The sword, to the knight, was an efficient weapon.

A slight panic rose within, but Dunnford remained calm.

As it currently stood, Haze’s appearance was the worst thing that could happen to him. The spear-wielder, being someone who could use mana, was Dunnford’s worst enemy. He could bypass his Special Magic and dispel his Elemental Magic, both of which he had become dependent on.

It’s not my priority to fight him, Dunnford thought.

Two monsters remained on the battlefield; and he—being the most suited to slay the large reptiles—should attend to them, for they posed a threat.

Dunnford gathered wind magic at the soles of his boots, about to dash toward the monsters and leave the spear-wielder behind, but Haze charged toward him.

‘At least you wouldn't be as disappointing as the dual sword woman,’ Haze remarked.

… Ignes?

***

Inside the sanctum’s hall, the dual sword woman, Ignes, sat on the ground; and leaned her back on a wall.

Her stomach and shoulder had been stabbed deep with a spear thrust, and her white uniform was tainted with her own seeping blood. She no longer had the strength to move and could be finished easily, however her opponent had refused to.

‘You don’t deserve a quick death,’ the spear-wielder had said with utter disappointment. He had then noticed a monster’s dying wail, along with a crash to the ground, and had gone outside.

Tears coursed down Ignes’ cheek.

Throughout her life, she had never received a humiliation like this. She had devoted her life following the path of the sword, only to end up being defeated by an opponent who deemed her unworthy of even a speck of respect.

Curses…

Ignes coughed blood, then fell with her side.

Her vision was blurry; her consciousness was slipping, but she held on. She wanted to witness her son’s fight against the immortal.

Win, Vod…

***

Silence.

Vod swung his sword horizontally; the immortal dodged by ducking.

Her evasion was nothing short but good. Her prediction of his attacks had been accurate.

After having been evaded, his sword shattered from his swing. Leaving him weaponless for a short moment of time. An opportunity for the immortal to counterattack, which she took without wasting time.

‘…’

Vod tossed his broken sword aside and muttered a name under his breath.

It was the name of Zenia’s sword, one that chose its user. If Vod was chosen, then the sword would appear with the call of a name. But, nothing appeared.

Kokuri, the immortal, lunged at him with a kunai coated with darkness.

Vod stepped to the side, dodging the blade. However, the darkness that surrounded it swallowed him. That darkness was one that could devour what it had swallowed, but by utilizing mana in a flow around his body and disturbing the magic, he dispelled the darkness.

The immortal, having failed to kill him, portrayed annoyance in her expression.

Vod stretched his empty hand to the side, toward his squad member who was responsible for supplying him with new swords from a distance. When Vod felt the touch of a handle with his palm, he didn’t hesitate to grip it. He trusted that it was passed perfectly.

‘Leader!’ his squad member shouted after having thrown a sword for him. ‘Ten left!’

Whether Vod liked it or not, when his sword count was low, he normally had to hold back on his swing and conserve the swords. However, there was no winning if he couldn’t kill her. If he didn’t give his best swing against her, Vod couldn’t see himself killing the immortal.

He had to end this battle with a victory in 10 swords.

***

Change of plans, Dunnford thought as Haze charged toward him.

Initially, he had intended to leave his opponent behind; but, if Haze had defeated Ignes, someone whom Dunnford had never defeated, then Haze’s strength was undoubted; and he couldn’t be left unattended.

I’ll have to defeat him as fast as possible; only then, slay the remaining two monsters.

Uncertainty crept on the back of his mind: Could he defeat someone who was stronger than Ignes? Could he defeat him when his usage of Special and Elemental Magic was restricted by his opponent’s mana manipulation?

He would have to.

Haze thrusted his spear. In response, Dunnford swung his sword to parry. With his rusty evasion, he figured he could include parries in his fight, but that spear was as difficult to parry as to dodge. He could hardly react to the attack.

Clang!

Two metals struck. The blade hit the spear’s shaft.

Dunnford succeeded in parrying the attack.

He thought he had created himself an opportunity to counterattack; however, just as he considered closing the distance, Dunnford saw Haze having retracted his spear; ready to thrust again.

Haze wasn’t allowing a window of time for a counterattack from a parry.

If parrying doesn’t work…

From the previous fight, Dunnford knew that just dodging would lead him nowhere. Against an opponent of this caliber, he couldn’t attain victory without taking risks.

Instead of stepping backward, Dunnford stepped forward.

He dashed toward the spear-wielder. This action—which took less than a second—felt like ages.

Haze remained calm. He had the speed to launch at least three spear thrusts; but opted to hold and wait. With the same speed and lesser distance, Dunnford would have a shorter time to react to the thrust. The longer he held his spear as the distance narrowed, the more potent his thrust would become when unleashed.

Dunnford focused on the spear. He would have to react as soon as it moved.

When?

He lowered his body, exposing lesser area of his body that could be stabbed. The distance between them was getting closer and closer.

Now, Dunnford was finally at a distance where his sword could reach Haze if swung, but the spear-wielder kept holding his thrust.

He’s waiting for my attack—

Haze suddenly unleashed his thrust.

In Dunnford’s eyes, biased by his reflex, the thrust had the same speed as a lightning bolt. No matter how he tried, from that short distance, he couldn’t follow the spear’s trajectory. However, he could tell when the movement began, allowing him to execute his own maneuver.

Responding to the thrust, Dunnford let go of his left hand’s grip; and held the sword with only one hand. He twisted his body sideways, right shoulder frontward, further lessening the area of his body that could be stabbed.

The thrust had been aimed at his heart, a spot easiest to aim and hit.

Because of this maneuver, of twisting his body, Dunnford had hidden his heart from Haze’s scope, and the spear’s blade had missed him.

He had dodged the thrust.

Not missing this one-in-a-million chance, Dunnford coated the blade of his sword with wind magic, increasing its sharpness. Not wanting to miss, Dunnford aimed at Haze’s heart with a thrust.

Haze couldn’t retrieve his spear in time. He stepped to the side and dodged—partially.

Dunnford felt his sword connect; and the blade did claim blood.

He looked toward the spear-wielder and saw that he had inflicted a cut on Haze’s upper left arm. That wound would heavily impact the outcome of this battle.

‘It seems that I have gotten the wrong impressions of you,’ Haze remarked as he inspected his cut. ‘Dunnford, was it? I’ll remember your name.’