Around the time Kaine and the others had safely arrived at the Royal Capital and reunited with Einima and the others…
Thunder Emperor Ort Mekina was facing off against a dark swordsman clad in ominous armor. Knights Order members and adventurers from Gadalmanda were nearby, but all were overwhelmed by the aura emanating from the two, sitting on their rear ends. They stared at each other before questioning.
“Are you Victor, the Demon Sword King and leader of the Four Heavenly Kings?”
“Indeed… Are you Thunder Emperor Ort Mekina?”
“Yes, that’s right… I’ll ask just in case, but you’re here to take this place, aren’t you?”
“That’s right. By the way, I have a proposition…”
“What is it? If you’re asking me to let you go, I can’t do that.”
“It’s not that. I want you to duel me. You are strong. I may die… But if my life ends as a result of fighting you, that would be my greatest desire. This is the first time in my life I’ve fought someone of your caliber.”
“Hmm… Then I accept, that duel. You seem to possess a wonderful sense of chivalry. I’m starting to look forward to it too.”
“I’m glad to hear that… Then, let’s go!”
With those words, the battle began.
Ort Mekina unleashed what was probably the greatest speed of his life.
However, it was intercepted.
“Hmph, as expected of the Thunder Emperor. This is the first time I’ve encountered such power.”
“Thank you… I didn’t expect you to be able to stop it, though.”
This time, Victor swung his sword.
His attack was imbued with Ice Magic, and its power was tremendous.
Ort avoided it with ‘Raijin,’ which allowed him to move three times faster than his original speed.
He instinctively knew that if he took the attack, he would die.
It was the right choice not to receive it.
If he had been hit, he would have died.
Even Ort, who was one of the strongest in the world, would have been defeated in one blow.
That’s how terrifying the fusion of magic and sword was.
Normally, one can only imbue a sword with magic, but Victor was mixing the sword and magic together.
Thanks to his Original Skill, ‘Demon Sword King,’ he excelled in handling both Magical Power and swords.
Normally, the fusion of sword and magic could only be used if one’s swordsmanship and magic were both Rank A or higher, but Victor had achieved it.
If he had to name it, it would be Magic Sword…
Ort had no choice but to keep dodging Victor’s attacks.
Fortunately, thanks to using ‘Raijin,’ it wasn’t difficult to avoid them, but he couldn’t counterattack.
Ort observed Victor’s attacks.
Was there no way to counterattack?
The offense and defense continued, and several minutes passed.
“Wonderful. You are the first to fight me this far. I will never forget you. But… This is the end. Thirty Stalactite Spears!”
Trapped in a cage of ice, Ort could no longer accelerate.
“Farewell.”
Victor said, swinging down his sword.
Ort braced himself.
“All or nothing! Thunderclap!”
To counteract Victor’s sword, Ort imitated Victor’s sword and mixed lightning into his own sword.
He successfully created a Magic Sword, and Ort canceled out Victor’s sword.
It sounds easy to say, but succeeding in this was incredibly difficult. Ort Mekina was the first in the world to be able to use it with pure skill alone, without relying on skills.
“Hoho, to think there would be someone else besides me who uses a Magic Sword…”
“No, I just learned it by watching. But with this, we can finally fight on equal terms… Thunderclap!”
“Really… I wish I could have met you as an ally. Ice Breath!”
They clashed. Their swordsmanship was equal, but Ort’s Stats were higher. However, Victor made up for the difference with his mastery of the Magic Sword.
After what seemed like hours of slashing at each other, the two collapsed at the same time.
“Next… Is the last one.”
“Then let’s do this… We will each unleash our greatest technique. The one who survives the clash will be the victor.”
“Alright… I’m in.”
They mustered their last strength and entered their stances for their techniques. Tension filled the air, and not a sound could be heard.
Magical Power was concentrated, and they moved simultaneously.
“Demon Sword King!”
“Thunder Emperor!”
As they shouted the names of their Epithets, they collided, risking their lives.
The outcome was hidden by the dust.
The Knights Order and adventurers who had been watching cheered five seconds later.
What appeared was Victor’s corpse.
That meant Ort Mekina had won. They were about to shout with joy, but a second later, they shed tears.
They saw Ort Mekina’s corpse next to Victor’s corpse…
I feel like characters have been dying a lot lately…
I don’t want to kill them off too much, so it’s a little sad to write.