“Gaaah?”
Nice! I wasn’t exactly expecting a beam, but it tore through his barrier and landed a clean hit!
The base of the lord’s wings got blown away, ripping off a chunk of black mana. Then, a beat later, the girls’ attacks slammed into him: Shiro’s spear of light—a mix of red and white—and Kuro’s blast from her dragon arm—a mix of red and black. They were devastating blows of dragon mana fused with radiant wind and burning shadow. They both hit at once, triggering a massive explosion.
“G-Gaaaaaah! You damn twerps!”
The blast was so powerful, the lord’s upper body vanished. Only his lower half remained, yet his furious voice still echoed from nowhere. He might not have been a living being anymore. Slowly, from the severed stump of his lower half, black mana began to swell.
Even our all-out attack isn’t enough...?
Shiro, Kuro, and I were nearly out of mana. As we sat there, defenseless, overwhelmed by exhaustion so intense we couldn’t even stand, the lord’s bloodlust washed over us. My whole body shook with fear, as if he had a viselike grip on my heart. It was terrifying—I knew that, if he came at us now, I wouldn’t be able to run.
We were at death’s door.
But we didn’t despair, because the man standing before the lord still had fire in his eyes. Geos’s gaze, once so hollow you’d think you’d get sucked in, now burned with a fierce fighting spirit and hope.
“You kids did well,” he said.
His stance was strange. He held the sword in his right hand and pressed it against his raised left wrist. This isn’t the best way to describe it, but it almost looks like he’s about to slit his—
“Sir Geos!” cried Milène. “Don’t!”
“This is the only way left. Those kids gave everything they had. I’ve been a lousy adult—gotta at least show off at the end.”
Milène’s voice cracked with panic, but Geos just smiled, almost peacefully. Then he yanked his sword back.
Naturally, his left wrist split open, blood splashing across his cheek and blade.
What the hell...?!
As we all stood there, dumbfounded, something impossible happened. The sword erupted with sinister mana that eclipsed its earlier monstrosity. The golden light reminiscent of a holy sword had vanished, replaced by an ominous dark-red aura that wrapped around Geos. The density of that mana wasn’t even close to what we’d seen before.
“Bloodbattle magic?!” said the lord. “You fool! You plan to die here?!”
“Even if I do, I’ll have no regrets!”
The voice that came from the still-regenerating lord was unmistakably laced with fear.
What is Geos doing?
I wanted to ask Milène, but my throat was too scorched to speak. Seeming to understand our silent question, she quietly began to explain.
“Sir Geos has activated bloodbattle magic. It’s a forbidden technique that channels power into his magic sword by using his own blood as a medium. It’s a last resort that doesn’t just drain one’s mana; it demands their life force. The user must even offer up their remaining lifespan.”
Geos was radiating such overwhelming power that her words felt undeniably true. Now I understood why Milène looked so devastated.
“The bloodbattle magic sealed within Sir Geos’s magic sword, Brave, is called ‘Valiant Resolve.’ Its effect is simple: enhanced cutting power.”
Enhanced cutting power? So it boosts his attack?
It was indeed a simple ability, but with mana that dense, it was clear that its attack power was beyond imagination. On top of that, the one wielding it is Geos—the former Sword Saint with unmatched technique. That’s gotta be the ultimate combo.
“All right!” said Geos. “Time to put an end to all this!”
“Who do you think I aaaam?!”
The lord, still missing parts of his neck and right side, thrust out his freshly regenerated left hand and unleashed a colossal surge of mana—it must’ve been both an attack and a shield.
Even to my eyes, it looked effective. It might’ve even blocked our earlier combo attack. That’s how thick the wave of mana was as it roared toward Geos.
But Geos didn’t move. He didn’t even flinch.
He raised his sword, erupting with dark-red mana, into a high position. Somehow, I could feel his slow, deliberate breathing that was completely out of place amid the chaos. While mana and shock waves tore through the battlefield, Geos stood calm, like the surface of a tranquil lake.
What is he—
“Final Blade.”
Before I realized it, Geos had already swung his sword down. It was too smooth, too quiet—no sound, no shadow, not even bloodlust.
I didn’t even see him move. By the time I’d noticed, it was already over.
“Ga...?”
“Huh?”
We all just let out stunned breaths. Shiro, Kuro, the lord, me—none of us had a clue what had happened.
The wave of mana that the lord had fired off, the lord himself, and even the ground and forest behind him had all been sliced clean through. Ultra-strong compressed mana had been swung at godlike speed—at least, that’s my guess. The only thing I was sure of was the deep slash that tore through everything in a perfect line. That was all.
The lord must’ve finally realized he’d been cut, as he let out a shriek.
“Wh...ga...it won’t heal...!”
“Now that my magic sword has unleashed its true power, it can cut through anything—even something not of this world.”
Wait, so the enhanced cutting power doesn’t just mean an attack boost? He said it can cut through anything...meaning, it can even cut something like the lord’s current form, which can’t be cut by normal means?
“I will...possess eternal life...”
“Shut up,” said Geos. “People die. That’s how it works.”
“I’m...not finished yet!”
Even though his body had been split clean in two from the top of his head, the lord didn’t fall. His two halves simply remained upright.
He howled, despite the absence of his head, and his arm stretched toward us, shooting out like a snake.
Is he trying to get Shiro and Kuro? Like hell you are!
My whole body was drowning in exhaustion. I could barely move. Even so, I summoned the last of my strength and let the heat rising from my throat burst out with a ferocious roar.
It was a tiny red fireball, like a popgun shot, but it knocked away the lord’s arm, making it scatter like mist and vanish into the air.
“Don’t get in my— Gaaaarrrrrgggghhhh!”
That must have been his final desperate outburst. Having spent everything, the lord, in the throes of death, let out a scream that echoed through the battlefield. It was a roar so filled with any and every negative emotion, it made my skin crawl just hearing it.
When that grotesque scream finally stopped, the lord had disappeared without a trace. Only faint remnants of black mana drifted through the air. Even the tiny black sparks faded away, and the only mark of the lord ever having existed was the scars of battle. Those, too, would be repaired by the dungeon’s power in a few days.
We won...! I wanted to shout, but I didn’t even have the strength to speak. Damn, I can barely keep my eyes open. Just staying awake is—
“Thor, are you okaaay?”
“Thor! Stay with us!” said Shiro.
The girls were sitting on either side of me, shaking me, but my eyelids were already drifting shut.
I’m sorry, you two... My mana’s completely drained. It’s too much for the body of a five-year-old...
I’m gonna sleep for a bit...