"Sword PathâFirst Form: Endless Rain of Blades, Without a Single Gap."
His root magic was a reflection of the pastâperfectly recreating everything that had already occurred.
...So thatâs how it is. A fighting style just like Kakashiâs.
In an instant, four layers of impossibly dense, inescapable sword rain erupted around the white-haired, red-eyed youth!
Boom!
Slash!
But in the very next moment, another burst of sword light flashedâ
And every single blade surrounding him was severed in an instant.
The boyâs gaze sharpened slightly. The easy confidence and faint disdain from before receded.
"...Seems I underestimated you."
Bang!
In a flash, he appeared directly in front of Kanzaki Rei.
Rei didnât retreatâhe advanced.
The Phantom Ring-Star War Spear thrust forward!
ăArcane Tempering Combat ArtâSeventh Form: Stored Mana Convergent Killă
The indomitable battle intent of Unyielding Heart merged with the ever-transforming combat will, surging outward!
For the briefest momentâ
A flicker of doubt crossed the white-haired youthâs mind.
...Could I lose?
ăSword PathâSecond Form: Heaven and Earth Aligned in a Single Lineă
A single, absolute slash!
Slash!
That streak of sword light seemed to cleave through space itselfâdividing everything along its path!
He completely ignored Reiâs chained assaultâ
And simply swung his sword.
That one strike cut through Reiâs body.
It was as though he had been split cleanly in two.
And in truthâhe had.
But at the exact moment his body was severed, the two halves had already rejoined, restoring themselves completely.
...What a terrifying slash.
This was the first time Rei had taken such severe damage. Even through layers upon layers of shields, the opponent had still managed to bisect him in a single stroke.
And yetâ
Rei had suffered no real harm.
Meanwhile, the white-haired youth was struck directly in the chest by the spear!
Boom!
ăStored Mana Convergent Kill · Source · Piercing Thunder Core Detonationă
The source force surged instantly into his body!
ăTrue Soul Explosion (4th Tier) (LV: 301) â Soul Sacrifice: 5,000,000,000ă
A massive concentration of energy gathered within him!
The moment the attack landed, Reiâs body transformed into a streak of light and retreated at extreme speed!
Hummmâ
This was the first time Rei had sacrificed such an enormous number of souls in a single attack.
This opponent was even more troublesome than the War God.
The white-haired youthâs body instantly collapsed inwardâ
And the space around him twisted and caved in!
BOOMâ
Everything compressedâ
Until only a deep void remained, burned into space itself.
Standing at a distance, Rei could no longer sense his opponentâs presence.
Watching the aftermath of the explosion...
He muttered to himself:
"...Sword Saints really are everywhere."
In just one trip to the Forgotten Kingdom, heâd already encountered three of them.
More than the number of diviners heâd met.
Ridiculous.
But in the very next secondâ
A violent warning from his intuition erupted again!
Dangerâbehind him.
Yet his perception detected nothing.
Whooshâ
Reiâs body instantly transformed into a streak of light, darting away at extreme speed!
But the sense of danger didnât fadeâ
There was no feeling of escape!
Rei immediately recalled his battle with Kiyomi.
An assassin...
This must be a lethal assassination techniqueâ
Impossible to dodge.
Then...
Iâll take it head-on!
"HA!!!"
With a roar, he sacrificed souls to strengthen himself!
His entire body hardened like black-glass steel.
At the same time, over a hundred layers of shields formedâeach reinforced with a million souls!
A banner manifested above him, radiating light upon his body!
Two layers of armor encased himâinner and outer.
ăRadiant Great ArmorăăEarthroot Warplateă
His feet planted firmly into the groundâ
Immovable!
The Earthroot Warplate, in its rooted state, amplified all of his defenses!
BOOM!
In the next instantâ
Rei watched as his countless layers of shields shattered one after anotherâ
A sword pierced straight through from the front!
ăSword PathâFifth Form: Wrath of the Heart, Drawing the Blade to Slay All Godsă
BOOM!
The attack tore through layer after layer of shieldsâ
But as each one shattered, new ones regenerated!
Eight layers of source transformed into thirty-two layers of incredibly durable root-magic shields!
Layer upon layerâ
Breaking, regenerating, breaking againâ
This single thrust effectively had to pierce through thousands of shields!
BOOM!
The furious blade drove deepâ
But by the time it reached Reiâs armor, its power had nearly vanished.
Only a residual force passed throughâ
Attempting to shatter his internal organs.
Yet Reiâs physique held firm. His insides trembled slightlyâbut no real damage was done.
"Youâre still alive?"
At the same time as he questioned thisâ
Over sixty layers of prisons formed instantly!
Dark binding magic, death confinement magic, soul cages, holy restraints, ice sealsâ
Flash!
Boom!
The moment they formedâ
They shattered just as quickly!
The white-haired youth retreated instantly, widening the distance.
...Fourth-tier magic?
Why does he know so many fourth-tier spells?
Until now, Rei had mostly used second- and third-tier magic.
Aside from that, only two fourth-tier spells had been usedâ
The Piercing Thunder Core Detonation...
And that one devastating attack capable of destroying him.
"...Your magic is quite something," the white-haired youth said, his tone finally calm, arrogance fading.
Observing carefullyâ
This spear-wielding boyâs magic shields were far stronger than ordinary ones.
"You possess the indomitable battle will of the War God... yet youâre also a root mage."
"And youâve even developed your own combat philosophy."
"And..."
His gaze shifted to Reiâs spear, wrapped in countless souls that constantly reinforced it.
"A Death Priest as well."
"...Youâre the most interesting opponent Iâve ever encountered."
Rei replied evenly:
"Iâm more curious how you survived that just now."
"Heh..."
"After living nine lives, how could I not have a few survival tricks?"
He sneeredâbut gave no explanation.
Rei sighed faintly. Usually, people loved talking. Now, suddenly, he wasnât in the mood.
"If Sword Saints are so common, as you say..."
A staff appeared in the youthâs hand.
"...Then let me show you something beyond swordsmanship."
"Third-Tier Destruction Magic."
At the same time, Rei leveled his spear.
"Third-Tier Root Magic."
ăSource · Reflection of the Pastă
Flash!
Mirrors appeared behind the white-haired youthâ
Hummmâ
Sixteen instances of ăTrue Soul Explosionă formed once more!
The youthâs expression darkened.
How many times is this guy going to use my own root magic against me?!
BOOM!
Space collapsed instantly!
Without even attempting a counterattack, the youth vanished.
Rei raised his handâ
His peripheral vision locked onto a location where the youth had yet to appear.
ăSource · Future Lawă
...Oh.
Heâll appear there.
Soâ
Rei placed True Soul Explosion into the future at that exact point.
In that future timeline, the spell had already completed its preparationâsoul sacrifice and release included.
Flash!
Half a second laterâ
The white-haired youth reappeared exactly at that location!
And the moment he didâ
BOOM!
Space imploded violently!
The explosion detonated instantly!
But in the very next momentâ
Rei spun, spear raised in defense!
A hundred layers of shields formed!
BOOM!
The youth had already appeared behind him again!
In an instantâ
Their techniques clashed wildly!
Spears, swords, shields, magicâ
Everything collided head-on!
Shockwaves exploded outward, sending elemental turbulence rippling through the hall!
"Didnât you say youâd show me something beyond swordsmanship? Why are you still using a sword?"
"Who said I didnât?"
A warning flashed above Reiâ
He looked upâ
And saw that, at some unknown moment, the sky had filled with floating cannon-like constructs.
Futuristic floating turretsâ
Completely out of place in a world of swords and magic.
ăLevel 3 Mechanistă
So this is a Mechanist...
In Loren, heâd almost never seen one.
Though allowed, there were no trainers for the class locally.
To become one, youâd need to travel to another continent.
The floating cannons multipliedâ
One became two, two became fourâ
By the time he reactedâ
The sky was filled with them.
All barrelsâ
Aimed at Rei.
BOOM!
A rain of beams descended!
Rei endured the barrageâ
Some beams pierced even his shields and struck his armor directly!
"...Tch."
Whoosh!
The temperature plummeted instantly!
ăSource · Forbidden Cold ArtâAge of Absolute Ice (4th Tier) (LV: 301)ă
Crackâ
In an instant, the entire battlefield froze over!
The floating cannons stiffenedâ
Then froze solidâ
Before crashing down like massive hailstones!
"Church forbidden magic?!"
"You know this too?!"
The youth was visibly shaken.
This... wasnât ordinary forbidden magic.
This was a fourth-tier enhanced version.
LV: 301 vs LV: 100â
Entirely different tiers of power!
BOOM!
Extreme cold ravaged everything!
Ice, storms, lightningâ
All elements churned violently!
You like running?
Then Iâll freeze the entire battlefield.