Accompanied by the rumbling, the skies turned dark. Lightning strikes accompanied by the booms of thunder centered around the arena.

"Are you sane? What kind of dangerous weapon are you bringing out into the mortal world?"

The Blind Swordsman knew Kai was crazy, but not this crazy. Even he could only bring out an incarnation of Caliburn. If he were to use the actual sword, then the very fabric of reality the world stood on might collapse.

"Using a weapon that can destroy the world to save it. Quite ironic don't you think?" the Blind Swordsman continued.

"Knowing me for this short amount of time, you should know. Though I am a fool, I'm not an idiot. You summoned an incarnation of a legendary weapon and the world's reality trembled. What do you think I can summon that can make reality so terrified but stay within its limits?"

'...An Ancient Gear? No, those have practically disappeared. The few that remain in existence can't even stay on this plane. The only other thing I can think of is a Pseudo-Ancient Gear but no matter how strong they are, they shouldn't be able to surpass Caliburn's reincarnation...'

"You look disturbed."

Kai took the Blind Swordsman back to reality. The world continued to tremble and the lightning strikes were becoming even more frequent.

"Do you really not know the answer? Well, that's no surprise. I'm betting that this weapon is the first and most likely, the last of its kind after all."

The rumbling and lightning finally stopped. Kai nonchalantly took out a golden sword from within the pendant and swung it once to the side.

CRACK CRACK CRACK

"..."

Just a casual swing without putting any power and technique created a giant crack with an unknown depth.

"Though it's practically an Ancient Gear, it definitely isn't to be considered as such. After all, Ancient Gear were weapons crafted using the first runes."

Kai held Superbia above his head.

"Even though you can't see the runes themselves, you can sense it."

'He's right... Those runes, I have no knowledge of their existence... Where did they originate?!'

"If an Enchanted Gear is the successor of the Ancient Gear and the Pseudo-Ancient Gear are those mixed with both the first and contemporary runes, then this is an imitation. The term faux is fitting, don't you think? Faux Gear, that's what I'll call it from now on."

The Blind Swordsman trembled.

'An imitation? Then... he created his own runes?! How deep must his connection with mana be?!'

Runes were practically gates to mana itself. Ancient Gear were so rare precisely because not just anybody could withstand the purity of the ancient runes. Contemporary runes were a lot more watered down and with practice, nearly anyone could use it.

Still, though contemporary runes were called contemporary because they existed in the present time, it didn't mean that they were made recently. They were made only decades after the ancient runes.

'Even my lord isn't capable of creating a rune and yet he can create his own set...!'

The Blind Swordsman was absolutely certain now. Kai had to die. It didn't matter if he had to take a part of his life force to temporarily bypass the seal, he needed to get rid of him.

He believed that nobody in this world could match his lord, Howard. No matter how strong the Blind Swordsman and the generals were, they were always ants in front of Howard himself. All of the generals believed that save for the Supreme Beings, Howard was the strongest there was.

Now, his faith in Howard was wavering.

It was said that runes were created not by the Gods, but by a Supreme Being. The same Supreme Being that created mana also created the runes that allowed humans to wield the power of legends.

'This man... he's a Supreme Being candidate.'

Not just that, he was most likely a candidate to replace the Supreme Being that created mana itself.

"You're too dangerous to be kept alive!"

The Blind Swordsman charged forward with Caliburn. Caliburn was a double-edged sword unlike his other sword much more fit to be called a blade. But, that didn't hinder the Blind Swordsman's swordsmanship in the least. It was masterful and he didn't waste any movements when attacking Kai.

He was fast and the power behind each attack was enough to shatter their surroundings.

But...

"Is that all Caliburn's incarnation can do?"

Kai nonchalantly commented from within a translucent yellow barrier.

"It can't even damage Superbia's energy field."

"..."

It was hard to accept, but it was the truth. Kai's weapon wasn't just a level above his, it was leagues ahead. It was like trying to chop a tree with a twig.

"We both know that you have no other choice if you want to win this battle. You have to unlock your seal and damage your true self."

'So he even knows about that...'

The Blind Swordsman chuckled and held Caliburn at his side.

"You can kill me right now but you wouldn't. You would, at most, delay my descent on this planet by a few years. That isn't beneficial for you at all, it just gives me more time to recuperate. What you want is obvious, to damage to my real body and stop my descent indefinitely. You truly are crazy."

Kai shrugged his shoulders.

If the Blind Swordsman were to unlock his seal and kill Kai, then their army's victory was assured. Even the King of Gods and the Demon King wouldn't be able to do anything if a Supreme Being candidate couldn't.

On the other hand, if he were to lose even after unlocking his seal, their army would lose a general in the fight against the superpowers.

It was a gamble.

A gamble where the scales of war would be tipped when one side wins.

'My lord entrusted this place to me. To retreat after being given such an order is a huge shame for a swordsman and a general.'

"Haaa... You win."

The Blind Swordsman sighed and took control of his life force.

He answered Kai's challenge, he would unlock his seal.

Kai tightened his grip on Superbia.

There were three possible paths at the start of their battle. One, Kai were to fail to stall for time. He wouldn't be able to summon Superbia and he wouldn't be able to kill the Blind Swordsman. Two, he succeeds in stalling for time and manages to unleash Superbia and kill the Blind Swordsman. It was the safest outcome.

And the last, most favorable outcome, he would kill the Blind Swordsman with his seal unlocked and deal a huge blow against Howard's forces.

It was the biggest gamble he could make, a gamble bigger than his life.

"Any day now."

Kai calmly held Superbia with one hand. With its size, it was fitter to be held with two hands but Kai was holding it so nonchalantly.

Seeing as how Kai didn't even attempt to attack him while he was trying to unlock his seal, the Blind Swordsman sighed.

"...You really are a fool. With your knowledge of the future, you know of my strength. Even that weapon in your hands wouldn't be able to land a scratch on me."

"Not with my current power, yes."

"That's right, it's like a sword crafted by the greatest blacksmith being wielded by the greenest swordsman ever to exist."

"And yours is like a master swordsman wielding an above-average sword. It really isn't a question as to who's going to win."

"..."

Kai knew that even with Superbia's strength, he wouldn't be able to win the battle so easily. Then, why was he so confident in being able to defeat the Blind Swordsman. He couldn't have any more trump cards to use, did he?

There weren't any ceremonies or phenomena happening when the Blind Swordsman unlocked his seal. Kai could feel the flow of mana change within him and break through the limits of what he could sense. The Blind Swordsman was at SSS-class, that was all he could surmise.

In contrast, he was at S-class wielding a sword above the level of the Blind Swordsman.

"From here on, we're going to have a real match."

"Rather than a match, it's more like a fight to the death, isn't that right?"

"I suppose."

The atmosphere surrounding the two of them changed. Neither of them were playing games anymore. Even earlier when they were using all of the power in their bodies, they still had a conversation while trying to feel each other out. Now, it was a true fight.

No further words were exchanged.

The Blind Swordsman having the advantage in bodily power charged first. Kai reacted by raising the output of Superbia's energy and retreating after the shield was hit.

Kai took a deep breath and held Superbia with both hands then raised it.

"Rending Blade," he muttered.

Kai swung the sword wrapped in mana at the Blind Swordsman and sent a crescent light of mana attack. The Blind Swordsman chose to dodge instead of blocking the attack.

But Kai wasn't finished. He continued to swing the sword that was still wrapped in mana over and over at the Blind Swordsman and sent over a dozen crescent moons. The Blind Swordsman masterfully dodged each one with only minimal movements as he advanced.

"Caliburn: Sky-piercer."

The Blind Swordsman muttered and thrust his sword forward. Like Kai's Rend, a beam of mana shot out from the sword but this one was in the form of a piercing blade. It looked as if it could tear apart the very heavens themselves.

It headed straight for Kai's energy shield and followed by a loud explosion, a crack was left on Kai's shield.

"..."

Kai took another deep breath and wiped the sweat accumulated on his forehead.

"I see... You aren't able to wield that sword at all with your current body. The reason you deactivated all of your other skills was to save your stamina."

"..."

As though seeing through him, Kai didn't respond to the Blind Swordsman and prepared another attack.

'Just a bit more...' Kai sharpened his gaze.

If everything went according to plan... then Kai's victory was already assured.