As had been mentioned before, on the Akasha Continent, the number of people capable of becoming a Sword Saint before the age of thirty could truly be counted on one hand.
Looking at Jinas alone, aside from Riezel, none of the current six Sword Saints had reached that realm before turning thirty, including the legendary Old Sword Saint and Florent Borley.
Because of that, Albert Borley, being considered likely to become a Sword Saint at the age of twenty-seven, with a genuine chance of reaching that realm before thirty, had already caused many people to regard him as an extraordinarily talented genius.
It was precisely under such circumstances that the appearance of Riezel, a seventeen-year-old Sword Saint, immediately shook the entire continent. Countless people remembered his name, and many regarded him as the most outstanding genius in the history of the Akasha Continent.
As a result, the Sword Saints Riezel had encountered throughout his journey were generally seniors over thirty years old, many of them even approaching forty. Among them, the only exception was Ice Maiden, the mysterious young woman who had briefly appeared in the ancient ruins of Reinnail, who was not yet thirty and was likely not even twenty-five.
Yet now, a young man and woman whose ages appeared similar to Ice Maiden's, looking only two or three years older than her at most, had appeared before him.
One displayed strength comparable to that of a veteran Sword Saint, while the other wielded Combat-Class Magic with a proficiency that seemed to surpass even Grandmaster Nibald.
How could that fail to pique Riezel's interest?
Clearly, their age and strength practically announced that their backgrounds were anything but ordinary, while the inheritance and training behind them were equally extraordinary. Otherwise, there was simply no conceivable way they could possess such formidable combat power at such a young age.
'Are they connected to Ice Maiden?'
'Nope, they don't seem to be.'
'In that case, they must be...'
A possibility immediately surfaced in Riezel's mind, and he quickly formed a tentative guess regarding the identities of the pair.
However, the young man and woman he had in mind had no time to concern themselves with what Riezel was thinking. Under Euryale's relentless assault, they were gradually being pushed into a desperate situation.
'Damn, this woman is ridiculously strong!'
Thinking in frustration, the young man crossed his longsword and shortsword to block a claw strike, but the overwhelming force behind the attack still sent him stumbling backward nearly ten meters.
Each heavy step shattered the floor beneath his feet, leaving broken footprints in his wake as he struggled to stabilize himself while cursing through gritted teeth.
'When did Jinas get someone this strong?'
As that thought crossed the young woman's mind, her expression changed as well.
Dozens of air bullets materialized around her before being launched forward like a dense barrage. Yet even while casting the magic with a calm appearance, she could not conceal the shock in her eyes.
Before coming here, they had thoroughly investigated Jinas and gathered information on all of its notable figures. Including Riezel, Jinas possessed seven Sword Saints, along with Nibald, the grandmaster of the magical world, whose combat power rivaled that of a Sword Saint.
In other words, the two of them had already familiarized themselves with all of the kingdom's top combatants.
In their eyes, however, the other Sword Saints and Nibald were not particularly threatening and were unlikely to be their opponents. Only the Old Sword Saint and the Borley family's Sword Saint seemed troublesome. Even then, they had never believed those two could overcome them if they fought together.
As for Riezel?
A seventeen-year-old Sword Saint known as a flash of lightning who had defeated powerful opponents was certainly impressive, but they had not taken him too seriously.
'A seventeen-year-old Sword Saint? Someone like that has never appeared where we come from. How could one possibly show up in the outside world?'
'Even if such a young Sword Saint really exists on the continent, there's no way someone his age could pose a threat to us.'
Such thoughts had genuinely been their belief all along.
Even after learning that the Sword Saint of the Mavros family had been defeated by Riezel, and that his strength might have already surpassed that of ordinary veteran Sword Saints, they still did not regard him as a serious threat.
After discussing the matter among themselves, they ultimately decided to infiltrate the royal palace directly, locate the princess, and take her away.
In fact, the reason for adopting such a straightforward approach was simple—they were confident that, even if something unexpected were to happen, their combined strength would be more than enough to overcome any obstacle that stood in their way.
Unfortunately, reality proved far harsher than they had expected.
Not only had they been discovered the moment they arrived, but despite joining forces, they were being thoroughly suppressed by a single opponent they had never even heard of.
Even more shocking was the fact that, judging by her appearance and age, this opponent seemed to be roughly the same age as they were—and that was the truly frightening part.
After all, in their homeland, they were acknowledged as the strongest individuals of their generation, which was precisely why they had been entrusted with such an important mission.
Yet now, in the royal palace of Jinas, they had casually encountered someone of the same age who possessed strength far beyond their own.
How could they not be alarmed?
What the young man and woman failed to realize was that Euryale had already been showing an extraordinary amount of restraint.
One should know that her intelligence was still comparable to that of a newborn infant, and she did not yet understand the distinction between friend and foe, nor did she possess concepts such as justice and evil, hostility and mercy.
In other words, she had merely sensed people sneaking around nearby and, out of curiosity and confusion, had approached them, treating this entire fight as nothing more than a form of play.
It was much like when she had first met Riezel.
Back then, she had attacked him for the same reasons—curiosity and uncertainty—without any genuine murderous intent or hostility.
Otherwise, he would never have escaped unharmed.
Born with strength comparable to Level 9 from the very moment of her creation, Euryale could practically be considered invincible in this world.
At the very least, she was invincible within Jinas.
Had she truly intended to kill the young man and woman, the strength they had displayed would never have allowed them to survive this long against a Level 9 vampire.
Having realized that, Riezel finally decided to intervene.
"Stop messing around. End this already."
As soon as those words left his mouth, Euryale's movements abruptly paused, but in the very next instant, her speed surged by several levels.
*Whoosh!*
Her figure blurred, and before anyone could properly react, she had already appeared directly in front of the young man.
"What?!"
Shouting in shock, the young man's pupils contracted violently.
"Watch out!"
Seeing the scene, the young woman cried out in alarm.
*BANG!*
However, before the young man could react, at the exact moment the warning left the young woman's lips, Euryale's fist struck him like a bolt of lightning, and the impact exploded through his body.
*Cough!*
In an instant, the young man spat out a mouthful of blood as his body shot backward like a cannonball. He crashed through the air before slamming into a wall with tremendous force, shattering it completely and sending fragments flying in every direction.
"Leo!"
Seeing that, the young woman cried out in horror.
Yet before her concern for him could fully manifest, her expression froze.
Because Euryale, who had just launched the young man away with a single punch, was already standing directly in front of her.
*Whoosh!*
Before her, the air howled as a fist that appeared soft and delicate, yet possessed enough force to split mountains and shatter stone, hurtled toward her.
*Buzz!*
At that instant, the atmosphere around the young woman trembled slightly, and rippling waves spread through the surrounding air.
It was none other than an automatically activated defensive magic capable of detecting hostile attacks and responding on its own.
At her level, such defensive magic operated continuously around the clock, requiring no conscious effort to maintain. It remained hidden under normal circumstances and would instantly activate whenever an attack from the outside world was detected.
Unfortunately...
*PENG!*
Under that seemingly simple punch, the defensive magic capable of withstanding the full-power strike of a Sword Saint shattered like fragile glass—the barrier exploded apart into countless fragments of magical light.
Immediately afterward, just as Euryale's hand was inches away from the young woman's face, she casually flicked a finger.
*BANG!*
A terrifying force erupted from that tiny motion as the young woman was instantly sent flying. Her body tumbled across the floor dozens of times like a rag doll before finally crashing into a distant wall and coming to a stop.
"Ugh..."
A painful groan escaped her lips.
Feeling as though her forehead had been struck by a cannonball, the entire world seemed to spin around her, and even her consciousness began to blur and drift away.
"Ivy!"
Nearby, the young man named Leo had only just managed to push away the rubble covering him and struggle free from the debris, but the moment he saw what had happened, his eyes instantly became bloodshot.
"You bastard! I'll kill you!"
It was obvious from the way the composure he had maintained until now vanished completely, replaced by uncontrollable rage, that the young woman named Ivy held an extremely important place in his heart.
Yet despite his fury, he did not immediately charge at Euryale. Instead, he reached into his clothing and pulled out another weapon.
It was a third sword.
Unlike the longsword and shortsword he had used before, this sword possessed a twisted, curved blade resembling a warped miniature sickle.
Gripping the strange weapon tightly, Leo poured an enormous amount of magical energy into it.
Gradually, a faint glow spread across the blade.
As the light intensified, a subtle yet unmistakable pressure began spreading throughout the entire room.
"...?"
Sensing that unusual pressure, Euryale tilted her head with visible curiosity.
"Hmm, that's..."
Riezel's expression, however, became slightly more serious.
Although he did not know what the young man intended to do, he could immediately tell that the curved sword was far from ordinary.
It was very likely a mystical artifact, and judging by the pressure it emitted, it was probably a powerful one at that.
'Hmm, makes sense. If they're really from that place, carrying around powerful items would be totally normal.'
As soon as that thought crossed his mind, Riezel decided he had seen enough.
"Temporal Stasis."
A short chant echoed through the room before Leo's movements immediately stopped.
What happened to him was neither paralysis nor any ordinary restraining effect—rather, his very existence itself had been frozen in place.
As though he had been removed from the flow of the world and isolated within another layer of time itself, his time had been completely halted, leaving him unable to move, think, or even process what was happening.
Maintaining the same furious expression, he remained frozen where he stood.
It was the power of 9th-Tier Magic, Temporal Stasis.
"Y-You... what did you do to him?"
Ivy, the young magician woman, had only just recovered when she witnessed the scene. Her expression changed dramatically as she turned toward Riezel and demanded an explanation.
If it had been anyone else, they might not even have understood what had happened.
Only a magician of her level could sense that Riezel had just cast a magic spell.
What truly shocked her, however, was the nature of that magic—it was magic she had never seen before.
However, how was that possible?
She possessed the inheritance of an ancient magical civilization, so in her eyes, modern magical civilization was crude and backward. Under normal circumstances, it should have been impossible for a magic spell to exist whose origins she could not identify.
Yet reality stood before her.
No matter how unwilling she was to believe it, she could not deny what she had witnessed with her own eyes.
For the first time, genuine panic began to emerge within her heart.
In response, Riezel merely smiled.
"Right now, I'm the one asking questions, not you."
As he spoke, Lizbeth emerged from beside him together with Luna.
As soon as Ivy saw them, whatever words she had been about to say immediately died in her throat. Her gaze locked onto Lizbeth—or more precisely, it locked onto Moslow, the holy sword she held tightly in her hand.
"The holy sword..." Ivy's breathing quickened before excitement rapidly replaced the shock on her face. "C-Could it be... you're the Princess?"
Hearing that, Lizbeth blinked in surprise before instinctively shaking her head.
"No... I'm not a princess anymore..."
However, her timid response was immediately rejected.
"No, you are the Princess—there's no mistake!"
Ivy's voice trembled with excitement.
"The holy sword would never acknowledge anyone who isn't a Reinnail! The fact that Your Highness can wield the holy sword is more than enough proof of your identity!"
As she spoke, Ivy suddenly seemed to remember something, and her gaze shifted toward Riezel, the look in her eyes changing instantly.
"A powerful young man standing beside Her Highness... are you that audacious, Riezel Brynhart?"
'Audacious? Me?'
Riezel nearly stared at her in disbelief.
Before he could answer, Lizbeth, noticing Ivy's intense gaze, instinctively grabbed the corner of his clothing.
"Master..."
Lizbeth's simple form of address evidently had an explosive effect—the instant those words left her mouth, Ivy's eyes immediately turned red, just like Leo's had earlier.
"It really is you—the arrogant fool who made Her Highness your attendant!"
As though her very faith itself had been violated, visible fury surged across Ivy's face as she yelled in anger.
"Leave Her Highness's side immediately!"
As she spoke, she pulled another item from her clothing, but this time, it was not a weapon but a branch that appeared to have been carved from jade.
An astonishing vitality radiated from it like tangible energy.
"Another mystical artifact?"
Riezel muttered to himself.
Not only was this woman exceptionally powerful, but her resources seemed equally extraordinary.
Needless to say, that only strengthened his belief regarding her origins.
"Are you guys from the Hidden Land?"
Riezel voiced the suspicion directly, but sadly, Ivy ignored him completely.
"Please don't worry, Your Highness. I'll free you from that despicable contract immediately."
Turning toward Lizbeth once more, Ivy spoke with absolute conviction before raising the jade-like branch high into the air.
"Temporal Stasis."
Riezel naturally had no intention of allowing her to act.
As a result, he immediately cast a second Temporal Stasis.
In the next second, subtle magical energy surged toward Ivy like an invisible tide, intending to freeze her time just as it had Leo's.
Yet in the very next moment, something astonishing happened.
*BANG!*
Just as the magic touched her, the branch in her hand erupted with brilliant light, and Riezel's magic shattered upon contact.
Seeing that, the answer to a lingering question in his mind immediately became clear.
Clearly, this was why the young woman had been able to cast magic freely even within Light of Heaven.
From the very beginning, the source of that abnormality had never been the young woman herself—it had been that branch all along.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
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