Battle Song. Sonata of Speed. Allegretto.

Gluttony was chanting spells subvocally under the glove which covered Theo’s left hand. Theo had triggered Sonata of Speed as soon as the duel began, allowing him to respond to Rebecca’s preemptive strike. Fortunately, she lacked Randolph’s power, and didn’t have Pride’s ridiculous speed.

Before Rebecca could move again, Theo cast his spell, “Chain Lightning!”

A net of lightning instantly spread dozens of meters around him. Speed was meaningless in front of such a wide area attack. Moreover, a single stream of lightning was enough to knock someone out. If Rebecca hadn’t reflexively covered her body with aura, the match might have been decided at the first exchange.

Pajijik! Paijijik!

“Kuk...!”

Nevertheless, aura wasn’t a perfect defense. The lightning penetrated the gaps in Rebecca’s armor and struck her aura, causing her armor to smoke. The pure destructive power of spells was a constant annoyance for aura users. As a general rule, knights preferred to avoid spells or suppress a magician’s ability to cast spells.

However, Rebecca had been one step too slow.

“Lightning Spear.”

Just as she escaped the area of Chain Lightning’s effect, Theo launched a brutal attack. Lightning Spear concentrated all of its power on a single point, which could seriously injure someone even if they were protected by aura. Theo showed no quarters as he summoned five Lightning Spears and sent them hurtling toward Rebecca’s abdomen.

A knight could easily respond to one Lightning Spear. Rebecca could handle three if she had enough time to prepare. But five Lightning Spears would threaten even elite knights with serious injury. This attack was impossible to avoid, and nearly impossible to defend.

But Rebecca boldly grasped her scimitars and lashed out at the first two Lightning Spears head on.

“Hap!”

Blue aura streamed from her blades as the scimitars shattered the Lightning Spears. The remnants of the lightning crackled as they struck her fingers, but she only gripped her scimitars tighter. There were three more Lightning Spears. Even if she took care of two more, there would still be one remaining.

Rebecca gritted her teeth with a determined expression.

Kiiing-!

The moment that her two swords struck two lightning bolts, the last one hit her abdomen.

Peeeeeong!

Rebecca swallowed the blood that threatened to spew out of her mouth and forced her legs to stay upright. Her aura defense had crumbled under the Lightning Spear’s impact, and her internal organs had been injured. Fortunately, she could still fight.

She leveled her scimitars at Theo as she rapidly started to gather her strength. Theo couldn’t help but admire her fierce fighting spirit.

She knows how to deal with pain. Additionally, her body is trained enough to block a Lightning Spear. I don’t think she can be defeated by an ordinary blow.

He had been careful to restrict his own abilities in this duel. It was far too dangerous to reveal Umbra’s abilities to another country’s delegation, let alone two of the Seven Swords. He had various hidden cards, so he decided not to use any skills related to Umbra.

On the other hand, Magic Bullet was a little special.

... I can’t control its strength.

Theo was worried about the power of his index finger. He had only used Magic Bullet once against a human once he had regained its original power. Despite suppressing its output to its maximum, it had still left a scratch on Veronica’s cheek. If he hit a vital point, his opponent might die before a healing spell or potion could be applied. He didn’t want to kill someone who might be related to Randolph.

The objective was an unquestionable victory. The determination in his eyes deepened, and he launched himself toward Rebecca.

“What, he’s approaching?!”

“A magician going into close range...”

“Once again, those guys from the Red Tower have weird ideas!”

The stands started to buzz at this atypical behavior for a magician.

Theo accelerated as Rebecca stared at him in astonishment. A magician entering a knight’s range voluntarily was nothing more than sheer provocation.

Rage sparked in Rebecca’s green eyes.

Shaaack-

Her scimitars seemed to disappear into the air as she used aura to accelerate her blades beyond the limits of air resistance. The scimitars were now moving too fast even for Theo’s enhanced eyesight to catch.

The technique would consume aura rapidly, but it would also push her speed to new heights. As Theo neared Rebecca, a storm of steel started to rage around her. Even an ogre famous for its sturdy muscles and tough skin would be turned into minced meat if it got close.

The audience started screaming when they saw Theo unhesitatingly charge into that silver storm. Rebecca’s technique looked utterly terrifying.

Theodore felt awe as he jumped into her storm.

What ridiculous speed. Has she also followed Randolph’s path?

Rebecca’s scimitars swung through the air as they sought to bisect him. Lee Yoonsung’s experience guided his hands as he used Shift Energy to turn away the blades. The sleeves imbued with defensive spells were turned to rags, but Theo only suffered light bruises.

The steel storm raged even harder, but Theo moved through it like a feather. He was fully demonstrating the difference in their abilities. He was far stronger than he was half a year ago.

Her strikes are lighter than Randolph’s.

More than anything else, Rebecca’s scimitars were lighter than Randolph’s falchions. If her strikes had been as heavy as Randolph’s at the same speed, Theo would have been cut to ribbons. He could deflect the scimitars’ paths by hitting the flat of the blades.

She’s slower than Pride.

Pride’s bizarre ability to adopt the traits of powerful creatures had been horrifying. Theo had nearly died to the caracalos tail, and the grimoire’s speed and battle ability had been high enough to beat Alfred. The comparison to Pride and Randolph didn’t mean that Rebecca was lacking for her age. She had more than enough talent to be the disciple of one of the Seven Swords.

However, Theo had absorbed Lee Yoonsung’s book, and inherited all of Alfred’s abilities to fight even greater monsters. He had the advantage in this match.

He continued to deflect her swords, sometimes allowing light cuts to avoid lethal blows. Try as she might to overwhelm him with speed, she would eventually hit a limit. A sword master who had transcended the limits of life may have continued indefinitely, but Rebecca was still only at the level of an elite knight, and she would eventually run out of steam.

“Su... Suaa...”

He could see her gasping for breath and her paling face. Her muscles were trembling as she forced herself to continue swinging her scimitars. The storm started to weaken as she gradually approached her limit.

Theo disregarded his bleeding arm and kept waiting. He was not about to allow a counter attack from striking too early.

Finally, the moment came.

“Haack!”

Rebecca’s aura sputtered and a tortured gasp burst out from her mouth. The movements of her two swords stopped completely for a moment, and Theo smoothly slipped through the gap. The palm of his hand gently rested on her breastplate for a moment.

An ordinary blow won’t be enough. Memorize. All Slots Open. Shock Impact. Penta United.

The shockwave attack spell, Shock Impact, was a contact spell normally used to break through castle walls. However, Theodore had excellent melee skills, so he could use it this way. The five accumulated shock waves would exert a destructive power that would shatter any aura defenses.

Kwaaaaang!

Rebecca’s body rocketed backward as the shockwave spell impacted her. She skipped across the ground heavily before coming to a stop at the edge of the dueling stage. Theo didn’t hesitate to cast Lightning Spear again. If she stood back up, he would immediately intercept her and finish the match.

But before she could do anything, someone landed in front of her. Theo reflexively brought his Lightning Spears back as he fell into a defensive stance.

It was a situation where only one person could intervene.

Blundell cleared his throat. “Sir Pan Helliones?”

“That’s right.” The big knight, Pan Helliones, nodded as he hoisted Rebecca onto his shoulder.

Pan Helliones didn’t seem angry, so Theodore dispelled the lightning spell. Although Pan Helliones had jumped down from the stands, Veronica was clearly visible behind him. Everybody had a hunch that the duel between the two countries had ended.

“I admit defeat, Meltor’s young hero. Your abilities are certainly beyond my disciple’s, and I am grateful that you didn’t take her life.” Despite the shameful verdict, his voice contained a clear respect.

The empire was a place where they believed what they saw with their own eyes, not through words. The man before Theo truly acknowledged him.

Theo asked, “What does that mean?”

Pan Helliones looked around. “This duel is the Andras Empire’s defeat! I will accept this result in the name of the empire’s Seven Swords!”

One of the empire’s Seven Swords had declared defeat! The audience realized the weight of this result, and the air around the delegates grew heavy. The empire’s logic of communicating with strength had always been justified by their victories. It was only once in several generations that they would be defeated like this in a public duel. This was clearly an event which would be mentioned in the history books.

Kurt III clapped his hands, and the unnatural silence of the audience was shattered.

The magicians and courtiers erupted into a massive cheer as they celebrated their victory. As the cheers echoed off the walls, Theo and Pan Helliones stared at each other. Pan Helliones’ black eyes were fathomless as he turned away. Theo couldn’t read anything from them.

Theo couldn’t understand his intentions. No, it was more accurate to say he wasn’t sure.

... That guy.

The moment Theo had slipped through Rebecca’s defenses, just before he’d used the shock wave spell, he had felt a terrifying killing intent lock onto him. It had caused that one beat of delay before he had cast the spell.

That killing intent had been from the empire’s 7th Sword, Lloyd Pollan.

Theo took one last look at Pan Helliones’ back before walking down from the stage with a grim expression.