Looking Forward to Another World

*CLANG!*

In the training field late at night, the sound of steel colliding and vibrating through the air marked the beginning of the sword dance between Riezel and Charlotte.

Neither of them used magical energy, nor did they rely on any mystical artifacts other than the swords in their hands. Both of them launched their slashes simultaneously, sending cold arcs of light across the training field.

Needless to say, this was a clash between the strongest of the strong.

One was the strongest in Jinas, while the other was the strongest in Theresis. Both were young, both were immensely powerful, and both possessed experiences and achievements that could be described as legendary.

As soon as these two swordsmen crossed blades, they immediately displayed a level of strength that ordinary Sword Saints could not hope to match.

*WHOOSH!*

On one side, sword light poured down like a waterfall, resembling a galaxy hanging upside down across the heavens.

*SWISH!*

On the other, sword light fell like rain, resembling meteors streaking across the sky.

Both of them unleashed astonishing strength and terrifying speed without hesitation, and within mere seconds, they swung dozens, even hundreds, of slashes at each other.

*CLANG!* *CLING!* *CLANG!* *CLING!*

*CLANG!* *CLING!* *CLANG!* *CLING!*

As the two sword lights continued to flash, countless blade shadows collided at speeds nearly impossible for the naked eye to follow, filling the air with an endless succession of clashes.

Every collision between their blades caused sparks to explode like scarlet splashes of water.

Every crossing of sword lights caused ripples and rings of air to spread through the atmosphere.

In this pure close-quarters sword fight, the two in the training field pushed their abilities to the absolute limit.

Gradually, the sword lights transformed into a storm capable of tearing apart the ground, sweeping across the entire training field as their figures moved and clashed. Dust billowed through the air like a sandstorm, while the ground was carved with countless marks from blades and swords, quickly becoming a complete mess.

*CLANG!* *CLING!* *CLANG!* *CLING!*

*CLANG!* *CLING!* *CLANG!* *CLING!*

Every second, the sounds of their clashes became faster and more frantic, while the sword lights flashing across the training field grew increasingly dense, forming a storm of steel.

Riezel and Charlotte devoted themselves completely to their swordsmanship as they fiercely crossed blades with the powerful opponent before them, holding nothing back.

Their figures moved through the field like gusts of wind, leaving behind nothing but afterimages, while their true forms were completely concealed by the sword lights and the hazy dust cloud that resembled a sandstorm.

Even if a Sword Saint had arrived, they would have been unable to clearly see the two swordsmen’s movements at that moment, because this was a sword duel of the highest caliber, one that almost no one knew about.

Even across the entire Akasha Continent, a battle of this level might not occur even once in ten years.

*BOOM!*

Riezel shifted his footing, and the explosive acceleration instantly produced a sonic boom. He shot through the swirling dust and wind, the black blade in his hand transforming into a dazzling streak of light that seemed capable of breaking through the limitations of space.

In the blink of an eye, it descended toward Charlotte.

”!!!”

Charlotte’s ice-blue eyes narrowed.

Her entire field of vision was occupied by that dazzling sword light, while the razor-sharp aura brushing against her skin caused her entire body to tingle faintly, making the warning sign in her mind ring violently.

Faced with such an astonishing slash, she realized that her five senses could no longer keep up. It was simply impossible for her to perceive her opponent’s trajectory.

Hence, she decisively closed her eyes, abandoning her five senses and casting aside the warning sign and sense of danger screaming within her mind, then placed all her attention upon the sixth sense she had possessed since birth—her intuition.

*SWISH!*

Relying on her inhuman intuition, Charlotte’s body moved even faster than her own nerve reflexes, shifting with a rushing sound and narrowly avoiding that astonishing slash.

*SWISH!**SWISH!* *SWISH!*

Immediately afterward, Charlotte unleashed several streaks of sword light, sending the cold blades of light toward Riezel’s throat, chest, and abdomen, respectively, forming a vertical line.

*CLANG!* *CLING!*

A transparent gleam flashed through Riezel’s eyes as Transparent World activated. He then swung his blade in a circular motion before abruptly striking with a reverse slash, deflecting the sword lights heading toward his throat and chest.

As for the sword light aimed at his abdomen, he simply ignored it as his body suddenly shifted to the side, avoiding the attack while advancing instead of retreating and charging straight toward Charlotte.

Charlotte still kept her eyes closed, but as though she had sensed Riezel’s rapid approach, she neither dodged nor retreated. Instead, she charged directly toward him.

Two sword lights erupted once more, and the sound of their collision rang out for what seemed like countless times.

*CLANG!* *CLING!* *CLANG!* *CLING!*

*CLANG!* *CLING!* *CLANG!* *CLING!*

Both swords repeatedly collided, producing nearly a hundred clashes within a few seconds, causing the sparks generated by the impact of steel to burst like exploding firecrackers.

Dust and wind surged between the two of them. For a moment, it seemed as though the entire field had been caught in a storm, making it difficult to believe that this was purely a sword duel fought without magical energy or mystical artifacts.

Amid this fierce sword duel, the young man and young woman’s hearts inevitably produced the same thought.

’She’s strong...’

’He is strong...’

Both were surprised and astonished.

Riezel had not expected Charlotte to be able to keep up with him in his current state, much less fight him to a standstill.

After all, unlike their previous encounter in the lava region, he had already advanced to Level 8, while his combat power in his normal state was now comparable to Level 9, and his strength had increased by an unknown degree compared to before.

In theory, he should have been able to overwhelm the Charlotte who had lost to him back then.

Charlotte was indeed very strong, and she was even stronger than when they had fought previously, but her strength was still only equivalent to Level 8.

Compared to Riezel, whose power could rival Level 9, she was an entire major level behind.

Because of that, Riezel had initially believed that this sword duel would end with his overwhelming victory.

Who could have expected that this woman’s intuition would be far more absurdly powerful than he had imagined?

Despite being inferior to him in physical ability, reflexes, combat techniques, and overall capabilities, she had relied solely on that abnormal intuition to see through his swordsmanship, keep up with his speed, and forcibly fight him to a draw.

It was simply unbelievable.

Of course, while Riezel was surprised, Charlotte was equally astonished.

At this moment, she could feel that Riezel had truly become much stronger than he had been during their previous encounter, but she had never imagined that his improvement would be this enormous.

During their previous battle, although she had ultimately lost, she had still been capable of threatening him, and the difference in strength between them had not been particularly large.

However, his strength this time had grown to a level far beyond her own.

If she had not possessed that inhuman intuition, which was sufficient to qualify her as compatible with the Imaginary attribute, she would have lost long ago and would never have been able to force herself into a battle with him.

It was truly inconceivable.

In the brief moments between flashes of steel, countless thoughts passed through both their minds.

Nonetheless, because of their opponent’s unexpected performance, their fighting intent began to burn even more fiercely in the next moment.

*BOOM!*

At that moment, both of their speeds exploded simultaneously, producing twin sonic booms as they charged toward each other once again.

*CLANG!* *CLING!* *CLANG!* *CLING!*

*CLANG!* *CLING!* *CLANG!* *CLING!*

Before they realized it, the two had completely abandoned every other thought and devoted themselves entirely to this sword duel. Sword lights and shadows continued to appear amid the violent collisions of metal.

By this point, the young man and young woman had only the opponent before them in their eyes, while their positions, relationship, respective identities, and past grievances were all cast aside.

They burned their fighting intent with everything they had!

They displayed their swordsmanship with everything they had!

After discovering that their swords were temporarily incapable of defeating the other, the only thought remaining in their minds was to make themselves stronger!

As a result, the waterfall-like sword light became more powerful, while the rain-like sword light became faster.

Stronger!

Faster!

Sharper!

Harder!

Accelerate, accelerate, accelerate again!

Carrying these thoughts and intentions, the two equally gifted young swordsmen actually began to transform and evolve their swordsmanship little by little throughout this fierce sword duel.

Perhaps neither Riezel nor Charlotte had ever imagined that their second confrontation would turn out like this.

In order to overwhelm the other in this sword duel...

In order to defeat the stronger opponent despite being weaker...

Both of them held nothing but the purest of intentions.

Riezel’s transparent eyes grew brighter and brighter, while Charlotte’s tightly closed eyes opened at some point.

As soon as their gazes met, scorching fighting intent and battle spirit erupted together.

*BOOM!*

Before they realized it, a section of the training field had been severed by countless blade and sword lights, suddenly collapsing and sinking.

*RUMBLE—*

By this point, the storm of steel created by their constantly accelerating close-quarters battle had already swept across the entire field. Dust and wind howled into the sky and surged in every direction, crashing against the magic barrier that had appeared around them and causing it to tremble violently.

No one would have believed that this phenomenon had been caused without the use of any supernatural power, relying solely on the collision of the swords in their hands.

Yet even this no longer mattered to Riezel and Charlotte.

Now, they were completely immersed in the battle, continuing to weave together sword light and shadows. Amid their constant collisions, they were like sports cars with their pedals pressed to the floor, racing forward without restraint.

*DING!*

Until a certain moment, Riezel unleashed a perfect slash that united mind, technique, and body. It struck Charlotte’s hastily raised sword like an aurora, finally breaking apart her stance.

*PU-CHI!**PU-CHI!**PU-CHI!*

In the sword duel that had been accelerating continuously, Charlotte’s broken stance left her almost instantly exposed to countless slashes, causing blood mist to burst from her body.

At the critical moment, she still relied on her ’cheat’ intuition to adjust her posture and avoid the slashes aimed at her vital points. However, she could not evade the remaining attacks.

As a result, the skin across her entire body was torn open, while her female knight attire was sliced apart, leaving it tattered and torn.

”It’s over!”

Riezel’s eyes suddenly flashed.

He had no intention of stopping there as he abruptly closed the distance and swung his blade down with tremendous force.

Needless to say, this was a fatal slash delivered out of respect for the opponent before him.

After fighting to this extent, both Riezel and Charlotte seemed to have understood each other’s hearts and souls through their countless clashes of swords, suddenly gaining an extremely deep understanding of one another.

Precisely because of that, both Riezel and Charlotte clearly understood that in such an immensely satisfying sword duel, neither of them wanted the other to hold back at the final moment.

A sword duel like this should be fought with everything they had until one side fell—that was the most ideal outcome.

However...

”STOP!”

A furious roar suddenly broke out on the battlefield between the two.

Immediately afterward, a figure filled with a murderous aura suddenly appeared behind Riezel.

===

[A bonus Chapter for reaching 400 Power Stones]

[Support and get early access to upcoming Chapters at: patreon.com/VALRRR]