The Grand Duke's Son Is A Heretic

SLASHHH!

The blow came without warning, slicing through James's figure. For a brief second, the world itself paused. The air trembled. The sound of the cut rang louder than thunder. Then…

BOOOOOOOM!

The explosion split the ground wide open.

Kael reappeared behind James with a click of his tongue. "Tsk… What a shrewd bastard."

James had already moved, his body flickering to safety before the blade could land fully. He stood a few meters away now, eyes locked on Kael. "You're good."

Kael grinned like a maniac. "So are you."

"Come on then." James licked his lips, his voice deep and twisted. "Tonight, I'll bathe in your blood. And that slut's too. I'll sacrifice everyone here to cleanse myself… and then I'll slaughter that bastard."

Kael's smile widened. His grip tightened on his blade. His eyes burned like a demon.

Both men moved.

In a blink, their bodies vanished.

BOOOOOOM!

A blast louder than anything before ripped the sky open. Their swords met in midair, smashing into each other with such force that space itself seemed to warp. A bubble of raw energy exploded outward, tearing the ground into a jagged canyon and shaking the forest miles away. Trees shattered

The stone crumbled. Wind howled like a beast released from a cage.

The pressure blew away everything within hundreds of meters.

Kael hit the ground, skidding back hard. Blood spilled from his lips. His chest was cut deep—his armor torn, skin scorched. He coughed and gritted his teeth.

But there was no time to breathe.

James was already in front of him, sword raised, eyes glowing with madness.

Kael raised his sword just in time to block James' strike.

CLAAAAANG!

The impact cracked the air like a thunderbolt. Sparks flew, metal screeched, and the force pushed Kael's feet back, grinding the ground beneath into dust. Cracks spread out like a spiderweb with every clash, trees splintered and shattered around them, and rocks exploded from the shockwaves.

Kael's arms trembled from the pressure, but his grin widened.

"Is that all you got, bastard?" he hissed, eyes gleaming like a wild beast.

The clash of Kael and James had become a storm of chaos like two forces of destruction trying to erase each other from existence.

As their swords collided once more, a deep metallic CLAAANG echoed, louder than thunder, and the ground beneath them couldn't bear the weight of their hatred.

It cracked open violently, like an earthquake had split the earth itself. A giant fissure of several meters snaked out beneath their feet, devouring trees, stones, and anything that stood too close.

Dirt and rubble exploded upward, and a violent wind burst outward, tearing through the surroundings like a razor storm.

Kael's boots dragged back, creating deep trenches in the soil as he gritted his teeth to hold steady. His arms were trembling, blood ran down from a gash on his shoulder, but he didn't flinch. His wild grin stretched wider, and his eyes sparkled with a kind of madness only killers knew.

"You're strong," Kael growled, breathing heavily. "But I'll carve your heart out and feed it to your own men."

James just laughed wildly with a shrill, twisted sound that didn't belong to anything human. His eyes gleamed like a beast set loose, and his long black coat fluttered in the wind like wings of a demon.

"Havenr you heard?Barking dogs seldom bite," James hissed. Then he vanished.

SWISH!

CLANG! CLANG!SLASH!

James strikes were parried down by Kael as he used reflection.Casting a smug smile he spoke.

"This lion not only barks,it also bites."

Each blow louder than the last. They clashed mid-air, and sparks rained like fireflies across the sky. James' sword moved like a viper snapping, darting, unpredictable—but Kael's madness allowed him to move like a phantom, bending his body in impossible ways to dodge and counter.

One strike from James ripped a boulder apart in the distance. Another cut from Kael sliced through several trees like paper. Their movements were so fast that even sound took a second to catch up. The forest that surrounded them was no longer recognizable—nothing but burning trees, broken stones, and cracked land.

From far behind, the Black Knights stood frozen in disbelief. One of them, eyes wide, managed to speak as the radius of fight enlarged.

"Evacuate them! Everyone, fall back now!"

The magic circle that had bound them loosened up causing them to step back.

Ariana,Vic,Seraphina and others rushed toward Emilia and the others. The ground kept shaking with every hit from the two monsters. Wind howled past them as trees snapped like twigs and rocks whistled through the air. The Black Knights grabbed Emilia, shielding her with their bodies and pulling her back over the nearest ridge.

Kael and James didn't notice.

Kael ducked under a swing, then twisted his body backward, swinging his sword with a scream.

SLAAASH!

James parried it, barely, but the force of the attack sent him skidding across the ground, his boots leaving long marks as rubble burst up behind him.

Kael didn't wait. He dashed in again, his aura a violent red mist that crackled like lightning. He slashed three times in a blink—each one faster, sharper, deadlier. James blocked two, but the third grazed his rib, tearing fabric and drawing blood.

James looked down at the wound, then smiled with glee. "A mere wound," he whispered, voice trembling with excitement.

Kael licked the blood off his own lips. "Just the beginning."

And then they vanished again.

BOOOOOOM!

This time, the air bent inward as their blades clashed. It created a strange black bubble between them—a vacuum so intense the wind collapsed into it, howling like a dying animal. Inside it, space itself seemed to twist. The world held its breath. Then—

CRAAAAAAAAACK!

The bubble burst.

A massive explosion followed, blowing apart everything in a hundred-meter radius. A tidal wave of dirt, flame, and broken land erupted outward. Hills collapsed, trees turned to splinters, and boulders the size of houses were flung into the sky.

When the dust settled, a scar had formed on the earth—so deep and long it looked like a god had struck the land with a blade.

Kael dropped from the air, landing hard, one knee hitting the ground. His chest was torn open with a deep gash, and blood spilled from his mouth as he coughed. His eyes, however, were still burning with the same insane light.

He looked at a huge cut on his chest.Compared to what he suffered before this was nothing but a scratch.

James was already on him.

"Let's see how long that smile lasts!" James roared, dashing forward like a demon.

Kael rose, wobbling for a second, then stood tall, sword raised.