Chapter 258: 258 Take the next cut
"Crack!"
Lightning flashed, making Reiger’s figure suddenly appear amidst a scene of earth-shattering destruction.
Gazing at the wilderness split by a single sword strike, Reiger, while braving the sandstorm, dodged flying debris and stones, talking to himself.
"Such a commotion, what kind of hiding ability is this strong?"
Having said this, Reiger quickly figured out why Rom’s ability to conceal was the strongest.
"Swoosh!"
The Shadow Sword, glowing black, suddenly appeared in front of Reiger, slashing through the air at him once again.
"Boom!"
The ground was destroyed once more, accompanied by the rampant black sword light, leaving a deep ravine.
Reiger adjusted his breathing, pushing the speed and explosive power of his Lightning Breath to the limit, his form flickering like lightning, he darted hundreds of meters away in a flash.
Yet, even with such speed, the Shadow Sword still appeared out of nowhere time and time again, relentlessly slashing at him, casting swathes of black sword light.
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"...
In the wilderness, the booming sounds suddenly erupted continuously, making the ground ravaged by the sword light burst open again and again, raising shocking sand waves, turning the area into a bombing zone.
If it weren’t for the distance from the capital Yalef, such commotion would have already caused a sensation throughout the city.
Reiger flickered back and forth within the booming and rampant black sword light, like being chased by an invisible ghost, never daring to stop his movement.
It was almost true.
The Shadow Sword, glowing with black light, was just like a real ghost. It would disappear after each strike and reappear in front of Reiger silently and out of nowhere, completely unpredictable.
If it weren’t for Reiger’s ability to see through the world and the ’Acceleration’ that sped up his reactions, he wouldn’t possibly have been able to dodge such terrifying strikes.
Now, he was still able to dodge and make the chasing Shadow Sword’s strikes miss, while using a pair of eyes gleaming with a transparent luster to scan his surroundings.
Until a certain moment, the transparent luster in Reiger’s eyes suddenly flared brightly.
"There!"
Reiger suddenly darted in one direction, his form turning into a flash of lightning, shooting towards a corner of the wilderness.
"Flash of Thunder!"
The slashing strike of the lightning blossomed, the high temperature emerging around the sword Reiger wielded, causing severe friction with the atmosphere.
But...
"Useless."
A shadowy figure like black water emerged beside the space Reiger had slashed through, seemingly just having darted there.
"I told you, I’ve already seen through that move."
As he spoke, the shadowy figure beckoned, and the Shadow Sword, glowing with black light, immediately broke through the void and rushed towards Reiger, intending to slash at him.
But this time, Reiger, transformed into a bolt of lightning, didn’t stop; he accelerated further.
"Boom——Boom——Boom——Boom——Boom——"
With the sounds of thunder, the lightning struck the surrounding ground and rocks, refracting several times.
"Flash of Thunder·Six Paths!"
Six paths of lightning combined together, surrounding the shadow in the middle, and then rushed towards him, cutting swiftly towards his forehead.
"I’ve seen this move, too."
The shadow calmly adjusted its position, positioning the Shadow Sword in front of itself, just in time to meet the incoming lightning.
"Clang!"
In the sound of clashing metal, the strike from the lightning struck the Shadow Sword, bouncing it away.
But this slash did not hit Rom; it grazed past him.
"Boom——Boom——"
Then, the lightning refracted twice more, circling back again.
"Flash of Thunder·Eight Paths!"
This was an enhanced version of "Flash of Thunder·Six Paths," a technique developed by Agatsuma Zenitsu in the original story of Demon Slayer. Reiger successfully recreated it together with the Six Paths.
That move, Rom had not seen before.
However, he still wasn’t flustered.
"Even though you haven’t used this move before, whether it’s the Six Paths or Eight Paths, the essence is still the same."
The shadow once again beckoned, causing the bounced Shadow Sword to appear in front of him as if it had teleported.
"Clang!"
The slashing strike of lightning was still blocked by the unpredictable Shadow Sword, and just like before, although it knocked the Shadow Sword away, it was deflected due to the block and could only graze past the shadow’s side.
"Since that’s the case..."
Witnessing all this, Reiger’s face turned cold.
"Then I want to see how long you can keep it up."
Reiger, transformed into a bolt of lightning, continued to accelerate without stopping.
"Flash of Thunder·Ten Paths!"
Yes.
Ten in a row.
This technique had never appeared even in the original "Demon Slayer."
Agatsuma Zenitsu only developed "Thunderclap and Flash" up to the sixth and eighth sequences, with eight being the limit.
But as Rom said, whether it was six or eight, the essence was still the same; they were all "Thunderclap and Flash". The difference was only in how many directional changes were made.
Six paths involved six directional changes.
Eight paths involved eight directional changes.
So theoretically, as long as the direction could still be changed, "Thunderclap and Flash" could keep going.
The reason Agatsuma Zenitsu stopped developing it after the eighth sequence were twofold: he had developed a stronger ultimate slash, and his physical fitness limited him from continuing indefinitely; otherwise, his body would not have been able to withstand it.
Reiger, however, didn’t have such worries.
Now at Lv.6, his physical abilities surpassed Agatsuma Zenitsu’s by countless levels, so eight sequences were far from his limit.
Even ten sequences were not his limit.
"Boom— Boom—"
The sound of thunder resounded continuously in the wild, allowing the lightning to refract ceaselessly off the ground and rocks, like lasers hitting mirrors, bursting everywhere.
Each movement of the lightning ultimately circled back in front of Rom, slashing towards him and making him shiver all over.
Rom could only hold his breath, concentrating hard to track the trajectory of the lightning, calling upon the Shadow Sword again and again to block the slashing strikes.
"Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!"......
Suddenly, the crisp sounds of clashing arose, causing the black-gleaming Shadow Sword to be knocked away time after time.
This caused the lightning strikes to continually graze past the dark shadow, never landing a hit on him.
But having the blade’s edge slice beside him over and over again was clearly starting to irritate Rom.
"I told you! It’s useless!"
Rom became fierce, manipulating the Shadow Sword to slash directly from above to below, cutting into the spot where he stood.
"Boom!"
The black sword light instantly shattered the ground, blowing both the lightning and the shadow away in the shockwave.
"Impressive."
Reiger finally stopped his onslaught and appeared from within the lightning.
"Bang!"
His sword, unable to endure that many uses of "Thunderclap and Flash", shattered right there.
"A good opportunity!"
Rom clearly saw this moment, his eyes gleamed, manipulating the Shadow Sword and slashing fiercely towards Reiger.
"Swoosh!"
The Shadow Sword pierced the void, appearing instantly in front of Reiger, like the scythe of the Grim Reaper.
Just as the Shadow Sword was about to unhesitatingly slash down on Reiger, Reiger’s entire body flashed with a red glow.
"What is that...!?"
Seeing this aura, Rom’s pupils shrank, and he hastily recalled the Shadow Sword, causing it to vanish instantly from in front of Reiger and reappear beside himself.
Gripping the Shadow Sword, Rom finally stopped his assault, landing on the ground and staring at Reiger across from him with a grim face.
"Oh?" Reiger landed on the ground too, looking at Rom with a raised eyebrow, his tone mocking yet not quite smiling, "It seems you’ve recognized the magic I’m using."
"... Franzel’s Disintegration Magic." Rom coldly replied, "So she has taught you her signature skill as well?"
"What’s so surprising about that?" Reiger casually responded, "I’m a magician myself, and it would be very troubling if the Shadow Sword Saint forgot that."
"Indeed, whether it’s anyone, if they only remember you as the youngest Sword Saint in history, and subconsciously ignore that you’re also a battle-level magician, they would most definitely die a rather ugly death." Rom admitted, "But we’ve come this far, you should be satisfied by now. Let’s stop here!"
Seeing Reiger use Yuri’s Disintegration Magic, Rom knew his plan to intimidate and teach him a lesson was probably going to fail.
How terrifying Yuri Franzel’s Disintegration Magic was might not be known to the average person, but the higher echelons of various nations were definitely aware.
It was an unsolvable and terrifying magic; anything material, upon touch, would be instantaneously disintegrated, destroyed, or even reduced to nothingness—truly fearsome.
Since Reiger could use this magic, continuing the fight meant Rom’s Shadow Sword might not survive.
This Shadow Sword was an extremely precious magical weapon. If it were lost, Rom’s prowess could drop by twenty to thirty percent, if not more.
By nature, he was a swordsman who focused more on stealth and assassination, and the sword techniques he practiced also emphasized these aspects, making his direct combat capabilities somewhat lacking.
That’s why the royal family had secured this magic weapon for him at great expense—to compensate for Rom’s shortcomings in head-on combat capabilities.
Without this weapon, Rom would not be able to unleash the kind of slash capable of shattering the earth.
Recognizing that Reiger was using Yuri’s Disintegration Magic, Rom had immediately recalled his Shadow Sword without hesitation, to prevent it from being damaged.
With such magic at hand, Rom attacking Reiger recklessly was impossible, so he straightforwardly decided to stop.
However...
"Stopping now is too soon."
Reiger stared at Rom, calmly stating such.
"Wait until you’ve taken the next slash."
Saying so, a sword appeared in Reiger’s hand.
A sword radiating intense heat.