****(POV)

"Eagle of Massacre! I've come to claim your head!"

Who's the one that's tired of living? There are easier ways to commit suicide than to trek all the way over to the Moon Keep. Ah but then again this is a sure-fire way to perish.

Now, who can it even be? Who's mad enough to do that? There is no clamor, only a lone voice, one confronting a behemoth without a trace of fear. No, in the proclamation there is even a hint of anger and righteousness.

Many people dream of doing such a thing but pretty much all have enough common sense not to.

I quickly exit the dungeon. In front of our main gate, a man is standing. Long golden hair, green piercing eyes. At his side 5 majestic swords, all broken.

He is standing straight, not intimidated in the least by the many sect members surrounding him. Well, the strongest are mostly rank 3. If this man is who I think he is, disregarding them is normal.

"Hurry up! I don't have all day!"

Does he not realize Grey and the warden could simply team up to instantly dispatch him? If he does, he doesn't show it

"Oh? It's that kid."

"You know him?"

"Yes, young mistress. It's as you've guessed. He's the Sword-King, only he would dare wander the world in that getup."

"True, an imposter would quickly become overwhelmed by challengers, quite possibly die."

That's when sonorous laughter erupts, coming from the tall stone wall.

"HAHAHAHA! It's you! How nice of you to visit! I was just wondering where you went into hiding! Now you are coming straight up at me! How exciting!"

Eagle is as pleased about a challenge as ever. He rarely gets any, he's killed way too many for people to dare confront him, well besides this guy.

"Time has come, Eagle. I know what happened to you. You've lost it. Imagine my stupefaction when I got to know the news. I couldn't believe it at all! Yet it turned out to be true. Now, I officially challenge you to a duel! What will you do?"

The man gazes at every single being out in the open, I and my companion included. In his eyes, there is a glint that makes us feel his resolution. This guy is ready to fight us all if the need arises. Not that it will seem necessary because...

"HAHAHAHA! Of course, I'll fight you! This will be so much fun! *turning around* None of you are to help me or try to stop the fight by any means!"

Then he simply jumps down the walls...diving directly at the Sword-King! Eagle is swinging his bastard sword as usual. He does so with so much power that it looks like Judgment from heaven!

*CLANG* *THUD!*

Yet his opponent simply parries it, easily with his thin blade. The ground around them caves in. The raw power in that exchange can be felt even by us spectators!

But for them, this was simply a casual exchange. Then begins the real fight, Eagle hacking with so much power and speed that it leaves after images. Every move aimed at a vital spot, there are no feints, just pure killing intent. He is grinning from ear to ear, laughing.

Most would despair seeing all their attacks being easily parried, not him. He radiates pure joy, shouting and being overall so intense! It is a very contrasting appearance to the calm and steady King, who's not phased in the least.

"HAHAHAHA, you're good! It's been so long since I've had a true fight! I was craving this!"

"You call this a real fight? Is that all you can do?"

It is at that exact moment that everything changes. The King that was on the defensive goes on the offensive for the first time. He does so in a very casual manner. He parries and then does a quick slash. Every clash he is now drawing a little blood from Eagle. Of course, he manages to evade any hit to his vitals but still.

This is why people call him a madman. Even now as he becomes more and more bloodied he is still smiling. He thrives on fighting, no matter if he is winning or losing. The more it goes on and the more his injuries pile up. Light superficial wounds tend to become heavy injuries once there are a few hundred of them.

If this goes on the outcome of this duel is evident. The Eagle of Massacre, a man feared all across the continent will likely perish. Turns out the challenger knew perfectly what he was doing, from his sword mastery to his personality.

"This would have been over in an instant if he still had The Bringer of Calamity!"

"Yes, it would have been, but he doesn't have it. Still, he doesn't regret giving it away, the young master is totally worthy of it. For all we know, it helped him tremendously on his journey so far. I'm sure he's been defeating tons of enemies with it as a hidden trump card haha. When I saw him in Eaglevein he was simply wearing it not to give the secret away, which is pretty smart."

"Are we simply going to watch on as Eagle gets defeated?!"

"I can assure you no one will help him. He wouldn't forgive us."

This is painful to watch. He is the man that trained me, one that spent countless hours carefully teaching me. Honestly, he is a great man. While he himself is all about power and speed, he taught me technique. It's not that he cannot do it, but it's not his style.

At some point, he told me he didn't have anything more to teach me. That my path would be different from his. That I should work more on using a combination of magic and swordsmanship.

He stopped training me not to drive me down the wrong path. While his path could be a great one, he always says it needs a special kind of temperament. One needs to love fighting itself. That is not me. I'd rather remain calm and composed.

Now this great teacher of mine is about to lose, are we really not going to do anything?!