Struggling to rise from the pile of rubble, Jill's consciousness hadn't fully awakened yet. He only felt the pain coursing through his body, instinctively craving blood.
As he raised his body, suddenly, he was locked onto by a terrifyingly intense murderous intent.
The thick and suffocating murderous intent sent shivers down his spine, starting from the soles of his feet and rushing all the way to his crown, abruptly jolting him awake from his trance-like state.
Upon this awakening, Jill immediately saw Riezel, enveloped in raging wind, his robes billowing and fluttering noisily in the gusts of wind. The ferociousness of Riezel's gaze and the constant flurry of lethal attacks he endured till now finally stirred a sense of fear in him.
Despite being influenced by his swordsmanship and becoming addicted to blood, Jill had not completely lost his senses.
Three years ago, when all Demon Swordsmen were besieged by the knights dispatched by various countries, teetering on the brink of life and death, while others seemed to go mad and charge out excitedly to clash with the knights, Jill, subconsciously sensing danger, overcame his desire for blood, and chose to flee in fear.
Because of this, Jill barely survived that massacre, living in the wilderness ever since, adhering to the principle of self-control. He sustained himself on animal blood, battling monsters, gradually satiating his thirst for blood, and slowly getting stronger.
It wasn't until Jill encountered Alderman in the wilderness that he couldn't resist the craving for human blood anymore and decided to indulge. However, he didn't act immediately by killing Alderman on the spot for his blood. Since he had decided to indulge, he naturally wanted to make the most of this opportunity.
Therefore, feigning interest in following Alderman, Jill actually intended to infiltrate the human-inhabited city to hunt humans.
In the week leading up to the War Festival, he often went out at night, seemingly strolling around the city, but in reality, he was secretly hunting humans, reveling in the blood of thugs or thieves lurking in the darkness.
When the War Festival began and the training field was crowded with people, he would unleash his slaughter there, satisfying himself to the fullest, then escape Undine and retreat into the mountains, evading pursuit by the kingdom's knights.
His first targets were obviously the experts who participated in the War Festival.
Like Riezel Brynhart, a Tactical-Class Magician.
Like Yuri Frenzel, a Strategic-Class Magician.
Step by step, by eliminating these experts first, he could eradicate potential threats and strengthen himself with their blood. Following that, he would hunt down the weaker ones, steadily progressing, feasting on their blood, rapidly boosting his own strength, perhaps even ascending to the status of Sword Saint, becoming a Demon Sword Saint.
For this reason, Jill had restrained himself until now.
Unfortunately, luck wasn't on his side.
With his strength, originally speaking, whether facing Yuri, Marilyn, Ain, Ian, or others, he could have found a way to catch them off guard and kill them with a single strike, letting their blood spill on the spot.
However, his opponent happened to be the only one with strength comparable to Level 6, an anomaly excelling in both swordsmanship and magic—Riezel Brynhart.
After being injured by Riezel and instinctively stimulated by his great strength, Jill could no longer suppress his craving for the blood of the strong, descending into a semi-trance-like state of madness.
However, now, faced with Riezel's undisguised murderous and terrifying aura, his rationality instantly returned, and the feeling of fear surged back into his heart.
Unfortunately, it was all too late.
*BANG!*
Just as Jill's heart began to tremble, the ground beneath Riezel erupted, and he suddenly vanished on the spot, disappearing without a trace.
"?!!!"
Jill's heart skipped a beat, but still, relying on his sensitivity to blood, he sensed Riezel's trail.
"Here!"
Without hesitation, Jill swung his sword to the right, letting out a whistling sound of crimson magical energy, disrupting the atmosphere, and aiming at the sudden figure that appeared there.
However, Riezel disregarded this swing entirely, rushing forward at once and lunging straight at Jill.
*DING!*
Jill's forceful swing landed on the whirlwind surrounding Riezel's body, just like before, it was easily flicked aside.
*Pu-chi!*
At this moment, Riezel's slash finally surged from his hand, its speed surprisingly quick, as if it traversed space and time, slicing across Jill's shoulder, causing his flesh to tear and blood to splatter.
'Too fast!' Jill's pupils contracted sharply.
Riezel's slash just now was completely beyond Jill's response, much faster than before. No, it wasn't just his attack speed, even his movement speed had increased significantly.
*Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!*
Accompanied by the sound of tearing, Riezel's figure seemed to truly transform into an invisible and colorless wind, flickering and darting around Jill's body, unleashing slashes that struck various parts of his body, leaving him covered in wounds and bleeding heavily.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHH—!!!"
As Jill roared furiously, he continuously swung his sword imbued with crimson magical energy, creating booming sounds and whistling through the air. Pitifully, despite his efforts, he couldn't land a single hit on Riezel's body, who effortlessly dodged with astonishing speed.
Jill's missed slashes only struck nothing, sending streaks of crimson sword light flying, leaving cracks in the ground and walls.
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
The rubble and dust flew up once again, turning the entire training field into chaos, combined with the howling wind, giving a sense of devastation.
It was only then that Jill suddenly noticed the change in Riezel's weapon.
The weapon held in his hand was no longer a bright silver short sword but a somewhat dark silver long sword.
Thin as a cicada's wing, the sword edge was nearly transparent, with a beautiful and noble appearance that did not look at all like a metal product but rather like a crystal so translucent.
Yet, this sword, which seemed more like a work of art than a weapon, exhibited astonishing sharpness and power in Riezel's hands.
*Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!*
With Fool in hand, Riezel pushed Lightweight to its limit, increased by the enhancements of Ariel and Raumure. His speed had reached a level where even Jill, someone comparable to a Level 6 expert, couldn't react at all.
Even before returning to this main world, Riezel's strength had surpassed that of Ais, who was evaluated as capable of challenging opponents at a higher level.
Such was Riezel's prowess that, if he went all out, even someone like Finn, Riveria, and Gareth at the pinnacle of Level 6 would find him a difficult opponent.
Although he had only recently leveled up to Level 5, the accumulation of SSS basic abilities on every level and the acquisition of various combat-type development abilities allowed him to surpass Ais, a top-ranked Level 5, even without using magic.
Now, with the addition of Raumure and Ariel, even facing Jill was no longer challenging for Riezel.
As Riezel's sword light sped forth with astonishing speed, Jill found himself subjected to a relentless attack, his body seeming to burst open, blood and wounds blossoming continuously, leaving him battered and miserable.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHH—!!!"
Facing dire situations, Jill finally erupted, his crimson magical energy turning deeper crimson, enhancing his strength further, finally matching Riezel's speed and allowing him to react.
However, Riezel disregarded Jill's counterattacks entirely, allowing Jill's crimson slashes to rain down on his body without blocking or dodging.
With the boosted END from Raumure and the wind protection from Ariel, even Jill's powerful slashes were ultimately deflected one by one, leaving only a few shallow wounds on Riezel's body that oozed a little blood, doing little else.
On the other hand, Riezel's slashes became faster and fiercer, not only splitting Jill's skin but nearly stripping his flesh from head to toe, leaving several deep wounds on his shoulders and thighs where bone could even be seen.
Despite this, Riezel showed no signs of relenting, seemingly intent on crushing Jill into a bloody pulp, his speed and ferocity undiminished, slashing relentlessly, again and again!
His merciless executioner-like performance caused many in the audience to show expressions of horror, with some even closing their eyes in fear.
Finally, Jill broke down.
"GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"
*BOOOM!*
Jill roared and swung his sword toward the ground, shattering it and creating a violent shockwave and billowing dust.
In response to this furious attack, Riezel seemed rather indifferent.
As the dust settled, Riezel calmly lifted his hand as a fluctuation of crimson vortex appeared above it.
Riezel's trump card, hidden until now, finally made its debut.
With a thunderous force akin to a storm, the crimson vortex tore through the earth and sky, closing in on Jill as he attempted to flee.
Unfortunately, before Jill could react, it was too late.
*Bzzzttt—!*
The crimson vortex struck Jill, engulfing his body completely.
"NO, NO, NOOOOOO—!!!"
Jill let out a despairing cry before his body disintegrated within the crimson vortex, like a dungeon monster deprived of its core, turning to ashes and vanishing without a trace.
A cruel and brutal battle finally ended.
Riezel dispelled the wind and emerald green membrane around his body.
"It seems you didn't even deserve to become a bloody pulp..." Riezel muttered, watching with cold eyes the spot where Jill's body vanished to nothingness.
With this outcome, the War Festival finally came to a close, with Riezel as the ultimate victor.