Sword Saint's Reincarnation

Book 3 Chapter 19: Arid Wasteland (4)

The Boss looked like a mix between a giant human and a black beast. It was humanoid, with two legs and two arms, and muscles rippling throughout its six-meter-tall frame. However, it was covered in black fur, and its head was shaped like a hound’s. The creature was carrying a greataxe that was as large as it was, and it was dressed in crude armor, with a tunic in front of its groin.

It looks like one of the creatures depicted in the corridor’s walls.

It was an interesting-looking enemy. Rylan’s gaze moved to the people around it. A group of twelve Mages, each in the Fifth Circle, with seven men and five women. They were all dressed in gray robes, carrying weapons that were clearly artifacts. The different staves glowed as they fired spell after spell toward the Boss.

The room itself looked like a grand hall. In the opposite end was a stone throne, large enough for the Boss to sit on. A few columns held up the high concave ceiling, all engraved with different scenes, ranging from more of the humanoid beasts to sights in nature. On the other hand, the walls were rather plain, consisting of nothing but sand-colored stone.

For a second, Rylan watched the battle, unmoving. The group was doing a good enough job; some of the Mages would draw the Boss’s attention, making it turn to them. Once that happened, the ones opposite to them would fire spells at the Boss’s unprotected back, bombarding it with whatever they could muster. The Boss, in turn, would have its attention drawn towards its attackers, and the situation would repeat itself.

But they aren’t doing much damage.

There were a few burns and gashes on the creature’s skin and fur, but that was all. Rylan didn’t know how long the battle had been going on for, but judging by the wounds on the various people, it hadn’t just started. Apart from that, he could tell this delicate standstill was about to be broken.

As if on cue, the Boss snarled as it stopped moving. It then looked to its right, locking eyes with one of the Mages – a blond, ordinary-looking woman. The other Mages fired offensive spells at it, but it didn’t budge. One of the men flinched and looked at the blond woman, clearly anxious.

“Shield!” he yelled, sounding desperate.

She blinked. In the next moment, the Boss dashed toward her, raising its weapon.

It’s fast.

Rylan didn’t hesitate. Using Snowstorm, he shot forward, circulating both his Aura and mana. At the same time, Silver Twilight was flooded by both types of energy. Lightning crackled around the blade.

Stormcaller Sword Style, First Movement: Thunderbolt.

Rylan’s movement speed massively increased. He almost flew toward the enemy with a lightning bolt’s fury, bursting with energy. The electricity that flowed around him gathered around the blade’s tip. The distance between him and the Boss disappeared rapidly. As the Boss finished raising its weapon and was about to bring it down, Rylan arrived. In the last moment, the enemy brought down the axe on Rylan instead of the blond woman.

The two of them collided, sword against axe. For a second, neither gave way, holding fast against the other. A heartbeat later, the impact pushed back the Boss, its feet sliding on the floor, while Rylan moved forward. Nevertheless, he’d been slowed down significantly. Still, he’d achieved his goal. Rylan glanced over his shoulder at the blond woman, who was staring at him with a dumbfounded expression. A layer of blue mana covered her. He looked back at the Boss and swung his sword. The monster followed suit, and their weapons met once more with a loud clang. The creature was pushed back even further.

We’re not even.

Even without using Sword Arts, it seemed like he could overwhelm the monster with pure strength. It wasn’t surprising, given the Dungeon’s level and how much his Aura had increased by. However, Rylan didn’t let down his guard in the least; even Frozen Sanctum’s Boss had been capable of magic, so there was no reason to believe this one wouldn’t be able to cast spells.

His feet touched the floor. Dashing toward the Boss, Rylan swung his sword again. The slash landed on the creature’s abdomen, creating a large gash. The monster roared in pain and jumped backward, widening the distance between them. Rylan lowered his center of gravity. Just as he was about to give chase, a ball of fire landed on the right side of the Boss’s face, making it snarl. Rylan looked at the attacker. It was one of the men, one with brown hair and eyes, who was smiling and shaking at the same time.

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“He’s Rylan Flameheart!” the man shouted at the top of his lungs, making the others flinch. “We have the genius on our side! Just keep fighting!”

The other Mages dumbly stared at the Mage, but as the Boss turned to look at him, smiles slowly made their way to their faces. With renewed vigor, they started attacking the Boss again. Rylan clicked his tongue.

I was going to ask them to back off and let me fight freely.

Still, this wasn’t so bad. He wasn’t inexperienced enough for his Sword Arts to harm people he didn’t want to. The only problem would be if the Boss decided to doggedly pursue one of them, as it had before he entered the fight. That would force him to go out of his way to protect them.

No, they can probably handle themselves. They wouldn’t have attempted this fight without some level of mastery.

Throwing the idle thoughts out of his mind, Rylan dashed toward the enemy. The Boss immediately turned to look at him. He blinked as he felt the monster’s mana move, gathering around its weapon, but there was no reason to let the creature finish casting its spell. He held Silver Twilight’s hilt with both hands.

Stormcaller Sword Style, Second Movement: Crackling Edge.

His pure white Aura and blue mana moved and took the shape of lightning as it coated the blade’s edge, roaring with power. Simultaneously, the twin types of energy moved to cast Lesser Lightning, feeding the Sword Art even more. The two pools of energy fiercely revolving within him, Rylan arrived before the enemy and swung his sword. A black layer of mana took shape around the Boss, including its greataxe. The two weapons met.

The black mana immediately faltered, but it didn’t collapse. The Boss was pushed back, but it didn’t fall. Rylan narrowed his eyes and kept going. After a second, his Sword Art beat the axe swing, forcing the weapon back and landing straight on the creature’s chest. The layer of black mana slowed it down, but not enough to allow the Boss to avoid the attack. The lightning coursed through the monster’s flesh, burning it and tearing through it as the blade carved a new, deep wound. The creature roared in pain and jumped backward. This time, Rylan didn’t let it widen the distance and kept up with its movement.

Arrows of mana and Fireballs flew above his head from behind. The Boss swung its greataxe, splitting the incoming spells in half. The black mana crawled over itself right into the spells, which fell apart a second later. Rylan raised an eyebrow as he prepared another slash.

Yeah, the black mana is enough to slaughter these Mages.

It was obvious from the way it had simply destroyed the spells it touched. Unfortunately for the enemy, however, he was here. He slashed the wound he’d created with Crackling Edge. Because he hadn’t used a Sword Art, the attack became much slower the moment it touched the layer of black mana, but it still managed to deepen the existing injury. Clearly powering through the pain, the enemy raised its axe above its head and brought it down.

Rylan sidestepped the attack, letting the swing hit the floor with a loud noise. The stone gave way as the black mana tore through it to create a large gash that was almost ten meters long. Without even glancing at it, Rylan shot forward and swung his weapon.

Stormcaller Sword Style, Third Movement: Rainfall.

His energies moved like water, flowing around Silver Twilight. He swung the weapon, then again. His attacks fell upon the Boss’s body like rain, one after the other. Large wounds began to appear on it, starting from cuts on its lower body. Still, the black mana reduced the damage significantly. Meanwhile, the Boss never stopped swinging its weapon. The black mana extended its range and allowed it to cover an area of several meters with each swing, but Rylan was fast enough to avoid them all and keep attacking. The monster’s scarlet blood dyed the damaged floor.

Spells kept coming from behind Rylan, but neither he nor the Boss cared about them. The only thing they managed to do was grant him openings and windows to attack. They were incapable of inflicting any damage to the mana-covered Boss.

In such a fashion, the battle continued. Rylan and the enemy clashed again and again, but the black mana didn’t seem to get any weaker, even as the Boss’s injuries increased in number and severity. With only a few Sword Arts, he kept sinking his blade into the creature’s flesh.

As he avoided an attack by jumping upward, Rylan circulated his Aura and mana at top speed. With an eerie smile, the Boss swung its weapon at him, seemingly certain that there wouldn’t be anything he could do. Clouds appeared around him as his blade was coated in lightning. At the same time, he stepped on the air, channeling Snowstorm.

Stormcaller Sword Style, Fourth Movement: Tempest Break.

The blade crackled with power as he cast Lesser Lightning and Wind Blades to empower the Sword Art. Much faster than before, Rylan met the creature’s swing. Its beady eyes widened as it was pushed back. Lightning coursed along the axe to touch the Boss’s hands and burn them, making it falter. A moment later, the axe was sent flying out of its grasp, but the Sword Art didn’t stop. Rylan met the monster’s eyes one last time.

The blade severed the Boss’s neck. Its head was sent flying through the air, the black mana vanishing.

Rylan lightly landed behind the now headless corpse and took a breath.

Now to deal with the annoying part.

He turned around to look at the group of dumbfounded Mages.