042 | Sword Style

I twirled around with my sword and gathered my mana into my blade, this is only so I am able to inflict damage upon the Grim Reaper.

The skeleton was a smart person. He instantly dashed several meters out of the range of my sword. Even he knows that something is brewing.

I changed my footwork from being composed and calculative to something extremely messy and overly complicated. As I quickly advanced, I was moving my body and sword in a spherical fashion.

The Grim Reaper had his scythe completely shrouded in Death Magic and threw it in my direction.

"Twenty-Sixth Form."

I made a sideways upper slash with my sword as I tilted my body. As my blade of mana that was covered in a silver aura collided with the scythe, it managed to completely nullify the scythe's velocity and it dropped onto the grass field.

"Impossible...What is this trickery-"

"Thirty-Second Form."

I came close to the Grim Reaper and slashed his entire body a total of ten times within one second. All my attacks were light and quick but sharp as well.

The Grim Reaper disappeared and reappeared behind me as he was picking up his scythe. I saw that there were small dents on his bones.

"Human...none of my 432 predecessors have witnessed such...movements..."

Of course, they haven't. No matter how many Grim Reaper reincarnations there are, none of them will ever be able to see this sword style.

One reason is that this originated from my previous world and doesn't exist anywhere here.

And secondly, I doubt any one of all 433 Grim Reapers can make it out alive if they were unfortunate enough to have met me.

To give you some context, this is a sword style that I personally developed during my time in the Empire as I was serving the soon-to-be king.

At that time, I wasn't nearly as strong as I was during my prime but I was still unrivaled in the country. This sword style revolves around unique ways of moving your body and sword, almost as if the two were completely separate from each other. Many describe the footwork as messy and complex while the sword often circles around the individual.

The style with 32 total forms, suitable for a complete spherical defense and offense, is the Imperial Sword Style.

"I wonder, are you strong enough to leave here alive, skeletal man?"

I pointed my sword at the Grim Reaper as a sign of challenging his very authority and presence. This ought to have enraged him.

Does a mere human dare to challenge me?-

-Or something along the lines is probably what he's thinking.

I'm not sure but I felt the Grim Reaper smirk, even though his skull is expressionless.

"Very well...I shall fast forward your death."

The Grim Reaper picked up his scythe, covered it in Death Magic, and prepared a series of Death spells that were suspended behind him.

A brief moment passed when the wind blew slowly along the grassy field.

We broke the silence when we both charged toward each other.

Dozens of condensed orbs made of Death Energy surrounded me and started to engage me.

"Twelfth Form."

A quick twist of my entire body along with my sword and I managed to cut all the orbs within my vicinity.

I saw an area to the right of the Grim Reaper that had fewer spells capable of coming after me. An obvious trap set up by the Grim Reaper to lead me to where he can ambush me.

I accept that challenge.

"First Form."

With only three steps, I quickly advanced, charging forward leading with my sword, and cutting anything in front of me.

The Grim Reaper threw his scythe before I even arrived at my spot. As I predicted, he wanted to lure me here.

"You should know that using the same tricks twice won't work! Twenty-Sixth Form!"

As the scythe spun towards me I once again nullified it with an upwards slash.

"Foolish human!"

The Grim Reaper teleported behind me and came close behind my back. I could feel his entire body was covered in Death Magic, I did a backflip, dodging a thrust from his hand.

I locked my eyes on the Grim Reaper's forearm region.

"Seventh Form."

Dashing back down to the ground, with a single slash I cut around the circumference of two bones, his radius, and ulna.

The Grim Reaper hopped back along with his scythe that floated back alongside him. He checked out his arm and took sight of noticeable cracks.

"What's wrong? I thought death was awaiting me?"

The Grim Reaper conjured countless amounts of condensed orbs of Death Magic.

"You...impudent human!-"

Utilizing the First Form, I came face to face with the Grim Reaper and cut up any Death Magic that was within my range.

"It seems like it's the other way around. I must go towards 'death' myself!"

With the Thirty-Second Form, I was aiming to target all my consecutive sword slashes at the Grim Reaper's spine. More specifically, his upper cervical region.

However, power is power no matter how much you try to work your way around it. The Grim Reaper has way more mana than I can muster, even when I'm at 100%.

He grabbed his scythe and faced it towards my blade, erecting a powerful barrier constructed of pure mana. My first slash repulsed off the barrier as if my sword and his scythe were two magnets that repelled each other.

"It has...been a while since I awakened...now that my memories flood back...you shall no longer be...a pest to us any longer."

With one swing of his scythe, I had to quickly roll out the way. That one swing managed to leave a mark on the grass field and rip out the dirt underneath.

"I guess it's rude to not match your spirit."

Truthfully, I keep my power suppressed so that I am constantly able to improve by putting myself in difficult situations. That way, I am always faced with a wall that I can overcome.

But in this case, I had to release the remaining 30% of my total usable mana. Things were getting dangerous and I would rather not die so soon.

The Grim Reaper swung his scythe and I ran around, dodging his attacks while attacking him every chance I got.

I felt three rather strong people approaching our battle. Two had rather high magical power while the other was using Raw Energy.

"Seems like a few more people are coming to challenge you."

"Nonsense, humans will...inevitably die by my hands...there is no need for further pests!"

I got cornered in the grass field and moving into the forest and along the trees would be highly disadvantageous for me. The Grim Reaper is capable of dishing out attacks and spells of high potency that have the capability to cover a wider area.

I'm still unable to viably use most spells in battle. Therefore, close combat with the Imperial Sword Style is my best option at the moment.

In this case, I had no choice but to take on a direct attack from the Grim Reaper.

"Sixteenth Form."

As the Grim Reaper swung his scythe, I made several circular and spherical movements with my sword, blocking the hit successfully but it managed to push me back against a tree trunk.

The Grim Reaper appeared to my left side, spinning his scythe before swinging it diagonally at me.

I smirked, "Got you."

"Fifteenth Form."

Using similar movements from the Sixteenth Form, the Fifteenth Form takes those movements and modifies the ending slightly so that instead of BLOCKING attacks, it's able to alter its direction.

In my last stance at the end of the Fifteenth Form, I did an overhead slash at the Grim Reaper. Coupled with my own power, it also inflicted the same force and power from the Grim Reaper's previous swing back at him.

The Grim Reaper blocked the hit with the handle of his scythe but he sunk into the ground.

"How can a mere...human reverse the flow of...my attack?!"

He put his hand out and conjured a black magic circle that appeared on my right side.

I had no choice but to conjure my own spell, if I were to use my sword, the Grim Reaper will take that opportunity to cut me down.

"Lightning."

A silver magic circle appeared perpendicular to the Grim Reaper's black magic circle. A single and small stroke of lightning was conjured and vaporized the Death spell.

"Human pests and their...annoying tricks!"

He pushed his scythe and spun it, causing a strong gust of wind to blow me back a few meters.

"Fifteenth Form!"

Once again, I performed the movement of the Fifteenth Form and redirected the currents of wind right back at the Grim Reaper. He evaded the gusts of wind which left a weird shape on the grass field.

This form isn't omnipotent though as it's easily breakable if people know its weakness.

Although, I can use the same tricks more than once if I'm able to hide its weakness.

"The movements of your mere...human body and your sword...can not be allowed to continue to exist! You must be eradicated!"

"Oh? Are we finally taking an interest in my techniques?"

"You are a nuisance...a pest like any other...I shall stomp on such trivial insects!"

The Grim Reaper floated up in the air and proceeded to hail down dozens of spells.

Condensed orbs of Death Magic floated and chased after me, causing me to use several forms of the Imperial Sword Style to evade or block them.

Pure blades of his mana were also being erected and shot out at me. With the Grim Reaper flying around in the sky and refusing to come down as he continues to bombard me with attacks, he leaves me no other choice.

I waited until a barrage of spells was sent my way.

"Physical Enhancement...Acceleration..."

I had cast two spells to boost my own physical abilities as well as cover my entire body in Raw Energy.

As soon as the Death spells came within reach, I used the most challenging form in the Imperial Sword Style.

"Thirty-First Form."

Unlike the Thirty-Second Form which is simply consecutive slashes that aim for lethality, the Thirty-First Form is made up of consecutive sword slashes that revolve entirely around increasing the user's own velocity.

When the spells rained down on me, I leaped into the air and the Thirty-First Form allowed me to continuously increase and maintain my speed. I was flying into the Grim Reaper with mere swings of the sword that propelled me.

The Grim Reaper hadn't even expected me to reach his elevation and he noticed me too late.

He gripped his scythe with both his hands, knowing full well that if he doesn't hit me away from this instant, I would be able to injure him.

Unfortunately for him, it was over the moment he suspended himself in the air.

You're nothing but a sitting duck.

While in the air, the moment I started to slightly decelerate and get pulled down by gravity, I kept spinning my body. This form is all about rotating and twisting your body to maximize a single slash of the sword.

Perfect to cut the Grim Reaper in half.

"Thirtieth Form!"