Substitute Spell Spirit

"Why don't you kill yourself?"

When Valkas said this, it did not mean he had victory in the bag. On the contrary, it was a signal that he had conceded.

Suicide was possible in the Deathmatch Arena.

Once someone killed themselves, the deathmatch would end, the Microchip restrictions would reactivate, and Valkas would have no way to desecrate Ash's corpse.

As long as Ash left behind an intact body, the Healers could use Spell Spirits to communicate with the Void Realm and pull his soul from the Void Realm Mist back into his body.

The moment Ash had evaded his first Miracle: Mountain Shattering Earth Splitting, he had already lost. Everything afterward was merely a desperate struggle fueled by wishful thinking. Even if he could win this deathmatch, he would not be able to fulfill the mission he carried: completely eradicate Ash Hiss.

Compared to failing his mission, what was happening before him made Valkas feel even worse.

Nothing was more agonizing than watching a genius rise before your very eyes. If there was, it was becoming that genius's stepping stone.

Even Valkas, a middle-aged Elf over a hundred years old, felt so wronged by this that he nearly exploded—there were so many unlucky people in the world, so why did it have to be him?

To be honest, Valkas was already close to breaking down, which was why he had directly revealed the speedrun answer, hoping Ash would hurry up and end this nightmare.

"Why should I kill myself? I haven't lost yet."

"You think you have a chance of defeating me?" Valkas laughed in fury. "Oh, of course. Centuries from now, Bards will sing your glorious deeds in the streets: 'Ash Hiss, who had never learned Sword Art, faced an overconfident Elf Swordsman in battle. In the end, he miraculously defeated him, using that as the starting point for a brilliant life without a single defeat.'"

"Ah, merciful Mr. Ash, this humble Valkas begs you to mention my name in your future autobiography. Let me go down in infamy for all eternity as a Jester, would you? Hmm?"

"So, Valkas, when are you publishing your book?"

Ash laboriously raised his left hand and wiped the blood flowing down his forehead, keeping it from sticking to his eyelashes and affecting his vision. He was still smiling.

"I just have a reason I must defeat you."

"What reason?"

"I want to ask you whether Xilin Dor sent you to kill me, and whether there was another conspiracy behind my imprisonment."

Valkas lightly flicked his blade, knocking off the bloodstains and fragments clinging to it.

"What does that have to do with defeating me?"

"If I don't defeat you, will you answer?"

"Perhaps I will, perhaps I won't. And even if I answer, can you tell whether I'm lying?"

"I asked someone else that same question just now." Ash let out a deep breath. "He asked me to resolve one of his doubts. I said, if I lied, could he tell? He said he really could."

"So can you?"

"No, I can't. But I thought that an answer obtained after beating you up would be closer to the truth than one obtained by simply asking you, wouldn't it?"

"Ever since I left the Nurturing Home, it's been a long time since I've heard such an innocent reason."

Valkas bared his teeth. For the first time since entering the room and beginning the battle, the man who had maintained an elegant bearing throughout revealed a savage expression. "But if you don't kill yourself, you really might die."

"Then let's see whether your sword is faster or mine."

"Kill you before you can kill yourself? Interesting. I accept this challenge."

"Ah, that wasn't actually what I meant..."

Ash gripped the hilt tightly, every muscle in his body tensing.

"After all, I have no intention of retiring here. If I can't even get past a stepping stone like you, what right do I have to leave this Prison?"

"Arrogant fool!"

The ground, already fractured into countless pieces, split apart again. Invisible Sword Qi was outlined by dust and debris, taking on a savage shape as though a massive sword had stabbed up from the ground at Ash!

Ash did not even blink. He desperately evaded the Sword Qi and the flying stones from the ruptured ground, continuously dragging out the battle so his body could absorb as much Sword Art experience as possible!

The Sword Maiden's Sword Art experience was no joke. At the beginning, Ash could not even see Valkas's sword. Now, merely from Valkas's shoulders, he could predict the path of Valkas's blade. He might not truly know how to use a sword, but he had at least mastered how to dodge one.

Nor was he simply courting death. He genuinely believed he could defeat Valkas.

Bolstered by the Sword Maiden's Sword Art experience, Miracle: Mountain Shattering Earth Splitting was no longer an unsolvable fog. On the contrary, with Valkas unable to go all out, Mountain Shattering Earth Splitting had faintly revealed a flaw he could exploit!

It was like the final major problem on the National College Entrance Examination math test. Ash had suddenly found a miraculous auxiliary line, and he felt he had a chance to conquer this problem!

Give Ash a little more time, and he felt he might even find a flaw in Mountain Shattering Earth Splitting's strike zone, slip through the gap, and kill Valkas in return!

Just give him a little more time—

Boom!

Ash let out a muffled groan. The Spell Power in his mind circulated once more, producing a cool sensation that forced his reason to suppress the intense pain radiating from his thigh. He barely dodged this Mountain Shattering Earth Splitting!

He glanced at his thigh from the corner of his eye, then did not dare look down again.

"Your rate of growth truly is admirable, but unfortunately, you're tired."

Valkas could not suppress the regret in his voice. "You've been bleeding since the very start, and after such an intense battle, you've lost too much blood. Your brain is beginning to lack oxygen, and your stamina is declining. That's why you're getting slower and slower."

"Even if you can suppress the pain and keep fighting, your body can no longer fight. I carved a chunk of flesh from your thigh, and with the blood you lost earlier, it's already beyond my expectations that you haven't gone into shock."

"Do you know why I've been talking to you for so long? Because the longer this drags on, the more stamina you lose. Now, your sword can no longer be faster than mine. Before you can kill yourself, my sword will crush your remains first."

"Thank you, Ash. Sorry, Ash."

With that, Valkas lunged forward and swung his sword. Violent Sword Qi tore open the ground once more—Mountain Shattering Earth Splitting!

Was the limit of my potential really here...?

Ash sighed inwardly.

Long before Igula had told him about Valkas, Ash had anticipated the danger of this deathmatch. After all, they had no grudge against each other. Why would anyone challenge a newcomer like him, someone who had only fought one deathmatch and was fresh meat?

When a stranger at work suddenly made things difficult for you, there had to be a conflict of interest behind it.

Then why had Ash accepted the deathmatch?

Even before entering the arena, Ash could have refused outright. Others would not even have been allowed to curse at him or look down on him. Ash had that freedom.

But Ash did not want to retreat.

First, he needed an opponent to digest the Sword Art experience shared by the Sword Maiden. There was no place more suitable for getting beaten up than the Deathmatch Arena, a place both dangerous and safe.

Second, he could hide for a while, but not forever. Even if Ash refused this deathmatch, other troubles would find him sooner or later.

Most importantly, as he himself had said, he was planning a Prison Break. If he could not even get past a stepping stone like Valkas, what Prison Break was he talking about? He might as well lie down and retire!

But life did not have that many miracles. And even when it did, they were someone else's miracles...

Just as Ash prepared to slash his throat and kill himself, he suddenly heard a familiar voice from the spectator stands.

It was the Sword Maiden.

"If it hurts, treat yourself as someone else. Then it won't hurt anymore."

At that instant, Ash felt as though ice had melted in his mind. Spell Power surged madly, yet it was tightly bound by an invisible cage. His Spell Power could not touch reality at all!

Spell Power could be locked away, but knowledge could not. Even if their hands and feet were bound, they would still grow wings and fly.

The Substitute Spell Spirit, which had remained silent all this time, suddenly began dancing wildly in Ash's consciousness.

Ash did not hesitate at all. He neither dodged nor retreated, choosing instead to raise his Longsword and charge at Valkas!

"It's over."

Valkas watched as "Ash" was swallowed by the Sword Qi of Mountain Shattering Earth Splitting, and a trace of melancholy rose in his heart. As a Swordsman, in all his experiences over more than a hundred years, he had never seen a Swordsmanship Apprentice with greater talent than Ash.

If it had been another time, another place, another identity, Valkas felt that even if he had to be the stepping stone... it would not have been impossible...

Nothing was more agonizing than watching a genius rise before your very eyes, and nothing was more exhilarating than watching a genius rise from up close.

Pop.

Hearing a sound like a bubble bursting, Valkas immediately sensed that something was wrong. He focused his gaze and saw that "Ash" had directly dissipated under the impact of the Sword Qi, leaving behind not even flesh or blood—

It was a Substitute Phantom!

"It's over!"

Valkas slightly turned his head, only then discovering that in his blind spot, Mountain Shattering Earth Splitting had thrown up a vast cloud of dust and broken stones from the ground, enough to conceal the charge of a severely wounded man!

At the same moment Valkas's sword fell to the ground, Ash's sword plunged into the former's throat.

The blunt blade pierced straight through his throat!

Ding ding ding!

"Victory Decided, winner: Ash Hiss!"