Volume 2 - CH 431

10-17. Magic Release

The next morning.

Soldiers lined up at the swordsmanship training ground of Garott Castle.

Many of them were magicians, holding various wands and casting magic into the sky.

In a different training ground, swordsmen were skillfully demonstrating their abilities, undergoing intense training.

A hellish scene unfolded there.

This reminds me of the mock battle at the Oni village…

Are these the soldiers who survived the simulated battle with the devils?

There are also warriors who fought and survived in the Bamil territory… I guess they are.

Wow, everyone is amazing…

I, along with Houen, Reizen, Alena, Uchikage, and Tenda, observed this scene.

Houen nudged me.

“Hey, show your skills. Why are you just standing there? If you have skills you can try, use them.”

“Well, you see… I’m not sure if I can handle them properly…”

The last time I remember it, I couldn’t control the Water Dragon properly…

Maybe I should have a staff or something?

Since it’s a magic skill, it might be easier to handle that way.

As I was contemplating, Tenda approached me from behind.

“Ah, Ouren-sama. In that case, could you please show us Heaven Split (Tenwari) once again?”

“Tenwari? Why?”

“The Oni Sword Dance and Akki Rasetsu are said to be based on Tenwari, you know.”

“Oh, I heard about that.”

“W-Well, I’ve never actually seen Tenwari from close…  so I wanted to see what it looks like and improve the precision of my techniques…”

“Ahh! So that’s why you want me to use it along with my Sanshakutō (three foot sword)!”

“Ahaha, yes, that’s right. So, what do you think?”

“Of course, that’s a great idea.”

If Tenda is going to imitate it with the Sanshakutō, it’s probably better for me to do it as well.

I unsheathed Hakuryuzen, which I hadn’t used in a long time.

The blade, still as beautiful as ever, reflected the sunlight.

If I don’t aim it towards the sky, I’ll end up destroying some part of the castle.

I searched for a place where I could swing it as large as possible and decided on the direction.

From this angle… It seems better to use Tenwari with a horizontal slash.

There’s nothing in the line of fire.

Only clouds… yeah, there.

Alright!

Taking the Hassō stance, I lower my hips and brace my feet.

I imagine the motion of swinging the blade and gently grip the hilt.

“Alright, watch closely, Tenda! Inhale-… 【 Tenwar】 ‘!!”

Stepping forward with my right foot, I swing my arm simultaneously.

I tilt the blade, which was in the Hassō stance, to the left, pulling with my left hand and pushing with my right hand.

Hyō!

The sound of slicing through the wind echoes in the surroundings as a white slash is released towards the sky.

It continues to cut through the wind, disappearing somewhere after slicing through the clouds.

Come to think of it, this skill has the meaning of ‘cutting through the sky’.

I was really surprised the first time I used it…

Because it split the ground and the sky…

Tenda, who witnessed every move, is still gazing at the split clouds.

Alena, curious, appears in front of Tenda.

“…..”

“Tenda? How was Ouren’s Tenwari?”

“It’s amazing… Dividing the sky… dividing the heavens.”

Quietly, Tenda grips hisSanshakutō, Asagao.

Unsheathing it silently, he imitated the same Hassō stance, lowering his hips.

Deep concentration.

He gathered all his senses solely for the purpose of releasing Akki Rasetsu.

He determines his foothold with a sliding step, gently gripping the hilt to avoid breaking it, and raising the blade towards the sky.

The fiery blade sculpture shines, and the white edge glares at the sky.

He mimics my Tenwari movement step by step, expanding his imagination.

Whoooosh…

He holds his breath and grip the pommel tightly with his left hand.

With a swift motion, he tilts the blade to the left and takes a big step forward, mowing down the sky.

“Oni Sword Dance… Akki Rasetsu!!”

…Fwuuush!!

Gō!!

Bghoooom!!

Just when I thought the ground had split, it split again.

“Ah!”

“”Y-You went too far, Tenda!!!!””

Alena, who was nearby, gets blown away.

It seems that Reizen is unharmed, but the others stumble or take cover, enduring the shockwave.

Uchikage and I shout at Tenda, complaining, but he probably can’t hear us over the sound of the explosion.

It’s clear that he put a lot of strength into it.

Well, there’s nothing wrong with unleashing a technique you want to master with all your might.

But he went too far.

“Ah! I apologize!! I-I may have put a little too much force into it!!”

“Hey… Uchikage… That wasn’t his full power, right?”

“W-Well, probably… He could increase by another fifty percent… It’s originally an iai technique… But…”

“Seriously…? Can you do iai with a Sanshakutō?”

“He was able to do it, though…”

“Seriously, it’s possible…?”

With Tenda around, it feels like we can win against anything…

Tenda… So stroooong…

“Tenda, you’re incredible!”

“Eh, ah! Thank you!”

“I wanted to test my defense against you like before, but after seeing that, I’ll pass! Your attacks probably pierce through my defense…”

“Hahaha, no need to be that humble. My attack power is only about 3,700.”

“When I hear that, it does sound manageable, but based on what I saw, it seems like you have even more attack power…”

I agree with Reizen this time.

There’s something off about it… It feels like it pierces through defenses.

Like that red slash… It looks dangerous.

He’s started using completely outrageous techniques.

He’s completely different from the old Tenda.

“Tenda! What the hell are you doing!”

“I-I’m sorry! While it was intentional… I didn’t have any ill intentions!”

“If you did, I’d cut you to pieces!”

“I’m sorry…”

Uchikage is rapidly approaching Tenda, giving him a sermon.

Well, that was clearly excessive…

I lightly brush off the dust on my clothes… Should I go retrieve Alena?

She was blown away quite a bit.

She was rolling on the ground to avoid taking damage, using levitation to escape the danger immediately.

She’s become quick in her decision-making.

Now, where did she end up being blown to?

“Where are you? Alena?”

“Ouren-kun! Ouren-kun!! Ah!! Here you are!!”

“Maria?”

Maria, with a frantic expression, is running towards me at full speed.

It seems she’s holding a communication crystal in one hand.

Something must have happened… I suppose.

“Wha-… What’s wrong?”

“Huff, huff… It’s… it’s bad… It’s become a serious situation!”

“…Could it be related to the evil god?”

She nods vigorously in response.

I mean, right now…?

Things were going smoothly until now, so why would a problem arise here…?

Well, I guess they’re desperate enough for it.

“So? …I don’t really want to hear it, but what happened?”

“Communication from the Kingdom of Valpan… Shadow Eye contacted us… They’re connected, so let’s talk over there…”

“Understood.”

I touch the communication crystal Maria is holding.

Then I hear a voice.

“…Vid here! Can you hear me?”

“I can hear you. What’s wrong?”

“It’s an emergency! And we’ve identified the third faction!!”

“Bad news, huh… So, what’s this emergency?”

“I’ll expand the range of my voice… Please listen…”

After a brief static noise, the sound of what must be happening around Vid reached us.

Upon hearing it, I… felt my blood drain from my face.