"Dang————!"
In the pitch-black shopping mall plaza, a crisp clash of steel broke the silence.
Like tearing through the darkness, when [Twin-Wings] Edelweiss landed gently on the ground as if spreading her wings, a burst of white light accompanied the sudden slash, aiming mercilessly at Rozen's neck.
That slash was beyond what the naked eye could capture.
That slash was fast enough to break through the air.
However, such a slash was also silent, like the scythe of death. When the white light flashed, it had already reached Rozen's throat, giving him no chance to dodge.
Facing such an extreme slash, even though Rozen could see through its trajectory and sword path with his Mind's Eye, his body couldn't keep up with the speed, and he could only watch as the slash aimed at his throat.
But Rozen remained calm.
Because, since he had already seen through this ultimate slash, even if his body couldn't keep up, the familiar and shikigami always guarding him would not miss this fatal attack and would intercept it.
Thus, when this ultimate slash reached Rozen's throat, the black, luxurious coat on Rozen's body stirred, coming to life as if animated. The hem turned into a spear-like shape, standing in front of Rozen's throat, blocking the silent, ultimate slash.
The sound of metal clashing came from this.
However...
"It's as solid and flexible as ever, your Device."
The world's strongest swordsman appeared in front of Rozen without a sound. As she spoke, her other hand's white sword turned into a flash and shot out.
"Shh...!"
In the next instant, a sharp arc of light cut through the air less than five centimeters in front of Rozen's face.
The sharp tip of the blade, too fast for the naked eye to follow or identify, passed by Rozen's face, causing the air to emit a burnt smell.
The silent, ultimate slash once again blossomed in Edelweiss' hand.
That slash was so sharp and so fast that even though Rozen had mentally prepared and was vigilant about the swords in Edelweiss' hands from the beginning, he only had time to tilt his head, barely avoiding the slash by five centimeters.
Facing this extremely dangerous encounter, Rozen remained calm and composed.
"Your sword is as terrifying as ever. Relying only on Kinu's defense, I can't guarantee to block all your slashes."
This wasn't because Kinu couldn't block Edelweiss' slashes.
Since comprehending the use of divine energy in the Injunction Shackles, Rozen could manipulate Kinu's divine energy, giving the coat the same properties.
In other words, unless the attack contained equivalent divine energy, it couldn't break through Kinu's defense due to its inherent toughness and the manipulation of divine energy.
Edelweiss' sword was remarkable, but she was still human. Without an attack containing divine energy, she couldn't break through Kinu's defense, as proven by her previous slash being blocked.
However, Edelweiss' sword was too fast. Without Rozen's Mind's Eye aiding Kinu, it couldn't keep up with Edelweiss' speed to block her slashes.
Facing such an Edelweiss...
"Maintaining distance is necessary, right?"
Rozen's figure rapidly flew backward under the stirring of Kinu's coat, attempting to distance himself from Edelweiss.
"Don't think you can escape!"
Edelweiss didn't allow Rozen to retreat. Her figure flickered like a white light, appearing and disappearing without disturbing the air or creating any wind, silently and swiftly approaching at a shocking speed.
Edelweiss easily caught up with the retreating Rozen.
"————!"
In the next instant, the white swords in Edelweiss' hands burst forth.
The swords didn't actually explode but appeared to do so.
Because Edelweiss swung the white blades in her hands at a terrifying speed, turning them into countless white lights slashing toward Rozen.
The blades, moving at an extraordinary speed, caused the air to burn, emitting a scorched smell.
The atmosphere couldn't keep up with Edelweiss' slashes, turning the white lights into a vast array of sword strikes, enveloping Rozen.
In a single breath, Edelweiss unleashed countless unidentifiable slashes.
And these slashes, like her movements and steps, were silent.
This was the swordsmanship of [Twin-Wings] Edelweiss.
Sound is produced by the vibration of air, creating waves through impact.
In other words, sound equals dispersed power, and air resistance arises from this, affecting everyone living on this planet as a natural physical law.
But Edelweiss was an exception.
The world's strongest swordsman had reached the pinnacle of physical control, able to manage all the force generated by her actions, with no wasted effort or dispersed power.
Thus, all of Edelweiss' actions were silent.
Her steps didn't disturb the air.
Her slashes produced no excess noise.
This allowed her to exhibit nearly 100% speed and power, surpassing human limits, making every step and slash reach an unparalleled level.
Edelweiss could instantaneously reach her maximum speed, bypassing acceleration and ignoring inertia, making her slashes and movements reach their peak instantly. Her actions were either zero or one hundred, extreme in both motion and stillness, making her swordsmanship the pinnacle achievable by humans, unmatched by anyone.
Rozen understood that such extreme swordsmanship was not something an ordinary human could achieve through training.
This was divine skill.
A technique reaching the divine realm with human effort.
If Scathach represented the pinnacle of spear techniques, reaching the divine realm with her spear skills, then Edelweiss represented the pinnacle of swordsmanship, reaching the divine realm with her sword skills.
Thus, Edelweiss could defeat an army of 300,000 fifteen years ago with just her twin swords, remaining undefeated and standing at the peak of swordsmanship as the world's strongest swordsman, unmatched.
Unfortunately, the opponent before Edelweiss was also someone who had trained his Mind's Eye to the divine realm, protected by a divine spirit.
"Whoo!"
As the countless white slashes covered him like coming from another dimension, carrying extreme speed and power, Rozen retreated while making the coat of Kinu rise to meet the incoming slashes.
"Clang Clang...!"
The countless white lights fell on the black coat-formed barrier, resembling white lines crossing black fabric, sparking and producing intense clashing sounds, echoing incessantly.
In the vast plaza, the black figure, surrounded by dazzling sparks, was continually pursued by the white lights. Amidst the intense clashing sounds, Rozen blocked the incoming slashes, causing sparks to fly and white lights to flash, creating a spectacular scene.
"I take back what I said. You're not the same as before; you're much stronger than two years ago."
Rozen, retreating swiftly, observed the countless white lights flashing before him and made this evaluation.
Then...
"In that case, I should get serious too."
Rozen made this declaration.
"———!"
Words carrying power were uttered from Rozen's mouth.