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The unending waves of slashes, Sero whittled down the armor at a speed that managed to worry the Armor King. But shortly after warding that pesky blade, the armor was already recovering.
「Yet it was futile in the end.」
As long as Sero could be stopped, even for a short moment, the armor would never break. Now he just had to wait for the tornado to finish the job. But there was a hint of joy in the Armor King’s voice, he had confirmed he had truly achieved invincibility.
「This is just my experience so far, but I think every time someone gets overconfident about winning like that, they make the worst mistakes.」
Sero chuckled to himself as he said that. His tone was also composed, unlike that of someone in a very dire situation.
「What kind of sick joke is this?」
It was shameful for the Armor King to have his confidence shattered like that, but his opponent was Sero from Écarlate Carillon after all. Without missing a beat, he held his halberd ready again, and looked straight at Sero.
It was easy to conclude he still had some plan left from the way he spoke. The Armor King noticed that too, but he could not see any change in Sero’s movements. His presence, vigor, attention, breathing rhythm, everything was still the same.
「I don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish, but the moment this wind closes in, will be your last. That is a fact.」
The tornado’s radius was a mere five meters now, and kept closing in. Just a minute more, and there would be no safe spot inside. There was a loud rumbling sound from the wind, like something stirring. But Sero looked undisturbed, a cold smile on his lips as he kept his blade trained at the Armor King.
「When the wind closes in, you said? You’re right in a way, this fight will be over by then. Though it’ll be your defeat.」
「You sound quite confident in yourself. But there’s nothing left to do for you in this situation, you’re trapped. This armor can’t be breached with your Resonant Blade, and your agility won’t be enough for you to survive inside my storm.」
Hearing Sero’s unmoving and calm declaration, the Armor King spoke as if trying to convince himself of his words. There was no way a single sword would be enough to overcome his armor’s defense.
「Nothing left to do, hmm, saying that I don’t need to do anything would be more accurate. Everything is already in place.」
「What…do you mean..?!」
The Armor King could not understand Sero’s words, and that was enough to shake his focus.
His spirit arms had helped him accomplish many victories in the past. That gave him all that confidence in his defense. Thanks to his armor, he still had the upper hand. But this was the first time he faced an enemy who seemed convinced of victory, even when faced with certain defeat, and that weakened his mind.
Doubt overtook his pride, and for better or for worse, that let him understand Sero’s words.
「Could it be…one attack…」
His words were incredibly vague, with hardly any meaning at all. But he had grasped Sero’s plan. Sero narrowed his eyes, a sharp glint in them. He pressed on that short moment of doubt, striking his sword forward.
「Precisely. I still haven’t used Resonant Blade on any of those strokes.」
The first strike on the armor’s shoulder had been nullified, and seemed to remain untouched since then. But ghosts of Sero’s swings since then seemed to light up brightly, repeating them all at the same time a moment later.
Final Blade: Silver Ghost of the White Night
It was over in a flash. Hundreds of invisible slashes manifested at once, assaulting the Armor King. All of Sero’s attacks that had left marks on the impenetrable armor before repeated again, creating gashes on the armor. Those accumulated attacks striking simultaneously against the thick layers of armor created blinding sparks. Then, the sound of something shattering. That armor that boasted of being impenetrable cracked all over, before exploding into many shards.
「Guh..!」
The Armor King moaned in pain, letting go of his halberd. Sero’s sword cut deeply into his arm, instantly rendering it useless.
「It’s over now.」
The armor had taken the brunt of the Resonant Blade, so the Armor King was still alive, but he had no strength left to fight, falling flat onto the ground. Sero spoke looking down at him, before picking up the halberd and swinging it. The tornado stopped almost instantly, followed by the sound of pebbles falling to the ground.
「I never heard…of such a skill…」
The Armor King muttered in dismay, trying to pull himself up with shaking arms, but he lacked the force to do so. Écarlate Carillon’s leader Sero. His name was as famous as his fighting style. The man who mastered Resonant Attacks.
Sero of the Resonant Blade. Everyone who saw him in action spoke of him being faster than the wind, followed by a single Resonant Attack more powerful than lightning. Other accounts spoke of him finishing everything with one powerful attack.
It was always only one attack. He just had to swing once with all his might, and the Resonant Blade would finish the job. Because of that, all the stories mentioning him were focused on a single swing. In the end, all those stories only described a small part of his skills.
「Well, I usually try to avoid using this when people are around. It’s a bit too dangerous, and only dire situations call for it.」
「That explains…why I didn’t know about it. I guess…some things can’t be overcome…with better equipment alone.」
The man laughed dryly between heavy breaths, turning around to face up.
「Anyway, there’s always some value in interrogating people like you, so let me restrain you.」
As he spoke, Sero placed the halberd against the wall, while his other hand manipulated his bracelet’s terminal to open his Item Box. He wanted to take out the Arresting Cloth stored there. At that moment.
「Humph!」
The man swung his unharmed arm, throwing a cylindrical black object towards Sero. The moment it left his hand, it quickly changed shape and spread like a net. A black web spanning from the ground all the way up to the ceiling. That was the Armor King’s final trump card. An impenetrable wall that repelled any sword, unbreakable by any spell, trapping whoever it was thrown at.
「What’s this…」
「Overconfident about winning, was it? Right back at you!」
Sero jumped away from its path, but once that net had a target, it would follow it to the end, making it a truly annoying object.
「Black…so that’s what it’s made of.」
But a moment later, Sero muttered that as he effortlessly swung his sword, and the net fell apart.
「How…」
An impenetrable armor, and a counter-less trump card. But both had failed to stop Sero, leaving the Armor King baffled.
「So the effect is immediate, huh.」
There was something odd about the black net, hinting at its construction from Black Mist Stones. Kagura had given them Anti-Demon Silver weapons specifically to counter such items, and their effect was instantaneous, getting rid of that odd sensation.
Sero glanced at the net’s remains turning into dust on the ground, then looked at his sword while muttering in admiration.
Then Sero finished his earlier plan, knocking the Armor King out, winding him up in Arresting Cloth, and taking the halberd with him just in case before heading to the gate.
「I used it so much but there’s no sign of wear on the edge at all.」
He had struck the burly armor hundreds of times with the white blade, but there was not a single scratch on the blade, like it had never been used. He returned it to its sheath, then looked at it again, muttering in a rather serious tone, 「It feels a bit too much to take this for free.」
