The Sword and The Shadow

The Paladin's Surprise Attack

When Marolyt raised the sword up high, Wayerliss felt the man had enough power to flatten the whole world.

"Wayerliss!" he yelled with his impetus, "I'll show you how real saints fight!"

This time, he didn't forget the incantation.

"Tremble, Azureflash!"

The sword let out a bluish glow immediately after hearing its master's beckoning. Wayerliss closed his eyes in pain and knew that the light came from Marolyt's impetus focusing on the sword en masse.

With impetus like his… Darn it!

He escaped a little haggardly and managed to hide behind a rock weighing tens of tons right before the strike fell.

Boooom!

The sky shook and the shockwave obliterated everything in its path before dissipating.

Wayerliss crawled out from behind the rock. While he seemed rather beat up, he didn't incur any real injuries.

The rock that had shielded him had broken into a few different pieces, with the cuts through it being perfectly smooth. The plot of land the two had been standing on was turned completely desolate. It looked as if something had exploded there. However, he knew that it was no explosion. The sight was caused by the cuts generated by Marolyt's impetus.

Razor Impetus was one of his gifts as a windbreaker. His impetus had impeccable cutting power as a result of bearing the wind aspect. That was why he could harm others with will alone and never feared magi. The gift also increased his attack range to tens of meters away. Even though it couldn't rival the hundreds of meters magi could attack from, it was still incredibly threatening for a swordsman to be able to attack with reach like that.

Marolyt regulated his breathing as he walked towards Wayerliss. He knew that while the move was rather impressive, it wouldn't easily harm another saint like him, even a weak one.

"A beautiful strike," he praised, "I didn't think you could attack everything within a certain range like that. I'm far inferior to you in terms of the understanding of power."

"This is your last chance, Wayerliss--" He pointed the tip of his sword at him. "--Tell me what the hell is going on and what you're planning!"

"Or what?" he asked without a care in the world.

"Or… Or I'll stop you, even if it means killing you."

"Stop me? Hahaha… If you think you can, you're welcome to try!"

"You leave me no choice!" He charged forwards and swung Azureflash even though he was still eight meters away from Wayerliss.

A blue stream of impetus launched forward. It looked semilunar like the wind blades magi could use, but Wayerliss knew it was infinitely more threatening than those low-level spells.

He disappeared before the slash connected. In his pursuit of the ultimate assassination technique, he had developed a special insight for a unique ability. He was able to create a cloak with his impetus when he suddenly accelerated, but it was a cloak that could be easily disrupted. He would only be able to keep stealth temporarily as he moved with great speed.

But an assassin at his level disappearing for half a second was mortally threatening enough for most people.

He charged at Marolyt. While he wasn't confident he could take him on in close combat, keeping a big distance would only make him take blows passively.

Clang!

He crossed swords with him for an instant and winced in pain as a fine, red line appeared on the left side of his face.

However, he couldn't be bothered to take note of it. Marolyt's impetus blade came for him once more.

He took an evasive maneuver at breakneck speed, but a strong gust blew at him in the direction he was going and swirled around him.

This was another of Marolyt's gifts, Wind Control. He could change the state of flowing air according to his will within a 100-meter radius. His mastery of this gift was already at its peak.

Wind Control, huh? He was aware of the tricks the swordsaint had up his sleeves, so he didn't panic in the slightest. He gave up on the initial direction he traveled in and turned in the opposite direction parallel to the wind's.

But Marolyt predicted his next move. The elf felt the wind morph into a great hand and grab onto him. it was as if the air had solidified.

He can actually compress air so much! Captured, he finally began to reveal a look of panic as he tried to blast his impetus outwards to break free.

"Don't even think of running!" Marolyt kicked off the ground and the rock beside him crumbled into a thousand fine pieces.

His body shot towards the bound Wayerliss like an arrow as he wielded Azureflash in his right hand. The light the sword let out seemed like a blue cut in the air. Someone close enough would be able to see space itself darken and distort around the blade.

The great force was enough to destroy the fabric of space, but it was different from the effects of Leguna's spatial cut. He could only use it due to Lighteater absorbing that ability. If space was a painting, Leguna could tear it open with the painting in hand. By the same analogy, however, Marolyt was a character in the painting that could tear it apart from within.

A proper warrior needed not only to have great strength, but also understanding of the planar laws. Once a mortal gains enough understanding of one of those laws, they would achieve godhood ascend to the realm of deities.

If killing you can snuff your little plans in their infancy, I will be more than glad to do so! Such was the determination Marolyt held. He gathered his impetus and swung his sword to create a ten-meter-wide impetus blade.

Wayerliss had just broken free of the grip. he turned around rapidly and saw the impetus blade only inches away from him.

All of a sudden, a beat-up, wooden lance fell from the sky with gold light trailing behind it. It looked just like a fallen shooting star.

Boom!

The lance landed squarely in front of Wayerliss before it cast a golden shield of light two meters wide in front of him right before the impetus blade collided.

The full-power strike of the galestorm swordsaint would not be that easily nullified, however. The golden shield shattered half a second later, but that was time enough for him to escape the fate of being bisected by the slash.

He turned around aghast. Marolyt's power was off the charts. The impetus blade had dug into the mountain behind him and cut so deep he couldn't tell how far it went!

Yet, Marolyt didn't have time to marvel at that. The moment the lance landed, a gigantic hammer of light appeared behind him. He turned around after noticing the bright light just in time to see the hammer come crashing down.

Wham!

He blocked it with both hands holding Azureflash. Even so, he wasn't completely unharmed. That sudden strike had shaken his innards. He was coughing out blood nonstop.

"Hackhack… cough…" The hammer vanished after its power was expended and left only a crater ten meters wide. He looked up and saw the bald, dark-skinned man jump down from the cliff.

"I have launched a surprise attack in the name of the sacred light…" Kevin said with incredible shame.