'...I see why you have acknowledged him Alexander.'
The Queen unhesitatingly acknowledged that fact within her simultaneously cold yet hot heart.
Facing the torrent of blade like attacks imbued with traces of mana, the attacks were seemingly casted by mages to no end.
Of course, they weren't real spells cast by mages as they were the result of pure skill, effort and talent.
One could even say the man who created these attacks with a technique familiar to her was actually an archmage on the level of a court mage was masquearading around as a fighter.
Of course that wasn't the truth as one could see it, but it was what the Queen could see with her eyes.
But nevertheless, although it was an attack worthy of applause and it didn't seem to take much out of the inheritor.
As was seen by his vibrant, energetic look on his face devoid of tiredness, it was probably something negligible to him although it was a powerful attack.
And just like how the Inheritor didn't go all out, the Queen didn't decide to match his pace.
She really wasn't patient enough to do that.
Silently taking in a deep breath through the three seams of her mask, the orange glare behind it grew brighter.
Focusing her strength on all parts of her body, the mana mixed with her blood and flowed through her veins with a fury.
Torrenting down like a raging river, the water slammed against the rocks that was her body.
But unlike normal bodies that would've blown up the moment they did what she did, her body held.
Sending it throughout her entire body, even the incredibly important organs such as the brain and heart where even the slightest mishap could be fatal had been empowered.
Following that, her body gained an orange aura as malaise slowly seeped into the mana.
Swinging her arm once, the rapier in her hands glowed orange and thus, she flourished.
Just like that, the attacks heading her way with a furious momentum akin to a storm on the seven seas couldn't help but do one thing.
Split apart.
The storm couldn't help but do so when the even greater force of nature blocked it.
Like a mountain, a dark expanse of deep blackness split in the air.
It was not unlike the black trail that the Light's bane left behind as the Light's bane tore apart light itself.
But in this case it wasn't as simple as that.
The slash mark seemed to have cleaved itself into the very fabric of space itself, tearing apart reality from its seams as a vast emptiness akin to the night sky could be seen through the tear.
Of course the world, really didn't like the tear in the world the Queen had made as it quickly patched the tear up
but the damage had already been done.
Lingering on the world like a scar.
A semi visible scar on the world that was visibly healing itself as it followed the tip of the blade was still visible.
and now that I saw it...
My eyes, now having seen the space scar couldn't help but notice one thing.
Behind the Queen.
Like a crude patchwork of string, the sky behind the queen and above the sea had been torn apart at the seams by the myriad number of thin slices in space.
Staring warily at the sky behind her that was the result of who knows how many strikes, the Queen seemed to become even more dangerous.
But why?
Feeling my heart pound, I clutched my chest.
Why did I wonder how strong I am compared to her?
Shaking my head away from those thoughts, my hand instinctively grasped at a weapon in my inventory.
Holding Hattori's Katana, I took in a deep breath to return to the optimal state of being without any problems and kneeled downwards.
Tensing all of my muscles, the Queen only stared at me with amusement tangible through the slits of her helmet.
Metal halo around her head, I ran forwards with all the strength that I could muster in my legs and held the Katana Horizontal to my body.
Putting my full weight in the swing, an incredibly sharp and condensed cut of air sliced through the air itself, eliciting a noise akin to a gun.
Which reminds me.
Bringing out the old ray gun that I had bought from the Wandering merchant Sky.
'I wonder how they're doing'
I swung my arm up and shot straight at her.
Following that, instead of letting up attacks like before, I sought to do a different thing instead of overwhelming her in terms of power.
God knows I can't push through an attack that literally tears straight through space itself.
So instead of overwhelming her in terms of Qualitative attacks.
I turned to quantity.
If one doesn't work? Why not a hundred? You get me?
My eyes flashed as the mana surged through my body like the rain in the sky.
Manipulating the Vine Rune, plant like roots snaked through the ground where they pierced through the ground and tried to grasp at the queen.
It was all for naught hen a barrier of fire appeared around her legs.
But it didn't matter since it was just a distraction.
Bringing out my recently refreshed supply of stone out of my inventory, my eyes flashed a bright white as the mana surged through my body.
Dragging out the power of the malaise through the forcibly made plumbing system through my body.
Malaise burst forth with a rage as tangible blasts of magic bolted through the air.
Following that, the plants which were involved with the malaise suddenly morphed.
Gaining several appendages that were distinctly 'monster' like, they creaked and trembled before forming monstrous forms of wooden flesh.
Groaning, the root like monsters that were something akin to a distorted land octopus groaned before dashing towards the Queen at my command.
Surprise flitted through the light on their mask as the Queen quickly slashed through them.
'Well that worked.'
Spinning around like a top that had just been released from its confines, my Light's bane had its durability drop worryingly fast as the blade left behind tangible black lines of destruction through the air.
Most of the momentum was lost in the throng of monsters and flying blades of fire, but there was so many of them that there was no need.
Using the weight of the nut cracker to launch me to the sky with the help of the built momentum, the ram rune activated and dragged me to the earth with an increased sense of gravity.
Following that, the ensuing shockwave blasted the flames away which left the Queen stumbling.
Not as far as I wanted it to, but it would do.
Holding the blood sword, I sacrificed the dwindling durability and left it falling apart from the seams.
Manifesting a crimson flame, as was expected, the Queen did away with pretences and instantly unfolding that spatial slashing technique.
But little did she know, the vines snaked up from the ground to grasp at the legs that stopped manifesting fire.
Using the cover of the crimson fire wall I ran forwards blade in hand, twisting through the air, I burst through the flames as the green edge of the balanced blade gleamed underneath the fire light.
Staring at the patchwork of black cuts in the air that greeted me.
The void within them dragged me in.
But it was something that I could dodge if I put my mind to it.
Eyes darting across the network, several gaps could be seen.
Instantly changing my course of path, the gleam of a rapier at the corner of my eye took my attention.
'That Rapier...'
Tracing the possible path that they could take, I noted that all of the gaps were traps.
'The path flows through there.'
In which case since the only way to escape from the black cuts in the air to land another attack on the Queen was to fall into the trap.
Side stepping, my legs lifted up off the ground and pointed me horizontally through the hole in the net.
Pushing my legs, they pushed off the air itself and launched me forwards where the sharp gleam of the Queen's rapier met me.
Deflecting it with the help of the Balanced Blade, the attack brushed past my face and headed for the nape of my neck.
At which point the Shield of Cthulhu manifested around me like a white maw.
charging to the side, I was suddenly besides the Queen.
Flourishing the blade, the tip of the green blade reached the tip of the Queen's Nape.
"It's my win isn't it?" Staring at her with a cocky grin, the Queen tilted her head.
"So what is this inheritance that you are trying to test my qualifications."
"...You have indeed passed." The Queen nodded behind me. "But you should be more aware of your surroundings Inheritor."
Raising an eyebrow at the statement, all around me, large spears of flame emanating a heat so intense that they tickled the back of my neck.
The wall of flame had blocked my vision for quite some time now, enough time for the Queen to begin casting an innumerable amount of flaming spears and swords.
'...Well damn.'
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