Academy’s Barbarian

“This might just work…?”

Hersela, gripping the crimson-glowing Slaughter Sword, thought to herself. With this weapon, she felt she had a chance.

At a glance, its strength rivaled that of Jin. Unlike Durandal, which resisted the Life Force Technique, this Slaughter Sword seemed capable of unleashing powerful techniques even without her full strength, though she couldn’t afford to waste what little energy she had left.

Hersela channeled her Life Force into the crimson blade in her left hand. A blood-red lightning surged through the blade, emitting a crackling noise.

“A path has opened…!”

Or-han, gripping the other blade, also thought to himself. The heavens had favored him.

Among the countless weapons he had wielded, these twin blades forged from red scales stood above the rest. The power within their edges was nothing short of a lifeline, capable of breaking through the trap Hersela had set.

—

“Ha-shal-leur. Do you know what this sword is?”

An abrupt question. Hersela furrowed her brow slightly, trying to recall.

“The Crimson Twin Blades… wasn’t it? You said you’d use them after defeating me.”

“Yes. That was the plan. But not anymore.”

Or-han raised the crimson blade high.

Hersela stared at the blade with a puzzled expression, wondering why Or-han was acting so confident all of a sudden.

‘What’s he thinking? He knows that against the Blessing of Invulnerability, fists and kicks are more effective than swords and spears.’

Hersela despised and loathed Or-han, but she had never thought him stupid. She didn’t believe he had forgotten about her blessing.

His confidence in wielding the blade meant it could truly pose a threat to her.

Several possibilities flashed through her mind.

Perhaps, like Durandal, this weapon had the power to amplify slashing attacks, allowing it to pierce her blessing and cut her down.

Or maybe he planned to use the Slaughter Sword like a shovel to dig his way back to the surface.

Or perhaps he’d flip the blade and strike with the blunt side, treating it like a club.

“The Crimson Twin Blades. As the name suggests, their edges aren’t made of metal but forged from the scales of a spirit beast. Do you know what kind of scales?”

“Not interested.”

With her reply, Hersela lunged at Or-han, her blade cloaked in the Life Force Technique’s lightning, the Thunderous Rend.

Though she too was curious about the origin of the blade’s scales, she chose to stop Or-han before he could act rather than satisfy her curiosity.

But Or-han’s answer came faster than her movement.

“The Reverse Scale of the Fire Dragon.”

Or-han gripped the hilt in reverse and plunged the blade into the molten lava below.

—

The Crimson Twin Blades.

Legends spoke of these twin Slaughter Swords, forged from the reverse scales of a red Fire Dragon that once soared over the grasslands.

They were weapons, yet also artifacts of sorcery.

A relic of an ancient era, imbued with power akin to sorcery, classified as a divine artifact by Western standards.

The blade contained a fragment of the Fire Dragon’s power—its ability to control, consume, and spew flames.

And so.

—Whoooosh!

The moment the blade plunged into the lake of lava, the entire underground cavern was plunged into darkness.

The molten earth cooled, emitting smoke, and the flames that had scorched rock and soil were sucked into the blade as if swallowed.

‘The fire…!’

Hersela, charging at Or-han, flinched in shock, her brow furrowing.

The heat that had melted rock and steel, the flames that had filled the cavern—all were being sucked into the blade Or-han had plunged into the ground!

‘…It worked.’

Or-han felt relief as the relentless heat that had been chipping away at his Indestructible Body began to subside.

The Crimson Twin Blades’ ability to absorb and expel flames. This was the first time he had used it. Until now, he had never been in a situation desperate enough to rely on the weapon’s power.

He had brought the blades not to counter Ha-shal-leur’s flames but to efficiently slaughter enemy soldiers after defeating her.

Thus, he had half-forgotten about the blade’s power until he saw it falling into the underground cavern.

Regardless, the immediate crisis had been averted.

—

[Absorbing the heat source?!]

Ha-shal-leur, shocked by the scene before her, screamed. The vanishing flames and rapidly solidifying lava. The trap she and Ludwig had prepared was being rendered useless in an instant.

All because of a single blade.

‘To think he had this up his sleeve…!’

Hersela, charging at Or-han, bit her lip. She was frustrated.

The core of their trap had been to force Or-han to waste his energy by enduring the flames and heat.

But now, the fire was extinguished, and the heat filling the cavern was rapidly cooling. This meant Or-han no longer needed to maintain his Indestructible Body constantly.

With the heat gone, he could activate it only when her blade was about to strike!

‘In this state, a battle of attrition is meaningless. I’ll run out of energy first.’

Hersela’s mind raced.

She couldn’t be sure how much time Or-han had left, but it seemed more than hers. Dragging out the fight like before would be pointless.

‘Then I have no choice but to bet on this one move!’

And so, she tightened her grip on the Crimson Twin Blade. Hoping that the new technique she had only conceptualized would work.

—Kwaaaang!

After charging across the cooling, solidifying ground, she finally reached Or-han.

“Give up. It’s over, Ha-shal-leur!”

Or-han pulled the blade from the ground, flipped it, and swung. The thick back of the blade aimed for her side, like a club the thickness of a finger. At least one of Hersela’s predictions had come true.

“Who says?!”

Hersela swung Durandal to block the back of the Crimson Twin Blade. A deafening clash and a flash of light erupted.

—Ugh.

The immense shock transmitted through the hilt twisted her wrist.

Blocking Or-han’s full-powered strike with one hand was impossible from the start. Durandal was torn from her grip and sent flying, and the Crimson Twin Blade struck her thigh, shattering the bone.

‘She didn’t defend?!’

Or-han was stunned by the sensation of shattering Hersela’s thigh bone. Though his strike had been powerful, it was one she could have blocked if she had tried.

She could have used both hands to counter or reduced the impact with her Life Force shield.

But taking the full brunt of the attack without resistance meant—

“Kuh… Aaaaah!”

She had poured all her energy into a single strike, leaving nothing for defense.

Biting down on the pain, Hersela channeled her anger into her grip on the Slaughter Sword’s hilt and swung.

To tear him apart.

That was all she thought.

A new lightning surged over the blood-red lightning dancing on the blade.

One layer, then another.

The Thunderous Rend. The most violent and destructive of the Life Force Techniques, created through analyzing the Spatial Severance’s power, layered and layered again.

Five layers.

—Kwa-jijijijik!

The Life Force lightning condensed on the blade tore into itself, merging and devouring.

The spiked lightning danced like a madman’s frenzy, and the Reverse Scale of the Fire Dragon, as sturdy as Jin, groaned under the immense strain, emitting a metallic scream. The air around the blade was shredded, letting out a piercing shriek.

And then.

The five layers of Thunderous Rend condensed into one. Hersela, gripping the pinnacle of destructive power she could create,

“Kyaaaaah!”

Roared like a beast and brought the lightning-clad blade down.

Toward Or-han’s exposed torso, emptied after deflecting Durandal and shattering her thigh.

‘This is dangerous…!’

Even Or-han couldn’t replicate such destructive force.

A chilling sensation, as if ice water had been poured down his spine, made Or-han reflexively expand his Indestructible Body to its limit, raising his arms to shield his torso.

――――――!

The next moment, the extremes of destruction and defense collided with a deafening roar.

――

A severed left arm flew into the air.

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