Swords of a buried past

[The second hero trial will start]

''A hero is someone who never doubts his cause. A saint is someone who never stops to move. And you will become both, Muller''

The voice of an old man reached Grid's ears, Grid listened carefully. Although he was not the brightest, he had grown wiser with the years and knew how to act in such situations, listening was always better than acting.

'Welcome, Overgeared god'

Time stopped like a lie, it was as reminiscent of the ultimate form of the ''world of transcendence''. However Grid wasn't surprised, he had already witnessed it in the first trial, what he was more excited about was knowing more about sword saint Muller.

'Muller... Hero King, sword saint, the lantern of humanity, the one who took it upon himself to become the pillar of humanity...'

Grid's heart was racing as he turned around, but what he was faced with was something entirely different.

'I am happy to welcome you in my trial, I see that you didn't expect to see me in this state...haha'

A frail man with dark circles under his eyes, which showed hopelessness and regret. Muller, the hero king, a symbol of power and hope, was now shown to be the opposite of his historical descriptions.

'I am but a shadow of my former self, please do not feel disappointed, the one you're seeing now is not Hero king muller, but a swordsman who had lost everything while sacrificing only himself.'

Grid understood Muller's eyes, they were eyes full of grief, he understood Muller's pain as it was the one he went through repeatedly, the pain of one who lost everything. But unlike Grid, it seemed like Muller was unable to recover anything he lost, not his pride, his revenge, nor his hope. What Grid was looking at now was what he could have been, no, it's he should have been.

'I am not disappointed...'

Muller's face showed surprise as he heard grid's words. it seemed that the faint hope he had, which had faded with time, was once again being reborn.

'It is my pleasure to meet you, Hero king Muller.'

Grid put a faint smile on his face as he extended his hand for a handshake. Words that anyone could expect, words that flowed naturally if one met someone new, but to Muller they were special. Tears fell down Muller's cheeks, they were not tears of pure joy or sadness, they contained a bit of both, true melancholy. He had realized his past self had faded to become a weak man but also admired the man who could bring back the regret he had buried deep within him with such simple words. Grid remained silent as he watched Muller silently weep , until he gradually regained his composure.

'I admired your strength...'

Muller opened his mouth and spoke in a completely different tone, one that showed pride.

'I had watched you grow since the day you became a hero...'

Grid continued listening calmly.

'But I was wrong. What I admire is not your strength, it's your determination.'

Grid's eyes widened as muller's eyes changed, the hopeless eyes he had seen moments ago were now eyes filled with an enormous presence, the eyes of a hero.

'The pleasure is mine, Hero of humanity.'

He had moved muller's heart not long ago, but now it was Grid's heart that was shaken. He was always known as the Overgeared god, as the Hero king, as the great legend. Nonetheless, there was a title no one addressed to him as, a title he held more dear than any other, the title that his beloved wife had bestowed upon him. Grid's shaken face regained its former state as a sad smile occupied his face, He was reminded of why he chose that path.

'Wait for me Madra, I will be back soon.'

To prove he was the hero of humanity.

**********************************************************************

''HUUPPPP''

Madra, who used Shunpo repeatedly without showing a sign of fatigue, wielded the ''sword challenging the gods'' to counter all of Baal's attacks. However, no matter how much he hit him, it was not enough to weaken him.

''tcheh, shallow again''

Nevertheless, he did not stop and continued his onslaught, one could see how amazing he was by how he continued growing stronger in the midst of the heated battle. His sword clashing with Baal's magic and closing the gap to injure the supreme demon.

''I see... that swordsmanship... You're that legend who was revived by Pagma''

''Damn right, it seems you have not gone senile yet, old demon?''

As Madra didn't show a sign of doubt in his strikes, Baal was unable to find any gaps in his form. Baal genuinely respected the human who was able to fight without a sign of fear despite all the disadvantages he was faced with, he was reminded of Marbas, the man who climbed the ladders of hell from the very bottom to become the strongest.

'Unnecessary worries.'

Madra was still weak, he had not completely adapted to Grid's body yet and even if he did, Baal was slowly draining the energy of the abyss and growing stronger faster than Madra was adapting.

''You have fought well, human, But your end is nigh.''

Despite his experience, Madra was severely wounded. Unlike his true body, Grid's body was not as resistant to damage, neither did he have infinite stamina, when it came to endurance Madra's original body outclassed Grid's by leaps and bounds. This resulted in Madra blocking all attacks with his weapon and body due to his fighting habits.

''Moonfall''

The strongest magic wielded by great demons and their signature spell was undoubtedly meteor. A spell that either created a magic meteor or pulled a meteor out of outer space to drop it on a certain region. On the other hand, there was a superior version of meteor, the attack that pulls the moon itself while wrapping it in demonic magic to increase its power. It was a special spell created by Baal, his ultimate attack.

'What the hell...'

Madra's eyes shook as he watched Baal's strongest spell unfold, no matter how powerful his swordsmanship was, in his current state it was impossible to dodge the attack let alone destroy it. Nevertheless, he was as determined as ever, he was faced with impossible challenges throughout his life, yet he overcame them to deserve being called undefeated, this was but his next challenge, a trial to him.

'There's a chance...'

A special sword technique created by him and Grid after combining their knowledge and powers, the sword technique that represents the concept of death, superior to that of ''cutting''.

'Infinite massacre sword'

If he could recreate a similar technique using what he learned during his time with Grid, it would be possible. Although that's a story worth thinking about only if he was in his original body, on the other hand, Grid's body suffered from fatal backlash using the technique despite all the buffs and power he had accumulated. He needed a special technique that would allow him to boost his power and stats to their maximum potential, something that only a genius like him could achieve.

Multiple thoughts passed through Madra's mind as he continued to deflect Baal's attacks while the moon was getting closer. His whole life was being scanned in the fragments of a second that felt like eternity thanks to his transcendent senses.

'Aura!'

Aura, the symbol of life, an omnipresent energy that could be used in many ways, it was the energy that Madra was most familiar with. For normal people, combining sword energy and aura would be an impossible dream, even more so when harmony between fighting energy and sword energy was already achieved, it could be a fatal mistake that breaks the balance. But Madra was not normal, he was the one and only undefeated king.

Energy slowly gathered around Grid's body, Baal, who had noticed this, poured everything into his 'Moonfall' spell to accelerate it, as the moon was about to touch the ground destruction unfolded, dust filled the world, it was Baal's ultimate victory...

''That was fun, I will make sure to remember your name, human.''

That is until a beam of red, purple, and blue light pierced the sky.

''INFINITE...''

Baal, who had gasped and opened his mouth unwillingly, swallowed his dry saliva. A human who faced certain death not only fearless but also filled with excitement. The true might of Madra's genius was shown.

''...CRUSHING SWORD''

As the light was condensed around Madra's sword, it stretched, reaching the falling moon, turning into unseen particles, the true concept of destruction unraveled before Baal's eyes, a miracle brought true by the union of the 2 kings.

''What are you talking about...''

As the clouds of dust slowly dispersed, the body of the man surrounded with a colorful hue similar to the sky-piercing light was revealed. The wounds that covered his body gradually disappeared as aura further strengthened his body.

''The real battle starts now''

A grin that never left his face grew bigger. A man who lived for challenges, a man whose home was the battlefield, That was who Madra was.