Chapter 23 The Tragic Hero (Part Four)

Two jet-black greatswords slashed forward fiercely from behind his back.

The seemingly indestructible ceiling of the arena was split open by two downward sword winds.

Countless bricks fell, smashing onto the ground, raising clouds of dust and ash, which were then blown away by the swirling evil wind.

“Boom!!!!!!”

The ruin trembled under this one strike from the jet-black swordsman.

However, Bray, who was directly facing the two terrifying slashes, did not fall.

However, even if Bray possessed a superhuman physique at this moment, it was impossible for him to be unscathed under this one strike.

Blood from his wrist flowed down his forearm.

Bray looked straight at the jet-black swordsman, then spat a mouthful of blood onto the messy ground.

Then blood splattered on the dark, unlit armor, and a longsword appeared in front of the jet-black swordsman.

A dazzling array of sword moves was continuously unleashed, the sound of the blade echoing in the arena.

With every swing of the sword, blood would spill from Bray's body.

But from Bray's calm face, nothing unusual could be seen, as if the blood flowing was not his own.

Despite this, Bray was still a human, made of flesh and blood.

The continuous loss of blood eventually caused Bray's stamina to decline.

His breathing was no longer steady, and he was being constantly pushed back by the greatsword.

The jet-black swordsman's roars grew more and more frenzied, but at a certain moment, they came to an abrupt end.

「Water Severing Style」「Severing the Autumn Water」——

The world seemed to return to tranquility in an instant.

There was no sorrow or joy on Bray's face.

As he passed by the jet-black swordsman, the right arm clad in black armor fell to the side.

A greatsword was fiercely stuck in the ground, sinking several inches into the hard ground.

Blood splattered on Bray's face, and the blood that fell from his left eye socket made Bray look as if he were crying tears of blood.

“GUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!”

“peng!!!”

The jet-black swordsman backhanded Bray fiercely.

The sweeping sword wind shattered the already dilapidated pillars into pieces.

The ceiling, having lost the support of many pillars, rustled as lime scattered down, as if it could collapse at any moment.

Bray frowned tightly, holding 「Final Echo」 in front of him, and took the blow head-on.

After retreating nearly ten steps, Bray barely managed to stop.

“GUAAAAAAA!!!!!” The jet-black swordsman was roaring in pain.

From the severed right arm, which was bleeding profusely, new flesh buds were gradually growing.

Normally, the stronger the physique, the more difficult it should be to recover.

But this rule did not seem to apply to the jet-black swordsman.

「Eighteen Forms Style」「Crescent Moon」——

Three streaks of cold light, like threads, intertwined and twisted towards the jet-black swordsman's tall body.

“Kalalalalalala!!!”

The armor, which had never had a crack, slowly cracked, and blood poured out from the gaps.

The jet-black swordsman, driven mad by the intense pain, violently sent the weakening Bray flying.

“Boom——”

Bray, who was sent flying, crashed into the wall, creating a deep pit.

The rubble buried him.

The next moment, the rubble was blown away.

Bray threw off the corpse pressing on him, stood up panting, his swaying body showing that he was still not well.

His right eye was already blurred by blood.

Bray closed his eye, opened it, and his vision was clear once more.

The current appearance of the jet-black swordsman could already be described as a monster.

That jet-black helmet was twisted and deformed, as if it were the head of a beast.

His already tall body, the upper body had once again swelled by a circle.

The armor he wore also deformed along with it, becoming even wilder, clinging tightly to the jet-black swordsman's body.

The disproportionate body, however, made the jet-black swordsman look even more powerful and terrifying.

On the severed right arm, the bleeding had also stopped.

“GUAAAAAAAAAAA!!!” The voice was becoming more and more like a beast's, and the human voice could no longer be heard.

A gurgling sound from the throat resounded through the arena, and the jet-black swordsman's body was still changing.

But, even in this state, the jet-black swordsman's left hand was still tightly gripping the greatsword.

“Swish——”

The jet-black swordsman, oh no, he should be called a monster now, was moving at a speed that did not match his huge body.

Continuously leaping between the walls, ceiling, and pillars, no one present could even capture his figure, not even Bray.

One could only barely make out the jet-black afterimage leaping within the arena.

“kala——”

The sound of bones breaking came from Bray's right hand.

As if in revenge, the monster fiercely smashed its greatsword onto Bray's right hand.

With his already terrifying strength once again surging, even if Bray deflected the force, he could not escape the fate of a broken bone.

After the bone broke, Bray's body flew sideways.

Faster than Bray's retreat was the monster's charge.

“peng!!!”

Bray, who had not yet landed, was fiercely slapped against the wall again.

Just as the monster wanted to continue, a cold light flowed in Bray's eyes.

The blade's cold light flashed, and the monster's right leg was cut off.

The monster fell forward onto the ground, slid for a long distance, and plunged headfirst into a pile of rubble.

The entire ruin shook a few more times.

Tightly gripping the greatsword, the monster climbed up and roared at Bray again.

The roar stirred up a fierce wind, and the surrounding blue flames flickered.

The flames that had never been extinguished were finally extinguished.

The arena was plunged into darkness, and the magic array set up to seal the arena, with its flowing light, replaced the flames and illuminated the arena.

The monster's greatsword slashed wildly, and huge cracks appeared in space.

Turbulent flows rushed out from the gaps.

But 「Final Echo」 was swung, and no matter how the monster attacked, there was only that one crack in space.

The effect of the 「Sever」 concept was being continuously suppressed.

“GUAAAAAAAA!!!!!” The greatsword's offensive was useless, so the monster charged straight at Bray.

The helmet slowly cracked open, and a bloody maw actually opened.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!” Bray screamed, but quickly closed his mouth again.

The monster bit down hard on Bray's right shoulder, shattering his joint.

Bray switched 「Final Echo」 to his left hand, and the hilt of the sword landed heavily on the monster's neck.

A muffled sound exploded, and the monster's armor shattered, seeping blood.

However, even so, this monster still had no intention of letting go.

“Haaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!” Bray roared, enduring the intense pain, and once again smashed down on the monster.

With a “pang”, a large piece of armor fell off, still stained with blood.

Under the armor, the monster's body was covered with pulsating blood vessels and a grid-like skin texture.

“Haaaah!!!” With another fierce blow, the monster finally recoiled a few steps in pain.

“You bastard, have you lost even your final will!!!!” Bray shouted angrily.

The only response was the monster's roar, and the crisp sound of the greatsword smashing crazily on the ground.

In fact, from the very beginning of the 「Life and Death Battle」, Bray had been able to intermittently receive voices from the jet-black swordsman.

Although there was no content, it was indeed proof that the jet-black swordsman's will was still there.

But after the jet-black swordsman transformed into this state, Bray had not heard any sound.

Bray slid a step, and his figure instantly appeared under the monster.

The sword, from bottom to top, cut through the armor on the monster's chest, emitting a harsh screech of “kalakalakla——”.

「Onis Swordsmanship」, a sword technique where all skills were targeted at giant monsters.

His right arm hung limply, the sword was stuck in the monster's throat, the tip of the sword protruding from the back of its neck. Bray glared at this jet-black monster.

“peng!!!”

The huge left fist smashed the mid-air Bray back to the ground, leaving a deep pit in the ground.

At some unknown time, the monster had already let go of the greatsword in its left hand.

That greatsword, which seemed so important to the jet-black swordsman, and yet not so important, fell to the ground.

“ping——” A crack suddenly appeared on the indestructible greatsword.

“GUAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!” The monster roared at the sky, but its throat was damaged, and its voice became extremely hoarse.

One could even hear the sound of bubbles coming from its windpipe.

Even so, the monster was still roaring, its left fist smashing fiercely towards Bray.

Bray dodged and left his original position.

This one strike sent a sky full of bricks flying.

The fierce wind blew away all the surrounding corpses, and even the blood on the ground was instantly dried up.

“kalalalalala——”

Bray was not injured at all. What was hit was the greatsword belonging to the jet-black swordsman.

After being hit, the greatsword actually began to crumble, its gleaming cold light seeming to be grieving for something.

The sword body, which should not have been so fragile, shattered and turned into pieces, leaving only the hilt.

“GUAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!” A roar sounded, but this roar seemed a little different.

It seemed to be filled with sorrow, and blood flowed down from the side of the helmet, like two lines of bloody tears.

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