"The sword... shattered?"
Rayleigh controlled the blades as if they were extensions of his own body.
The enemy witnessing this was terrified.
His expression darkened, but the Bakudō restraints prevented him from intervening.
No longer holding back, he ordered the men around him to attack at once.
Faced with a three-pronged assault, Rayleigh's expression remained unchanged.
He raised his hands and commanded Senbonzakura.
Senbonzakura's blades moved according to their master's will, but when directed with both hands, their speed doubled!
Swish!
Countless sakura blades formed a circular wall, enclosing Rayleigh.
The three attackers froze, not daring to charge into the storm before them.
But that didn't mean Rayleigh would stop.
Using his spiritual network to pinpoint the enemies' locations, he split Senbonzakura's petals into four streams, each surging toward one of the men.
"Such beautiful flowers..."
Both Gods and mortals watching the battle were mesmerized by Senbonzakura.
The sakura engulfed two of the men, tearing their bodies apart.
The first man's body vanished from his chest down to his thighs, while the other was devoured from the waist up, leaving only his legs standing.
"ARGGHHHHHHH!"
The third man screamed in terror and turned to flee, leaving himself wide open.
Other Adventurers seized the opportunity and subdued him.
Witnessing three of his Familia's elite members defeated, the man who had been confident of his victory panicked.
He was filled with terror and disbelief!
The insignificant insect he could once crush so easily had grown this powerful in less than a year!
'This is absurd!'
As that thought crossed his mind, his vision was filled by a sea of sakura petals.
"Dammmmn you!!!"
With a desperate burst of strength, the man shattered the restraints through sheer brute force.
He scrambled sideways, trying to dodge Senbonzakura's attack.
Rayleigh appeared before him in a Shunpo and the man reacted, thrusting his shortsword forward.
Faced with the strike, Rayleigh didn't dodge.
He raised the back of his hand.
"Bakudō Eight: Seki."
Time seemed to overlap.
A sphere of spiritual power materialized on the back of Rayleigh's hand.
The moment the shortsword's blade struck the sphere, a repulsive force erupted, locking the blade in a stalemate!
Feeling the force of the blow that had once fractured his wrist, Rayleigh sneered. "Is this all you've got?"
Rayleigh's expression hardened.
With a burst of strength in his arm, he smacked the enemy's shortsword aside!
Swish!
Senbonzakura surged forward from behind Rayleigh as thousands of blades engulfing the man.
Swallowed by the sea of petals, the gruesome fate of his comrades flashed through his mind.
Ignoring his disheveled state, he rolled on the ground and scrambled out of Senbonzakura's attack range.
Seeing this, Rayleigh manipulated Senbonzakura to block the man's escape route.
While he could have finished him off directly with Kidō, he worried about causing further damage to the venue and endangering others.
After weighing his options, Rayleigh decided against attacking with Senbonzakura.
Instead, he allowed it to revert to its blade form, drawing Ruri'iro Kujaku, and advanced.
Facing the opponent he once couldn't defeat, he intended to personally wash away the bitterness of that past failure!
"What's your name?" Rayleigh asked.
"My name? I abandoned it long ago."
"Is that so."
Rayleigh had no interest in the man's history.
He was his enemy, and there was no need for unnecessary understanding between them—only a battle to the death.
"So cold. I've thought about you often since that day, Freeza."
Rayleigh blinked.
A memory surfaced in his mind, reminding him that he'd once deceived the man. But that was no longer necessary.
"That was a fake name."
"I know. It's Rayleigh, right?"
"If you already know, then you should have no regrets about dying in my hands."
With those words, Rayleigh unleashed his Shunpo, circling behind his enemy.
He brought his blade down in a single slash!
The opponent reacted, not only dodging the attack but finding an opening to counter.
Rayleigh clashed with him for several exchanges but failed to gain the upper hand.
'As expected, the difference in stats is significant.'
Even though he wielded a longsword against the man's shortsword—a clear advantage in weaponry—their strikes were on completely different levels of power against an upper Level 3 opponent.
Hah!
A palm loomed before Rayleigh's eyes.
He tilted his head to evade, swinging his blade in an arc to sever the man's wrist.
But his intent was seen through, and the attack failed.
Rayleigh noticed the man's stiff movements and the way he kept glancing around.
He understood.
He offered his enemy a reminder. "Don't worry. The petals is already dissappear and it wont ambush you."
The man sneered, thinking Rayleigh was arrogant.
He admitted he couldn't handle that ridiculous sword, but without it, Rayleigh was just a Level 2, clearly no match for him.
With that thought, he prepared to fight with his back against the wall.
Rayleigh held his sword while facing the man. Both searched for an opening to decide the battle.
The opponent was the first to break. His shortsword cut through the air, aiming straight for Rayleigh's face!
Clang!
The blade of Ruri'iro Kujaku met the shortsword at a downward angle, deflecting it aside with a shower of sparks.
Rayleigh had used this technique to redirect force multiple times throughout the fight.
"You think I haven't seen through this trick?" the man shouted.
He spin, thrusting his shortsword at Rayleigh's temple.
Rayleigh didn't dodge. He released his right hand from the hilt and grabbed the incoming blade.
"What?!"
Even as a member of Evilus, he was stunned to see Rayleigh catch the sharp edge with his bare hand.
Gripping the blade tightly, Rayleigh switched his sword to his left hand, reversed his grip, and unleashed an upward slash that tore a massive gash across the enemy's chest!
Blood immediately erupted.
A wound like that was fatal unless treated with healing magic or an Elixir.
Just as Rayleigh thought the battle was decided, a sense of danger washed over him.
He used Shunpo to vanish, creating distance between them.
He fixed his gaze on the man as the man stared at his own bloody chest in disbelief.
'This kid sacrificed his hand! I was careless!'
Panic flickered across the man's face.
But Rayleigh was already charging forward—this time, unarmed.
He leaped into the air, clamping his legs around the man's head like scissors.
Engaging his core, he twisted with all his might, slamming the man to the ground!
Almost simultaneously, the battles within the hall concluded!