A/N: People, I couldn't drop yesterday because of certain issues. Some were asking me if I dropped the novel after not posting for a single day š, like relax.
Real stuff tho, I'm not really happy with the engagement the fanfic is getting. If it doesn't improve I might actually drop it and focus on those that have really engagement.
ENJOY THE CHAPTER :)
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Haru replies calmly, "No, we have not met, Demon Swordsman. But I have heard of your reputation."
Agera lifts a brow. "Reputation? Could you elaborate?"
"Of course." Haru nods. "You see, I like to fancy myself as a very good swordsman. But when I boasted about this to a Greater Demon friend of mine, he told me there's a demon who might be a greater swordsman than me. Naturally, I was curious and had to check this out."
Agera nods in acknowledgment. "Well, it is true that I'm a swordsman, but to say I'm better than youā¦ that I could only know through battle. Which I assume is why you are here." He finishes with a small smile.
Haru smiles back. "This is why I enjoy conversing with smart people. There's no need for over-explanation."
Agera chuckles. "You know what? I, too, am curious about your swordsmanship. I've only ever met one other demon swordsman besides myself, and theyā¦ weren't very good. I've spent the last 250 years improving my style, but lately it feels like I've hit a bottleneck. Maybe you're what I've been missing."
Haru's smile widens. "I suppose there are no more words needed."
Agera turns to Carrera. "Juane-sama, please allow me the chance to duel this demon swordsman."
Carrera looks at Haru, unimpressed. "Do whatever you want. I really don't care."
"Thank you," Agera replies, then turns back to Haru. "I have a good place for our battle. Follow me."
He begins walking, and Haru moves after him without hesitation.
Behind them, Diablo watches their retreating figures before glancing at Carrera. "Do you want to go watch? We haven't spent time with each other in so long."
Esprit immediately snaps, "Don't get so casual, Noir. Just because we allowed you and your little apprentice off the hook doesn't make us friends."
Diablo ignores her completely. "Carrera, you should really keep your dog on a leash. I'll really kill her, you know. She's getting on my last nerve."
Carrera rolls her eyes. "If you want to go watch this sword battle, go by yourself. I'm not interested. I'd rather go cause trouble for that Demon Lord Leon."
"Oh, come on, Juane," Diablo sighs. "You cannot tell me you aren't at least a little curious about him. That swordsman. He doesn't have a lineage, isn't that strange?"
Carrera pauses, thinking. "ā¦What's with him anyway? He's weird."
Diablo chuckles. "That's not the only thing weird about him. That's why I'm so interested."
Carrera stretches her arms. "I'm not busy with anything anyway. This might serve as some entertainment at least." She stands up.
Esprit opens her mouth to protest but closes it immediately, saying nothing.
Outside, Haru and Agera walk in silence until Agera stops at a worn, scarred battlefield. He turns, and Haru mirrors him, taking his position at the opposite end.
Above them, Diablo, Carrera, and Esprit teleport onto the viewing platform overlooking the battleground.
Haru looks around. "This is a good spot."
Agera nods. "This is where battles between Yellow Lineage demons usually take place."
He then draws his sword the blade sliding smoothly from its red sheath.
"Greater Demon of the Hazy Style Swordsmanship," Agera declares.
Haru responds in kind, unsheathing his own weapon. "Greater Demon of the Hokushin IttÅ-ryÅ« Style Swordsmanship."
The two Greater Demons faced each other across the ruined battlefield. Haru's maroon hair fluttered in the slight wind, his grip firm on the hilt of his pristine white-hilted katana. Agera's unsheathed sword gleamed ominously, his eyes calm yet sharp, the aura of centuries of mastery and experience radiating from him.
Then, without warning, Agera launched. His movement was a blur, faster than the eye could follow. Haru activated his Barrier Magic instinctively, erecting a translucent shield that shimmered with force. Agera's sword struck the barrier with a clang and was blocked, sparks flying. Haru felt the residual impact reverberate through the shield. Yet he remained unmoved.
"What very Impressive reflexes," Agera said, a faint grin on his face. "I was sure that attack would catch up off guard. Now then Greater Demon, show me what more you can do."
Haru narrowed his eyes. Channeling his Gravity Magic, he compressed the space beneath Agera's feet, attempting to pin him in place. Agera staggered, but just as he was about to be immobilized, he coated his sword with his anti-magic barrier, slicing through the gravity field like it was butter.
Haru was shocked, coating a sword in a anti-magic barrier, was that even possible?? He had never seen such a thing done in the original Canon novel.
Did this mean he just had to throw whatever knowledge he had of the novel out the window?
Haru leaped backwards, deploying Gravity Magic once again he crushed the ground beneath Agera to launch shards of rock into the air, intending to pin or slow him. Agera sliced through them effortlessly with a swift horizontal swing, deflecting the debris.
"Your movement speed and battle instincts are exceptional," Agera commented, sidestepping a falling rock. "If given a few hundred years you might actually become an unfair opponent to fight."
Haru smirked. "Well thank you for the compliment, you are not bad yourself."
Haru then activated Gravity Repulsion, sending a concentrated pulse at Agera. The attack was meant to hurl him backward, but Agera anticipated it perfectly. As he leapt aside, Haru's mind calculated the trajectory of Agera's counterattack before the man even moved. Haru dodged just in time, using a mini Gravity Pulse beneath his own feet to propel himself in a twisting arc.
The battlefield became a chaotic storm of flashes: strikes, deflections, pulses of gravity magic, and bursts of energy. Haru's sword clashed against Agera's with a metallic roar, sparks flying. Each movement was fluid, each step precise.
"What incredible swordsmanship," Agera commented, feinting a vertical strike before twisting to slice horizontally. "Did you create the style yourself."
Haru thought well, I didn't ā¦ But who would know right? "Yes, this is my own sword style." he said with a smile
He redirected his gravity field, creating a zone that simultaneously crushed and immobilized the air around Agera. Agera swung with a circular motion, slicing through the gravity field with an anti-magic wave, but Haru was ready. He had anticipated this exact action and countered with a barrier-protected gravity spike, forcing Agera to jump back mid-swing.
This isā¦ insane, Haru thought. His 250 years of experience is predicting even my hyper-accelerated thoughts. I need to find a new angle.
They paused, taking a moment to gauge each other. Haru thought even with thought acceleration, parallel thinking and gravity magic its still so hard to fight him.
"You are incredible " Agera said with a smile. "Not just fast, but strategic. Not many can maintain offensive pressure without leaving themselves vulnerable."
Haru chuckled lightly. "Look who's talking. Using your sword to break my gravity fields? How does one even think of such a tactic."
Agera chuckles and says "It's not that impressive really."
Haru scoffs. Not impressive, what kind of flexing is that. You are lucky I can't bring down a Meteor since there is no space in the Underworld.
Their eyes met. The tension in the air was electric. And then, simultaneously they charged again.
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