The ruins trembled beneath the crushing weight of battle.
Kael stood alone.
Selene and Darian had already reached their absolute limits.
Their mana was practically depleted, leaving neither of them capable of continuing the fight.
Kael wiped the dust from his face, his breathing heavy and ragged.
Across from him, the mysterious swordsman remained completely still, blade in hand.
He had barely suffered a scratch.
Kael clenched his fists.
“Damn it…” The swordsman slowly raised his blade.
“You are the last one standing.” Kael smirked.
“Then I’ll be the last one fighting.” He vanished in a flash of lightning.
BOOM!
The swordsman caught the blow instantly.
CLANG!
Kael struck again.
And again.
Yet every single strike was parried with absolute precision.
Slowly, Kael’s speed began to drag.
Raizen watched silently from afar, his eyes tracing every subtle motion of the enemy’s blade.
That technique… Raizen stepped forward.
Kael caught sight of him.
“Raizen!” Stopping at his side, Raizen kept his eyes locked ahead.
“I’m fighting too.” Kael frowned.
“I told you to stay back!” “You can’t defeat him alone.” Kael stared at him for a beat, then let out a sharp grin.
“Fine.
Just don’t get in my way.” Raizen summoned his shadow sword.
Dark energy gathered around his palm, gradually condensing into a physical blade.
SHING.
Kael glanced over.
“So that’s your new weapon.” Raizen nodded.
“It should do the trick.” The enemy swordsman shifted his gaze between the two of them.
“Two against one?” A faint smile touched his lips.
“Interesting.” Kael dropped into a low stance.
Raizen raised his blade.
For a fleeting second, time stood still.
Then— BOOM!
Kael charged head-on while Raizen melted into the shadows.
The swordsman blocked Kael’s frontal assault, but Raizen materialized directly behind him.
CLANG!
Parrying Raizen’s attack at the last possible second, the swordsman leaped backward.
Raizen landed lightly next to Kael, who grinned broader.
“Not bad.” “Neither are you.” The swordsman narrowed his eyes.
“Your coordination is impressive.” Kael rushed forward once more, lightning crackling wildly across his frame.
Raizen trailed a fraction of a second behind.
The swordsman deflected Kael’s initial blow, turning to block Raizen’s side strike— CLANG!
Kael appeared directly above him.
“Now!” Lightning erupted from Kael’s fist.
The swordsman raised his blade to guard— BOOM!
The shockwave blasted the swordsman backward, forcing him to take several heavy steps back for the first time in the fight.
Raizen stared at him intently.
We can actually do this.
The swordsman smiled.
“You’ve improved.” Suddenly, his aura shifted.
The atmospheric pressure around him spiked dramatically.
Kael’s playful demeanor vanished.
“He’s getting serious.” Raizen tightened his grip on his hilt.
“Good.” The swordsman disappeared.
Raizen barely reacted in time.
CLANG!
Their swords collided, the force knocking Raizen back.
The swordsman pressed the advantage instantly— CLANG!
Another strike.
CLANG!
And another.
Raizen held his ground, blocking every blow as his vision sharpened.
He analyzed every facet of the swordsman’s form—the angle of the blade, the distribution of weight in his footwork, the precise timing of every swing.
He isn’t attacking randomly.
Every single movement serves a purpose.
Raizen took a deliberate step back.
As the swordsman lunged again, Raizen matched the trajectory perfectly.
CLANG!
The attack was cleanly parried.
A flicker of genuine surprise crossed the swordsman’s face.
“You learn quickly.” Raizen offered no reply.
Kael reappeared at his flank.
“Raizen!” “On three,” Raizen muttered.
Kael nodded.
“One.” The swordsman readied his blade.
“Two.” Lightning surged around Kael while shadows swirled at Raizen’s feet.
“Three!” They moved as one.
Kael’s lightning tore through the front while Raizen’s shadow sword swept in from the side.
The swordsman shifted to block Kael, but Raizen abruptly altered his trajectory.
The shadow beneath his feet expanded, swallowing him whole.
The swordsman turned, but it was already too late—Raizen reemerged directly behind his blind spot.
CLANG!
The swordsman’s weapon was knocked clean out of his grip, clattering onto the debris.
Silence fell over the ruins.
The swordsman stared at his empty hand before looking up at Raizen.
“You…” Raizen raised his hand, and the shadows around the swordsman’s feet surged upward, locking him in place.
Kael materialized right in front of the trapped warrior, his fist enveloped in a blinding bolt of lightning.
“It’s over.” Raizen brought his hand down, and Kael delivered the strike.
BOOM!
The swordsman was sent flying through the air, crashing heavily into the rubble meters away.
The battle was finally over.
Kael stood motionless for a moment before letting out a long, exhausted breath.
“We actually won…” Raizen stared down at the defeated swordsman.
However, his attention was fixed on something else entirely: the man’s martial art.
Slowly, Raizen approached the fallen warrior.
The swordsman winced, looking up.
“What do you want?” Raizen locked eyes with him.
“Your swordsmanship.” The man’s expression turned to confusion.
“What?” Raizen extended his hand.
A dark, ethereal aura enveloped the swordsman, pulling his residual energy back toward Raizen’s palm.
Kael watched, bewildered.
“Raizen, what are you doing?” Raizen stayed silent as a flood of foreign concepts invaded his mind—movements, stances, reflexes, and decades of hard-won combat experience.
His eyes widened as the knowledge settled deep within his muscle memory.
The dark aura dissipated, and Raizen lowered his hand.
He raised his shadow sword and executed a single fluid slash.
The motion was completely different from before—sharper, cleaner, and immensely more precise.
Kael stared at him in disbelief.
“Did you just… copy his swordsmanship?” Raizen nodded slowly.
“I did.” Kael frowned, a hint of unease in his voice.
“That power of yours…” Raizen turned his gaze toward the distant tree line.
“It can steal more than just magic.” Kael offered no reply.
Glancing at his blade once more, Raizen realized the terrifying truth of his own potential.
If he could absorb magic, and if he could mirror martial techniques…
then how many abilities could he ultimately claim for himself?
He tightened his grip on the hilt.
I need to become even stronger.
Behind them, Selene slowly pushed herself up.
“Is it over?” Kael nodded softly.
“Yeah.” Darian leaned heavily against a shattered wall.
“Then let’s get out of here.” Raizen cast one last look at the defeated swordsman.
The man was still conscious, but he lacked the energy to even stand.
Turning away, Raizen fell into step with the other three academy students as they began their trek back.
None of them noticed the subtle, faint smile that crept onto Raizen’s face in the dark.
His journey had only just begun.