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Zzzzz, Pzzzt!
Jin released his lightning energy, and Mary felt a sensation as if thousands or even tens of thousands of awls were piercing her flesh.
'He was just raising his energy, but it caused this overwhelming pressure. Jin...!'
Jin's eyes, stained with murderous intent, were emitting a colorful light in the lightning energy that spread like huge blue blood vessels. As their eyes met, Mary involuntarily swallowed dry saliva.
Her blood also boiled like crazy. Her life had always been filled with battles and wars, but there were not many battles that made her heart burn this much.
"Ugh!"
Cosmos stumbled backward under the weight of Jin's energy despite being quite a distance away.
For someone as seasoned as him, he barely managed to stay on his feet, but other pirates nearby had already retreated to the very end of the deck.
The fiery and sharp lightning energy even extended to the audience on the Tikan railings. Of course, Jin's companions had already set up protective shields to ensure no harm came to the spectators.
The energy caused waves to ripple fiercely.
A sea breeze laden with lightning energy blew in, creating flashes of light everywhere, as if the star-filled night sky had shrunk and spread over the fleet.
If Jin were to release this energy, not only would the fleet and pirates be obliterated, but even the spectators behind the protective shield could be caught in the catastrophe.
"Incredible! Sir Jin! This is the Plutonian Reign sword! The sword that once belonged to the most powerful beings on the earth is now unfolding before all of you!"
Despite the danger, Cosmos continued his commentary, and the spectators had no intention of leaving. They didn't want to miss the greatest spectacle of their lives, even if it was slightly risky.
Hoo!
Mary took a deep breath, and she was the first to act. She hadn't stood still for a few seconds to wait for Jin but to read the flow of his attack and find an opening to strike.
Mary waited patiently, unable to fully grasp the flow of Jin's attack. She knew that waiting too long would mean being hit by a perfectly prepared technique.
'Has it reached a new level since the Garden of Swords incident, or is it different from that sword back then? He released this much energy but the fleet remains intact. There's no need to complain about cheating.'
Mary found the phenomenon originating from Jin's lightning energy to be the most peculiar among all.
The sea was roiling, and such a powerful energy extended even to the spectators. However, for some reason, not even a single scratch appeared on the deck.
Either way, Mary had no choice but to dig in nervously.
Pzzzz!
Mary moved into the area of lightning energy, she felt a powerful repulsion as if her whole body was being torn apart.
Mary also increased her aura of Volcano to push back the lightning energy, but overall, Jin's energy was stronger.
It was as if she was moving through water, and it was difficult to advance.
'Fortunately, it seems the youngest is struggling to maintain this energy,' Mary thought, despite slowly closing the distance.
However, Jin remained motionless in place, like a statue.
Finish it in one move.
That wasn't just Jin's judgment. Mary also believed that if the fight dragged on, it wouldn't be in her favor. That's why she had executed the Light-speed Thrust from the beginning.
The lightning energy grew denser as she moved closer step by step.
The view inside the lightning area was completely hazy and blurred, unlike when she had observed Jin's eyes from the outside just a while ago.
Now, the distance between them was about ten steps.
Mary decided not to get any closer, as if to say, "This should be enough." Instead, like Jin, she adjusted her posture and began to concentrate.
"What's happening inside the lightning energy?"
Woooo…!
The aura that bloomed like smoke pushed out the lightning energy and formed its own area. A hole was pierced in one side of the lightning energy's hemisphere, allowing the audience to see Mary inside it.
What followed was a vortex.
A huge aura was rotating in a cross-shape vortex around the viper's blade. As the cross vortex rotated, Mary's area in the lightning energy's hemisphere expanded.
At that moment, Jin felt a chilling sensation, as if a cold blade had touched his throat.
'It seems she also wants to finish this in one move.'
Fortunately.
Mary was still mistaken in thinking that Jin's lightning energy was a form of the Plutonian Reign sword, or another technique equivalent to it.
'That's probably why she's trying to fight back with strength versus strength.'
However, just as Mary did not know that Jin's technique was nothing more than a trick, Jin also did not know what kind of sword Mary was about to execute.
'First of all, her current stance is for thrust.'
He could anticipate that she would attempt the Light-speed Thrust again.
However, that couldn't be all. Even with the reinforced Light-speed Thrust using the volcano, there was no way she would finish a failed technique.
Jin tightened his grip on Sigmund.
He opened his eyes wide to catch the moment the viper moved. That moment would determine the outcome.
'This sword I prepared for you, the youngest.'
Mary's shoulders trembled.
The scene felt like it was unfolding in slow motion. He was so focused that he barely managed to miss that moment.
Runcandel's Fifth Secret Technique: Light-speed Thrust.
Once again, it drew a trajectory that did not cause any direct damage to Tikan, but the second light-speed thrust had a power that was incomparable to the first.
The hemisphere of the lightning energy was torn apart, scattering countless particles in all directions. The vision was completely obstructed, as if tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of pieces of glass had broken all at once.
Particles of lightning energy poured down like a shower. Even Jin's companions couldn't immediately determine if Jin had managed to avoid the Light-speed Thrust or not within the swirling particles.
But the Light-speed Thrust did not end there.
Mary had decided to put her all into this attack without holding back, as this was the final duel with her beloved younger brother before leaving for her training.
Twice.
The volcano Light-speed Thrust was not limited to just one attack.
Swoosh!
A delayed shockwave reverberated, revealing that the Light-speed Thrust had unfolded consecutively.
'Three consecutive Light-speed Thrusts...!?'
This was an unexpected turn of events for Jin.
However, it was not an unavoidable situation. No matter how incredible or fast the Light-speed Thrust was, it could only be executed within the range that wouldn't harm the fleet and the Tikan.
The Light-speed thrusts were coming from both the left and right side. So Jin had limited space to maneuver due to the Light-speed Thrust attacking both directions almost at the same time.
The center.
Even the center was not completely safe. The two streams of Light-speed Thrust that passed through the center constantly caused a vortex of destruction in the central area.
In the midst of the lightning particles and the literally biting vortex, Jin was barely able to keep his balance.
'The two streams of Light-speed Thrust are just a means to keep me in place.'
Now, Jin had no way to evade. With the Light-speed Thrusts occupying the space on both sides, the siblings were standing as if on a tightrope.
Light was spreading.
As the Light-speed Thrust spread and left behind flashes and remnants, the dazzling brilliance filled the space between the siblings.
And it was closing in.
Like a predator cornering its prey with no escape, Mary ran forward along the one and only path left.
There was no escape, just one final confrontation. In other words, the central path where the two of them stood was the real stage for this duel, created by Mary.
'You're really something, aren't you?'
Very impressive indeed.
Mary's volcano emitted a dazzling light even brighter than before. The light of the volcano grew bigger and bigger, trampling on other lights. She was getting closer to Jin.
Jin could not have predicted that Mary would create this situation. When predictions went awry, one would typically find themselves at a disadvantage.
But for Jin, this was the ideal scenario he wished for most: an unavoidable one-on-one fight.
For that purpose, he pretended that he used the Plutonian Reign sword, and pretended that he could handle it more delicately than when he made the patriarchy declaration, so he sprayed lightning energy without aiming.
The lightning energy that formed the hemisphere, now broken into glowing particles, was merely a means to disturb her vision.
It was an entirely meaningless move.
The moment when Mary, stained by the aura of volcano move, was right in front of him, Jin released the grip on the hilt of Sigmund. The pale blade that fell helplessly exploded the lightning energy it contained as soon as it hit the floor and bounced off somewhere.
'What!?'
At this point, Mary could only be taken aback. She naturally assumed her younger brother would execute the Plutonian Reign sword or an equivalent sword move.
'Is this rascal dropped his sword out of the fear of killing me...! I'm sure he wasn't that soft!'
Of course, she didn't want to kill her youngest brother. He was her sibling, and she always wanted to compete with him or fight alongside him.
'That's right, he did something like that before. I heard he had even dropped his sword at a critical moment when he fought Dante Hairan in the arena.'
Even if Jin backed off, Mary had no intention of doing so. That was because it was not the way of a Runcandel.
Just before thrusting the viper into her youngest brother's chest, Mary couldn't help but feel a deep sense of disappointment.
Considering what Jin did during the patriarchy declaration, Mary couldn't fathom or accept his current erratic behavior.
The fourth Light-speed Thrust.
That was the sword move she chose for this last moment.
Originally, Mary had a different sword in mind. She wanted to show her respects to her youngest brother by executing her unfinished ultimate technique.
'If you behave like this, you need a lesson too. As your sister, I will remind you again!'
The Light-speed Thrust aimed at the center would undoubtedly damage the Tikan.
'…But I'm not as soft-hearted as you.'
Sibling love.
The two people Mary felt the strongest bond to were Diphus and Jin. This was why she decided to teach Jin a lesson, by causing harm to his nest.
She wanted to fire the fourth light-speed thrust in a direction that would not cause irreversible damage. However, she was determined to beat Jin to the brink of death after the fight was over.
Also, she makes sure Jin doesn't die from being hit by the Light-speed Thrust. She was planning on taking a closer look at Jin's condition before beating him.
But this very notion of mercy was her own arrogance, as she realized when she heard a distinct, spine-chilling sound.
Shrung!
The sharp blade slipped out of the scabbard, producing a clear and chilling sound.
Mary momentarily forgot what kind of person her youngest brother was. Also, the fact that her youngest brother has two swords.
It was her excessive love for her youngest brother that made her keep forgetting these facts, even in this situation. But in the world of martial arts, one could not afford to be naive.
'I was fooled!'
Shadow Sword 7th technique
Shadow Assault
The sword move that Jin had been concealing while meaningless firing lightning energy all over the place.