"Child of the devilspawn. Your rampage has taken far too many innocents. The sins you bear against the Queen of the Isles must be paid for. Being punished for the sin of living is but a privilege I will grant you."

Larian's mind was filled with more anger at each passing remark.

"Punished for Living? Are you hearing yourself? I live and shit just like any of you, I eat when I'm hungry and get mad when you insult me."

"As a human, I live just as any of you have. What right do you have to punish a person for living their life? If you're mad at the death of your mates, then blame your idiot Queen for giving a dumb command to sacrifice you guys."

The Elder's face turned ashened.

"Shut your mouth devilspawn! Lacking honor and love, you won't understand the devotion we hold towards our Queen. Only wiping you off the face of this world is a blessing for every human being!"

Larian's blade itched, he was ready to slit the throat of this man in front of him that kept blabbering his mouth.

"Love…? You don't know a thing about me! The love and respect I hold for Master Shiro… Even if the world rejects her, I will never let her go. If the world says she is wrong then I reject this world!"

Larian shouted with all his might and charged with intense bloodlust.

His bloodshot eyes trailed intently on the Elder while the elder remained still, unbudging.

Larian's blade met the elder's blade and the impact transferred down onto his feet, producing cracks in the wood flooring

But the elder remained calm and stoic while returning the attack with his offhand.

The longer Katana stabbed Larians stomach and went deep.

'He was the one who kept targeting the same spots while I was distracted by the group!'

Larian realized the perpetrator who had been causing the real damage.

Backing up the blade slid out and dripped more of Larian's blood onto the floor.

Hot-headed, Larian summoned more papers from his arm to transform into daggers.

The daggers flew while he charged towards the Elder again.

3 meters… 1 meter…

Just When the attack was about to touch the elder's vital points he leaned to the side and narrowly avoided it, but his stare down at Larian remained unwavered.

A few small cuts formed around him but he ignored the small wounds and received the attack from Larian.

*Cling

Once again Larian's blade clashed with the small katana.

But when the elder counter-attacked. Larian's feet jumped and his leg swung in a wide arc straight toward the elders neck.

The elder ducked in perfect timing and was about to punish Larian for the haphazard attack but a straight spear suddenly appeared from his vision.

This spear was Larian's newgrown tail which manifested from his dragon form.

Surprised, the elder gave up on all attacks and retreated.

The tail was by no means sharp but the sudden appearance managed to scare the elder.

Larian took this chance to approach closer and punched the elder with his prosthetic arm.

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With Larian's immense strength the elder flew out through the window and out the balcony.

"Elder Hitsumoto!"

The surrounding samurais shouted in worry. Their strongest member was falling down the 20 story building.

Now the queen smirked at the response. She twirled her finger and a sophisticated magic array flew out.

The magic resembled a giant magic circle but it was much larger and complicated than most of the circles Larian had seen in the academy. It covered the entire castle.

Curling her fingers inwards, the warriors that Larian had sent out all came flying back.

'She caught them? But to have a hold on the ones earlier means…She has been interfering since the start?'

Looking at the corpses on the floor, Larian realized although their clothes were stained with blood, the wounds had all been closed up. Even the ones who had lethal wounds like the severed head had mysteriously gotten their head reattached.

Everyone whom Larian had killed was still alive but unconscious.

'How is this possible?'

The idea of killing the samurais was meaningless.

Pulling the elder back into the room, the queen spoke.

"Again."

Larian finally understood the use of these elites. They were not expected to stop him at all, they were cannon fodder meant to tire him out and to drag out all his secrets.

The queen was studying Larian like a book.

'And I already revealed so many of my trump cards while I know nothing much about her!'

In the fight Larian only learned of the Queen's telekinesis and exceptional ability to heal. The more he learned the more he realised how unprepared he had been.

'Releasing the suppression and gaining powers from a Dragon is not enough?!'

The elder continued his 'duel' and came close to Larian, his blade was centred and he slashed down and stepped forward at the same time.

'Kendo? With two swords?''

Larian recognised the form which was slightly different from how he saw it from the internet. Unfortunately, he never studied them and couldn't capitalize on the information.

When he received the downward slash he felt his legs strain and the floor cracked. But in another twist, the pressure suddenly disappeared and cuts formed on all of Larian's past wounds.

In a stunning display, the elder had cut Larian in 14 different locations before he could even notice his second swing.

The old man was exhibiting equal strength to what Larian had shown with just a change of technique.

Of course, Larian did not fully display his full strength compared to the time at the Orkan Festival.

Back then he was enhanced by the red energy from the cocoon. Now he had it wraped under chains.

It was a shame that Larian's released strength coupled with the Draconic energy could only bring him so far.

What was considered peak among the Gyth was nothing compared to the warriors of the Isles. Looking back, Larian understood why the Gyths did not carelessly invade with their advanced technology.

Different countries had differing strengths. Maybe swords play was not even the Gyths strongest suit. In a few years, Larian could imagine them bringing modern firearms into the military forefront.

'I should be able to finish every guard here. But by the time I'm left with Shinon, I will be battered and exhausted. I have to sacrifice greater lengths to finish this fight!'

Larian could only give up all defense and push himself further.

Engaging with the Elder, he struck 8 different points. The elder parried them in quick succession and punished Larian by stabbing him in 6 different spots.

Larian kept going. His mastery was exponentially rising as he spilled blood over every mistake.

9... 10… 11…

His brain churned and he kept his offensive. Now he was attacking everything, the legs, the arms, the liver and the head.

Everything on display from the Elder was constantly attacked with each strike and the Elder was attacking less because of it.

It was an exhilarating moment for Larian. In a battle of similar styles, he could peer into the attacks of the Elder in front of him and learn. If he couldn't keep up he would be punished by receiving cuts.

This duel was a learn or die experience for Larian.

By the time Larian had turned into a mangled mess as before, he is contending with the elder albeit he was still constantly bleeding from the wounds.

The adrenaline of improving so much had made Larian forget the pain for a moment.

But Larian wasn't done, with his strangely undying vitality he remained conscious of this flow. He kept his blade busy and started to land a few hits on the elder.

15... 15... 16... 16...

In every second, a multitude of clangs could be heard. It sounded like a battlefield of metal clashing into one another. But there were just 2 men.

And every second the amount of hits Larian could land would increase.

17… 17… 18!

Larian finally felt like he reached his limit, he could not go any faster. He was straining his muscles to their max.

He knew this was as far as his full released state could bring him.

The Elder was enduring well, the few cuts Larian landed now turned his robes red. The Old Man seemed to flow like Larian and started to keep up with Larian.

In this fight Larian was not the only one improving.

'I have to end it now! I can't drag this on else I will pass out from the blood loss.'

A look of understanding showed on the Elder's face. This duel had to end.

In a twist of form, the Elder assumed the Kendo form Larian had seen, while Larian's energy spread all around like webs.

In one final blow, Larian's slash shattered the air while the Elder's blade seemed to fall with the weight of a mountain.

*Clang!

In the final confrontation, the entire room formed cracks and every decoration flew out. The duo had separated and silence filled the air.

*drip… *drip…

Blood was falling profusing from Larian's wounds, but that was no surprise since he had already taken so many wounds since the start. The bigger surprise was the blood that dripped from the elder.

A large wound stretched from his left shoulder down to his right waist. It had shattered his ribs.

The victor of the duel was decided. Larian who seemed to hold the unnatural vitality of a dragon had won.

'I'm not done, you old man.'

Larian charged towards the Elder and sent his blade through the elder's chest. It pierced clean through, if there was any hope of a medic coming to save him it was all lost now.

"ELDER HITSUMOTO!"

Now the entire crowd cried in dismay. The old man must have meant alot to everyone here for them to make such a sad expression.

*Shhh…

The potion administered through Larian's arms healed him to a stable condition. It looked like a cheat except Larian noticed his vision slightly wavering.

'Urg… This drug's side effect. I'm growing tired…'

The medicine that used the body's components to heal wounds worked simply because it used the vitality of a human body, this was the reason the drinkers would age the more they drank.

But this would put a strain on Larian's mental energy. Enduring the constant pain from having his muscles torn and slit was something humans were not meant to bear.

Staring at his dominant hand Larian noticed his arm was shaking slightly.

"His healing is not invincible! He's shaking all over this is the time!"

Someone who was observant pointed Larian's weakness out.

The crowd was slowly regaining confidence and was prepared to avenge their Elder. But at this moment a solemn voice spoke.

"Enough."

With one word they stopped and bowed to the Queen.

"Everyone get out."

They listened to her command and directly left. Their belief in their queen was so absolute that they would listen to everything she demanded.

The crowd had left and the only ones left were Larian, the Queen and the two men who stood by her side.