Peerless Elf Magic Swordsman Volume 15 Chapter 10 (Patreon)

Chapter 10 – Thoughts of Light and Darkness

“What’s with the scared look? Hey, you should enjoy it more. We’re playing a game after all.”

Redone gave an innocent smile.

It seemed like he was really happy and enjoying himself – a mood that was very inappropriate for what should be our final battle.

“A game, you say!?”

“Yes, a game. A game where the fate of the world is at stake.”

So, for him, this battle is just a game to all intents and purposes.

Even if many people suffer and die because of it, and even if several towns and cities get destroyed because of it…

“You have it too, don’t you? The ‘Mastery of the Strongest Magic Sword Skills’……you chose it as a trait upon reincarnation. I can tell by the way you’ve been fighting.”

The dark elf’s handsome face was flushed with excitement.

“It’s probably never going to happen again, not in the past, nor in the future. Two reincarnators possessing the traits of being the ‘strongest magic swordsman’ will clash for the title of the true strongest. Doesn’t that sound exciting to you?”

“I don’t think so.”

I cut through his crap.

“And I’m not gonna let you destroy the world with you and your games.”

“Who cares about the world? We’re not even related to the world.”

“But I am now. I am now related and connected to so many important things.”

I took a step closer, Milfa in hand.

“There are now people I want to protect. People I don’t want to lose. People who are important to me. That’s why I’m fighting you. In order to protect them.”

I raise my golden sword.

“I will defeat you. In order to protect them all.”

“Defeat me, eh? You mean you’re going to kill me after this? Good, good.”

Redone’s smile deepened.

“Either way, that’s the way I like it. It is bound to get boring if you repeatedly fight against weak toys. But on the other hand, by dueling with the strong, you will never know whether you’ll win or lose – you won’t know whether you’ll live or die, and that’s why it’s so exciting.”

Redone, too, holds up his black sword.

“Maybe this is what I’ve been living for. Maybe this is why I lived my life as a dark elf villain – to satisfy this craving that I have never filled in my previous life.”

His red eyes looked at me.

“And you will be the one that will fill that gap. That’s how high my expectations are of you. So give me your best shot, Mr. Lian~.”

“Do your worst, Redone.”

I met his gaze head-on.

A choking silence prevails between us.

“Physical Reinforcement(Acceleration) III – Over Drive(Transcendent Burst Mode).”

My voice and Redone’s chanted in unison.

At the same time, our movements became a flash of light.

Then came next a high-pitched metallic sound that announced the start of the battle.

The sound of my sword, Milfa, and his sword, Gilfe, clashing.

Thrown back by the recoil, we rushed forward again at speed rivaling the speed of light, slashed together, then backed away again to have another swing of our swords.

Our slashes drew countless golden and jet-black trails, sparkling and filling the space between us with such light.

Striking down and slicing up, thrusting and parrying, locking swords in between.

Striking each other, parrying each other, then hitting each other again.

Thousands of exchanges at super-speeds that seem to leave even time behind were unleashed one after the other, not intending to give the opponent any time to breathe.

“Ha-ha-ha, this is it! This feeling! It’s wonderful, Mr. Lian!”

Redone laughed hysterically.

“You didn’t break. Even if I hit you with all my might, you didn’t break. You even responded to me with the same strength. Now, let’s go at it even harder!”

Redone’s slashes gained even more speed as the tension rose.

“You…were these things the ones you really want to do?”

I asked, parrying another strike.

“You’re gonna make a lot of people suffer, just for your own pleasure…”

“All I want is to fight.”

But Redone’s reply was unwavering.

“Being the most powerful force in the world is no fun if you won’t have anyone to challenge you. Isn’t that what you want, that you have chosen such trait?”

“No!”

My sword skirted Redone’s sword and made a shallow cut across his chest.

“-!!”

Redone frowned slightly and retreated.

But I didn’t miss the chance and went on the offensive.

With the golden sword, I unleashed a rapid succession of thrusts.

A series of thrusts with a divine speed that surpasses even that of a bullet.

“I can’t match him with just Physical Reinforcement(Acceleration)!? Then, Rune Overdrive(Magician Mobile Flame).”

With that incantation, purple light burst from Redone’s entire body.

At the same time, his power and speed both increased at once.

I had already received a report about this from Felix.

He said that Redone, like him, can now use his abilities to accelerate and decelerate to further enhance his physical strength.

The difference in physical ability, which was beginning to slightly tilt on my side, is now back to even.

“More, more! Mr. Lian, you have much more power than this, don’t you? Show it to me!”

Redone is now firing back at me, parrying all my slashes.

“Then, here I go!”

I ducked down to avoid Redone’s counterattack.

From there, I felt something hot that pulsed deep inside my body.

This feeling is… that guy.

The other me, the one I met in that mysterious space.

The ‘heart’ that I had once thrown away when I was reincarnated. But has returned to me after passing that trial.

That heart is burning hot.

And the more the heart burned, the more my power grew.

I felt a surge of strength, and from my whole body, it overflowed a rainbow-colored glow.

“What the…?”

Not missing Redone’s surprise, I launched a series of counterattacks.

“Ugh……!!”

One of the slashes grazed Redone’s arm, in which he grunted softly.

I stepped in further, the rainbow glow now wrapping my entire body.

“uhh, gahh……!”

This time, I ripped a shallow gash on Redone’s abdomen.

It wasn’t fatal, but my attacks were slowly starting to hit.

Redone’s slashes, on the other hand, were being prevented at every turn.

The battle, which was evenly matched earlier, is now slowly – and surely – shifting back to my side.

“Why…?! I already added my Rune Overdrive(Magician Mobile Flame), but I still wasn’t a match for a mere Physical Reinforcement(Acceleration)!?”

“You’re strong……but you’re fighting alone for all your life.”

I took another step.

With a whish, I sliced on Redone’s other arm.

This time, it was his dominant arm.

“Tch.”

It wasn’t a deep cut, but it was obvious that his sword skills had been dulled.

“I’m not just fighting for myself; I’m fighting for everyone… and that brings us the difference between you and me.”

“That’s bullshit!”

I easily avoided Redone’s slash, which was even mixed with skillful feints.

“I’ll take that “bullshit” over your smugness at any day!”

With a flash of counterattack, blood splattered from Redone’s thighs.

The guy’s movement slowed down again as his arms and legs were cut respectively.

“Don’t get too carried away. I’m now way stronger than before. Come, Gilfe!”

“Yes, my master.”

The sword in Redone’s hand reverberated in a voice that sounded like an electronic tone.

“Activate Mirage Mode(Magic Enclosure Skill).”

Glowing particles suddenly burst out of his sword, formed, then clung to Redone’s entire body, turning into a power suit-like armor.

It was the same move that Redone had shown in the last battle.

“Overmegiddo(Transcendent Flame Bloom).”

Furthermore, its design had changed more horrendously compared to the last time we fought.

A helmet in the shape of a dragon.

Grieves and gauntlets shaped like claws.

Twelve wings spreading out from his back, emitting a divine phosphorescence.

A figure that could be called a dragon warrior, or was it dragoons? In those RPG’s I played back in the past life.

So this is Redone’s inner workings that Felix told me about…

“I’m not going to be complacent anymore. I’m going to finish you off in one fell swoop with my greatest strength.”

Redone spread his shining wings and plunged from above, gliding just a distance across the floor.

With that momentum, he swung his sword.

“Belial Blade(Supreme Demon Sword).”

Without the time lag of spell chanting or magic recharging, a black shockwave flew from the blade.

Furthermore,

“Here comes another one. Lucifer’s Blade(Demon Lord Decapitation)!”

“–The gap in his attacks is too narrow!”

My opponent can now shoot magic sword techniques immediately with little or no magic power buildup.

It’s too late for me to intercept it with my magic sword techniques.

So, I backstepped to avoid the two different slashing shockwaves.

He has the advantage in attack speed, but I still have the edge in physical ability.

“I’m not done yet!”

Redone continued to fire off a series of magic sword techniques.

But I took full advantage of my physical abilities and concentrated on evading them.

Just avoiding it.

Just running away.

In the midst of all this, I looked for an opportunity to fight back against him.

“What’s the matter? You keep running away.”

Redone continued to attack one-sidedly with his magic sword techniques.

“You have more power than this. Unleash it like I did! We are both the strongest reincarnations. We have the power to destroy and kill any opponent in this world…Come, show it to me like I did to you!”

“I told you. My power is not for destroying or killing!”

I shouted while parrying one of his slashes with Milfa.

“I wield this power to protect the people I care about!”

“To protect? Ha! This nonsense again!?”

Spitting, Redone unleashes a sharp stab.

I didn’t receive it but sidestepped to avoid it.

Then I made a counterattack, aiming for the gap immediately after Redone unleashed his blow, but it was repelled by Redone’s armor.

Once again, we drew ourselves back, increasing the distance between us.

“Don’t you feel it? Don’t you feel the overwhelming sense of superiority that comes from wielding power and screwing over others? The sense of dominance! The sense of conquest! It’s as if you’ve become a god!”

To this guy, the others are just a way to show his superiority.

But I’m different.

All I want is…

“My power is not about standing over someone else. I chose this power to walk together with everyone. It is a power to protect from those who would try to destroy them.”

“You stop this nonsense. You’re killing my mood, Lian.”

Redone stepped in first and unleashed a powerful blow.

It’s even more powerful than before, a blow that could even be called a finishing move.

“There it is!”

But that was precisely the timing I had been waiting for.

“Lightning(Thunderbolt) Seraphim Zapper(Searing Angel’s Absolution)!”

Adding to the Crimson Emperor(Teikou) Beheading Move(Zan Jutsu)s that Mary once taught me, I combined the two techniques and unleashed them towards Redone.

“Gah……aaaahh……!?”

As expected, Redone let out a cry of anguish as he was hit by a blow that took into account the momentum of his own slash.

I took this opportunity to completely go on the offensive.

I slashed his limbs with a series of blows, and when his movement slowed down, I unleashed a stab.

This time, my sword pierced the flinching Redone’s chest deeply.

“Haaa, haaa, haaa…….”

With his chest now dyed a bright vermillion, Redone took a giant step back.

I don’t know if it was a fatal wound or not, but at least it must have been a deep wound considering it went through his body.

“You can’t fight anymore with that wound. Surrender.”

“Surrender? The fun is just beginning.”

Redone was still smiling.

It was a smile that says, “I’m having so much fun right now. Why should I?”

“Here we go, Gilfe. Use it.”

From here, Redone’s red eyes shone with an odd glint.

“Mirage Mode – to its utmost limits.”

“Master. The damage it will inflict you is just too great. If you use it now, you will be engulfed by its power and won’t be able to return. I suggest at least try to recover──”

“Hell, there’s no way I’m gonna stop all this fun.”

Redone smiled again.

“I don’t mind being possessed by its power, even if it means becoming a monster… No, that might be a good idea too. I could become a monster that will terrify everyone… I might even become a demon lord. Isn’t that cool!?”

“Master Redone…”

“Gilfe, you’re my tool.”

Redone tells him coldly.

“You’re going against me, your master? You’re just a weapon, and you were created just to follow my orders. So do your job and stop yapping.”

“Master……Redone……”

“I’m coming, Lian. This will be my last …… and my strongest power.”

Redone raised his black sword again, not removing his broad smile.

“Mirage Mode(Magic Enclosure Skill) – Soul Meggido(Flame Bloom Concept)”

And then, he transformed once more.

To a form just like a Demon Lord who had come to this world – and one that will destroy everything upon its wake.

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