptionally sturdy magic circuits, and high-ranking demons that far outclass Zadokilgias are capable of releasing the required amount of mana in an instant .

In all other cases, one has to build up mana in their sword over time and release it only when the need arises .

Due to the load caused by building up mana, [Reflective Strike] users can't use other magic in parallel .

In contrast, I'm only deploying the much easier to cast [Resonant Sword] over [Reflective Strike] .

Meaning I could shoot other attack magic with my spare energy .

" . . . Dodging even this huh . . . "

Zadokilgias managed to deal with the combination of my attack magic and [Resonant Sword] somehow .

Defending against an attack while enduring the load from invoking [Reflective Strike] should be quite a task–yet, it dealt with it well .

As that thought crossed my mind, Zadokilgias spoke up while flicking my sword away .

"You bastard . . . You're even better than the guy who killed the past me in skill alone . "

The guy who killed the past Zadokilgias . . . Me huh .

Indeed, my magic skill has seen much improvement compared to the me back then .

Now that I think about it, the me back then was quite crude for a magic combatant .

. . . That said, I was already 80 by then, so my magic circuits were far far superior than the current me .

I gave a reply while thinking that .

"I see . So you're saying you're going to meet your maker a second time?"

"Not happening . Regardless of your skill, this absolute gap in powers aren't something that can be easily overturned . . . In fact, the only time you managed to deal damage was from that [Resonant Sword] ambush–even after all you've done thus far . "

Zadokilgias is peering for a chance to attack even while chattering away .

This conversation itself is likely an attempt to take me out of my pace .

The act of talking may slightly throw off one's pace if they don't have enough experience in battle, creating an exploitable opening .

That's probably this demon's aim–but unfortunately for it, this tactic is meaningless to me .

It might have worked on the past age 80 me though .

" . . . How old are you anyway? Those magical skills, that bottomless swordsmanship–cannot be of a mere child . I wouldn't be surprised if you told me you were a 『Reincarnated』 one like me . "

Zadokilgias murmured when it saw me not relaxing my guard .

Looks like it's made a conjecture of my identity .

Not like that would be of any use in this fight though .