Upon feeling a sudden pressure descend upon him, Riezel was no longer unfamiliar with the sensation.
After all, the last time he had been surprised by this pressure had also been here, in this throne room. Back then, he had likewise been restrained by this pressure, unable to use magic and suffering a significant drop in strength.
Needless to say, this was unmistakably the suppression of
"How is this possible?"
Redson questioned in surprise, his expression changing drastically.
Naturally, the reason his expression changed was precisely because he had recognized the source of the pressure as well.
should have been something that only members of the royal family of Jinas could control through the Sword of Authority. And the Sword of Authority was a symbol possessed only by the kings of Jinas throughout the generations.
Yet, given that Hendrick was already dead, who was controlling now and using it to suppress Riezel?
For the first time, suspicion and uncertainty arose in Redson’s heart.
In contrast, although Riezel’s expression changed as well, his eyes suddenly turned cold.
He could clearly feel that compared to last time, the oppressive force brought by was not merely stronger—it was several times stronger.
If, during the previous encounter here, he had been subjected to the pressure of , but Hendrick had held back because he did not want to completely fall out with him, refraining from fully utilizing its power to suppress him, then this time, the person wielding clearly wanted him dead.
If someone below the level of Sword Saint were subjected to such overwhelming pressure, even an expert Sword Master standing only one step away from becoming a Sword Saint would be crushed to the ground instantly and rendered unable to move.
Even for Riezel, bearing this terrifying pressure caused his body to sink heavily, while the thick lightning raging around him nearly spiraled out of control.
At that very moment, a shadow silently appeared behind Riezel.
Along with an emotionless voice, a pitch-black magic sword that looked as though it had been forged from shadow burst forth from the darkness.
In an instant, it gathered astonishing magical energy and transformed it into a pitch-black sword light vast enough to blot out the sky, slashing fiercely toward Riezel’s back.
Anyone could see that the strike was not only incredibly fast but also exceptionally ruthless.
As the black sword light surged forward, even the atmosphere let out a mournful cry, revealing just how merciless the attacker was.
"Rohm!"
Upon seeing the shadow launch the ambush without hesitation, Redson angrily shouted the man’s name.
A black shadow sword combined with such vicious and stealthy methods could only belong to Rohm, Jinas’s greatest assassin and the leader of Shadow.
Not only had he ambushed Riezel, but he had clearly intended to kill him.
As soon as that sky-covering black sword light descended, a deafening explosion erupted throughout the throne room as the black sword light split the atmosphere apart and tore through space itself.
In the next instant, the moment it touched the floor, it destroyed the ground protected by , like a fallen heavenly pillar that split the entire throne room in half.
Wherever the sword light passed, a scene of flying sand and shattered stone immediately appeared. Countless fragments of rock were sent flying while clouds of dust surged through the air.
An attack of such terrifying power left virtually no chance of survival once it landed.
And with Riezel being suppressed to the utmost degree by, there should have been no possibility for him to resist such a sudden and devastating strike.
At least, that was what Rohm believed.
Until—
A violent bolt of lightning appeared at the center of the devastated battlefield like divine thunder descending from the heavens, blasting away all the flying debris and dust and revealing Riezel’s figure.
"What?"
Redson’s eyes widened in shock.
He couldn’t help it.
Because at this very moment, Riezel’s body remained completely unharmed, without a single visible injury on him.
As though arriving slightly late, a cold chant spread through the air.
Riezel’s body shone with crimson-gold magical light as the defensive magic capable of completely nullifying a single slash-attribute attack blocked Rohm’s fatal strike.
"!!!"
Seeing the scene, not only Redson but even Rohm’s pupils shrank sharply.
It couldn’t be helped.
Under the suppression of , Riezel had actually used magic, and judging by the situation, he seemed to have completely freed himself from the suppression.
No, it was more than simply breaking free from the suppression.
Upon closer inspection, the aura radiating from Riezel, despite still being under the suppression of , had actually become stronger than before.
What they didn’t know was that Riezel’s development ability, , had been activated.
Just as Loki had once said, after learning this development ability, whenever Riezel encountered a situation that restricted him, he could not only break free from the restraint with ease, but his status would also increase under the effect of the ability, making him even stronger than he was at his peak.
A sense of danger exploded within Rohm as the shadow of death spread through his heart, causing him to immediately enter a shadow escape state and flee frantically.
Unfortunately...
Amid a magnificent peal of thunder, Riezel erupted forward after gathering all of the thick lightning into his scabbard.
A breathtaking blade light transformed into a bolt of lightning.
It broke through time.
It broke through space.
It even broke through Light of Heaven.
In the throne room, where the aftermath had yet to settle, it bloomed brilliantly.
Faced with this truly godlike speed and a slash that seemed to have been unleashed by the thunder god himself, Rohm had no way to evade it, as the speed and stealth abilities he had always taken pride in became completely meaningless before such overwhelming power.
In the next second, the fleeting lightning blade light effortlessly caught up to him and cleaved him in two.
Blood sprayed across the sky.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHH—!!!"
Rohm let out a miserable scream as his body was severed at the waist, his lower half completely separated, and blood gushing from the wound like a spring.
Yet even in this state, he did not dare remain here any longer.
Abandoning his lower body entirely, the shadow formed by his upper half accelerated instead of slowing down.
Bleeding all the way, he fled the battlefield at the fastest speed of his life.
"Hmph..."
Riezel slowly descended from the air and landed on the ground, letting out a cold snort as he watched Rohm flee into the distance.
"W-What exactly is going on here?"
Redson, who had also landed on the ground, finally came back to his senses and spoke with a frown, his heart filled with confusion and suspicion.
First came the abnormal activation of Light of Heaven, then the sudden disappearance of the Shadow Sword Saint who had served the king, followed by his unexpected reappearance and ambush against Riezel despite the king’s death.
One strange event after another unfolded in rapid succession, and this bizarre series of developments finally made Redson realize that something was terribly wrong.
Meanwhile, Riezel seemed to have completely lost interest in continuing the fight. Holding a black sword covered in flowing patterns woven from sacred text, he looked at Redson with a faint smile.
"Do I still need to explain things to you?"
Hearing that question, Redson fell silent, his expression becoming complicated.
At this point, if he still could not see the problem, then he truly would be a fool.
"...His Majesty’s death had nothing to do with you?"
Redson looked at Riezel with tightly furrowed brows, but instead of answering, Riezel responded with a question of his own.
"What exactly could you do about it, even if it did?"
Riezel’s merciless words caused Redson’s expression to darken.
Yet he had already begun to believe that Riezel might truly have had nothing to do with Hendrick’s death. If he had been involved, he would not have minded admitting it, because there was no one in this kingdom capable of doing anything to him.
Redson had already confirmed that during their battle, where even he had not been Riezel’s opponent and had nearly been killed by a single strike.
If even he could not stop Riezel, then who in the kingdom could?
For that reason, if Riezel had truly done it, there would have been no reason for him to deny it.
However, that only led to a new problem.
"If that’s the case, then who used the Sword of Authority to activate Light of Heaven?"
"And why did Shadow Sword Saint Rohm ambush you while completely ignoring His Majesty’s death?"
"Who is he serving now?"
As though becoming increasingly terrified by his own deductions, Redson muttered to himself.
Riezel, however, ignored the Old Sword Saint who seemed completely consumed by his thoughts. After sheathing his sword and fastening Hermit to his waist, he walked out of the ruined throne room and stepped outside.
"Master!"
Outside the throne room, Lizbeth, still holding Luna in her arms while gripping Moslow’s hand with her free hand, cautiously watched the surroundings as she called out to Riezel.
Around her lay numerous black-robed magic dolls.
Some had been torn into pieces of flesh, while others bore massive claw marks across their bodies. All of them lay in pools of blood that stained the ground red, completely devoid of life.
"Are you alright?"
Riezel quickly made his way over to Lizbeth and immediately asked about her condition.
He knew she had been attacked earlier, but with Euryale having remained right by her side the entire time, he wasn’t particularly worried, as it was highly unlikely that anything truly serious had happened to her.
Sure enough...
"I’m fine..." Lizbeth shook her head lightly. "Although we were attacked, I never even got the chance to fight. Miss Euryale dealt with all of them by herself."
"I see..." Riezel nodded, not looking surprised in the slightest. "Where’s Euryale?"
"Uhh... she went after someone..." Lizbeth pointed in a certain direction. "A shadow covered in blood flew out just now. As soon as she saw him, she immediately chased after him."
Just as she finished speaking, Redson, who had also emerged from the throne room, hurriedly asked.
"Is she alone?"
Clearly, he was worried about whether Euryale could handle a Sword Saint, even one who had already been severely crippled.
"If Euryale can’t deal with him, then neither can you."
Riezel glanced at Redson and spoke indifferently, leaving him nearly speechless.
It wasn’t as though Redson knew nothing about Euryale’s strength.
Last time, after Riezel caused chaos in the throne room, Euryale had appeared as well and exchanged moves with Florent, proving her identity as a female powerhouse with the strength of a Sword Saint.
Hendrick had reported the matter to Redson, so he knew Euryale was a powerful expert.
Still, to say she was stronger than him?
No matter how he thought about it, that was difficult for Redson to believe.
He was, after all, Jinas’s strongest Sword Saint, a man who had fought in countless battles over the course of nearly a century.
Ordinary Sword Saints could not even survive a single exchange with him. Even opponents of the same level had little chance of victory against someone who had mastered and an ancient, mysterious swordsmanship.
Could someone like him really lose to a woman who appeared barely older than Riezel?
Unfortunately for Redson, he had paid almost no attention to Euryale while confronting Riezel earlier. Otherwise, he might have sensed the same level of threat from her that he had sensed from Riezel.
Just then, a figure shot back at incredible speed, crossing the battlefield in an instant before arriving in front of Riezel and the others.
It was Euryale, carrying a heavily mutilated body that continued to drip blood, leaving a trail of crimson droplets in her wake. As soon as she arrived, she casually tossed the body onto the ground as though it were nothing more than a piece of discarded trash.
"Rohm..."
Looking at the half-dead body lying in a pool of blood, Redson’s expression became complicated.
As fellow Sword Saints who had served the king, he had been fairly familiar with Rohm. Precisely because of that familiarity, seeing him reduced to half a body and being carried back like discarded trash stirred mixed emotions within Redson.
Riezel, meanwhile, was slightly stunned when he saw the Shadow Sword Saint again because the whites of his eyes had turned completely black.
"What’s going on here?"
Riezel asked in surprise.
Rohm struggled to raise his head, and the moment his gaze fell upon Riezel standing before him, a sinister gleam suddenly flashed across his pitch-black eyes.
Suddenly, the black shadow sword flew out from Rohm’s body once more and rapidly absorbed the remaining magical energy within him, draining every last bit of it.
A terrifying fluctuation of magical energy immediately caused the atmosphere to tremble.
However, just as Rohm controlled the shadow sword and prepared to slash at Riezel again, Euryale suddenly reached out and grabbed the sword with her bare hand.
Immediately, the shadow sword began trembling violently as magical energy surged across its surface and black sword light erupted from it.
Had it been anyone else, grabbing the shadow sword like that would have resulted in their hand being shredded by the erupting sword light.
"Hm?"
Euryale tilted her head and blinked in mild confusion.
Looking at the sword as though it were a misbehaving pet, she suddenly released a burst of magical energy from her hand.
It was the first time she had ever used magical energy, and the moment it manifested, Moslow in Lizbeth’s hand suddenly trembled with excitement. A faint hum escaped from the blade, as though it had recognized a familiar presence and was eagerly responding to the magical energy flowing from her.
"Moslow?"
Lizbeth stared at Moslow in surprise, clearly caught off guard by its sudden reaction.
"You?!"
Redson looked at Euryale as though he were facing a formidable enemy, his expression instantly turning tense and vigilant.
"Oh, that’s some insane magical energy..."
Even Riezel was shocked, a look of genuine surprise appearing on his face as he voiced his amazement.
He couldn’t help it because the magical energy pouring from Euryale’s hand far exceeded his imagination, completely surpassing his own. It even surpassed Yuri, the person with the greatest magical energy reserves he had ever known.
It was magical energy so overwhelming and oppressive that it sent chills down one’s spine.
Euryale continuously poured that immense magical energy into the shadow sword and forcibly expelled Rohm’s magical energy from within it.
In that instant, the shadow sword trembled once more.
Yet this time, it was neither resisting nor struggling and instead seemed to have been completely tamed. Like a proud and untamable creature finally lowering its head in submission, the shadow sword trembled lightly and obediently in Euryale’s hand, no longer showing even the slightest sign of defiance.
Euryale curiously played with the shadow sword for a moment, and after apparently finding it quite to her liking, she casually kept hold of the weapon, showing no intention whatsoever of letting go.
Seeing the scene, Riezel immediately understood.