— Leon Anemoi Greyrat —
I jumped forward, a burst of wind propelling me even faster as I broke the sound barrier.
But only reaching the speed of sound was considered slow when it was a fight against the strongest.
And so, with reactions befitting someone who had embodied the skills of the 'strongest human', the Man-God easily weaved his body into a defensive stance while remaining in the air, his blade primed to parry me to the side with the fluidity of the Water God style and destructiveness of the Sword God style.
A seamless defence, and by keeping his grip loose, one that took into account my earlier move to send him flying back when our blades clashed.
So, as expected, he had adapted to my skills… I guess I really could read him.
I came to a stop just before I attacked with another burst of wind, disturbing the Man-God's rhythm as he hastily returned his sword to a ready stance, but with my legs sweeping under him, he was forced to fly upwards to dodge.
Right into the path of my sword.
But yet again, with another odd skill, he formed a shield of pure mana over his body out of nowhere before I could touch him, my blade meeting the shell just as I forced my touki to clash together once more, causing an explosion to blast him back to the ground.
He really had a lot of tricks, huh?
With gravity taking hold of me once more, I controlled my landing as I crashed to the ground, touki flushing my system as I prepared to go on the offensive once more.
Dammit… I wasn't able to get into that focused state this time.
Divinity really was quite tricky to use.
I… needed to concentrate even deeper.
Taking a short breath, I moved in again, slowly letting my focus of the surroundings fade as I approached the Man-God who was ready to strike down with his glowing white sword once more.
A flash to the left.
Magic?
With a swipe of my hand, I cut it down before it could fully form.
But, to my surprised, he used the instant to weave his sword past my defences, sliding the blade under my arm and driving it towards my side.
I couldn't even detect that movement… was that a skill of a former North God swordsman?
Either way, by twisting on my foot, I was able to dodge out of the way, using the rotational momentum to drive my sword towards his open neck, moving all but the smallest amount of touki from my body and into the edge of my sword, clashing it together as I unleashed another strike.
His blade raised to defend again, but this time, my attack was just as powerful as I had intended
"Graah!" the Man-God shouted, his sword having shattered from my attack. "You… fucker!"
Did I hurt him again?
Hmm… good.
And with him being without a sword… now was the time to go on the attack.
But before I could… something changed.
Not in the atmosphere, nor within me, but instead… inside the Man-God.
"You… you fucker…" he mumbled as he backed away, his words turning garbled as his touki and mana suddenly began fluctuating, twisting and churning in a violent storm.
Uhh… what the hell?
Did he lose his mind or something?
Six arms suddenly emerged from his back alongside his wings… and then a tail… and more arms…
This… what was this?
Flesh began to sprout from his body, an amalgamation of muscles, fur, and body parts that were slowly growing bigger and bigger, with swords slowly taking shape within the grasp of each of his appendages.
I… couldn't even see his face at this point… and somehow, his touki and mana had gotten even more concentrated.
I then felt a pain in my chest as I felt my body flinch.
Huh?
Fuck… the air… why did it feel so… empty?
No… I knew why… I could see what was happening, after all.
All the mana… it was getting sucked into him, from all across the Void World, including… including my body.
Shit… this wasn't good at all.
No matter how strong of a sword strike I delivered, even if I could cut through whatever that monster was in front of me, it would mean nothing if he could keep absorbing the mana in the atmosphere and siphoning it away from me.
Hell, he could probably kill me with that ability alone.
"Don't lose faith, Leon Greyrat," Orsted said as he raced to my side.
Right, what the hell had he been doing while I was fighting that guy?
"My sword is nearing its time limit… but I was able to concentrate it's power," he said, narrowing his eyes at me. "I will cut through him and leave you an opening for the final blow. Can I trust you with that?"
My eyes widened as I looked down at his hand, or more specifically, the sword that was held in it.
It looked like the sun… no, even brighter than that.
How was that sword even able to keep its form like that?
But either way, his question… could he… trust me?
"After coming this far… is that even a question?" I asked, reaffirming the hold of my sword.
Right… there was no need to despair when I was so close to victory.
And my mana? My touki? Was I just going to let it go?
No… it didn't matter if it was a god in front of me… I wasn't going to simply concede.
It was mine… so simply retain your control, just as you've done many times before.
It was natural at this point, so why was I even pretending to struggle with it before?
I tightened my core, the outward flow of my mana and touki grinding to a halt as I forced it to retain its shell around me.
There we go… that's better.
"Mmm… I suppose that was unneeded," he replied, a trace of a smile on his face as he looked forward once more. "Now… as for the seal, I need to have a certain amount of mana to activate it, so I cannot summon my blade again, nor perform any advanced magic. Of course, if needed, you can supply the mana for the seal yourself, but for it to have sufficient power… you would use all the mana in your body. You understand, correct?"
Using up all the mana in my body… that basically meant that I would die.
So, in essence, he was saying that we only had one shot at this.
"…Yeah. Do it," I said.
No time for mistakes, only perfection.
But did such pressure ever make me falter before?
No… so, just like always, I would need to rise to the challenge.
As Orsted nodded before launching forward, I closed my eyes, the world drowning away as time crawled to a stop.
Focus… focus deeper… and deeper…
Forget techniques.
Forget the movement of mana, touki, the body, the surroundings… forget all of those complicated things.
After all, with so many hours of practice and application, the core of expert swordsmanship was already ingrained deeply into my body, to the point where using it was as natural as breathing.
So forget all of that… and simply swing your sword.
I slowly rose my arms over my head, my eyes remaining closed as I felt the coolness of the sword's handle against my hand, the faint scent of metal entering my nose as the guard brushed against my hair.
Right… focus only on the sword… a simple swing.
Nothing special, just a swing that could defeat a god.
But where else to put that focus… Eris did tell me how much stronger she got when she thought of me, motivating her enough to more than rival the strength of the former Sword God, so perhaps that would work.
And if motivation was the key to power… then I knew just what to focus on to get that motivation.
Eris, that wonderful woman… even if she had matured so much over our years together, and no longer desperately searched for the love that she thought herself undeserving of, there were still moments now and then where I could see that same girl I initially fell in love with, and all of her sometimes violent, adorably affectionate, tendencies.
And then Sylphy… she really had grown from a cute girl into an amazing woman that constantly radiated a motherly aura, and despite her unwavering love for me and our family, she had slowly gained more and more independence over time, having blossomed into a strong, amazing woman that I was proud, and extremely lucky, to call my wife.
Next was Roxy… the first one to give me the gift of a child, and the one who always remained the voice of reason in the house. There were many things that I loved about her, from her cute nose to her charming intelligence, but what I loved most was how she had grown past her difficult childhood, and even used that experience to ensure all our kids never felt alone, which could have been a problem in such a large, varied household.
And lastly, Ariel… the woman who was the Queen of the strongest nation in the world, and someone who was able to seamlessly balance the authority she needed within such a fierce setting, and also the tenderness of a warm and loving home. She was the one who had forced me to widen my worldview through our love, and despite not being part of the initial relationship agreement, she fit in perfectly with the four of us… in more ways than one.
Indeed… my wives were amazing, both individually, and even more so when they were supporting me and our family together.
I took a short breath in, and it was only now that I noticed the oddness of the air.
It was… pristine, I suppose would be the description.
Was the air here still composed of oxygen?
It must be, since I was breathing, right?
But a place as mysterious as this Void World could have many anomalies.
I guess that didn't matter.
I began breathing out, bringing down my sword in a perfect arc, cutting cleanly through the air as I opened my eyes.
Ah… the Man-God was back to normal… relatively.
So I guess Orsted did his job.
And I… was going to do mine.
I finished my swing, the tip of my sword hovering just a bit off the ground.
For a moment… nothing happened.
But then, in but an instant, a rift formed before me as the world rumbled, a deep black cavern stretching into the distance, cutting through the Man-God on its path of destruction.
Seeing that, I quickly snapped out of my state of focus.
Uh… that was… a lot.
Luckily, the rift was already beginning to regenerate, but still… did I just cut the world or something?
But more importantly… did I… did we… win?
"Leon… you almost went too far," Orsted said, walking up to my side.
"Yeah… yeah, I did… but I aimed for a non-fatal strike, at least," I said, gesturing towards the Man-God as I sheathed my sword.
Wait… was it just me, or was the edge chipped a bit?
But… wasn't it supposed to be unbreakable?
"Leon," Orsted said.
"Ah, right," I said, following behind him as we headed towards the fallen Man-God.
He laid on the ground, completely absent of blood or any disfigurement… well, aside from the fact that his left side had been cleanly cut off.
But it was slowly healing, so that was good to see.
Besides, it didn't seem like this guy had a normal human biology anyway.
"You…" he choked, his words strained as he struggled to look up at us. "If I die… the world will be destroyed… you know that, right? So… haha… all of this… was for nothing! Nothing!"
A smile slowly grew on my face.
"W-What? You think I'm lying?" he asked, eyes bulging. "Killing me will be killing your family! Do you understand that!?"
Before, I was unable to see his face, as it was blurred either due to his mana, or perhaps something else, but now… I could see it quite clearly.
And he looked awfully scared at the moment.
"Yeah… I know," I said, extending my hand as Orsted passed me the seal.
Now… how did Shizuka instruct us to use this again?
Right… this portion here… and this one here… forming a circle around him… with the centrepiece on his chest… and perfect.
"Wait… what are you doing?" he asked in a slightly fearful tone, struggling to get up to no avail as Orsted kept him pinned under his foot. "What are you planning!?"
"What are we planning? Well… nothing of your concern, really," I said as I stood up, sending a nod to Orsted that he quickly reciprocated. "So… just have a nice nap, okay?"
A nice, long nap.
"Huh? Speaking gibberish? What are you-?"
His words were cut off as Orsted activated his mana, a silver light shining from his palm as it connected to each of the magic circles in quick succession, creating a bubble around the Man-God a moment later to completely cover him.
And in that bubble… the Man-God remained still, his mouth still in the middle of delivering his words, completely locked in time.
Hopefully, for eternity.
So… it ended… just like that.
We… won.
And even if I had gotten a bit injured, it was still quite an easy battle compared to the Fighting God, and even that North Emperor all the way back when.
Quite anticlimactic, for what was the final battle of this seven-year long quest.
With a sigh of relief, I slowly brought my hand up to wipe the sweat and blood from my brow, generating some water magic to wash myself off as I did so.
And Orsted… he stood in place, in a state eerily similar to the Man-God, before he suddenly dropped to his knees, a groan of pain releasing from his gritted teeth.
"Orsted? What's the matter?" I asked, concerned. "Do you need healing?"
"No! No, it's… not that…" he said, turning to face me as I got a view of his visage, causing my thoughts to pause.
With widened eyes, and tears brimming from the edges of them, he stared at me with a look of absolute wonder.
"I felt it… my burden… it lifted," he said, looking down to his hand that slowly closed into a fist. "My task… it is completed…"
Wait… was this about his 'curse' that allowed him to loop? Was he able to tell that it was gone right away?
Either way, I was very glad to know that.
Not only for his own well-being, but also, it ensured that by doing this, I wouldn't have to worry about the world looping and my children never being born.
But as I looked at him, another realization entered my mind.
That subtle rush of hatred I felt when I looked at him before… the slight desire to kill that I had to suppress each time he opened his mouth… it was gone.
Despite always being present, I was able to curb it through logic and self-control, but now… it was completely absent even without that.
I guess that made sense, considering his curse was due to the Man-God, who was now sealed off from the world… and that only confirmed that he wouldn't be able to effect anything from inside the seal.
A complete victory… almost.
We still had one last step, after all.
"Then… let's head back home… we can do that, right?" I said, a bit of unease creeping into my tone.
It would be pretty lame just to be trapped here after all of that, especially since the mana here was extremely scarce due to the Man-God's last act of desperation.
"Yes… it will be much simpler than before," he said as he stood up, walking over to place his hand on my shoulder. "Leon Greyrat… I must thank you once again, for helping me in fulfilling my task."
Seeing the earnestness in his expression, I was momentarily stunned at the emotion in the usually stoic man.
But then again, I suppose that was to be expected with how much this meant to him.
How many years had he been fighting?
Even he probably couldn't remember, but either way, from now on… he could truly look to the future.
"There's no need for thanks, since I didn't do it for you, but rather my family," I said, shrugging my shoulder. "So, because of that… you could say I'm grateful to you as well."
And now that his curse was gone, I could introduce him to my family without the worry of him freaking them out.
I mean, Aria had met him a once after Ars was born when I trusted him a bit more, but that did… not turn out well, let's put it at that.
At least the kids could handle being in his presence if he was far away, especially if he wore his helmet, which is why they were able to see us off.
"I see… then I suppose we can hold thanks towards each other," he said, revealing a soft smile.
— Leon Anemoi Greyrat —
The disorientation of the teleportation magic faded as the surroundings changed back to that of a forest… the same forest where we had initially teleported to the Void World.
And speaking of the teleportation… just how did Orsted do that?
Was it the sacred treasures, or some other spell?
I guess I could ask him later, but right now… there was something more important.
Turning around, the sight of my family came into view, all of them sitting on a large blanket that was laid across the clearing, with a few baskets that were full of food, all of them staring at the two of us with wide eyes as they paused their eating and playing.
It seems that they had decided to take advantage of the nice day outside while waiting for my return.
"Did you bring all of this over?" I asked, a small smile on my face.
They all snapped out of their daze, with Anna quickly grabbing hold of Aria before she could run over.
"Yeah. The kids didn't want to leave without you coming back, so we decided to have a little picnic while we waited," Sylphy said, standing up as she brushed off her legs. "So, Leon… did you win?"
"Of course," I replied as I began walking over.
"Good. We were a bit worried when we felt that rumble, but I guess there was no need to worry," she said, shaking her head with a relieved smile.
Uhh… rumbling?
"What… what do you mean about a 'rumble'?" I asked.
"Hmm? Well, it felt like a small earthquake just a while ago, but it wasn't anything major," she said, waving her hand as she went up to give me a hug.
…
Was that… because of me?
I know that final attack did quite a number on the Void World, but did that mean that the effects reached all the way over here?
I slowly looked behind my shoulder at Orsted, who simply closed his eyes and looked away in response.
Right… I guess we'll leave that between us for the moment… maybe I did overdo it a bit.
"Still, it doesn't feel like anything changed… it's quite odd, to think that such a great battle just concluded," Roxy said as she looked over to me. "But still, even if you were only gone for a few hours, and we weren't too worried… welcome back, Leon."
Right… I was back.
"Thanks, Roxy," I replied.
And a few hours… it sure didn't feel like it was that long, so I guess the teleportation took a bit of time to get between the worlds.
But still… I was back here… back home… and to think it was all over now…
"Dada!" Aria said, slamming into my legs as she looked up at me, having escaped from her sister's hold. "Let's play! You're not that tired, right?"
"No… I'm fine, sweetie," I said, rubbing her head as I looked over my family.
All of them… safe and sound… just as they would be for years into the future…
Realizing that, I couldn't help but smile.
"Let's go play… with your siblings too," I said.
It was all over… and now, with my family together with me, I could look happily into the future.
— End of Arc 9 - The Final Battle —