His sword cleaved through the air.
I swung upward, meeting his strike in a violent clash that rang out like thunder.
Pushing back, I ran to his left and lunged at his exposed side.
He spun, parrying my strike with practiced ease, then, with a subtle shift of his footing, he flung me backward.
His mana erupted from his body in a wave, forming an aura so dense I could barely remain standing beneath its weight.
I spun my sword in a tight circle, gathering wind around it, and launched a condensed vortex forward.
As it spiraled, it transformed into a full-blown tornado, but with nothing more than a wave of his hand, he stopped it cold.
Cursing under my breath, I unleashed a wind blade. He met it with a gust of his own, tearing mine apart in midair.
Almost instantly, I spotted the glint of his sword in my peripheral vision. I ducked and swept at his legs, knocking him off balance.
Then I leapt high into the air and hurled my blade down, now wrapped in roaring wind.
Like a cannon, it exploded through his armor and shattered the earth beneath, forming a crater the size of a village.
Good thing I'd sent Jennifer flying out of the area. If she were still here, I'm not sure I could've protected her from this monster.
From within the broken ruin of his armor, he rose slowly, gripping his blade with burning resolve.
His chest was exposed, revealing rough, dark skin like hardened obsidian.
He raised his sword again and swung.
Before I could recall my own blade, a wave of fire slammed into me.
I was hurled to the ground, crashing like a falling star.
Coughing through a cloud of dust, I caught a flash of fire in the corner of my eye and rolled right just as a beam of flame pierced the earth, hissing with heat.
I held out my hand, recalled my sword to me, and swung upward, meeting his blade once more.
But he was stronger.
The impact threw me back again, my body tumbling across the rubble.
His cultivation was far higher than mine.
We both stood on the sixth wall, but he was so close to breaking past it that the difference between us felt like a raindrop to a thundercloud.
I gritted my teeth and held out my hand, manifesting a spear of wind in my palm.
I hurled it.
It tore through space, clashing with his blade.
The pressure forced him back, his sword chipped, cracked, and finally shattered as the spear pierced into his shoulder.
He dropped to a knee, breath ragged. I reached out and curled my fingers upward, beginning to drain his mana.
But just before I could draw enough to restore myself fully, a flash of red engulfed my vision.
A fireball slammed into my face.
Darkness took me.
When I came to, he was holding me by the throat, dangling me above the broken earth.
Through the gaps in his helm, I saw his eyes, glowing red with hate.
"Damn you," he muttered. "I really liked that sword."
I coughed, blood splashing against his bare chest. "Don't think you've won, you damn brute."
He sighed. "Man, I'm starting to hate the way you say that word."
Then his grip tightened.
He slammed me into the ground. My body convulsed.
He raised his fists and brought them crashing down, over and over.
I poured every last bit of mana I had into shielding myself, but eventually, even that gave out.
I could no longer move.
In that moment, it felt like my world was shattering, like all of me was breaking.
And still, I smiled. "Can I have it?" I asked weakly.
He paused, brow furrowed. "Have what?"
"That feeling... what was it called?"
I broke into laughter.
His fist, now wrapped in flame, plunged downward.
But before it could strike, cuts opened all over his body. Blood spilled as wounds erupted across his skin.
He collapsed beside me.
Laughing through the now fading pain, I slowly stood.
Gripping my sword with newfound strength, I stepped back, extending my hand toward him.
"It's called sanctity," I whispered. "You felt it, didn't you? That unbearable weight."
He coughed blood, barely able to rise. "What kind of power is that…?"
I turned to the distant fortress.
With a flick of my wrist, I razed it, erasing the entire castle in a single sweep.
I gasped. "Damn… your power's more than I expected."
Blood gushed from my lips and nose. My legs buckled, and I fell to my knees.
"Yes… but it seems it's still too much for someone like me."
He looked terrified.
"So this is your ability? You can steal even my power?"
I paused, then answered. "My Regalia grants me many abilities. But at its core… it thrives on slyness."
I raised my sword and pointed it directly between his eyes.
"It seems you've completely disregarded your own."
He let out a dry chuckle. "It never seemed useful. But now… I'm starting to regret that."
A beam of air tore through his skull. He collapsed in silence. "The people of this world won't remember your name, brute."
I turned to the ruined fortress and let out a long sigh. "Maybe I should have shown off less."
Sliding my sword back into its scabbard, I raised both hands into the sky, then pulled down.
Jennifer dropped into my arms almost instantly, her breath ragged and uneven.
She glared up at me, insulted.
"You little, why the hell did you make me your personal guard if you send me away at every sight of danger?"
I shrugged. "I needed an excuse to see your face every day."
A faint blush colored her cheeks before she slipped out of my grasp.
"Don't do that."
I opened my mouth to throw another remark, but she caught sight of the ruined fortress behind me. Her expression shifted to a frown.
I raised both hands. "Wasn't me. It was that guy," I said, pointing to the corpse.
She gave me a knowing look and sighed. "You're lucky I prepared a magical scroll."
Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a rough, brown parchment. She unraveled it and tossed it over the rubble.
As it settled, the ground rumbled, reshaping itself into a smaller, but still standing, fortress.
I chuckled. "Think they'll notice the size difference?"
She looked back at me and sighed again. "You're terrible. You know that, right?"
I placed a finger on my lip. "Am I?"
She didn't look amused. "Come on, we need to check for any survivors."
I raised a brow. "You just rebuilt an entire fortress. I doubt anyone's still alive under that."
She pointed at me, and my knees immediately buckled. I dropped to the ground.
"Don't question me."
Little brat. She was abusing the fact that I was still weak. Even after swapping out my power for his, I'd done a real number on myself.
She walked over, helped me to my feet, then began marching toward the new fortress.
"Come on. I'll be sure to mend and sew your broken body."
I chuckled softly. "I hope you go easy on me."
She glanced back with a faint grin. "After that? Of course not."
Was this the price for loving my friend? How cruel.