Amid a radiance both gentle and razor-sharp, the middle-aged gentleman stepped aside with a smile.
With one step, his figure multiplied.
"The Evil-Breaking Slash can cut through anything!
But...
You still have to hit me!"
The middle-aged gentleman spoke.
No!
More precisely, twenty-two figures spoke in unison.
They surrounded the 'Bandaged Swordsman', their expressions genial and courteous, their words gentle and humble. Yet their overlapping voices carried a strange sensation that made his chest tighten and his head spin.
More importantly, that strange sensation kept stacking, layer upon layer.
The 'Bandaged Swordsman' could even feel his soul wavering.
But a moment later, his soul stabilized again.
After all, he was not truly alive.
His soul...
Was not real either!
As for finding which of his opponents was real?
Naturally, he could not do that either.
But someone could...
No!
A dog could!
Briefly borrowing Kuliqi's vision, the 'Bandaged Swordsman' slashed out-
Bzzz!
The white radiance of the Evil-Breaking Slash dispelled the shadows on one side, revealing the middle-aged gentleman's startled, disbelieving face.
"How is that possible?!"
The middle-aged gentleman cried out, holding his walking stick across his body to block the [Evil-Breaking Slash].
Without the slightest resistance, the metal walking stick was sliced in two.
The force-field shield that appeared afterward was cleaved apart as well.
But that brief delay bought the middle-aged gentleman enough time to dodge.
His figure shifted through space, and he avoided the fatal blow.
Yet a thin wound extended down from his forehead. His nose was mangled, his lips split in two, and his chin looked as though a groove had been carved into it. His shirt and trousers hung loosely from his body, and blood seeped from the wound running down his torso.
"Aaaah, my face!"
The middle-aged gentleman threw away the broken walking