Chapter 300 – Water Mirror

Even though I said I would face him alone, Lazaro showed no sign of taking it as an insult or letting his guard down. Perhaps it was because he held in high regard anyone capable of reaching the Blazing Fortress. He must have considered the possibility of his own defeat… but that couldn’t be the only reason.

By showing him the spectacle of me slaying the Lava Chimera, I intended to demonstrate my capabilities to someone who possessed the skill to advance through the Blazing Fortress.

Even if he could detect our approach because he was integrated with the labyrinth… timing his entrance into the courtyard to coincide with our arrival, defeating the Sub-Guardians, and creating a situation where we could see their corpses was only possible because he possessed sufficient strength and reserves.

Precisely because we were opponents capable of advancing through the fortress interior, he must have estimated that we could gauge each other’s capabilities.

“Before we begin, there is one thing I should mention. I am but a shadow, and therefore do not possess extensive knowledge. That is to say, there is no need for any restraint. If there is anything you wish to know, you would do better to ask my master, who will awaken when the Seal is broken.”

…I see. Because he is a Magical Creature, he hasn’t inherited all of Lazaro’s memories. Combat, loyalty, and mission. Only the necessary elements remain; the information is held by those whom Lazaro recognizes as his master.

But the number of people Lazaro would recognize in such a way… probably isn’t very large.

“So the shadow of the former King Verdgar is the lord of the Blazing Fortress.”

“That is correct.”

Lazaro answered quietly. Fighting Spirit rose from his entire body, coiling around his sword. Slowly, as if performing Iai, he drew his Greatsword back and assumed a Stance.

I wrapped Ouroboros in Magical Power and kicked off the ground. The moment I stepped in, Lazaro also charged forward.

A bizarre movement—as if his body had simply grown larger in an instant. Judging from the Greatsword’s Stance, the Slash Attack trajectory would be from the side, or perhaps from above.

Yet the first strike was an upward swing from directly below. It cleaved through the courtyard ground as if it were butter, the Greatsword rebounding upward. I performed a Form Shift to evade it. A metallic mass like a storm passed right by my side.

Lazaro killed the sword’s momentum through sheer physical strength alone, then swung the halted tip horizontally. A fusion of brute force and honed skill.

But I stepped in regardless. I blocked it with Ouroboros, concentrating my Magical Power, and deployed a Shield in the opposite direction to withstand the impact without being blown away.

Despite having shifted the point of impact, the moment I blocked it, a heavy Shockwave pierced through. The form of the Fighting Spirit coiling around the Greatsword’s blade. And the quality of that impact.

More of a Strike than a Slash Attack. He was killing the blade’s edge through manipulation of his Fighting Spirit.

It was likely a consideration for this being a test of strength—to avoid killing even with a direct hit—but it wasn’t mere leniency or holding back. It was simply him wielding his sword as he saw fit.

After all, with a heavy Weapon like that, a bad hit would mean death, and even without that, serious injury would be unavoidable.

That’s precisely why this was a ground battle. A head-on clash using skill. Otherwise, it would be meaningless.

Sliding Ouroboros along the blade I had blocked, I took another step forward. He released one hand from his sword and launched a Back Fist imbued with Fighting Spirit.

I blocked it with a Shield, simultaneously driving a fist upward from below. Shockwave Strike. As his arm rebounded, I twisted my body and swept Ouroboros in a wrapping motion from the blind spot behind him. By the time my fist had rebounded and slipped past his side, Lazaro had also stepped forward.

Without even turning around, the sword carved through the ground and rebounded upward from below. The moment it cut the ground and the moment it aimed for the opponent. He was switching the quality of his Fighting Spirit. I evaded with a Cartwheel. Lazaro also shifted his body to face me and immediately charged forward.

Again. That peculiar footwork, gliding without changing the height of his head or shoulders. A movement that disrupted the sense of distance. Gripping Ouroboros with both hands, I lunged forward with my whole body, crashing into his sword as if to push through. I received it diagonally and was deflected. The momentum carried me backward.

No problem. Although this is a ground battle, as part of my Martial Arts, I’ll mobilize my aerial combat techniques as well. Kicking off the Shield two, three times, I shifted my position left and right while activating Mirage Body to send forth illusions.

“This is—”

Making a movement as if striking from diagonally above, I thrust from below with the opposite end toward his flank. Lazaro swung his sword upward with his right hand to intercept the attack from above, while concentrating Fighting Spirit in his free left hand to catch the tip of Ouroboros. His left hand’s reaction was barely in time… but to see through this without prior knowledge.

Inside the sword’s range. Not a blow from the blade, but the pommel descending as if swinging a fist down. I met it with Ouroboros. The pommel wrapped in Fighting Spirit collided violently. Deflected, I overlapped my illusion and body again before flying off in another direction.

Lazaro stomped his foot, shattering the ground and sending up a cloud of dust, then accurately tracked my true body by catching the flow of air with the corner of his eye. Illusions don’t disturb the air, so they can be distinguished.

I received the Greatsword with the Dragon Staff and redirected it. Deflecting, parrying, striking back, scattering countless sparks.

The Greatsword, which I had dodged, curved at a right angle to pursue me. I blocked it with a Shield, placed a hand on my Armor’s abdomen, and drove in a Shockwave Strike.

Lazaro momentarily stepped back, but then pressed forward as if intensifying the pressure.

The moment our Weapons clashed, were deflected, and distance opened between us, Lazaro’s empty hand shot upward. A tsunami-like Fighting Spirit Shockwave flew toward me. I leaped far to the side and also unleashed Magic. A Spear of Lightning Strike. As Lazaro stood his ground, his sword flashed, and the released Lightning Strike decayed, scattering into the void. That was—should I say he interfered with it using Fighting Spirit to disperse it?

“Severing demons is the Tachi of the Water Mirror”… was it? One of the Hidden Arts of Fighting Spirit Techniques. A Technique that uses refined, Cleansing energy to sever demons.

Effective against Magic… and against Demons. It should also interfere with a Demon’s Flight Technique. Probably—the origin of Lazaro’s epithet. Half-baked Techniques will be cut down, this one will.

“…Magical Power Circulation, is it. To think the Water Mirror couldn’t completely block it… And that honing… How splendid. But—not yet. It’s still insufficient.”

That’s right. Even so, a Battle Mage’s Technique doesn’t decay completely. But after looking at his own palm, Lazaro made a fist.

“…Ah, I suppose so.”

What Lazaro seeks is an opponent with enough strength to slay a High-ranking Demon. What I’ve shown so far isn’t enough to satisfy him.

I refined my Magical Power, raising it as I assumed a Stance. As Ouroboros roared within that, he too began emitting an unprecedented, massive amount of Fighting Spirit from his entire body.

As if by mutual agreement, we stepped in. We closed the distance at a speed that made the kicked ground explode. The descending Greatsword. The rebounding Dragon Staff. Collision and impact. A weight greater than before. But I wasn’t losing the exchange. Our Weapons were deflected from each other.

The Greatsword showed a storm-like return swing. I redirected it and struck with the Dragon Staff’s blow. Gouging the ground, scattering streams of lava, we clashed violently time and time again.

Slipping through, I swept across his flank. Not a direct hit. The blow I drove into his flank, Lazaro was defending by concentrating his Fighting Spirit. A tactic of wearing him down by landing numerous Shockwave Strikes… probably isn’t what’s being sought here.

The moment distance opened, a crawling Fighting Spirit Shockwave flew toward me. I avoided it without using Magic, relying on my body alone, and charged the shortest distance through the stream of lava it had split along the way.

He’s smiling. I can’t see inside his Helmet, but Lazaro must surely be smiling too. Countless scattered sparks. The incessant clashing of blades and the roaring sound of cutting wind. We shifted positions, crossing like dancers. Bouncing from Shield to Shield, we engaged as we pleased.

Inside the Greatsword’s range. Into that space where I should be at a disadvantage, Lazaro willingly stepped forward. A reckless body check. I received it with a Shield. He stopped the body check, but with a sharp battle cry, he unleashed a Palm Strike that shattered my Shield to pieces. A Palm Strike wrapped in Fighting Spirit of the same quality as the Water Mirror. To think such a thing—was possible.

He pushed my body upward as if to lift me. And there—a horizontal torso-cleaving strike bore down. I couldn’t block it completely with a Shield. If I tried to disengage, his free hand would probably grab my clothing. If I receive it—the Shield will be severed by the Water Mirror Tachi.

I positioned Ouroboros, wrapped in circulating Magical Power, in the Slash Attack’s trajectory to receive it as a Shield. It didn’t need to be perfect. I placed it in the trajectory, imbued with Magical Power so intense it shone. Ouroboros, having received the sword, dug into my body. I anchored myself with a Shield to avoid being blown away. The Greatsword, which had tried to complete its swing, stopped its movement—that was the moment.

“This is—!”

I had driven a Palm Strike upward from below toward the middle of the blade. The spiral Magical Shockwave I had used on Zadias. Simultaneously, I fixed the sword’s tip from above with a Magic Shield.

As a result, the Greatsword snapped in half from the middle, shattering to pieces. I retrieved Ouroboros and returned the Magical Power I had wrapped around it to my main body. Flowing it across my body surface from arm to waist. From waist to leg.

“Fly!”

Full-body coordination. A kicking blow released with added twist. The second Spiral Shockwave, focused on my toes, caught Lazaro’s torso. A violent force detonated at a single point. Lazaro’s body spun like a windmill as he was blown away toward the gate leading to the main keep.

The first and second shots. I combined the Magical Power I had left unused and immediately deployed a giant Magic Circle.

Lightning Magic, 7th Tier: Lightning Blast. A Magic that the Water Mirror cannot completely block.

I unleashed it not at Lazaro—who was still airborne—but toward the sky above the courtyard.

The white light of the Lightning Strike illuminated the courtyard. As expected, there seemed to be a Barrier in the sky. The enormous Lightning Strike, enough to fill one’s vision, was blocked by the Barrier and disappeared while scattering purple electricity in the air. A moment later, Lazaro crashed back-first into the gate.

Holding Ouroboros at the ready, I looked toward Lazaro. Lazaro tried to stand using his broken Greatsword as a support on the ground… but he shook his head and sat down on the spot, leaning against the gate.

“My defeat, it seems. It was, after all, merely a test of skill.”