Chapter 50: Sword King VS Mighty Spear

The clash of metal rang throughout the forest that served as the battlefield for the "King's War."

At first, there had been hesitation in swinging his sword at the small girl before him, a girl who looked even younger than him due to her short stature. But now, not even a fragment of that hesitation remained.

The reason was simple.

"...Stay still."

"No way!!!"

The girl before him wielded the Mighty Spear, a weapon more than twice her own height, swinging it around with monstrous strength.

Judging from the howling sound that tore through the air every time it moved, the spear was far heavier than it appeared. Something so heavy it looked capable of sinking into the ground just by being placed there was handled by Lyra Kate as casually as a wooden stick.

The speed and power behind the Mighty Spear surpassed even Commander Richard, whom Toma had fought countless times in the Forest of Demonic Mist. Richard was likely superior in technique, but in raw power and speed, Lyra far exceeded him.

"Tch!!!"

"...What a pain...!!"

The fact that he was barely managing to trade blows with her at all was probably a miracle. If his grip on the Holy Sword weakened even slightly, one strike could rip his entire arm off.

His body was beginning to remember.

This razor-thin moment where he couldn't relax for even an instant—this was battle.

The spear swung with physical abilities surpassing even Commander Richard's. But if it was only power and speed, there were openings to exploit.

Above, below, left, right, diagonally—the spear raged like a violent storm. Entering that space carelessly would get him shredded to pieces in an instant.

But there was a brief transition between each upward and downward swing of the Mighty Spear. If he could perceive that instant, he could break through.

Resolving himself, Toma poured strength into his legs and burst forward.

Not long ago, perceiving such a gap would've been impossible. But now he could.

The Holy Sword's second ability—"Kures the Strong."

As his connection with Hikari deepened, its effects had strengthened as well.

Power surged through his entire body, sharpening all five senses and revealing the gaps between the spear techniques.

Following pure instinct, he stepped in and stomped down with all his might on the Mighty Spear just after it had slammed downward, driving it into the earth.

"...NUUAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!"

"What!?"

For a split second, shock appeared on Lyra Kate's face.

Then, with strength utterly unfitting for her small frame, she simply overpowered him head-on and blasted Toma into the air.

"Gh...!! Shion wasn't kidding—this is absurd!!!"

The curse escaped him naturally.

The girl before him was ridiculous.

Had he not been warned beforehand, he likely would've remained frozen in shock and gotten overwhelmed instantly. Even someone like him, whose instincts made surprise tactics difficult to work against, had nearly been crushed outright.

Which meant ordinary people wouldn't stand a chance against her overwhelming physical abilities.

Shion had said that among all the Spear King candidates, Lyra Kate was unquestionably the least skilled technically.

And yet, despite that, she had remained among the top-ranked candidates.

The amplification granted by her mana-based body reinforcement was literally on another level compared to everyone else.

Even Toma, pushing "Kures the Strong" to its limit, was losing in raw strength.

She had climbed this far through sheer power alone.

"...This ends now."

While blown into the air, Toma had no footing and no freedom of movement.

At this rate, he'd be smashed into a stain on the ground like an insect.

If he took the next attack head-on, he would absolutely suffer wounds severe enough to immobilize him.

Before he could even think of a solution, his survival instincts moved first.

Dark mana gathered in his palm.

He activated "Dark Star" and hurled it upward.

Because it had been done on impulse, the mana shaping was crude, the gravitational pull weak, and the activation time extremely short.

But even that brief disruption was enough.

The timing of the Mighty Spear shifted ever so slightly, allowing him to evade it.

Not logic.

Instinct carved into his body drove him to act.

And that instinct created an opening for counterattack.

"HAAAH!!!"

"...No way!?"

Toma landed atop the Mighty Spear after it struck the ground, then sprinted along its shaft before Lyra could swing it again.

No matter how fast she swung it, following the spear itself would always lead directly to Lyra Kate.

"First hittt!!!!!"

"...You're going for a girl's face with a kick!?"

He launched a fully enhanced kick straight toward her face.

But Lyra's reactions were incredibly fast.

She shoved her arm in front of herself just in time to block.

Her reinforced arm felt like solid steel, and the impact rebounded painfully into Toma's leg.

That reaction speed.

That strength.

That speed.

And on top of it all, the defensive power granted by her reinforced body.

No wonder even Shion might lose in a direct confrontation.

The gap in physical strength was simply that overwhelming.

"Heh... heheheh...!!"

They had only been fighting for around ten minutes.

And yet Toma was already moving intensely enough to verge on exhaustion.

He tried to regulate his breathing, but he couldn't spare even the slightest moment, constantly watching for when the Mighty Spear would begin swinging again.

"...Sword King. You're seriously strong."

"That's... my line..."

One wrong move and he'd be instantly crushed.

The speed and destructive force of the Mighty Spear.

The reaction speed and defense she displayed whenever an attack approached.

Everything about her was exceptional.

Even her lack of refined technique became an advantage because it made her movements difficult to predict.

Just as Shion had warned, she was a formidable enemy.

Every aspect of her physical ability surpassed his own.

So Toma discarded everything else from his mind.

Shion.

Ciel-san.

Hikari, who was far away.

He temporarily cast all thoughts of them aside and focused every nerve solely on overcoming the warrior before him—Lyra Kate.

"From this point on, until I defeat you, you're the only one I'll see."

"........................"

"I won't let you go anywhere else. And I want you to look only at me too."

"...That's an awfully dangerous pickup line. But that's exactly what I want. My role is to stop you here, after all."

Toma pointed the Holy Sword toward Lyra.

Lyra leveled the Mighty Spear at him.

After exchanging light banter, both fell silent, waiting soundlessly for the perfect moment to strike.

The situation mirrored the start of the battle.

The only difference now was their level of caution toward one another.

If they failed to stop the other here, their allies participating in the King's War would be mercilessly trampled.

Both of them understood that.

Lyra Kate wore the same expression as Toma, as though reflected in a mirror.

In other words—

Whoever won this battle first and reached their allies would gain a massive advantage in the King's War.

Sweat ran down Toma's cheek and dripped onto the ground.

Even while using "Kures the Strong," he had never before been overpowered physically.

That was why Lyra Kate was a completely unknown enemy to Toma Swordria.

Too much about her lay beyond his experience.

The destructive power of the Mighty Spear alone could gouge apart the earth itself.

Anyone would fear that.

And because of that, Toma moved first.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!"

He charged at full speed.

Unlike during the previous King's War, he hadn't been able to secretly prepare "Dark Star" throughout the battle.

So there would be no magical support this time.

Just a straightforward frontal assault with "Kures the Strong" pushed to its absolute limit.

Lyra watched calmly and raised the Mighty Spear without the slightest confusion.

As though she had known all along he would come straight at her.

In truth, this scene was familiar to her.

People feared her monstrous strength, then charged recklessly while trying to suppress that fear.

She had seen it countless times.

Experienced it countless times.

That familiarity made her overconfident.

And that slight delay in reacting to the Holy Sword now rushing toward her proved fatal.

Throwing one's weapon sounded simple in words, but the more one fought Lyra and her Mighty Spear, the harder it became to choose that option.

Even knowing intellectually that blocking the spear was impossible, people instinctively prioritized protecting themselves.

Weapons and armor became indispensable.

Toma wore only light gear.

The only thing resembling armor was a chestplate.

Other than that, all he wore was the cloak symbolizing his status as the Sword King.

"Kuh!?"

Lyra twisted her posture at the last second to evade the thrown Holy Sword.

She immediately turned her gaze back—

—and found no one there.

Everything had gone exactly as Toma predicted.

He had thrown the Holy Sword.

She had dodged it.

Yes, Lyra was an unknown enemy.

Her overwhelming strength.

The destructive power and speed of the Mighty Spear.

Even the terrifying possibility that her defense might withstand the Holy Sword itself.

But if the unknown was frightening—

Then all he had to do was force a familiar reaction out of her.

No matter who you were, a razor-sharp blade suddenly flying at your face would naturally trigger fear.

He gambled that she would instinctively dodge.

Had Lyra ignored the Holy Sword and kept her eyes fixed on Toma instead, she might have won instantly.

But Toma's gamble succeeded.

The unknown and the known reversed places between them.

"UUAAAHHH!!!!!!"

"!!?!!?"

To vanish from Lyra's sight, Toma kicked off the ground with "Kures the Strong" at full power and leapt into the sky.

His hand formed the shape of gripping a sword—

—and in the next instant, the Holy Sword's first ability, "Grip the Keeper," returned the thrown blade to his hand.

Reacting to the faint whistle slicing through the air, Lyra managed to block the descending Holy Sword with the Mighty Spear.

But the impact was overwhelming.

Her feet sank into the earth, pinning her in place.

She hadn't intended to move anyway.

But there was a world of difference between choosing not to move and being unable to move.

(Why... is this happening!?)

Lyra could never surpass the other Spear King candidates through technique.

So she had sought power instead.

That pursuit gave birth to her current fighting style.

For someone like her, there had never been anyone capable of opposing her through raw strength.

Her power unquestionably ranked among the highest in the world.

Even among dragonkin—beings superior to humans as a race—few could rival her brute force.

Her Mighty Spear tore through the air, gouged apart the ground, and crushed people effortlessly.

There had been opponents who countered her through technique.

Shion Ace was one such existence.

But she accepted that loss.

She simply concluded that her own power hadn't yet reached the level where technique became meaningless.

Since fighting Shion, she had pushed her physical strength even further.

A level of power so overwhelming that skill itself would no longer matter.

Never—

Never had she imagined someone would challenge her head-on with brute force instead.

As she stared at the Holy Sword inches from her face and the desperate expression of the Sword King, a completely unfamiliar emotion welled up inside her.

It wasn't fear.

It wasn't shock.

It wasn't sorrow over someone opposing her absolute confidence in strength with strength of their own.

No.

No no no no no!!!

"Ahah."

The corners of her mouth lifted.

Joy spread across her face.

Someone was matching her with their full strength.

Someone could withstand her at full power.

Not even the other Spear King candidates—not even her twin sister—had ever done that.

And that fact made her overwhelmingly happy.

She pushed back against the Holy Sword with the Mighty Spear.

Toma answered by pouring even more strength into his blade, making it grow heavier.

For the first time in her life, she was being overpowered through sheer force.

The exhilaration surged uncontrollably through her body, and she raised the mana reinforcing herself to its absolute maximum.

"YAAAH!!!"

"Whoa!!!"

With overwhelming force, Lyra blasted Toma backward and readied the Mighty Spear once more.

Gone was the emotionless, expressionless girl from before.

Her spirits soared.

Joy filled her heart.

Her fighting spirit overflowed.

She knew with certainty that she could perform at her absolute best now.

This—

This was her strongest state.

"You seem awfully happy."

"...Yeah. I'm having fun. I've never had this much fun before. So let's keep going. If it's with the Sword King, I can have even more fun. More, more and more, more and more and more."

"If you're enjoying yourself, that's great to hear. But don't expect me to lose for you. Because I don't plan on losing either."

Meanwhile, Toma didn't regret failing to finish things with that last strike.

If she could be defeated that easily, none of this would've been difficult in the first place.

His objective had never changed.

Keep Lyra Kate occupied—

—or defeat her if possible.

If she became fixated on him and targeted only him, that suited him perfectly.

After all, the people fighting alongside him were Shion Ace, who had only won the previous King's War thanks to luck—

—and Hikari, whose sword talent far surpassed even his own.

No matter what happened, he believed they would be fine.

And so, for now, he could devote everything to the monster before him—

To the girl who simply wanted to test her strength.

"...About that escort you mentioned earlier. I'm asking again now."

"I'd like to grant the wish of a cute girl if I can..."

"But the date activity will be fighting!!!!"

"I'd really rather avoid that!!!!"

The Holy Sword swung.

The Mighty Spear crashed down.

As the surrounding environment was torn apart by their clash, the true battle between their weapons had only just begun.