Reincarnated as a Son of the Sword Saint and the Sage

Chapter 516  Final Blow

It had been a few minutes since the start of the match between Erik and Edward. From what the crowd and I could see, things seemed were not going well for Edward.

Since the beginning of the fight, Edward had been toyed by Erik. Even equipped with a lot superior armor and weapon, Edward was yet to land a decent blow on Erik while the masked fencer had been harassing and poking him around.

Every time Erik took Edward down, he intentionally waited for him to stand before attacking him again. Whenever Edward unleashed a technique, Erik just blocked, parried, or evaded it effortlessly.

The audience watching this scene had mixed reactions to this. While the minority were cheering for Erik, many expressed their concerns for the prince. It might be that they were showing pity on him since the emperor was watching along them and they did not want to be punished or something.

For me and my sister, though, this match was kind of anticlimactic, and we thought that Erik's previous match was a lot better and more entertaining.

Naturally, the ones who were close to Edward were worried about his well-being in the arena. Two of those were Emperor Alfred and Edith, who were in the VIP seats as us. I was sure Edward's friends at the gladiator's entrance were sweating right now as they failed to find ways to stop Erik.

Setting aside this match, there was something that concerned me today. According to Francis, the group alongside the Aethel family would be about to execute their plans today. I was afraid to guess that it would happen a short time later.

Francis did not know what that would be, so I had no idea as well. It might be involved by some of the audience here. I had tried to scan each person in the arena, but I did not find something I deemed suspicious.

It was true that there were a lot of unfamiliar warriors to execute something big here, but it was a normal occurrence, especially for today's event.

One thing that baffled me was the great sword that Prince Edward was wielding. His armor indeed provided him an additional stat boost, but I could not say the same for the sword. That sword made out of divine-grade materials did not have some special effects on it. Or it might be because even I could not see it?

I had been thinking that it would happen after this match. If that was the case, Erik, or rather Azrael, and I were prepared to take immediate response in case something happened. For now, let us see how this match concluded.

◆◇◆◇◆◇

"Piercing Barrage."

Clink! Clink! Clink! Clink!

"Ugh—"

In the arena, the prince's suffering from the rapier of the Phantom Fencer did not seem to end. Just now, Erik and his afterimage performed their signature move, barraging Edward with countless jabs.

Since the start of the match, Erik had been attacking Edward on his armor, ensuring that he would not take any fatal damage to extend the match further. Even though Edward did not take a direct hit, the impact of each hit still brought brute damage on him.

While Erik might be enjoying that, the audience was seeing it as torture and humiliation, and many of them were not enjoying seeing their crown prince suffer. No matter how much they prayed and plead, they could not stop Erik from attacking Edward.

"You...!" Edward groaned just as he struggled to rise up. "Are you really a warrior for disrespecting your opponent like this...?!"

"Because there's no reason not to do so." One of the afterimages spoke.

"Stop using these dirty tricks and fight me like a man!"

"I'll do it if you strip that off. I want to kill you by stabbing you in the heart without using any divine sword techniques."

"Don't order me around!"

Dragging his sword, Edward ran at full throttle toward Erik. His blade was glowing, indicating the execution of a technique afterward. Suddenly, Erik canceled all his afterimages before he lowered the point of his rapier to the floor, inciting an invitation.

"Armor Cutter!"

Once Erik was in his attack range, Edward powerfully swung his sword down. Enhanced by a Level 7 Sword Art technique, his blade was moving over the speed of sound, and its weight exponentially increased its momentum.

Clink!

Before the destructive blade hit its target, Erik instantly activated his electrifying closk before he swiftly raised his sword upward. Its speed easily surpassed that of Edward's by folds. Upon making contact with Edward's blade, the rapier successfully parried the great sword away, which made Edward broke his posture as well as his balance.

"Alright, my turn. Dragon Slayer."

Creating a wide opening in his opponent, Erik slashed his blade downward. While the Armor Cutter was specialized in cleaving hard but thin objects, Erik's Level 8 technique not only cut hard things more effectively but also penetrated deeper.

Screech!

However, when the blade hit the armor, a deafening, sharp, and ear-piercing sound rang throughout the coliseum. It meant that something was not good for Erik. Even with a powerful technique, Erik's attack failed to pierce through the armor, and it just scraped over it, only leaving a decent scratch on it.

"Huh...?" Edward came back to sensed, confused, and then peered down to his chest before he leaped back by a few meters. "Hah! I am still unscathed! Do you really think you can get through this without using your all?"

Edward scoffed by how Erik's powerful move only left a single scratch on his armor. He even mocked Erik for not using his ultimate moves to finish him in that moment. As for Erik, he was just standing there, forming a curve on one of the corners of his lips.

"No, no, no." Erik clicked his tongue thrice. "You got it wrong, Your Imperial Highness. It's all part of my plan?"

"? What plan?"

"This—"

"?!"

◆◇◆

In an instant, all Edward could see were streaks of lightning for a split second—no, it was Erik coming at him at an imperceptible speed. When he blinked again, he was already gone.

For some reason, Edward had been starting to hear the audience louder than ever, and mysteriously, the noises surrounding him began to fade lower and lower. Everything was peacefully quiet.

A few seconds later, he felt like his chest was somewhat unusually warm. He thought that it was all the warmth of the love he had been receiving from his supporters.

Remembering that, Edward turned his attention to the VIP seats, where he saw Edith. She seemed to be saying something to him, but again, he could not hear any of her words. Even so, he flashed her a smile.

And that was what he last remembered before he collapsed on the floor.

◆◇◆

In the arena, in front of tens of thousands of people, Prince Edward was found lying on the floor sideways with his arms and legs bent and bathed with his own blood. A rapier was seen buried in his chest. The imperial citizens and outsiders alike were equally shocked by what they were beholding.

Meanwhile, Erik thought it was a bit funny, as Edward was doing an infamous death pose of an anime character. That being said, Erik just killed Edward by stabbing his rapier into his heart, just like what he declared earlier.

Utilizing that scratch he made earlier, his blade went passed his armor through the thinned-out layer. It was possible with the enhancement of the Sword Art Level 7: Fatality Thrust.

After defeating Edward, Erik had won and become the champion of the Imperial Battle Tournament.