On the outskirts of Ars City.
The ground was a wreck from the battle. Rock Lances jutted from the earth everywhere. Ten meters apart, the barehanded Hilde and Alexander, who held the King Dragon Sword, stared each other down in silence.
In that moment,
Whatever either of them made of this battle, whatever they suspected the other wanted, the outcome each sought remained the same.
That was...
Victory.
"Here I come."
Alexander spoke.
He gripped the King Dragon Sword's hilt with one hand and held the blade across his body. Golden light flowed along its enormous edge.
Hilde's fingers twitched. The Silver Rings around her wrists softened like liquid and slipped free. The metal gathered in her palms, shaping itself into Silver Gauntlets that covered every finger.
The next instant, they both moved.
Alexander swung with one hand. His stroke was simple and direct, without a hint of a feint.
Hilde turned sideways and met him, raising her left gauntlet to strike the side of his blade at the angle required by the Water God Style Secret Art, Flow.
Clang!
Hilde's wrist buckled. The force drove her a step to the right, barely deflecting Alexander's blade. Between the King Dragon Sword's weight and Alexander's own strength, the blow came down like a mountain.
Hilde forced herself steady and drove her right fist upward toward Alexander's ribs.
Alexander pivoted aside. With a twist of his wrist, he swept the King Dragon Sword across at her, carrying force like a river bursting its banks.
Hilde pulled back her fist and retreated. The edge skimmed across her chest, slicing a gash in her clothes.
After only two exchanges, Hilde felt the pressure.
Alexander's strikes were nothing like they had been last time.
That sword was bizarre. Its own weight, combined with the mana