The two slashes collided, unleashing a terrifying impact that shattered the surrounding ground.
Flash: Pierce!
Arthur stomped his foot, swiftly charging towards Takeshi, raising his sword, and thrusting it towards him.
Sun Breathing, Seventh Form: Sunflower Thrust!
Flames enveloped Takeshi as he raised his sword with both hands, launching a fierce thrust.
Clang!
The tips of their swords met, a clash of light and flames.
Boom!!!
The ground beneath their feet and all around them exploded, the shockwave rapidly spreading outwards.
Flash Sword!
Arthur's sword moved as swiftly as light.
Takeshi swung his blade, blocking all of Arthur's attacks.
Sun Breathing, Eighth Form: Solar Heat Haze!
Takeshi's blade tip wavered like a heat haze.
Arthur immediately retreated to dodge, and just as he thought he had evaded and was about to counterattack—
Suddenly, his expression changed. The seemingly short blade suddenly appeared to lengthen, and he no longer had time to dodge.
Pfft!
A wound was cut into Arthur's body.
Arthur quickly swung his sword in a horizontal sweep.
Sun Breathing, Ninth Form: Setting Sun Transformation!
Takeshi leaped and spun, dodging Arthur's attack while simultaneously delivering a horizontal slash with his blade.
Such an unexpected attack made Arthur break out in a cold sweat. He quickly ducked, and the long blade sliced just above his head, taking a strand of his hair.
Before Arthur could react, Takeshi's next attack arrived.
Sun Breathing, Sixth Form: Burning Bones, Summer Sun!
The spinning slash directly struck Arthur.
"Ahhh!"
Arthur cried out in pain, his entire body sent flying by the slash.
Boom!
He crashed into the inner wall, shattering it.
"Arthur has been sent flying by Yoriichi! Is the battle about to end here?!"
Arthur struggled to his feet.
"Not yet! Arthur has risen again!"
Aryhur said, "As expected of you. I originally wanted to engage in close combat to determine a victor with you, but it seems I was overestimating myself."
Facing Takeshi directly, he finally understood why Clay had been scurrying around like a startled rabbit.
Before each of Takeshi's moves, he seemed to see illusions of himself being killed. He relied on his strong willpower to avoid being disturbed by these illusions. He even used the illusions to predict the opponent's attack methods in advance.
But he found that he was still somewhat overestimating himself. He thought he was competing against Yoriichi with his own strength, but Yoriichi's previous attacks seemed to be telling him just how vast the gap between them truly was.
...
Takeshi said nothing.
To be honest, the moment Arthur got close, he had the opportunity to instantly kill him. However, doing so would be a bit disrespectful. He was, after all, the strongest swordsman in the Sobelia Kingdom. If he were to eliminate him so easily, it would be a bit rude to the host.
Arthur's swordsmanship was not weak, but his was stronger.
"But I want to see what the true gap between you and me is."
Arthur held his sword with both hands in front of his chest, and magic power rapidly gathered into the blade.
The light from the sword soared into the sky, forming a giant golden light sword—the same move he had used against Erza. However, this time Arthur had clearly condensed even stronger magic power.
Takeshi greatly disliked people who went all out like this. What was supposed to be a sword-fighting competition ultimately turned into a magic competition.
The wind-up for Arthur's move was too long. That amount of time was enough for him to kill Arthur several times over.
Even if he didn't kill Arthur, he could easily dodge. But he couldn't do that. Interrupting at this point would be a bit undignified. He couldn't attack, and he couldn't dodge, so the only option was to meet it head-on.
Takeshi infused magic power into his sword. But just as he infused it, a strange sensation arose in his mind.
Looking at the magic power flowing into the sword in his hand through Transparent World, combined with his body's sensation of magic power, it felt as if he was experiencing magic for the first time.
His brain became incredibly active, and countless thoughts and insights surged through his mind.
Takeshi wasn't sure what this feeling was, but he could sense that this was definitely a huge opportunity for him. If he missed this opportunity, he would definitely regret it for the rest of his life.
He chose to forget everything, immersing himself wholeheartedly.
Arthur had finished charging at this point. A giant golden light sword, tens of meters long, formed from energy, stood in the arena, like a legendary holy sword.
Arthur saw that his opponent was in a daze and didn't know what he was doing or why he wasn't assuming a fighting stance. Whether he intended to dodge or clash head-on, there should have been some indication. But he just stood there motionless.
However, at this moment, he didn't have time to ponder what he intended to do. His move was fully charged, and he had to attack.
"Judgment of Light!!!"
Holding his sword with both hands, he roared and swung it downwards.
The giant light sword, like a divine weapon, cleaved down towards Takeshi as Arthur swung his sword.
Takeshi seemed to have no time to react, or perhaps he forgot to react, or perhaps he was oblivious. He neither dodged nor charged to defend, merely standing still. Only when the sword was about to strike him did his body instinctively and slowly raise his sword to block.
But how could a single sword possibly block such an attack?
When Arthur had attacked Erza, Erza had deployed a magic barrier, but the barrier was torn apart, and even her shield and armor were shattered.
This time, Arthur's attack was clearly more powerful than the one he had used against Erza.
Everyone thought Takeshi was finished this time. They couldn't bear to watch him be sliced in half by a single sword.
Then...
BANG!
A crisp sound rang out, followed by a scene that shocked, awed, and left everyone in disbelief.
The blade of the golden giant sword met Takeshi's blade.
The scene everyone expected, where Takeshi's blade would be easily shattered, did not occur. Instead, Arthur's golden giant sword simply broke.
That's right. It just broke, as if cut by something incredibly sharp. Immediately after, the golden sword dissipated into points of light.
...
The entire venue instantly fell silent. Arthur himself stood frozen, his eyes vacant.