*Crackle!*
A lightning bolt flashed, revealing Riezel's figure amidst the world-shaking destruction.
Staring at the earth split by a single slash, Riezel braved the sandstorm and dodged the flying debris.
"With all this commotion, how is he supposed to be the best in hiding?" Riezel muttered speechlessly.
However, he would soon realize why Rohm's concealment ability was indeed the best.
*Whoosh!*
Rohm's shadow sword, glowing with a dark light, suddenly appeared in front of Riezel, slashing down at him again and releasing a black sword light.
*BOOM!*
With a thunderous roar, the ground shattered once more as the black sword light carved a deep trench and ravaged the earth.
Seeing this, Riezel steadied his breathing, pushing the speed and power of his Thunder Breathing to the limit.
Like lightning, he flashed and darted several hundred meters away.
Nevertheless, even with his incredible speed, the shadow sword kept appearing out of nowhere, relentlessly slashing at him, each time sending out a wave of black sword light.
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
Continuous explosions echoed as the ground, torn by the black sword light, erupted again and again, kicking up waves of sand and transforming the area into a battlefield.
If not for the fact that this place was far from the royal capital, the city would've been in an uproar from the sheer destruction and noise.
Riezel flickered back and forth among the roaring black sword light as if he were being chased by an invisible ghost, not daring to stop for even a moment.
In fact, it wasn't far from the truth.
He had to admit that the shadow sword, glowing with dark light, was like a true ghost—always vanishing after a strike, only to reappear silently right in front of him next, making it impossible to defend against.
If it weren't for his ability to perceive through the Transparent World and the aid of Fast Attack, which boosted his reflexes, he wouldn't have been able to dodge all these terrifying attacks.
Soon, as Riezel dodged another oncoming slash of the shadow sword while using his transparent, glowing eyes to scan the surroundings, the glow in his eyes suddenly flared up.
'Found you!'
Riezel suddenly dashed in a certain direction, his form turning into a lightning bolt as he shot toward a corner of the wilderness.
"Thunderclap and Flash!"
*BOOM!*
Riezel's lightning slash burst forth, generating intense heat around his sword blade as it clashed violently with the air.
Unfortunately—
"Useless."
Rohm, in the form of a shadow as dark as the void, flickered to the side of where Riezel had just struck as if teleporting.
"I told you, I've already seen through this move."
As Rohm spoke, he gestured, causing the floating shadow sword to tear through the void and aim at Riezel.
Riezel, still in his lightning bolt form, didn't slow down but instead sped up.
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
With thunderous sounds echoing, the lightning bolt ricocheted off the ground and rocks several times.
"Thunderclap and Flash - Sixfold!"
Six lightning bolts merged together, surrounding Rohm, before darting toward him, aiming straight for his head.
"I've seen this move too."
Saying this calmly, Rohm adjusted his stance and positioned the shadow sword in front of himself, perfectly intercepting the incoming lightning bolt.
*DING!*
Amid the metallic collision, the lightning slash struck the shadow sword, sending it flying.
However, Riezel's slash missed Rohm and merely grazed past him.
*BOOM!* *BOOM!*
In the next second, the lightning bolt ricocheted twice, shooting back once more.
"Thunderclap and Flash - Eightfold!"
What Riezel used was the enhanced version of 'Thunderclap and Flash – Sixfold', a move originally developed by Zenitsu in the original work of Demon Slayer.
Riezel had successfully recreated it, along with Sixfold.
Although Rohm hadn't seen this move before, he didn't panic.
"Even though I haven't seen this move before, whether it's six or eight, they're basically the same."
Rohm called back his shadow sword, which had been knocked away, making it appear before him as if by teleportation.
*DING!*
Just like before, Riezel's slash was once again blocked by the elusive shadow sword. Although the shadow sword was knocked away, the slash was still deflected by the block, merely grazing past Rohm's side again.
'In that case...'
Seeing this, Riezel's expression hardened.
'Let's see how long you can keep blocking.'
Instead of stopping, Riezel accelerated further.
"Thunderclap and Flash - Tenfold!"
Yes.
Tenfold.
It was a move that didn't even appear in the original work.
Zenitsu had only developed Thunderclap and Flash up to Sixfold and Eightfold, with Eightfold being the limit.
However, as Rohm had said, whether it was six or eight, they were essentially the same—just different versions of Thunderclap and Flash, with the only difference being how many times it could change direction.
Sixfold was six directional changes.
Eightfold was eight directional changes.
Theoretically, as long as it could keep changing direction, Thunderclap and Flash could continue endlessly.
Zenitsu had stopped at Eightfold because, first, he developed an even stronger technique, and second, his physical limitations prevented him from continuing further, as his body wouldn't be able to handle it.
Riezel, however, didn't have these worries.
Having reached Level 6, his body far surpassed Zenitsu's, making Eightfold nowhere near his limit.
In fact, Tenfold wasn't even his limit.
*BOOM!* *BOOM!*
As the sound of thunder echoed across the wilderness, Riezel, in the form of a lightning bolt, ricocheted off the ground and rocks like a laser hitting mirrors, continuously bouncing around.
Each time the lightning bolt bounced, it would end up in front of Rohm, slashing at him, sending chills down his spine.
Rohm could only hold his breath, fully concentrating on tracking the lightning bolt's path, repeatedly summoning his shadow sword to block Riezel's lightning slashes.
*Clang!* *Cling!* *Clang!* *Cling!*
*Clang!* *Cling!* *Clang!* *Cling!*
While the crisp sound of blades clashing echoed constantly, the shadow sword, glowing with dark light, was knocked away repeatedly, causing Riezel's lightning slashes to graze past Rohm each time, never landing a direct hit.
Even so, with Riezel's sword edge scraping his side repeatedly, Rohm was starting to get irritated.
"I told you! It's useless!"
Rohm snapped and controlled his shadow sword, releasing a black sword light from above toward his own position.
*BOOOM!*
Instantly, the black sword light shattered the ground, blowing away both the lightning bolt and shadows in the shockwave.
"Heh..."
Riezel finally stopped and emerged from the lightning bolt with a chuckle.
*BANG!*
With an explosive sound, the sword in Riezel's hand could no longer withstand the repeated use of Thunderclap and Flash, shattering into pieces.
'Perfect chance!'
Seeing this, Rohm's eyes shined, and he quickly controlled his shadow sword, slashing fiercely at Riezel.
*Swish!*
With a sharp sound, the shadow sword tore through the air and appeared in front of Riezel in the blink of an eye, like the scythe of a grim reaper.
However, just as the shadow sword was about to hit Riezel, his entire body began to glow with crimson waves.
'What is that?!'
Seeing the translucent crimson waves, Rohm's pupils shrank, and he hastily recalled his shadow sword, making it disappear from in front of Riezel and reappear by his side.
Gripping his shadow sword, Rohm finally halted his attack, landing on the ground and glaring at Riezel with a dark expression.
"Oh?"
Riezel landed on the ground as well, raising his eyebrows while looking at Rohm with a half-smile.
"Seems like you recognized the magic I'm using right now."
"Marquis Frenzel's Decomposition Magic..." Rohm said with a cold expression. "I see... so she even taught you that?"
"Why's that so surprising?" Riezel replied casually. "I'm a magician too, y'know? It'd be a real problem if the esteemed Shadow Sword Saint forgot that."
"No doubt, if anyone remembers you only as the youngest Sword Saint in history and forgets you're also a Tactical-Class Magician, they'd end up in a really bad spot."
Rohm admitted honestly, and his expression became calm.
"Since we've come this far, you should be satisfied, right? Let's end it here."
Seeing Riezel use Yuri's Decomposition Magic, Rohm knew his plan to give Riezel a scare, or at least a lesson, was probably doomed.
Yuri's Decomposition Magic was undoubtedly terrifying.
Even if most people didn't know it, the higher-ups in most countries definitely did.
It was an incredibly fearsome magic that could decompose and destroy anything material upon contact, even reducing it to nothingness—a truly terrifying power.
Since Riezel could use this magic, continuing the fight would probably mean losing his shadow sword.
It couldn't be helped, as the shadow sword he used was an extremely valuable magic weapon. Losing it would strip him of twenty to thirty percent of his combat power, or even more.
No choice.
Since he was more of an assassin, specializing in stealth and assassination, and his swordsmanship also focused on these areas, he was a bit lacking in direct combat.
It was precisely for this reason that the royal family had spent a fortune on this magic weapon for him—to compensate for his shortcomings in direct combat. Without it, he wouldn't be able to unleash those ground-shattering slashes.
Because of this, as soon as he became aware that Riezel was using Yuri's Decomposition Magic, he didn't hesitate to recall his shadow sword to prevent it from being destroyed.
With that kind of magic in play, recklessly attacking Riezel was out of the question, so he decided to back down.
However—
"Nope, it's way too early to call it quits."
Riezel stared directly at Rohm, calmly stating his intent.
"Wait until you see this next move of mine."
After saying this, a sword appeared in Riezel's hand—a sword radiating intense heat.