"Hoo, in tragedy, there are always tangled knots and the circumstances of each person involved."
The Sword Demon slowly lowered the hand that had been covering his face.
By now, his tears had dried, and his damp eyes had sharpened even further.
"I will use today's tragedy as nourishment for what is to come."
His chilling gaze turned toward Isaac and the Grand Master.
He acknowledged that the trap set for Arandel had failed and vowed to prepare for the next encounter.
Conversely, it also meant that he intended to kill everyone before him and leave.
"You're really ignoring me outright, huh."
The Grand Master sneered as she slung her sword over her shoulder.
However, the Sword Demon remained stoic, continuing to speak only what he needed to say.
It was as if the Grand Master's voice didn't even reach him.
"Do you truly intend to test your strength against me with that?"
The swords held in the hands of the two.
"Do you even know in whose presence you wield that?"
The Sword Demon reminded them once again of what it meant to fight against the origin.
The primordial Transcendent.
The progenitor of the Great Sword, known as the Sword of the Transcendents.
Faced with such a being, the two swallowed hard but gave no response.
Whether their silence was answer enough, the Sword Demon nodded as he raised the Great Sword once more.
"Learning is always the most fulfilling act of filling the void."
The Sword Demon vanished like an afterimage.
His voice came from the left, causing Isaac's eyes to widen.
"Be grateful for the lesson until the moment your eyes close."
Clang!
The Grand Master's sword grazed past Isaac's face.
The Sword Demon had attempted to strike Isaac's neck in an instant, but the Grand Master reacted first, thrusting her sword to block the Great Sword.
Though startled, Isaac did not retreat. Instead, he lunged toward the Sword Demon.
Now that the sword was blocked, it was his chance.
Isaac's sword swung in a wide arc, but the Sword Demon effortlessly caught it with his hand.
The sword, swung with all his might, was stopped as if it were nothing.
The sheer difference in their levels was painfully clear, a testament that he should never have stepped onto this battlefield.
Yet, Isaac, still gripping the sword that was caught, clenched his fist tightly.
A technique he had learned through Arandel's teachings and used to bring down Lohengrin.
Without being fixated on the sword, he aimed his fist directly at the Sword Demon's vital points.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The strikes landed on the temple, the philtrum, and finally the solar plexus.
It was a blow that would have even made Helmut stagger, so it was safe to say it had some effect.
"...!"
But the blood that flowed was Isaac's.
The blood dripping from his fist and the pain felt as if he had punched a spiked iron plate.
"Foolish."
As the Sword Demon looked down at Isaac, who had stepped deep into his range to deliver the blow, he prepared to take his life as if reaping a harvest.
Whoosh!
A spear flew toward the Sword Demon's shoulder.
Had he been in his normal state, he might have ignored it and taken Isaac's life, but…
The area was already wounded from the Grand Master's earlier strike.
The Sword Demon hastily twisted his body to avoid it, buying Isaac time to recover.
He did not retreat.
Isaac's role was to create openings for the Grand Master to fight more effectively.
He gripped the sword still held by the Sword Demon.
He lacked the strength to pull it free, so instead, he poured his power into it.
Crackle!
The lightning of Bricalla roared and surged.
The sharp, tingling pain of the lightning coursing through his palm caused the Sword Demon to flinch momentarily.
"It's quite unsightly to rely on your origin for so long."
The Grand Master's sword flashed as it swung.
A precise strike aimed at the neck.
However, the Sword Demon's reaction was beyond imagination, and the blade failed to sever his head.
The Sword Demon hastily retreated once more.
As if feeling the shame of being forced back, he bit his lip.
Thud.
The moment he saw one of his horns fall to the ground, the Sword Demon's eyes turned crimson with malice.
"Well, I suppose I must acknowledge that you can at least mimic the real thing."
The crimson malice surged, and the Great Sword was imbued with a dark energy.
Given a little more time, the same slash that had split Helmut's knights in two would be unleashed once more.
If that happened, it would be the end.
No one here could withstand that.
"Stay focused. Now we must enter his domain."
For the sake of victory, the Sword Demon had decided to adopt a defensive stance.
With the numerical advantage on their side, they had been using unconventional methods to keep him on edge, and even he couldn't guarantee the outcome.
"I'll open the path. Follow me."
"Understood."
The Grand Master charged forward first. The Sword Demon, too, focused his attention more on the Grand Master than on Isaac, tilting the Great Sword.
"Filthy and wretched half-breed, I acknowledge your sword itself."
"I'm sorry, but I don't particularly care for your acknowledgment."
Clang!
The two swords clashed.
However, the clash was brief.
In an instant, they exchanged several blows, their movements resembling a sword dance.
It was different from the raw power struggle seen with Arandel.
If anything, it was as if their swords were so heated that they had no choice but to repeatedly let go and grasp them again.
Amid the flurry of strikes, Isaac turned and moved behind the Sword Demon.
It was for the sake of victory.
Isaac had no qualms about such tactics.
"Pathetic."
A dark energy momentarily surged from the Sword Demon's Great Sword.
"Kuh…?!"
The Grand Master, pushed back by the force, lost her balance.
The Sword Demon, who had pretended not to care, suddenly twisted his body and lunged straight at Isaac.
"Enough of your petty tricks, you second-rate imitator."
"...!"
"This is no battlefield for the unworthy."
The Sword Demon's imposing figure loomed over Isaac's vision. The massive Great Sword swung down, aiming to cleave him in two.
Clang!
Isaac's body was sent flying, tumbling across the ground. However, there was no wound from the blade. Though overpowered, he had clearly blocked the Sword Demon's strike.
"...!"
The Sword Demon realized it immediately.
His strike had been anticipated before it was even fully executed.
For the first time, the Sword Demon's eyes widened, his pupils shaking.
"W-What is this…?"
It was different from the Grand Master.
While she reacted to the sword's movements, Isaac's body couldn't even keep up with the speed. Yet, he had predicted the trajectory and blocked it.
Crack!
It was humiliating.
To be knocked down, sprawled on the ground.
By a mere human.
The sword he had honed over countless lifetimes had been read and countered in just a few exchanges.
His Great Sword, tempered through ages no one could fathom, had been grasped by a novice swordsman who hadn't even lived long enough to—!
"Maybe your sword's just too old."
Isaac slowly steadied himself, a bitter smirk playing on his lips.
"It wasn't that hard to read."
"You insolent brat!"
Boom!
The Sword Demon took a massive step forward.
From the beginning, he hadn't liked it.
Unlike the Great Sword, Isaac's blade was short.
It was clearly modified for human use, and it felt as though humans had stolen something sacred to his kind.
"You always! Take! What is ours!"
Boom!
A long leap.
The dark energy swirling around the Great Sword signaled that it was ready, but the Sword Demon's malice was entirely focused on Isaac.
"Isaac!"
Silverna's spear flew in desperately. However, with a simple motion of pulling back his sword, the Sword Demon deflected it.
In an instant, he reached Isaac.
The sword prepared to unleash another vicious slash.
Like a flashback, the Sword Demon's strike seemed slow.
Compared to his previous attacks, it was somewhat sluggish, likely due to the immense power it carried, enough to be called a demonic blade.
But it was still fast enough to sever Isaac's neck.
Yet, the Sword Demon turned around.
At the same time, he struck down the Grand Master's sword, which had been aiming for his back with its long hilt.
"...!"
Clang!
The Grand Master's sword flew high into the air.
Amidst the chaos, the Sword Demon's calm voice resonated deeply.
"My rage is mine alone."
The fury the Sword Demon had shown moments ago had already subsided. Had he ever truly vented his rage?
He was so calm and composed that it was almost doubtful.
"But the duty and life I hold belong to my kin."
He had deliberately feigned anger to lure the Grand Master out.
Though he acknowledged Isaac's skill, which had humiliated his pride in swordsmanship, the Sword Demon had acted to secure victory, targeting the woman who posed the greatest threat to him.
The dark energy clung thickly to the Great Sword.
Like a massive siege weapon in motion, the Sword Demon's Great Sword moved with a heavy, deliberate slowness.
There was no way to dodge, no means to block.
The condensed, colossal slash aimed to bisect the Grand Master in one clean stroke.
"Do you know?"
The Grand Master's lips curled slightly.
"Originally, that guy wields two swords."
A wind blew.
A small breeze slipped through the space dominated by the dark energy.
In stark contrast to before, Isaac, who had caught the deflected sword mid-air, now had an aura resembling the Sword Demon's malice.
Two swords were sheathed at Isaac's waist.
His posture resembled an elegant stork folding its wings.
But the slashes that extended from both hands were more like an eagle spreading its wings.
The Flying Wings.
The moment the two blades reached the Sword Demon's shoulder, his sticky flesh and bone crumbled, and one of his arms fell to the ground.
Thud!
"Kuh…!"
Losing an arm, the Sword Demon staggered, the tip of his Great Sword hitting the ground.
The dark energy, filled with resentment, lost its target and began to tear through the Sword Demon's wounded body.
The blood spilling from his mouth was black.
"Haa, haa!"
Isaac, too, felt his arms drop limply as all his strength drained from his body in an instant.
He had pushed himself too far, but he knew there was no other way to win.
At least, unlike before, he hadn't lost consciousness—proof that he had grown.
"When unfolded, they were like the wings of a great eagle."
He did not fail to catch the quiet voice of praise.
"But the result was that of a phoenix."
A bright smile graced the Grand Master's lips.