She couldn't believe that someone who couldn't even beat her could possibly stand against that cunning old Devil.
Leafa—Suguha—declared this to Sylpha.
"Fine. Because I will win."
Sylpha, who trusted Renya completely, nodded as if it were only natural.
Seeing this, Suguha smiled.
Both warriors raised their swords and locked eyes.
A tense atmosphere hung between them as they measured the timing—
And they stepped in at the exact same moment.
Suguha raised her sword straight up and brought it down.
The strike aimed at the men—in kendo terms, the face—was more refined than any flash she had shown before.
"Langlis Style Twin Sword Technique: Two Tigers, Twin Fangs!"
Sylpha's simultaneous double strike, slamming both blades together, reached Suguha's body faster and more powerfully than her flash.
"...I lost, huh."
Lying on her back, gazing up at the purple sky, Suguha murmured, sounding regretful yet refreshed and happy.
At the moment the strike would have landed, Sylpha had turned her swords and struck with the flat of the blades against Suguha's abdomen.
She hadn't been cut, but the impact was more than enough to floor Suguha's already weakened body.
"Yes, I win. It's a promise. Believe in my master's victory, and rest now. When you wake, the nightmare will surely be over."
"Yes... Thank you."
At Sylpha's words, Suguha felt relieved and, for the first time in a long while, sank into a peaceful sleep.
"Well then..."
Sylpha glanced at the castle.
The barrier was still intact.
Renya's battle was not yet over.
"Good fortune in battle, Leon-sama."
With that murmur, Sylpha turned her gaze forward.
With Leafa, their trump card, defeated, Sylpha for the first time took the initiative and cut into the Old Maou Faction Devils as they hurled abuse.
Her slashes were exceptionally fierce in retaliation for what had been done to Suguha.
Her power, speed, defense, and technique—all were of a high standard. No one could stop Sylpha's sword dance, and within minutes, the only one left standing was a single silver maid.
Around the time Sylpha began her battle with Leafa outside the castle, Zolgia, facing Renya, placed his hand on the hilt of a demonic sword he had produced from a dimensional space.
'When there's something you cannot yield, there is only one path to take.'
"Hah!"
With a battle cry, the demonic sword was swung down in a single draw-and-cut motion.
Renya dodged the incoming slash by turning his body sideways, but the flying crescent of the blade raced forward, smashing through the floor, the walls, and beyond for dozens of meters.
This was a display of swordsmanship that a mediocre swordsman could never hope to witness—proof that Zolgia, even in his old age, was a formidable warrior.
Zolgia was renowned as one of the finest swordsmen in the Old Maou Faction, so much so that during the Great War, he was known as the "Sword King."
"For a brat, your movement isn't bad. But to me, who survived the Great War, it means nothing!"
Zolgia, wielding his demonic sword and radiating a pressure rivaling even the Maou, declared this. In response, Renya created a demonic spear and readied himself.
"Then your swordsmanship, which I can dodge so easily, still has a long way to go."
"Don't spout nonsense, boy!"
Zolgia stepped forward powerfully with his demonic sword in hand.
Charging, he swung the massive blade with one hand, unleashing countless slashes. Each individual strike carried enough power to effortlessly dismantle a recent young High-class Devil.
Against the gale-like slashes, Renya countered with continuous thrusts of his demonic spear.
Spear and sword clashed, ringing out a continuous cacophony of metallic shrieks.
Blow after blow, thrust after thrust, silver light trailed through the air.
The shockwaves from their blade clashes transformed into scything winds, scattering around them. Those flying toward Mio and Isha were blocked by the barrier Renya had preemptively erected, but the rest of the wind blades tore through the mansion and beyond.
"Not bad at all, boy! But you're still far from killing me!"
Even as he spoke, Zolgia's sword arm didn't stop; rather, it accelerated, increasing the rotation of his slashes.
To an onlooker, it was a veritable tornado of sword flashes.
As expected of one who had once been known as the Sword King, even if now fallen from grace.
Zolgia's swordsmanship rivaled, and even surpassed, that of a High-class Devil's "Knight" Servant.
But Renya's spearmanship was also exceptional, independent of any supernatural abilities.
If Zolgia were a tornado, Renya's thrusts were like thunderbolts.
A sharp, powerful flash swung straight or horizontally, pushed back the storm of slashes, and carved a single, straight wound into Zolgia's armor beyond.
"Guuh! Impressive... but the battle is just beginning!"
Regrouping, they once again engaged in an ultra-high-speed sword dance.
Using magic to maneuver through the air, Renya moved freely—above, below, left, right, forward, and back—sometimes even using his opponent's weapon as a foothold, exchanging blows. In this area, the intense metallic sounds and sparks scattered like a meteor shower.
In this ultra-high-speed world of intermingling colors, where tens, hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of strikes were exchanged, Mio was captivated by Renya's strength in pushing through with his own will, watching him with admiration.
The next moment, a particularly powerful clash occurred. Amidst the thunderous metallic roar and flashes of light illuminating the night, the two landed at a distance in the now-ruined mansion.
Renya stood naturally, while Zolgia faced him with his weapon held in a formal stance.
Renya, expressionless to the point of coldness, wore a smile of battle-fever. Zolgia's face twisted with the thrill of battle and the desires beyond it.
Both watched the situation warily, ready to respond not only to each other but to any change in their surroundings.
But then…
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