Pat...Pat...Pat...Grrrrmmmmm...
Rain fell in heavy sheets. The glade shimmered under the moonlight as the thunder rumbled in the distance, low and ominous.
Shhhk...Shhhk...Shhhk...
Cero and Sarah circled each other slowly, their boots sliding across the slick ground, eyes locked with immense focus. Neither blinked. Neither breathed too loudly. The tension between them was a tight, ready to snap.
Cero thought, "The real battle begins, she begin using her Blessing... and her swordstyle."
Sarah smirked, "Just so you know, I defeated Sophius."
Cero remarked, "I bested him alone."
Then, without warning, Sarah moves, with a sharp exhale, she uttered, "Storm Swordstyle, Third form: Cyclone Waltz."
Whoosh...
Her blue aura erupted, spiraling around her like a living tempest. She closed the distance in a heartbeat, her body twisting into a graceful, deadly spin. The rain bent around her, drawn into the vortex of her movement. Leaves, water, and wind danced in her wake as she spun—once, twice, faster and faster—becoming a storm incarnate.
But Cero was ready.
With a calm voice he uttered, "Secret Sword Art, Heavenly Style, First Form: Godspeed."
In that instant, the world seemed to pause.
BOOM!
A pulse of green aura exploded beneath Cero's feet, and he vanished—no blur, no afterimage, just pure disappearance. Sarah's eyes widened mid-spin, her dagger slicing through empty air.
"Don't tell me..." she whispered, her voice barely audible over the storm.
Cero reappeared behind her, upside down in midair, his twin daggers glowing with green concentrated aura. Time seemed to slow as he twisted.
Sarah was ready. The Cyclone Waltz was not a mere flurry of strikes; it was a living defense, a storm that spun in all directions with no clear opening.
Cero knew this.
And so, he vanished again.
A gust of wind brushed past Sarah's cheek, sharp and sudden.
She flinched.
A thin line of blood bloomed across her cheek, mingling with the rain. A scratch, shallow, but deliberate. Her eyes widened as she pivoted, slashing behind her with a swift arc of her dagger—but her blade met only the falling rain.
Then came the voice, low and mocking, "What's the matter, Finest Assassin of the South? Your title seems a joke."
Sarah's eyes darted through the downpour. She could hear the rustle of leaves, the splash of water—but Cero was nowhere to be seen. His speed was beyond the reach of the naked eye.
Confusion crept into her thoughts, "Heavenly Swordstyle... A swordsmanship wielded by a dragon. No human can wield it. But how can a young swordsman from a backwater magic tower possessed it? This defies logic. Don't tell me..."
Her voice trembled as she whispered, "You're a dragon?"
In response, shallow cuts traced across her arms and shoulders—precise and deliberate. Cyclone Waltz has prevented her from receiving fatal wounds.
Then came his calm voice, "Nonsense. First you accused me of being witchborn, and now a dragon?"
Sarah's breath caught. She knew the truth. The dragons has vanished after the post-apocalyptic war. Cero wasn't one of them.
He was something else. "She thought to herself, "A genius."
A shiver ran down her spine. For the first time in her life, Sarah felt fear—not from pain, but from the unknown. From the realization that she was no longer the hunter.
She was prey.
She felt it—his presence—trailing behind her like a whisper ofdeath.
Then—Shhhk!
A clean slice. Her long ponytail fell, severed in a single stroke.
But Cero's blades met only empty space.
Sarah had vanished.
Not from speed. From silence. From the Blessing of the Shade Guard.
Cero landed in a crouch, twin daggers humming with green aura. His eyes scanned the glade, but there was nothing. Shade Guard granted her invisibility.
He narrowed his gaze, voice low and sharp, "I aimed for her head... and all I got was useless hair. Shade Guard. I can't sense her presence. Not her aura. Not even her movement. She must be maintaining her distance... waiting for the perfect moment to strike."
A single tear slipped down his cheek, lost in the rain. He mused, "Thank you, Father. Without this... I would've been dead by now."
His eyes began to glow—brilliant green, steady, and focused. But this time, there was no pain. No blood. Only clarity.
"Phantom Sight," he whispered inwardly. "Thank you for giving me your mana... He must've been nearly drained fighting Darius and his unit. He sacrificed himself... for me."
Through the veil of rain and shadow, the world shifted. The glade sharpened. The air shimmered faintly—and there, just beyond the edge of a tree's shadow, a flicker. A distortion. A breath too shallow.
He saw her.
Cero rose slowly, his aura flared as he uttered, "Secret Sword Art, Heavenly Style—First Form: Godspeed."
In an instant, he vanished—no sound, no flash—just a ripple in the rain.
He reappeared beside Sarah, already sheathing his dagger back at his belt. The rain continued to fall between them, soft and steady, as he walked past her with calm, deliberate steps.
His voice low and cold, "You made three fatal mistakes."
Sarah didn't respond. She stood frozen, her breath shallow, her body trembling beneath the weight of pain and defeat. Soaked in blood.
Cero Continued, "First, you underestimated me. Second, you revealed your cards too early. I've studied the Storm Swordstylelong before this battle. And the Shade Guard Blessing? It's listed in the spellbook's encyclopedia of blessings. I prepared for it. You, on the other hand, knew nothing of my abilities—let alone how to counter them. Third... you let your emotions cloud you. Arrogance. Fear. Doubt. They dulled your edge."
Sarah's knees buckled. She began to fall.
But before she could hit the ground, Cero exhaled and whispered, "Secret Sword Art, Second Form: Shattering Blade."
Shhhk...Shhhk...Shhhk...
From a short distance, he unsheathed his twin daggers. His hands moved in a blur—graceful, rapid, and impossibly precise. A series of ten slashes, each coated in concentrated aura, striking Sarah's back in a perfect sequence.
She gasped, her body jolting with each impact. The final blow sent her collapsing to the earth, motionless.
Cero stood still, his blades dripping with rain and aura. He calmly said, "That's why you're just the South's finest assassin, not the South's strongest swordsmen because afterall, Darius were stronger than you. Thus, I forbid you from ever lifting your dagger again."
He turned away, his voice were cold, "Shattering Blade doesn't leave simple cuts. If she survives... she's cripple and she'll never wield aura again. Her core is broken. A third-core talent—wasted."
Cero looked at the sky. He muttered, "All of these unfolds over a petty reason, we are branded as a witch. No evidence, just pure hostility."
Cero stood still, rain cascading down his face, his twin daggers humming faintly at his sides. But then—he coughed.
A harsh, wet sound.
A spray of blood splattered onto his hand.
He staggered, one knee dipping slightly as he caught himself. His breath came in ragged gasps.
Cero clenched his jaw, blood still fresh on his lips as he thought to himself, "Heavenly Swordstyle has come to collect what's due, the more aura poured into its forms, the more it strained mybody. My muscle is torn and my stamina is at limits."
Thud...Thud...Thud...
From the entrance of Cursed Forest of Monsters, it emerged.
A towering beast. Two grotesque heads perched side by side atop a massive, scarred torso. Its skin was thick and leathery, grayish-blue and stretched over bulging muscle. Each arm was as thick as a tree trunk, ending in gnarled fists that could crush boulders. Its eyes glowed red in the moonlight, filled with primal hunger.
It roared—a guttural, dual-voiced bellow that shook the glade.
Cero muttered, forcing himself upright. "Twin-Head Ogre. If I were at full strength, I'd take him down. But now..."
The beast charged, the ground trembling with each step.
Then—CRACK-BOOM!
A blinding bolt of lightning split the sky striking the beast from head to toe.
But the ogre didn't flinch. seaʀᴄh thё NovelZone.fun website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
Smoke curled from its skin. The scent of scorched flesh filled the air. Yet both heads turned slowly, eyes glowing brighter andmore furious than before. The ogre let out a thunderous roar, "RRRAAAAGHHH!" and charged.
Before Cero could react, a figure stepped in front of him and the beast—a man in a black hooded cloak, He turned slightly, just enough for Cero to glimpse a smirk beneath the hood, "Are you lost, little lamb?"
Cero's vision blurred as he thought to himself, "Another enemy? It can't be, he struck the twin-head ogre with a lightning. He's trying to save me. My body feels heavy, my eyes...They're closing and I'm losing consciousness."
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