Heroes vs Villain

Releasing mana mixed with killing intent, a trick he learned from Professor Lucius.

"Looking at their tense expressions, it seems to be working."

As he had said before, the protagonist group were still inexperienced rookies; despite possessing outstanding skills, they still lacked a lot of practical experience.

The best example of this was how they reacted to his killing intent.

Although they had experienced it before and with greater intensity when the demons attacked on the excursion, that murderous intent was more scattered. Instead, they are now facing a murderous intent directly concentrated on them.

Or, in other words, it's like having a beast face-to-face while you are alone instead of in a group. The fear, although it may seem the same, is much more intense in the first case.

Woosh-!

With an almost imperceptible movement, Arthur disappeared from his original position and, in the blink of an eye, stood in front of Kein.

"!!!"

The alarmed Kein tried to raise his guard, but before he could manage it, Arthur's fist had already reached his face.

Boom-!

Shooting out from the force of the hit, Kein smashed into one of the empty tents, destroying it and raising a great cloud of dust.

Stunned by Arthur's speed, the others finally reacted and quickly made a counterattack.

Leticia, being the closest, swung her sword at Arthur's neck.

Clank-!

However, her sword was blocked by Arthur's sword, leaving her stunned.

"Kgh!"

Leticia had put a lot of force into her hit, yet Arthur hadn't moved an inch. Instead, it was she who felt her arms go numb from the impact.

Having trained with her father, the one known as the strongest swordsman in the empire, Leticia had developed a keen sense for discerning the strength of her opponents just by clashing their swords. And when her sword clashed with Arthur's, she instinctively sensed it.

She couldn't win, at least not alone.

"Leticia!"

Hearing Beatrice's shout, Leticia instantly turned away from Arthur.

Beatrice, with her spell ready, shot a large golden fireball towards Arthur.

But surprisingly, he didn't move to dodge it and just stood still in place, watching with a smile as the fireball approached him.

Boom-!

"Ah!"

The fireball hit him directly, creating an explosion.

Freydis seeing this was concerned, but mindful of the situation they were in, he refrained.

"It's okay; Arthur wouldn't end things like this."

And exactly.

When the smoke settled, the perfectly intact figure of Arthur could be seen, which didn't show a single scratch, unlike the ground around him, which was red hot and giving off a suffocating heat, but this didn't seem to bother him in the slightest.

The only thing that could be said to have been damaged was his clothes, which were completely burned in some areas.

"What the..."

Beatrice was completely stunned.

The fireball she had cast was imbued with her light magic, which empowered her spells at least 5 times. So the fireball he had thrown was powerful enough to melt steel.

But Arthur had received it head-on without so much as a scratch.

"Fu~ that was dangerous, princess."

He said mockingly as he casually wiped the burnt parts of his clothes.

"Looks like my gamble went well."

Arthur had received Beatrice's fireball head on only because of a feeling he had.

He felt that this fire would not be able to burn him.

It was something like a primal instinct deep inside him. He instinctively felt that nothing would happen to him.

"Does this also have to do with what's inside me?"

His body had undergone several changes: enhanced senses and strength to a superhuman level, even in this world full of magic and monsters, an insatiable appetite, a higher than normal body temperature, and now this.

Perhaps he would have to take some time to study his changes more closely, but that could wait; he had to take care of the protagonist group first.

"Hah~, it's really disappointing to think that the princess and the member of the supposedly strongest swordsman family in the empire would be so weak."

Hearing his words of disappointment, Beatrice and Leticia gritted their teeth in frustration but forced themselves to stay in their places. Arthur had proven to be much stronger than they thought, and attacking recklessly would not be a good idea.

Woosh-!

But at that very instant, Kein appeared behind Arthur, brandishing his sword with a golden gleam in his eyes.

Clank-!

Crack-!

Arthur, without even looking, raised his sword, blocking Kein's hit, creating a small crater where he was standing.

"Oh~?"

"Tch!"

Woosh-!

Clank-! Clank-! Clank-! Clank-!

After that, they disappeared from where they were and began an exchange of hits as they moved across the square.

"Hey, what's the matter? Weren't you stronger before than you are now? Why are your hits so weak?"

Despite the intense exchange, Arthur remained relaxed as he taunted Kein.

Kein, for his part, though angry, had learned from his fights with Takehiko and kept his concentration without being swayed by his words.

"Huup!"

Inhaling a large amount of air, Kein's hits became much stronger and fiercer.

Clank-! Clank-! Clank-!

"Oh~ Did you get serious already? Well, in that case..."

While dodging and blocking Kein's attacks, Arthur grabbed the top of his burnt suit and ripped it off, being left with only a tight black shirt.

With a swing, he threw the scorched garments towards Kein, and Kein, wasting no time, quickly cut it in half, only to see that Arthur was no longer in front of him.

Boom-!

A kick connected with his chin, lifting him several meters in the air.

Arthur, getting into position, prepared to continue his attack but was forced back due to a powerful wind slash that left a large mark on the ground.

In the distance, Leticia had her sword in a horizontal position gripped firmly at the level of her head. Her left hand had a firm reverse grip on the handle and her other hand had her palm resting on the pommel.

[Pendragon Style: Strike]

Woosh-!

At a speed the human eye could not see, Leticia stopped in front of Arthur, closing the distance between them in an instant and thrusting the tip of her sword towards his heart.

Clank-!

But moving even faster than that, Arthur placed his sword in front of him, blocking her attack.

"This is Pendragon family swordsmanship?."

He grinned broadly and glared at Leticia before saying it.

"It's more pathetic than I thought."

Hearing his words, Leticia's expression turned terrifying; veins bulged in her forehead, and her eyes burned with immeasurable anger.

For Leticia, her family's swordsmanship was something she was deeply proud of; as she watched the heroic figures of her sister and father, she could only think of how great they were.

But now Arthur, someone who had been nothing more than a lazy jerk a few months ago, called that swordsmanship pathetic?

That was enough to make her boil with anger.

"I'll make you swallow your words!"

[Pendragon style: Sword Dance.]

Clank-! Clank-! Clank-! Clank-!

Leticia's body was enveloped by her abundant mana, and she lashed out at Arthur with a frenzy of attacks.

Pendragon family swordsmanship is not considered the best in the empire just for the sake of it.

Each sword technique is specifically designed to bring out the swordsman's full potential, using precise cuts that perfectly combine speed and strength.

The Sword Dance technique, while it may simply look like a frenzied attack, is actually made up of precise hits that take advantage of the angle and kinetic force of each hit to make the next one even stronger and faster than the previous one.

It is a technique that even the most talented knights would not be able to perform.

Specific formation and training from childhood are necessary to be able to use Pendragon swordsmanship.

Clank-! Clank-! Clank-!

"Why..."

And yet...

Clank-! Clank-! Clank-!

"How can he block me so easily!!!"

That incredible swordsmanship technique was being effortlessly blocked by Arthur, who kept a smirk on his face.

Seeing this, Leticia finally lost control.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"

Clank-! Clank-! Clank-! Clank-!

The movements that until a moment ago were precise and lethal became messy and sloppy.

Leticia was now only attacking with the aim of trying to land a hit on Arthur, but the problem was that this aim arose from her desperation and rage, reflecting on her sword and making it predictable.

A warrior who loses his temper in the face of his enemy and attacks desperately like a child waving a stick.

Clank-!

There is no greater shame for a knight than that.

With a loud hit from Arthur, Leticia's sword went flying, leaving her hand and leaving her unarmed.

Leticia, with her eyes wide open, slowly turned her gaze to the sword resting against her neck. Her expression denoted clear disbelief, as if she had not yet been able to process what had just happened.

But after a few seconds, he understood.

"Ah, I just lost..."

This truth hit her hard. It was not the fact of losing that tormented her, but the way she had done it.

She had thrown away all the teachings her father and sister had given her and let her emotions run wild, losing herself in a pathetic way.

Not only that, but she had also lost her sword in the middle of the fight due to her carelessness; she was sure that if her father or sister were here to see her, they would be deeply disappointed.

"Wait..."

She had lost her sword.

Her father, since she was very young, had instilled in her that losing her sword in the middle of combat meant death.

Then a thought crossed her mind.

"I'm going... going to die?"

Her eyes finally looked at Arthur.

Then she saw it.

Those beast-like golden eyes were staring at her, and the sword at her neck began to draw closer and closer, causing her blood to begin to spurt.

Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump!

His heart began to beat hard, unsettling his chest, cold sweat ran down his forehead and his legs began to tremble.

"He's... going to... kill me?"

The more she looked into those haunting golden eyes, the more the feeling of vertigo was intensifying by the second.

How much time had passed?

Maybe it was only a few scant seconds.

But Leticia felt like she had been hours with that sword, just inches away from taking her life.

"Ah..."

Finally, a noise came out of her mouth.

It was shaky and full of anguish, a sound that no one could have thought would come from Leticia herself.

Thud-

She finally lost all strength in her legs and fell silent with her butt hitting the floor.

Her body was shaking uncontrollably, and her breathing was erratic; she was drenched in her own sweat, and her eyes showed only weakness and fear.

This was no longer Leticia Pendragon; now she was simply a frightened girl.

"You..."

"!!!"

He said a single word, but that was enough to make Leticia's body tense up and her skin crawl with goose bumps.

"You really are pathetic."

Those cold, golden eyes glared at her.

But Leticia couldn't get angry.

She could only think about how terrifying those eyes were.