C481
Flash!
A dazzling light first darkened his vision.
There is not a single person in the world capable of "reacting" to the thrust at the speed of light.
It is something that cannot be avoided without predicting it, without reacting, or without gaining some kind of enlightenment that goes even beyond that.
Fortunately, Mary had not fully mastered the fifth secret technique yet.
Moreover, even though it was executed too quickly without any preparatory movement, Jin was able to move his body despite being caught off guard.
He threw his body to the left.
The range of Light Speed Thrust was not limited to a single point.
It started as a point, spread out like a fan, and converged back into a point.
Therefore, even though Jin had moved considerably away from the trajectory of the Sword Chain Viper, he still felt the energy of the sword passing near his cheek and neck.
His hair stood on end.
Is Tikan okay?
Along with the sensation of warm blood running through his clothes, Jin quickly calculated in his head how to handle the situation.
It's too late to look back; I have to counterattack first.
He judged that the direction of Light Speed Thrust narrowly avoided Tikan.
It is unlikely that his sister would have gone to the extent of disobeying her father's orders and risking enmity with him by executing the light-speed thrust.
Jin lowered his body and, leaping like an arrow, thrust his sword.
Sigmund's pale and sharp blade was heading towards Mary's forehead.
She easily deflected her brother's thrust.
Then, she laughed as if she were very satisfied.
The ongoing clash between the siblings was a fast and dizzying spectacle with two streams of light reflecting and intertwining.
The spectators could not keep up with the pace of the sword energy's movements that flickered and dispersed and quickly rejoined.
"Wow! Mary-nim is amazing from the first move! Hey! What's that, what's that!"
There's a hole in the sky above Tikan!
Cosmos seemed to have taken on the role not only of the host but also of the commentator.
The spectators followed his pointing and looked at the sky, where indeed a huge hole had opened in the clouds, and they couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.
The fact that a human could create such a phenomenon by wielding a sword just once was incredible, even seen with their own eyes.
This is Runcandel...!
Everyone could only admire it like that.
Not only Mary's remarkable thrust but also Jin, who dodged it and even counterattacked, seemed like a monster.
Not only the audience but also Jin's comrades were excited and amazed by Mary's skills.
To perform such a thrust while standing.
Well, can that be called a thrust?
"I think I understand why Valkas-nim asked me to bet money on Mary-nim."
Valkas smiled silently in response to Kashimir's words.
'Cosmos keeps talking smoothly, so it seems Tikan hasn't been given up.'
Jin felt relieved that his decision to counterattack immediately was indeed correct.
If he had hesitated even a little or had tried to check on Tikan first, he would have had to endure the follow-up attacks with a compromised posture.
"Tsk, still far from what father executed."
I've polished it quite a bit, but...
Anger quickly boiled inside Jin at seeing his sister licking her lips, but he barely repressed it and made eye contact.
"You really came with the intention of killing me. You almost wiped my head off."
"But you didn't die, did you? I knew you'd naturally avoid it, hehe."
"...Didn't you say first that we should avoid big techniques?"
"Kekeke, did I say that?
"You, really..."
"If you really think so, then remember what I said, little brother."
-The rule is simple. You and I fight in the fleet. However, highly destructive techniques that excessively damage the fleet are strictly prohibited.
-Although we decided not to use mostly big techniques in this duel, this older sister will do her best.
Highly destructive techniques that excessively damage the fleet are strictly prohibited, big techniques are mostly sealed, but I'll do what I can...
In other words, it meant that any technique could be used as long as it didn't excessively damage the fleet.
'It was just a way of speaking, wasn't it.'
Thud!
Jin involuntarily gritted his teeth.
Now that he thought about it, his first duel with Mary had been like this too.
Back then, Mary wore shiny armor and scattered first-level mana bombs on the battlefield.
Although Jin normally didn't fall for such wordplay or superficial tricks, it was strange how he always seemed to fall for this kind of trick when facing Mary.
"Now I understand what you meant."
"Oh, really? It's lucky that you finally get it. Come on, attack me again! Attack me! By the way, why didn't you activate your helmet?"
Mary spoke excitedly and pointed the tip of her sword at Jin's head.
"Ah, do you mean the Myulta Rune?"
"Is that what it's called? Anyway, the black helmet. If you had used it, you probably wouldn't have been hurt so much."
"That's the same reason you wore the eye patch, older sister."
Mary stopped at Jin's response.
She hadn't worn the eye patch because she had lost an eye.
She thought that if Jin couldn't use his secret technique of the magic sword or the Sword of Legends, wouldn't it be fair for her to have such a disadvantage?
Mary believed that, even though Jin was clearly superior to her, she had an advantage in pure swordsmanship.
"Oh, really?"
"Think carefully, older sister. We were evenly matched even in our first bout. I was even afraid you'd die back then, so I pushed my limits. But should I use such an artifact now?"
"It won't be too late to say that after you create a situation where you have to take off my eye patch, little brother!"
As soon as they finished speaking, Mary closed the distance again.
When Jin blinked and opened his eyes, the Snake had already flown in front of his nose, blocking his vision.
Jin judged it to be a stab and raised his sword to block it, but the chain sword extended, and its trajectory changed.
The chain sword, moving like a snake or a whip, flew in all directions, making it hard to believe it was a single person's attack.
In the eyes of the spectators, Jin seemed to be completely trapped in the trajectory and aftermath of the snake. Every time the two clashed, the deck cracked, and splinters flew.
The pressure of the chain sword was increasing.
It was the result of Mary's entire body starting to be tinted with an aura. It was a variation of Runcandel's Seventh Final Movement, more of a physical strengthening than a self-destructive move.
Seventh Final Movement of Runancel
Volcano - Mary Runcandel
Mary had named her Volcano, thanks to Cyron, who had given her permission.
Jin had only seen Mary execute her Volcano once.
The form was somewhat different then and now.
It's a variation of the volcano she used when she came to rescue us from the little beastmen and me from the specters.
Maybe she has progressed since then, but it feels completely different.
He didn't have time to think about it with gratitude.
Moreover, there was no need to ask if it was okay to use such a powerful attack, given that it would surely destroy the fleet.
Kuh-!
As soon as Volcano was executed and his sword clashed, Jin staggered backward, spitting blood.
It was a strange sword.
The blow from Mary's Volcano sword could be considered a sincere blow from a 10-star knight, but for some reason, it did no damage to anything other than Jin.
'Why doesn't the impact escape outward...?'
Mary's Snake, tinted with the aura of the volcano, only aimed at Jin.
Even when Jin returned the blow with incredible force, the deck didn't even crack slightly.
As a result, to the spectators, it seemed like the siblings were just fooling around.
They were waging an ordinary battle, except that Jin seemed to lean forward and spit blood every time the sword touched him.
At first, this phenomenon was extremely difficult for Jin to accept.
The shock should have escaped outward, following the laws of nature, but it was firmly contained within his body.
"What's going on? It looks like a light attack, but Jin is spitting blood! It's a crisis for Jin!"
Like the spectators, most of Tikan's comrades couldn't understand what was happening.
Even Kashimir, known as the Ghost Blade, had never seen such a sword.
"Oh, indeed. Valkas, your assessment isn't far off. Who would have thought that Mary Runcandel had already reached such a level. She has more delicate aspects than I thought. There weren't many people who could use that even in my time."
Murakan, who had lived for over three thousand years and experienced the peak of Runcandel, immediately recognized what was going on.
"What's happening?"
"Well, Quikantel. What was that called? It's been so long since I've seen it, so I don't remember."
"Temar called it Heart of the Sword. It's a method mainly used by warriors rather than swordsmen."
"Oh, right. Heart of the Sword, that was its name. It's a sword that only causes internal injuries, without external impact. That's why the boy is suffering ordinary attacks."
Clang, clang, clank!
Jin felt a terrible pain, as if his internal organs were pierced by awls every time their swords clashed.
A cold sweat filled his bristled hair.
First of all, I have to increase the distance.
It was impossible for Jin not to know that natural response.
However, he couldn't use any technique strong enough to push Mary away, and it wasn't easy in the limited space.
'...he won't be able to sustain a volcano and keep wielding a sword like this. After all, the variation of Volcano is a technique that subjects his body to enormous tension.'
Jin realized that relying solely on this was a gamble and an impossible task.
Mary already had information about his magical spells, including the Lightning Cannon, so he couldn't buy time.
Therefore, she had to finish him off quickly.
And, indeed, that had been her plan from the beginning.
Jin was somewhat nervous about the variables of Light Speed Thrust and the Volcano Sword.
Jin wasn't prepared for a long battle in such a confined space.
Therefore, he first selected the Sword of the Reign of the King of Legends with good reason.
Craaack-le...
Mary opened her mouth as the lightning energy radiating from the Sword of the Reign of the King of Legends began to cover Jin's entire body.
"Is that the technique you showed in the Garden of Swords? You're definitely going to get a disqualification with that. Or do you want to kill your older sister, regardless of victory or defeat?"
Jin nodded, and Mary let out a mocking laugh.
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