The Second Strongest Has Returned

Chapter 71

Holy Sword

For a moment, no one could utter a single word.

It was a feeling similar to when Leonardo first arrived and won match after match against the Apprentice Knights.

The difference lay in the fact that both the method and emotions he had then, as well as the opponent he was facing, were different now.

“No matter how much talent you have, a magic sword is something that cannot be used with talent alone.”

Leonardo sheathed his sword and pulled out a bracelet made of black stone. Until now, he had been facing Ariasphil with nothing more than an ordinary iron sword.

“No, rather, it’s because you have talent that you can’t use it.”

The shape of the black stone morphed into a longsword.

Kaang!!

It was Ariasphil who charged forward. Her sword strikes followed one after another, pressing on with sheer force. However, despite the relentless assault, Leo didn’t even twitch his lips or show the slightest movement in his eyes.

“First weakness.”

Leo, who had parried all her blows, drew the iron sword he had just sheathed with his other hand.

“Your attacks are straightforward to the point of being simple.”

Ariasphil hastily moved to guard, but Leo immediately hurled the iron sword away. The wind bullet had already been loaded, and the magic circle that acted as its trigger was complete.

Fwoosh

A defense using flame. Fire encircled her, attempting to block the wind’s strike. But it didn’t matter.

Kaang!

The black stone, as if it were alive, slithered like a snake and struck at Ariasphil from behind.

“Gah!!”

Ariasphil was sent flying by the impact. Although the minimum aura surrounding her body prevented her from being cut, she couldn’t withstand the powerful blow.

“That’s why you fall for such a crude feint. You’ve never used a feint before, so your response to it is inadequate.”

Normally, a feint wouldn’t work.

Her superhuman talent allowed her to see through the slow traps set by ordinary people, and even if she did fall for one, she had the ability to escape such traps.

“But…!!”

However, Leonardo had clashed with, been defeated by, and risen up against that superhuman talent countless times.

He had thoroughly studied what actions she would take when flustered, what attacks she was most cautious of, and what movements she excelled at.

Kwoooom!!

This time, a joint strike of fire and magic was launched, with even the Fire Spirit joining in to send a pillar of flame roaring. The heat and intensity of it compelled Rios to urgently deploy a barrier around the area.

He thought that while the knights might be able to endure it, the others present could be in danger.

“Second weakness.”

Even then, Leonardo only countered, showing no sign of reaction.

“Because of your innate mana capacity, your attack range is unnecessarily wide.”

What Leonardo executed was a thrust; the black spear pierced straight through the pillar of flame.

[Fire Storm]

He then redirected the flames upward, guiding them skyward with his own fire.

“That’s why even if you try to use a magic sword, which requires precise control and application, it’s meaningless. You lack the synergy needed to make it effective.”

His tone was cynical, and soon after, Leo assumed a javelin-throwing stance.

“Beyond that, it becomes difficult even to defend against such an attack.”

The magic of fire was compressed into the spear. Although he had less mana and its purity was inferior to Ariasphil’s, the density of the magic surpassed hers, elevating its power.

“This is how you use fire.”

Leo hurled the spear. A line of heat surged forward like a flash of light. Describing it as a line rather than a spear was more accurate.

“Ugh… Aaaargh!!”

With a scream that sounded like a battle cry, Ariasphil barely managed to deflect the spear of heat.

“A feint.”

But it wasn’t the black stone spear. What had been thrown was merely a mass of compressed heat. The real black stone spear was in the hands of Leo, who had now approached.

Paang!

The sound of something being repelled echoed. It was the Fire Spirit’s weapon, disarmed as if to humiliate her.

“Get up. You said you wanted to try blocking.”

His tone was firm and cold. Those who had witnessed Leo’s usual kindness towards Ariasphil couldn’t help but subconsciously wonder who was standing before them now.

“Not yet…! I’m not… done…!”

Thud!

Leonardo struck Ariasphil with the lower end of the spear, sending her flying. The attack seemed almost cruel.

“Third weakness.”

Leonardo unleashed ice magic, extinguishing the fire and simultaneously creating a smokescreen with the resulting steam.

“You lack experience because you only use Spirit Summoning as a support.”

Ariasphil, driven by a desire to deny his words, kept summoning Spirits, but the ones that appeared were far too weak, and their insufficient power meant her body’s healing was also inadequate.

“And so, you don’t realize that Spirits are weak to sudden environmental changes.”

The courtyard was now in a state of continuous, chaotic change—flashes of light, thunderous noise, extreme heat, and sudden cold. The Spirits that had originally been in the area could not perform effectively due to these conditions.

Upon reflection, she might have already known this. It was just that the relentless attacks had left her unable to make a calm judgment.

It wasn’t until Leonardo pointed it out that she realized there had been such drastic changes in the environment.

“And the biggest problem of all,”

Ariasphil struggled to rise again. Her attempt to lift the iron sword with trembling hands was more pitiable than admirable.

Whoosh! Thud!

Leo changed the shape of his weapon to that of a gauntlet this time. Dodging her faltering sword strike, he struck her collarbone.

“Is your weak mental strength.”

This time, he struck her jaw. The overwhelming difference in power made the duel seem more like bullying.

“And the complacency that comes with it.”

“…Stop…!! Don’t go any further…!”

At Marquen’s shout, Leonardo responded without even turning around.

“I intend to continue. Wasn’t it you, Lord Marquen, who gave her the Fire Spirit and pushed her into this?”

“Leo…! Why are you acting so unlike yourself…?!”

When even Rios tried to intervene, Leonardo finally turned around.

“Do you know what it means to act like myself? Do you know why I cling to the Reinhardt family like a leech?”

Everyone froze at his question. Their bodies stiffened under the murderous intent radiating from the young man’s eyes.

“Do you think I’m not truly angry?”

His murderous aura was cold and frigid.

“Why did you push Ariasphil forward? Did you think I’d just laugh it off because of the affection we’ve shared?”

His rage spilled out, a raw, unfiltered anger layered with complex emotions.

“Why didn’t you go all out? If it were me, I would have used Spirit Summoning early on to delay the landing of your armor.”

He lashed out at Ariasphil as well. That straightforward fighting style made his blood boil, to the point where he felt like vomiting.

“Why did you agree to all the conditions I set? Isn’t it basic strategy to create an environment favorable to yourself when fighting?”

A series of strikes flew towards her. Armor fragments scattered around. Even the Sage shouted.

[Stop it. What’s the point of going any further?]

Did he need a reason? At this moment, there was a reason why he had to do this.

“Your weak willpower stems from that.”

He drove his fist straight into her stomach.

“You’ve never been desperate.”

With the impact, Ariasphil was sent flying, skidding across the ground. Just as even Silica, who was not a knight, tried to intervene, the family head grabbed her hand. He shook his head.

“Since birth, you’ve been so strong that you’ve never truly experienced what it feels like to be overwhelmed, or to be surpassed.”

The greatest talent in the world—that was the source of Ariasphil’s weakness.

“As a result, you’re weak when it comes to facing fear or enduring sin.”

Leonardo slowly clenched his fist and approached. Ariasphil remained motionless where she had fallen.

“Stop!! The duel is over…!”

“We’re the ones who decide when it’s over. Outsiders, stay out of this.”

Leonardo’s clenched fist was aimed at Ariasphil.

“Gladio…!! Your daughter is like that…!”

“Please, stay out of it. Leonardo is right.”

“Dad!! If you keep going like this…!!”

“That’s right!! Brother!! At this rate…!!”

At that moment, Ariasphil suddenly drew her sword. Caught off guard, Leonardo hurriedly tried to block with his armored gauntlet.

“It’s a feint.”

Ariasphil dropped her sword,

Boom!

and delivered a straight punch. This time, it was Leonardo who was sent flying.

“…That was…”

“Leonardo…”

•Strike Technique, Form 7: ‘Tā’, Straight Punch

It was an advanced technique derived from the basics that Leonardo had created, now embedded in Ariasphil’s punch.

Leonardo, who had been sent flying, wore a refreshing expression.

“Finally… have you let go of your useless pride?”

It was not the expression of someone who had just been caught off guard.

“Shut up… I’ve already covered the first step.”

“My technique is pretty good, isn’t it?”

The killing intent disappeared. But the fighting spirit flared even stronger.

“…What is… going on…”

Everyone from the Reinhardt family, except for the family head, had a look of confusion on their faces.

“Didn’t it seem strange to you? Why would he go out of his way to spell out her weaknesses?”

At first, Gladio thought it was an intention to humiliate her, just like the others did. But as the battle went on, a sense of unease began to grow.

“The weaknesses he pointed out felt more like advice than mere insults. He only mentioned what was truly necessary.”

It wasn’t as if he was saying she would lose because of those weaknesses, but rather that she should fix them immediately.

“But the killing intent…”

“Now that I think about it, isn’t that strange too? Would the usual Leonardo reveal his intent to kill so openly when he’s truly out to kill?”

The usual Leonardo wouldn’t do that.

On the contrary, he would suppress his killing intent as much as possible and deliver the fastest and most accurate strike to the vital point.

That was the advantage shown in Leonardo’s fighting style.

“But this time, he deliberately revealed his killing intent. Even considering his anger, it was excessive.”

At that moment, everyone recalled the last weakness that Leonardo had pointed out.

-You’ve never been desperate.

-Since birth, you’ve been so strong that you’ve never truly experienced what it feels like to be overwhelmed, or to be surpassed.

“…Are you saying that was all an act?”

Using killing intent to draw out desperation, thoroughly suppressing her to make her feel overwhelmed and surpassed—though it seemed excessive, it wasn’t an entirely unbelievable story.

“I’m doubtful too, but I can somewhat understand. After all…”

Leonardo had never used the advanced technique he had created from the basics. If he had used it, he could have subdued or killed her instantly.

“Even so… your daughter is being beaten like that…”

“I am certainly angry. But… even more than that…”

He had to admit that Leonardo understood his daughter more clearly than he did. This fact was now being proven.

[You’ve got a nasty temper. Nothing better to do than hit a woman?]

The reason Leonardo went to Reinhardt, and the goal he had mentioned repeatedly.

That goal was…

“It finally feels like I’m pursuing my real objective.”

Fighting and winning against Ariasphil in a proper battle—Leonardo’s actions revolved around that goal.

“Beating someone to a pulp, and you still have the nerve to say something like that…?!”

“Sorry, I’m just too happy…!”

A series of strikes followed, as he grasped his sword again and unleashed sword energy.

•Cutting Technique, Form 1: ‘Hāl’ Horizontal Slash

There was no formality,

•Cutting Technique, Form 2: ‘Chām’ Vertical Slash

and no pride left.

•Cutting Technique, Form 3: ‘Zhū’ Side Slash

The sword of a boy who thought only of the basics and worked hard.

•Cutting Technique, Form 4: ‘Zhāo’ Spinning Slash

Now imbued in the sword of the girl.

“But can a copied technique ever defeat the original?”

In the same way, Leonardo countered with his own sword techniques and gradually gained the upper hand.

“You’ll only know if you try…!”

Boom!

However, instead of compressing her sword energy to form a sword aura, Ariasphil reversed the flow, explosively releasing the energy to create a massive mana sword.

[…Your wrist is completely wrecked, you know that?]

Ariasphil’s sword energy engulfed Leonardo’s arm, causing his skin to tear and blood to splatter.

“Aaaargh!!!”

The stone sword shattered in two, leaving a gaping wound across his chest and abdomen from the impact of the sword energy.

“The second weakness… it’s gone now, isn’t it?”

“Cough…”

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and everyone stared in shock at the blood flowing from Leonardo’s wounds.

“Leo…!?”

“What’s wrong…?! Isn’t it still not enough…?!”

Leonardo picked up the fallen [Huā Qīng] and pressed it against his wounds.

Sssssss

It was a brutal method, barely passable as first aid.

“This…! This is…!”

The reason Leonardo had always undertaken dangerous tasks, even forsaking his parents.

It was incredibly simple.

“This is…! The life…! I’ve lived…!”

Leonardo only felt the will to live when death was close at hand.

“This is…! My life…!!”

Leonardo inserted the black stone into [Huā Qīng]. Simultaneously, he connected another black stone within his body.

《Black Stone—Red Line [5%]》

When the black stone was connected to [Huā Qīng], the once red flames turned white. Though not as intense as blue flames, the fire was still imposing enough.

“The one who will win…”

“The one who will strike down…”

At that moment, their thoughts were in perfect harmony.

“Is me…!!”

“It will be me…!!”

***

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A blast of pure mana sword energy combined with fiery heat surged forth.

The genius’s talent and the hard work of the ordinary collided.

To onlookers, the power seemed evenly matched, and they might even have been fooled into thinking this moment would last forever.

But the two who clashed swords knew instinctively.

This battle would end anticlimactically if it continued like this.

Compared to the magical sword [Huā Qīng], the iron sword Ariasphil wielded had reached its limit.

The iron sword had no strength left to continue fighting after absorbing all of Ariasphil’s mana without any filtration.

If things continued this way, the battle would end ambiguously.

There would be no clear victory, no satisfying defeat—just a dull conclusion.

Both were certain of this.

To signal the end, columns of sword energy and flames soared into the sky. Despite the intense battle, no civilians nearby were harmed.

It was almost miraculous.

“…Ha… Even as a genius… you’ve gone too far…”

Leonardo dropped the hilt of [Huā Qīng] and let out a wry laugh. Seeing a divine miracle being manipulated before his eyes, he couldn’t help but laugh.

“Already… using the Holy Sword…?”

Satisfied with the result, Leonardo collapsed on the spot.

“…This sword…”

The divine miracle was held in Ariasphil’s hand.

The Hero’s Sword

The Holy Sword was firmly gripped in her hand.