Cidion's sword mastery was even better than mine, but only slightly. During this life, I've become worthy of my current title as a Sword Saint. I've never had difficulty with a sword and the techniques to wield it, as it is something that naturally came to me.
As I parried one of his quick silver arcs, I began to wonder. Had I become too obstructed and distant from people? My trauma forced me to reject any potential friends, teachers or lovers (which I don't have any interest in yet).
"What's on your mind, kid? Why do you look so gloomy?" Cidion asks while effortlessly making me sweat.
"Your swordsmanship is better than mine, which is rare to see," I say while back flipping in the air because of the force Cidion blasted me with.
I land on my feet, pointing the Sunsword at Cidion. He closes the distance in a single quick leap, his speed akin to teleportation. Our swords collide, with him holding his weapon with one hand, while I squeeze mine with both, holding on for dear life. His strength is also amazing, as it is something I can feel when we clash and scrape our swords.
He reduced his sword to its original size, using the same amount of aura as me.
He pokes his head close to me, lifting one of his silver eyebrows. "You're close to me in terms of sword mastery, which is very frightening to see from a young kid like you. I've trained my skills for over three centuries, while you achieved that in little over a decade, if you started the moment your mother gave birth to you," he jokingly explains.
"Three centuries... How can you live for that long?" I ask.
"Magic, literally. Once you gain enlightenment, your life expectancy doubles, and if you attain the level of mana that you have, you can expect to live to at least 500 years old," he says while lifting his head and opening his palm towards it, "As you can see I'm basking in youthfulness."
If he wasn't enlightened and didn't have all of that mana, his appearance would tell me he was around 40 years old, give or take.
I swing the Sunsword, releasing a crescent of light that drives Cidion backwards.
"I have to hone my sword skills it seems."
He laughs, extending his hand and retracting his fingers twice to say 'come and get me'.
I waste no time, now using both light magic to move and the
He nods his head approvingly, deflecting every single one of my attacks. He courses even more magic through his sword, now using a manapool bigger than my own. Drawing power from 2 barrels-deep, I'm flung backwards, stumbling to regain my footing.
As he sees a weakspot, he leaps forward at his incredible speed. I expected this though, using a ranged magic attack for the first time.
"Bang," I say with my index and middle finger extended towards him, shooting multiple rays of light that are now cast and travel at the speed they are supposed to.
The speed of light.
Faster than the blink of an eye, Cidion's sword deflects the rays of light, letting them trail off into the arena seats, creating a bunch of new holes.
"I-impossible," I stutter.
"Kid, with all due respect, you have no idea what's possible," Cidion says as he dashes forward and almost pierces my neck.
At the last second, I react by jolting my head to the side. His sword slightly cuts into my cheek, as I reflexively jump backwards to create distance between us.
His speed surprised me, as I didn't expect him to be able to react to light magic, the fastest out of them all.
I extend my hand, trying to force him down with the
The Sword Saint laughs, noting how interesting my combination of magic is.
"You use those martial arts... The Soul Void Flux is it? That is extremely rare, and I'm not even going to ask how you learned them. Let me return the honor," he says while unveiling his hidden aura.
This was a 100% of his power, and I must say it was overwhelming. I fell to the ground as it pressured me, quickly returning to my feet.
It was massive, even more than the elder from the secret desert temple. With four barrels filled to the top and even more leaking out, this Sword Saint was a one-man-army. It was the mightiest aura I have witnessed so far, and the first time I felt no chance of victory in this life. Even the Dreamer felt in reach of defeat when put against the likes of Cidion.
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His sword thinned even further, reaching what I presume to be its final form. This shining silver blade looked and felt as if it could go through the Sunsword. He throws his sword in the air, spinning it while it's airborne. Grabbing it tightly, he stabs forth.
"Spear"
A wave of magical energy rushes past my left side, hitting the arena wall. The holes left by Amon and I were nothing compared to the crushing damage left behind by his 'Spear'. The whole arena wall behind me disappeared, as the enforced stone crumbled into dust.
"Phew, haven't used that in a while," he says, grabbing the back of his neck.
I stood there, unmoving. I was defeated thoroughly, having no words yet as my mind processed the insurmountable wall of power this man just demonstrated.
"Okay, maybe I couldn't win against him," Amon notes while staring at the missing wall of the arena.
-
After the 'lesson' I received, Amon and I went back to our hotel room. Cidion asked us to have a cup of coffee with him, which I rejected politely. Everything comes after I defeat the wretched Dreamer.
Amon got a bit stronger, through only this one battle with Cidion. It was amazing, but I also picked up a thing or two.
"We're going into the military in an hour, so prepare yourself," I note while eating my lunch.
"You think they'll know of this... Dreamer entity you talk about?" Amon asks doubtfully.
"They don't know about it most likely, but they certainly have information on red-eyes," I answer, packing everything I need in my cuboid artifact.
"I'll burn him to ash," Amon grins, ecstatic about being able to scorch someone to death.
"Yeah..." I utter softly.
"Come on, what is up with you today!?" Amon barks, standing up from his bed while flailing his hands.
"It's nothing, let's go," I usher him, exiting the hotel room.
I have fallen into deep thought, doubts filling my mind. What if I still can't defeat it? What if all of this was useless, and I'll return to my starting point that I dread?
The end is approaching, and I'm entering the last phase of my plan, where I'll have to face all of my fears again.
It never is easy, is it?
-
We entered the Holdanis military base, which is tightly connected to the swordsmanship association where I became a Sword Saint.
There, I searched for the head of the head of the base, someone that has absolute knowledge of military operations.
As I moved through the crowd of Soldiers, I got weird looks which turned into ones of amazement, since they realized my newly found status.
Entering the office where the head of military operations worked, I knocked a few times before saluting. The short-haired buff general saluted back, telling me to take a seat after offering a handshake.
"My name is Remy, one of the generals of Holdanis as you can see. What can I do for you, young Sword Saint?" he asks, respecting me like his equal, which I was in status. Generals of the army and Sword Saint are in the same boat of respect, with Sword Saints being even more respected in Holdanis.
"I'm assuming you know my name since you know me by my title, but I'm Adam and this is Amon, my companion."
"I'm his rival," he corrects me, crossing his arms as his nose tilts upwards pridefully.
I don't address his correction, since I don't care how he views me with his bright scarlet eyes.
I go straight to the point. "I'm here because I need to know about the red-eyes."
Remy's brows furrow as his wrinkles cut deep into his face. He looks older than Lucidel, although he might be younger than him, considering his lacking aura. He had a manapool weaker than Amon, his affinity being earthen magic.
He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "What do you want to know about them?"
"I need to know if you managed to find their lair, or where a large group of them resides," I say while maintaining firm eye-contact with the general.
"If we knew where their lair was, we would've already infiltrated it. It is a prevalent problem that we're trying to deal with. Do you have any information to offer?" he asks me.
"Only if you allow me every military document. Eye for an eye," I state.
"Of course, you're the world record Sword Saint that defeated Usui. Everything is at your disposal. Still, we would value anything you can offer," he insists.
"I'll need a psychic that can reveal information," I demand, knowing how they discovered the red-eyes lair in my previous life.
Someone who specializes in finding information out, like lady Jolda—the psychic that I met in my previous life—would be of help when searching for the untraceable.
The Dreamer is an intelligent entity, hiding itself from dangers that might be able to kill it, and commanding its own army of enlightened red-eyed pawns.
Lady Jolda wouldn't be helpful, since she couldn't pry into present information, only ones that are in the future. I need information that answers the question of where, not when.
"I can provide one if you decide to cooperate with us," Remy states.
"If I determine your end of the bargain as adequate, I'll hold my own end."
"Well spoken, rival!" Amon adds, putting his legs on the general's desk.
"Put those down, Amon," I order.
"Bleh," he sticks his tongue out.
This kid...
The general chuckles and offers a hand.
"We have ourselves a deal then. I'll send you a message when I contact the best medium at disposal," he says while shaking my hand.
Amon and I take our leave, returning back to our hotel. There, a crowd of people waited for me again, asking all sorts of questions.
"How did you gain your strength?" one of them asks.
Another sticks a microphone in my face. "Who is your master?"
"I have no master," I answer while pressuring all of them.
They fall to the ground, helpless against my enlightened power. Amon and I walk through, entering the hotel in peace.
The receptionist laughs awkwardly, watching the sea of people outside lying on the cement floor.
"Honestly, I'd just smite them with my flames to make an example," Amon notes blatantly.
He has a dangerous mentality, shaped by his upbringing. Still, while I hold him in control, he'll be a good weapon against my enemies.
[That's what he is, a weapon...] I assure myself, watching this fierce kid lie on the bed and take a comic book out.
"What're you reading?" I ask.
"I'm reading 'Chronicles of Arc'," he says while moving his scarlet eyes gently over the colored pages.
"Arc, as in the first human in the Overworld?" I ask while peeking over to the comic.
"Yes, that one! He's currently fighting the Master of Evil, Demon King Solemon," Amon says as he flips the page.
I set my eyes on the royally dressed Solemon, his red eyes and dark horns envisioning what Amon might look like one day. "Are you rooting for the Demon King?" I ask.
He stops reading for a second, turning his head towards my peeking face. "Of course."