Chapter 367: So You're a Witch!
"One move?"
Reid suddenly felt like laughing.
He had thought he wouldn't easily succumb to anger, but at this moment, he couldn't help but feel a surge of rage welling up from the depths of his heart.
Yet, he had nowhere to direct this fury—because the man before him had just defeated him in the very art he prided himself on most: swordsmanship.
The seething anger piled up in his chest—not the kind born of hatred, but the kind that burned with the desire to defeat him, to make him take back those arrogant words.
The muscles in his chest trembled, stemming the flow of blood from his wound. Though Reid possessed no healing blessing, years of injuries and training had taught him to control every muscle in his body. As long as the wound wasn't instantly fatal, he could temporarily suppress its effects.
"Then... let's try this!"
Reid's eyes widened sharply as the 『Sword Saint's Blessing』 finally manifested within him.
In the past, Reid had rarely used the Sword Saint's Blessing. Most enemies could be dealt with through his swordsmanship alone. He considered the blessing far too unfair—an innate power that had nothing to do with his own efforts—so he disliked relying on it.
But Reid was no fool. When truly faced with a crisis, when confronted with an opponent he couldn't defeat, he wouldn't hesitate to use his blessing.
If swordsmanship and magic were abilities ordinary people could acquire through training, then blessings were the power of true geniuses—chosen ones, gifted from birth.
Blessings were this world's greatest injustice. Some could train their entire lives, enduring countless hardships to master their skills, yet still fall short against those born with formidable blessings.
Unlike most, Reid Astrea was one of those rare individuals who possessed both a blessing and an unrelenting drive to improve. That was the source of his strength.
The 『Sword Saint's Blessing』 would elevate his swordsmanship to a level far beyond his own comprehension—so high that he could no longer fully control it. That was why he disliked using it. A sword he couldn't master was no longer a sword to him.
As the 『Sword Saint's Blessing』 emerged from Reid, he suddenly understood Roy's earlier swordsmanship. Only now did he realize that Roy, through sheer skill alone, had nearly matched the power Reid wielded with the blessing active.
This revelation thrilled Reid. Did this not mean that, if he continued to train, he might one day possess this strength without relying on the blessing—truly mastering the sword in his hand?
Filled with this exhilaration, Reid Astrea swung at Roy once more.
"Be careful, Roy Crowley! Even I can't fully control this power now!"
With his roar, his sword seemed to come alive. The terrifying aura it exuded was like a vacuum, stealing the air around them, making it hard to breathe, conjuring illusions in the mind. The winds howled, the earth trembled and split, and a thunderous roar echoed as if calamity itself had descended. Reid and his sword became one—he had fully transformed into the blade in his grasp.
"Your strength has grown, and so has your skill... but your speed—too slow!"
At this moment, the sun had already set behind the western mountains, and moonlight bathed the land. Roy's body flickered as if merging with the moonlight itself, appearing behind Reid at an inconceivable speed.
This was the divine authority of 『Godspeed』!
As the saying goes, no martial art is unbreakable—only speed is invincible. With enough speed to evade all attacks, what use were an enemy's abilities, no matter how powerful? Reid's 『Sword Saint's Blessing』 temporarily granted him swordsmanship on par with Roy's, but this blessing lacked the causality to guarantee a hit. To Roy, Reid's sword moved as slowly as a snail.
The Black Prince of the Campione world had relied on Godspeed to remain undefeated, and now Roy's mastery of it allowed him to transform into fire, light, lightning, and flames—far surpassing the Black Prince of old.
'Is this a blessing related to speed?'
Roy's overwhelming speed sent a chill down Reid's spine, but the swordsman quickly relied on his sixth sense to detect Roy's presence behind him.
"No matter what blessing it is, I'll cut it down!"
Pivoting on his foot, Reid spun around swiftly. This time, his sword didn't aim for Roy but for what he assumed was the 'blessing' itself!
This was Reid's greatest strength. In this world, there were always those with powerful blessings who could fight him on equal footing. But once Reid activated his 'blessing to sever blessings,' his opponents would lose their advantages, leaving only swordsmanship to decide the battle.
Not only was Reid the era's greatest swordsman, but he also possessed the 『Sword Saint's Blessing』. Under these conditions, who could possibly stand against him?
To Reid, those who relied solely on blessings to act recklessly were nothing but weaklings. Any blessing would be nullified before him!
"So I told you before—your abilities don't work on me."
"Pfft—"
A faint sound echoed again. Reid stared in shock at his chest, where a blood-red blade tip had pierced clean through.
"How… did it fail?"
His vision blurred momentarily. Just as he turned to sever Roy's 'blessing,' Roy had activated Godspeed once more, driving his sword through Reid's back from behind.
"The power I'm using isn't a blessing. Of course you can't cut it."
Roy remained standing behind him, the sword still lodged in Reid's body, and chuckled softly.
"Could it be… forbidden magic lost to time?"
Blood trickled from Reid's lips as he muttered weakly.
"No. You can call this ability a divine authority."
Roy kindly explained.
"Divine authority? Something like a Witch's authority…? Heh, I sought out the Witch precisely to witness how her authority differed from blessings… Never expected to find it in you instead. Could it be… you're actually the Witch? Hmm, now that I look at you, you do resemble one."
Reid nodded sagely, as if everything made sense now.
Roy's eye twitched. Without another word, he yanked the Sword of Judgment free. As the blade slid out, Reid's body finally gave way, collapsing to the ground.
Coldly turning away, Roy glanced at Flugel behind him and asked, "...Do you know any healing magic?"
Seeing Roy's murderous expression, Flugel shook his head like a frightened chick, "...I only know 'Yin' attribute magic. Healing magic is 'Water' attribute, but Shaula specializes in 'Yang' attribute and knows some basic healing spells."
"Then Shaula, go check this guy's injuries. Heal him if you can, otherwise let fate decide."
Roy said as he sheathed the Sword of Judgment and walked toward Satella.
You're the witch! Your whole family are witches!
Being mistaken for a woman made Roy extremely irritated. Though his appearance inherited Aleister's face of infinite possibilities, his manner of speech, voice, and behavior had absolutely nothing feminine about them!!!