Episode 12
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She had seen him well, or was it that this person was surpassing her in skill?
Isabella was known as the most talented with the sword. She had learned all techniques, skills and styles of swordsmanship, no matter what they were. To her, they were all easy to master.
Every move she perfected to the limit. No fencing master could defeat her.
Even in her awakening, she obtained the highest swordsmanship class, one that no one else had ever achieved.
However...
"Ugh..."
She was being pushed around by a newly awakened rookie.
It's true that it doesn't matter if you've just woken up; if you know how to wield a sword from a young age, you have talent. That was what had happened with Isabella.
She managed to break the limit.
"Since I was a child I was the best, and even now..."
She had always been the best with the sword. No one, not even awakened ones with related skills, could beat her at wielding it.
Since her awakening, Isabella was assured of her place as a sword prodigy. Everyone knew it, and they had chosen her ever since as the best of them all.
Yet...
Why?
That simple question had arisen not long ago.
The man in front of her looked to be between 20 and 25 years old, while she, at 24, had found no one capable of surpassing his technique, be it a master or an awakened one.
It was true that level was everything in today's world. However, skill could surpass level.
But this was different.
He had reduced his strength and did not use skills of his class, but his innate sword skills were at a point that no one else could compare to.
So why was this man superior?
For a moment, Isabella was mesmerized.
"Because I realized the greatness of his swordsmanship. It was a level of perfection I never thought I would reach."
Every master swordsman yearned to surpass the limit.
On a scale of sword skills, Isabella was at 99. However, all the masters, including herself, were stuck at that limit that seemed impossible to cross.
However...
She understood that this man had crossed that boundary.
It was absurd, but she saw it with her own eyes.
Her eyes shone with a mixture of emotion and amazement.
Isabella recoiled.
Although they were both of completely different levels, and their strength was absurd, this man possessed the most perfect swordplay she had ever witnessed. Not even in the stories of the ancestors or among the most legendary masters spoke of such a thing.
There was only one known being who reached a limitless level with the sword:
The "Heavenly Demon", the third strongest abyss monarch.
It is said that this monarch, known as the Celestial Demon, possessed the greatest skill with the sword that no one could imagine, not even in stories.
He was an infinitely superior being, a level no human could ever reach.
Or so Isabella thought.
"He surpassed the limits of the sword."
Although his blows were not as strong due to his strength, they were still overwhelming.
She felt as if an entire planet was in front of her, about to collide.
That man's sword was infinitely superior to hers.
It was as if... as if he was born for the sword, as if even as a baby he already had a level 99-equivalent command.
His sword skill was so absurd that comparing to him would be like an insignificant particle trying to defy existence itself.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin!
The air seemed to cut in two as the sword sliced through Isabella's defense.
Her movements were beyond perfect, superior in every way.
Isabella tried to calm herself. The most important thing was to remain calm when fighting with the sword.
If you get lost in your thoughts, you will only lead yourself to defeat, leaving gaps for your opponent to reach you.
But...
"....."
"Ah..."
It was absurd. Try as he might, that defense seemed impenetrable.
He couldn't get past it. It was simply impossible.
So, he gritted his teeth, and the blood began to drip slowly.
He would not be so easily intimidated.
He tightened his grip on the handle of his sword, positioning one foot back and one foot forward. He held the sword close to his waist, with the blade pointing towards the ground.
Whoa!
A small hiss echoed, and a white line traced the air in front of his eyes.
A sword appeared out of nowhere, and he didn't react fast enough. He barely managed to swing his sword, and the tip of it struck the thick blade of his opponent's sword.
Starburst!
Sparks fluttered as the tip of his sword cracked.
"....."
It didn't matter how you looked at him.
That man was beyond the limits of the sword.
A soft glow emanated from the tip of his sword.
It didn't seem to be a skill exactly, but Isabella understood.
"A sword that transcends any imagined limit."
That meant that this man's sword was impossible to match.
It was as if the Heavenly Demon was in front of her, even though she knew it wasn't.
It was absurd.
She looked at that man with purple hair and eyes of the same shade, albeit with a bluish glint. He wore transparent glasses that reflected the dim light of the place.
Did he have poor eyesight?
If that were the case, his skill would be very low.
Eyesight is what defines a true talent with the sword.
But this man seemed quite the opposite, and yet he possessed this skill with the sword.
He burst out laughing at the idea, for it was absurd to see it with his own eyes.
Stifling her laughter, Isabella swung the sword in an attempt to strike Freddy's body.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin!
But it was impossible, and, besides, it was to be expected.
"There must be a way to beat him."
The question was: how?
If she could see through him, it would be possible to find an opening in his movements, but she couldn't find one, no matter how much she watched him again and again.
Did this man have no opening?
In a fight against the Celestial Demon, who would have the best skill?
Isabella came to the conclusion that this man was comparable to the Heavenly Demon. If you saw him in action, you would believe it, but if you don't see it, better not listen.
Because his ability was absurd.
Soon, he retreated several steps back.
The sword, along with her body, bent severely backwards, so much so that she almost looked at the ground.
Then, Freddy appeared in front of her, and Isabella swung the moon-shaped sword, but it was impossible.
Her eyes widened and her teeth gnashed as if there was no end to it.
She kept swinging the sword, trying to find a way to get ahead.
That's when Freddy disappeared from her sight.
He was so surprised that he didn't think it through.
Wasn't his agility low enough to move like that? Then how did he disappear?
No.
Isabella noticed and felt envious.
To have such low agility and to disappear like that, as if she had incredibly high agility, was actually quite the opposite.
It was true that her agility was low, but that move was one that Isabella still failed to understand.
It was the "Blink", a technique capable of confusing anyone's sight, no matter how good their senses or perception were.
A technique that totally confused the senses.
"....."
Freddy appeared to the side.
The blade of his sword emitted a faint glow and came within inches of touching Isabella's neck.
But...
"....."
He stopped just an inch away.
"That should be it."
Isabella didn't respond right away.
She was so stunned and thoughtful about this fight, one in which she was supposed to win.
The outcome was unexpected. The victory should have been hers, but it was not.
She repeated Freddy's moves over and over again, they were so amazing. However, only one word came to his mind:
"It was... so beautiful."
As a true sword fanatic, Isabella recognized Freddy's true skill with a single word:
Beautiful.
So dazzling was his sword that it was impossible to see through it. Isabella realized that she would never reach that level, no matter how hard she tried.
She realized then that Freddy was the best with the sword.
He deserved the title of Lord of the Sword, because his skill surpassed anything Isabella could imagine.
Of course, there was the Celestial Demon. However, he was not human, but one of the nine monarchs of the abyss. Therefore, he did not count as the best with the sword.
Still, he wondered: who would have the best sword?
The Celestial Demon, considered the being with the most impossible sword in all existence, or Freddy, a man he had just met but whose skill was comparable to that of the Celestial Demon.
Of course, he came to a hasty conclusion. But, if indeed his level with the sword was high enough to be the second Heavenly Demon, then he deserved it.
"One more."
He wanted to see that again.
Exactly, that swordplay he had never seen before that led him to the conclusion that he would never reach that level.
Because it was impossible.
Freddy had passed the limit with the sword.
So, just one more time...
He wanted to see it one more time.
"Okay."
Isabella's eyes flashed brightly.
She watched Freddy take a new stance, then move.
Isabella briefly watched his flawless movements.
He was beautiful, and she didn't want to stop watching him for a moment. She just wanted to watch him as long as possible and learn something from it.
"It's... beautiful."