Ch. 18 - Battle and the Truth (2)

Arthur swung his sword quickly, deflecting the series of superheated wind spears shot at him by Lukhiel. The heat of the wind from each spear didn't bother him, but the sharpness of the spears could have pierced his body if he let his guard down.

Lukhiel's control over the wind was truly remarkable; he couldn't control his lightning element as easily as Lukhiel controlled the wind. That's why he had developed his lightning sword techniques. And because of that, he had made it appear as though fire was the element he had mastered.

"I have one question," Arthur said after releasing the Golden Radiance, which the demon managed to avoid. "Why haven't you used your sword?"

It was strange that Lukhiel hadn't yet drawn the sword from his waist. Despite having unleashed five of his lightning sword techniques and repeatedly breaking Lukhiel's two wind swords, he hadn't drawn the sword wrapped in bandages from its hilt to its blade. Instead, he sacrificed his prana and restored his wind swords.

"This sword is a gift for my pupil," Lukhiel replied, simultaneously creating ten wind tornadoes and sending them towards the king.

Arthur weaved through the tornadoes, all while positioning himself to release his sixth sword technique. "Sixth Technique," he whispered as he leaped high into the air, "Lightning Eruption!"

Excalibur, imbued with lightning, swung sharply from top to bottom, following the king's descent. However, Lukhiel was no fool; he had already dodged before Excalibur's blade could come down on him. This caused the blade to strike the ground.

Unfortunately, Arthur's technique wasn't finished yet.

As the name of his sixth technique suggested, lightning erupted from the crack in the earth that his sword had caused. The lightning burst upward, to the right, left, and forward. The entire 180-degree area in front of him was devastated by the lightning eruption. And this time, Lukhiel couldn't avoid it.

Not wanting to waste the opportunity, Arthur immediately shifted into a different stance. "Seventh Technique: Lightning Fang!"

The king vanished in a flash of lightning, and in the next moment, he appeared where Lukhiel had been struck by the lightning, sword raised forward.

The Primordial Demon Lukhiel was no longer where he had been bombarded by the lightning; he had forced himself away just as Arthur unleashed his seventh sword technique. However, the demon's attempt wasn't perfect. His forearm was severed by the lightning-infused Excalibur's thrust. The hand still holding the wind sword fell to the ground, which had cooled down.

Blue flames instantly consumed the hand, burning it completely. Arthur then turned his body to the right, intensely watching the demon, who now had only one arm remained.

"I have never heard that you took on a pupil," the king said. "Human, young demon, or half-demon?"

Lukhiel did not respond verbally. He briefly glanced at his right hand, which could no longer regenerate. Then his eyes returned to Arthur. Prana emanated from his body with great intensity, and in an instant, high, tightly condensed, glowing wind spears appeared to his right, left, and even above him. The number of spears wasn't just in the dozens or hundreds, but thousands. These spears filled the area around the demon.

Seeing this, Arthur immediately realized that it would be impossible for him to block all the spinning wind spears with his sword techniques or fire. Fire and lightning would be pierced; the wind condensed to such a degree that it became as way denser than oil. Moreover, Lukhiel was not only compressing the wind, but also heating it up.

Unless Arthur decided to use his third-level spirit mastery, there was only one way to counter what his opponent was attempting. And that was the method he would use.

Arthur raised his Excalibur, glowing with golden light, high into the air, and a surge of energy shot from the sword like a towering pillar. The barrier set by Athrecia shattered into pieces instantly, unable to withstand the golden energy pillar released by Excalibur. The pillar of energy continued to rise, reaching nearly a hundred meters.

"Aegis'—"

"Excalibur—"

"—Spears!"

"—Devastation!"

As all the wind spears shot forward, Arthur swung Excalibur vertically from above with great speed. In the next moment, the energy pillar struck all the wind spears, creating a loud crashing sound. The pillar of energy, though small when standing upright, expanded like an open fan when swung.

For the first second, Lukhiel's Aegis' Spears seemed to hold off the impact of Excalibur Devastation.

However, the next second, it drastically changed. The glowing, spinning wind spears were shattered into pieces. In the following moment, a deafening explosion filled the air as the energy struck a vast area in front of Arthur. Lukhiel, who was there, had no space to dodge.

The golden energy disappeared in less than half a minute, but the smoke and dust lingered for almost three minutes before dissipating. A massive equilateral triangle-shaped crater was immediately visible. The depth of the crater varied, from a few centimeters to several meters in the middle. The ground was blackened like charcoal.

Lying a dozen meters ahead of him, Lukhiel was in a far from favorable state. Half of his right side was destroyed, while the remaining part appeared burned. However, as Arthur approached, he could still see that the demon was alive. His only remaining hand, though emanating smoke like cooked meat, had moved to draw the sword, which (miraculously) was still wrapped in bandages.

"Did you really want to give that sword to your pupil?" Arthur asked after stopping two meters away from Lukhiel's prone body.

No answer came. Arthur hadn't expected one either. Lukhiel had just been hit by Excalibur Devastation. He was lucky to be alive, and it was perhaps because the wind spears had weakened half the power of Excalibur Devastation. However, it was clear that he was still fortunate.

"But it's a shame you won't get the chance," Arthur continued, raising Excalibur once more, which was glowing again. "Your story ends here. That sword doesn't seem like an ordinary one. A holy sword? I'll take it after you die and display it in my collection room."

There was no response, and perhaps Lukhiel hadn't even heard him. But Arthur didn't care.

"Die and perish forever, Excalibur Judgment!"

The golden glow instantly turned silver, and the sword swung sharply and uncontrollably.

The history of the Primordial Demon Lukhiel was truly going to end. The news would then reach the ears of other Primordial Demons, and they would know that he was targeting them. He would eliminate the Primordial Demons one by one, with Nessthanovla being the last.

…At least, that was what he thought.

However—

—the swing of Excalibur Judgment didn't hit Lukhiel.

In fact, Arthur's power faded and disappeared before his sword could even complete its swing. He had also reverted from his spirit transformation form. Moreover, the demon had disappeared from his prone position. What stood there now was a teenager, around fifteen or sixteen years old, with a sharp expression.

"…Did you just save the demon i—"

Arthur didn't finish his sentence.

The king's attention was suddenly diverted to the magician. Athrecia—who had been a spectator all this time—was now standing to the right of the teenager, with a magic staff wrapped in flames, swung sharply, ready to crush the teenager's head. The magician's face was filled with murderous intent.

However, to the surprise of both Arthur and even Athrecia, the magic staff wrapped in flames couldn't reach the teenager. The staff stopped just an inch from his head. Even the flames on the staff were pushed backward, as if there was an invisible barrier blocking the strike.

"This is a warning," the teenager said as he crouched down to pick up the sword still wrapped in bandages. "If Lukhiel can't be saved," he added while standing, "one day I will return. At that time, this kingdom will need a new leader."

The boy immediately turned and walked away – as if he no longer cared about them.

Arthur blinked as he watched the teenager leave. Athrecia was equally stunned.

They were still shocked by what had just happened. Arthur even felt confused. Not only had the boy stopped one of Excalibur's abilities, but he had also forced Arthur out of the Flame King Erestheral mode. How had this happened?

Athrecia recovered from her shock faster than the king. She immediately planted her magic staff into the ground and interlocked her fingers to form a triangle. Magic circles of various colors, shapes, and sizes quickly manifested. All of them surrounded the teenager in the shape of a pyramid.

"Maximum Gravity!"

Arthur recognized the spell Athrecia had casted. He had seen its effects firsthand. It was the spell that exponentially increased gravity within the confines of the magic circles. If it were aimed at a hill, the hill would be obliterated. Escaping the effect of the gravity would be nearly impossible.

The dark-haired boy suddenly stopped in his tracks. And, not even a second after Athrecia cast her spell, all the magic circles vanished as if they had never been there. It was the same as what had happened with Arthur's earlier attack. The teenager neutralized their assault as easily as breathing.

Ignoring the curse words that escaped Athrecia's mouth, Arthur entered Flame King Erestheral mode again and charged forward. He swung Excalibur powerfully, slashing horizontally from left to right. Arthur intended to cut the boy in half.

The king had expected the boy to neutralize the Flame King Erestheral mode once again and then use an invisible barrier to stop him. However, the teenager wrapped himself in wind armor and then dodged to the left.

"Great Wind Pressure."

Arthur was thrown back by the force of the wind the teenager unleashed. However, he managed to land gracefully after doing a somersault to reduce the momentum. Then he immediately breathed out blue fire. The fire shot forward quickly, spreading and undulating like a tsunami.

At the same time, Arthur raised his left hand. Sparks of lightning enveloped his hand. He couldn't use lightning at a high level like Lukhiel handled the wind, but he could still create a lightning strike.

However, before he could unleash the lightning, something pierced his stomach. The sudden pain broke Arthur's concentration. The lightning in his left hand vanished. At the same time, the wave of fire disappeared. It was only then that he saw that what had pierced his stomach was a wind sword extending from the two left fingers of the teenager – despite the fact that they were more than twenty meters apart!

Arthur immediately dropped to his knees as the wind sword faded and vanished. He exited the Flame King Erestheral mode once again. Athrecia quickly rushed to his side. Dozens of magic circles of various colors and sizes had surrounded his body. The pain in his stomach began to fade rapidly. Arthur had always been able to rely on her to save him.

"That is the fastest attack I've ever seen."