The Great White Priestess hid inside the temple and peered through a narrow gap in the door, trembling as she watched the terrifying battle unfolding outside.
When a shrine maiden first reported that several new Dragon Slayers had entered the village, she had actually been rather pleased.
Unfortunately, the "heroes from another world" she had summoned earlier seemed to have quite a history with these newcomers.
So which side was she supposed to help?
After thinking about it for a long moment, the Great White Priestess decided to simply watch and see what happened.
Her only concern was the stability of Elentear.
All she needed to determine was which of the two groups was stronger.
As for how either side felt about being used like this…
Well, if any of them wanted to return to their own world, her power was still essential.
Out in the village, nobody involved in the battle had time to think that far ahead.
Suzaku moved like a streak of crimson light, the blade in his hand carrying the menace of a murderous spirit.
His sword-drawing strikes were so fast that the naked eye couldn't follow them, and even Erza found their speed troublesome.
Troublesome, but nothing more.
Dragon blood and divine power flowed through Erza's body, and she had also inherited the abilities of the God of Combat and Technique.
Every swing of Benizakura intercepted Suzaku's attacks with astonishing precision, and whenever she found an opening, she answered with sword flashes even sharper than his own.
Suzaku watched carefully.
Erza's swordsmanship was considerably more refined than it had been six months ago.
A crimson slash suddenly swept toward him, and Suzaku barely managed to drop his body in time. Several strands of red hair drifted down behind him.
His eyes narrowed.
For the first time, he became completely serious.
"Impressive. In only half a year, you have grown even stronger."
Suzaku returned his sword to its sheath while rapidly retreating several steps.
Erza took the opportunity to settle her breathing. Caution gleamed in her eyes as she calmly replied,
"Your Dragon Slayer Magic is unusual, but it isn't enough to defeat me."
Six months ago, the enhancement granted by the Sword Saint Dragon's power had nearly allowed Suzaku to wound Erza with a single unexpected strike.
That advantage was gone now.
Erza knew exactly what kind of opponent she was facing.
Suzaku tightened his grip around the hilt and lowered his body like a crimson demon preparing to spring.
"Interesting."
His voice turned cold.
"Then allow me to show you the true power of the Sword Saint Dragon."
"Underworld Style: Sword Drawing Art!"
Erza's pupils contracted.
Her extraordinary combat instincts made her raise Benizakura immediately and slash at the empty space in front of her before Suzaku had visibly moved.
"Underworld Fall!"
The next instant, an impossibly fast sword strike appeared exactly where Erza's blade was already waiting.
CLANG—!
Their swords collided with a piercing metallic crash.
The vibration rang across the entire battlefield, sharp enough to make everyone nearby wince.
Surprise flashed across Suzaku's face.
He hadn't expected Erza to actually intercept that attack.
But he didn't hesitate.
The instant his first strike failed, he drew back and prepared another.
"Underworld Purgatory Dance!!"
This time, it wasn't a single invisible slash.
Sword energy erupted like a raging tide.
Suzaku's hand blurred through countless cuts, and dense crimson arcs filled Erza's entire field of vision in an instant.
Erza swung Benizakura rapidly to meet them, but her hurried defense couldn't completely withstand the relentless barrage.
Cracks quickly spread across her armor as strike after strike slipped through.
Then Suzaku's final slash descended at blinding speed.
Erza was blasted backward.
Her body tore across the ground and threw up a cloud of dust before finally coming to a stop.
Suzaku calmly returned his sword to its sheath and prepared for another attack, his gaze remaining fixed on her.
Something felt wrong.
Based on how Erza had responded to his earlier strikes, that last attack shouldn't have landed so cleanly.
A moment later, Erza wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and stood again with Benizakura in hand.
This time, however, the tension had vanished from her face.
She was smiling.
Suzaku frowned.
"I do not understand. You are the one at a disadvantage. What is there to smile about?"
Erza raised her sword.
A strange crimson light now flowed through her eyes.
"Your swordsmanship is useless against these eyes."
Suzaku's gaze sharpened.
'Arrogance.'
He drew again.
The power of the Sword Saint Dragon surged through his body as he unleashed another technique from his Underworld Style.
"Underworld Reincarnation!"
The blade flashed.
A crescent ring of blood-red sword energy erupted forward without mercy.
Then Suzaku's expression froze.
Standing opposite him, Erza had assumed the exact same sword-drawing stance.
'No…'
'Impossible.'
This was swordsmanship born from the power of the Sword Saint Dragon.
He should have been the only person in the world capable of using it.
Erza's next movement shattered that certainty.
Her sword left its sheath.
A matching ring of crimson sword energy erupted from Benizakura and collided head-on with Suzaku's attack.
BOOM—!
The two techniques were identical.
But Erza didn't possess the Sword Saint Dragon's unique Dragon Slayer enhancement.
She didn't need it.
Her own overwhelming Magic Power was enough.
Erza's Underworld Reincarnation crushed through Suzaku's slash almost immediately and continued toward him.
Caught completely off guard, Suzaku barely managed to raise his sword in defense.
The crimson arc struck anyway.
He was hurled to the ground as blood sprayed from his chest.
"This is impossible!"
Suzaku forced himself back to his feet, still reeling from the shock.
The searing pain across his chest told him otherwise.
She had genuinely learned his swordsmanship.
Refusing to believe it, Suzaku gritted his teeth and drew again.
Another Underworld Style technique flashed across the battlefield.
Erza reproduced it perfectly.
He changed techniques.
She copied that one too.
Again.
Again.
Again.
No matter which technique from the Underworld Style: Sword Drawing Art Suzaku used, Erza recreated it after seeing it once.
No.
Calling it a mere recreation was almost insulting.
Because Erza possessed far greater raw Magic Power, the same sword techniques became even more destructive when she used them.
Suzaku was blasted off his feet yet again.
Blood spilled from his mouth as he stared upward, his mind refusing to accept what was happening.
"Why…?"
His fingers tightened around his sword.
"The Sword Saint Dragon's power gave these techniques to me. How can an outsider possibly use them…?"
Erza flicked the blood from Benizakura with a sharp motion.
Then the corner of her mouth rose.
"It really is excellent swordsmanship."
She sounded genuinely appreciative.
"It took me quite a few exchanges to see it clearly enough to learn."
Suzaku froze.
He suddenly remembered the opening moments of their battle.
During those first several exchanges, Erza had consistently seemed to be on the defensive.
So that entire time…
She had been studying him?
"Pfft—!"
The realization hit Suzaku so hard that he coughed up another mouthful of blood.
Even Erza looked slightly embarrassed for him.
With the divine power of the God of Combat and Technique, Erza was essentially a walking Sharingan when it came to martial skill.
Anything based heavily on technique could usually be understood after she observed it closely enough.
That ability had rarely looked especially outrageous in the past because most of her enemies were conventional mages who preferred blasting one another with overwhelming spells.
Against someone like Suzaku, however—a true magic swordsman whose strength depended heavily on highly refined technique—Erza's divine ability was nothing short of monstrous.
Erza's The Knight and Requip Magic already gave her exceptional defense, versatility, and adaptability in battle.
If anything, the one area beginning to lag behind her current level was the raw destructive potential of her personal swordsmanship.
That weakness had just disappeared.
Erza had acquired one of the finest sword arts in the world.
And all thanks to Suzaku.
What a nice guy!