However, Hope's body was very honest.
He truly wanted to trade blows with a swordsman as powerful and pure as Madara.
With an eager smile on his face, Hope stepped to the front of the group, standing opposite Madara, and used magic to condense a longsword in his hand.
"I don't want to bully people, so I'll use my swordsmanship to make you accept your defeat gracefully."
"Oh? Are you a swordsman as well?"
The moment Madara saw Hope grip the sword, her eyes lit up. She had seen many excellent swordsmen, but most used it in conjunction with magic.
Even though Hope was also a Mage, her intuition told her that his level of swordsmanship was definitely not simple.
After a long time, that hot-blooded feeling of a duel between swordsmen resurfaced.
She leaned forward slightly, holding her sword with both hands. "I am Madara, a practitioner of the Moonless Style."
Exchanging names before a duel, huh... Hope scratched his head. Although he found it troublesome, he still responded, "Hope. My style... I guess you could call it the Hell Path?"
'Hell Path' was the ultimate technique of the philosopher-king of the Magnetic Field World, the 'Great Commander of Hell'.
Although he didn't have Magnetic Field Power, Hope had the fortune of receiving guidance from the Great Commander and learned the most basic moves of the 'Hell Path,' the 'Sword of Hell.' Unfortunately, he lacked the Magnetic Field Power to unleash its true potential.
Madara lightly pressed her right hand on the hilt, and her entire aura suddenly became ethereal. "Hell Path... Your style sounds a bit cruel."
"On the contrary, the creator of this ultimate technique was a gentle person." Hope grinned, and his figure suddenly blurred.
Clang!
The sound of clashing metal echoed through the floor. The others watched the center of the room in stunned silence. They could still keep up with Madara's speed, but they hadn't seen how Hope made his move.
If Hope hadn't said beforehand that he would only use swordsmanship to defeat Madara, they would have thought he had used magic just now.
Madara's red longsword slid along Hope's blade like a venomous snake, aiming straight for his throat.
The moment Hope leaned back to dodge, she gave a light laugh. With a slight turn of her wrist, the sword's momentum changed abruptly. What was clearly an ordinary horizontal slash split into three paths mid-way, sealing off all evasion angles.
Moonless Style: Yaksha!
The Moonless Style was an Iaijutsu technique characterized by extremely fast strikes and extraordinary control. With Madara's current mastery of swordsmanship, she could even strike an opponent's body without them noticing at all.
"The captain of the Trigonometric Wings is indeed not simple."
Hope praised her as his longsword struck all three sword shadows simultaneously at the critical moment.
Sparks from the collision of weapons flickered.
The two separated upon contact. Madara was forced back three steps by the force, but Hope remained motionless on the spot.
The composure on Madara's face was finally replaced by solemnity. Her most prideful drawing speed had been broken so easily, which could only mean one thing.
He drew his sword even faster than she did!
Furthermore, whether it was strength, control, or coordination, he was significantly stronger than her.
Madara took a deep breath and sheathed her longsword again. She understood that the previous move was just a probing attack; the following battle would be a true clash of blades.
"Moonless Style: Multiple Sword Flashes!"
Madara drew her sword and attacked first, closing in on Hope with a single step. Even wearing such high-soled shoes, she could still possess such superb footwork.
Madara, using her full strength, swung her sword so fast that Natsu and the others watching from the side couldn't keep up at all.
However, in Hope's eyes, the trajectory of that white sword light piercing through the air was clearly visible. The Moonless Style was indeed fast, but his Sword of Hell was even faster.
Hope performed an elegant spin, and the continuously rotating blade in his hand drew a perfect, wide-ranging arc in the air.
Ding ding ding ding ding—!
Madara danced her red longsword into an airtight curtain of blades in front of her. The crisp sounds of collision were continuous, but every sword shadow was ruthlessly shattered by that horizontal, spinning sword momentum.
The sharp sound of metal clashing echoed through the floor. As the two swords collided, the scattered sword qi disintegrated the nearby wall, revealing the azure Sky outside.
Deep slash marks constantly appeared on the walls and the floor.
Everyone watching subconsciously held their breath. Even the rowdiest one, Natsu, quieted down, staring intently at this duel between swordsmen.
In the center, Hope grew more excited as the fight went on.
Each of his strikes was faster and stronger than the last.
Although Madara's swordsmanship was exquisite, when speed could not effectively suppress the opponent, the power of the Moonless Style could not be fully unleashed.
So strong!
Madara gritted her teeth and leaped into the air, spinning behind Hope.
Using the inertia of her body's twist to drive the longsword, a dazzling light suddenly erupted from the blade. It drew a half-moon slash in mid-air, the tip of the sword pointing straight at the back of Hope's heart.
"Moonless Style: Yaksha Flash Void!"
However, it was as if Hope had eyes in the back of his head. With the crescent moon in the air, he saw it clearly. With a flick of his wrist, his sword edge followed a bizarre arc, and a domineering sword move that gathered multiple sword qi into one swept out.
Hell Body-Severing Sword!
The intersecting crescent moon came to an abrupt halt. Madara only felt a strange force traveling through her sword, almost making her lose her grip on the longsword.
With two consecutive moves completely seen through, Madara understood that continuing like this was meaningless. So, she sheathed her sword, her entire being seemingly merging with the blade.
She was going to use her strongest move.
"Moonless Style: Garuda Flame!"
At the moment the sword was drawn, multiple sword qi were mixed with a large amount of high-temperature flame cherry blossoms—beautiful yet deadly.
This was the essence of Madara's lifelong swordsmanship. She had once used this move to instantly kill an ace Mage of a Dark Guild.
"Beautiful swordsmanship."
Hope smiled. He sincerely admired Madara for being able to create her own swordsmanship, unlike him, who could only rely on the Great Commander's ultimate techniques.
A cold sword light flashed past.
The crimson longsword flew backward, stabbing straight into a nearby wall.
Madara retreated several steps and slumped to the ground, staring blankly at her beloved sword that had been knocked away. Her voice carried desolation and loneliness: "I lost..."
"Yes, you lost."
Hope put away his playful expression and said with rare seriousness, "Your swordsmanship is the strongest I've seen in this world, but you are too constrained by form."
"The person who taught me swordsmanship told me that a sword doesn't need so many bells and whistles. You only need to remember three words: fast, ruthless, and accurate."
Madara looked up, meeting Hope's serious gaze, and was slightly stunned.
Just then, the entire tower suddenly shook violently.
"What's happening?" Lucy held onto the wall to barely stay steady.
Makarov looked toward the top of the tower with a grave expression. "It's Erza! The battle up there has already begun. We must hurry!"
The group didn't delay any longer and quickly rushed toward the top of the tower.
Madara watched their departing figures, thinking of who knows what, and finally gave a soft sigh.
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