Chapter 72

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Episode 15 - Anti-villain club [4]

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Adel’s body vanished like a blur; in less than a second, he was already standing about five meters away.

And, in an instant, he appeared in front of Alessia, bringing his sword down in a simple movement, yet one so fluid and perfect.

’Wow, this is unexpected.’

Even Alessia could not see when he moved, nor when his sword appeared just a few centimeters away from her.

Alessia’s smile widened slightly. Then, she twisted her body in an unnaturally strange way, gripped her bastard sword with both hands, and raised it.

Clang!

Both wooden swords collided, yet neither splintered nor cracked from the impact.

Neither sword had mana imbued into it to increase weight, pressure, sharpness, or any other characteristic.

Even so, her bastard sword bent slightly and was pushed back a single centimeter.

’Oh, look at this.’

For someone at Alessia’s level to be pushed back like that meant her opponent trained his strength extensively.

However, Adel did not attack only once.

Alessia moved her eyes first, then her head, and finally her body, blocking the wooden blade that had appeared out of nowhere.

Following the sounds produced by every movement of Adel’s body, along with the mana flowing through him.

Alessia could predict most of the attacks, but then...

"..."

Clang!

Her sword was knocked back and lifted upward. Slightly surprised, Alessia looked at the wooden sword that was suddenly pointing right beneath her neck.

Alessia’s widened eyes and twisted smile were obvious to those watching from afar.

Alessia leaned her body backward, and Adel’s sword swept across in a perfect line, grazing the tip of her nose.

Alessia spun her body and created some distance. Her body vanished, and she swung her long double-edged sword.

The sword fell in a straight line toward Adel’s head.

However, Adel’s senses had already detected the attack.

Adel tilted her head to the side, and then the sword struck her shoulder.

Because of how fast the attack was, she did not have time to dodge.

Alessia was slightly surprised when she did not hear any groan of pain.

Normally, that attack should have been enough to make someone feel an electrifying pain coursing through their body.

’This is more interesting than I expected.’

Once again, Alessia’s body vanished, and the moment she reappeared, her sword struck Adel again.

Adel stepped back, feeling her shoulder slightly out of place. Even so, she simply raised her arm and calmly adjusted it.

’Three seconds have already passed, huh.’

Her perception of time returned to normal, and instantly, her body felt exhausted; the mental fatigue surged all at once.

She did not stagger, but she could clearly feel the exhaustion in her body.

Even so, a smile formed on her face.

’Even though she isn’t using any sword art and is relying solely on swordsmanship, I can still hold my own against a 6-Star for a few seconds.’

Regardless of how she used the Second Form of Inverted Heaven.

She could fight against a 6-Star for one or two minutes.

He might even be able to draw against a 5-Star if he used both the First and Second Forms at the same time.

But the problem would come after the fight.

’I’m tired... very, very tired.’

Sweat beaded across his forehead. Even so, he remained standing upright as if nothing had happened.

Smiling, Alessia turned around and stared directly at him.

"Come on, let’s continue. Or are you already tired?"

Adel took a deep breath and, after a second, his body disappeared.

First Form: Twenty-Four Steps of Space.

Second Form: Time.

This time, even from his perspective, where time appeared normal.

He decided to use the Twenty-Four Steps of Space for a reason.

If, from his perspective, he was simply running or walking, then to everyone else it would look as though he were moving absurdly fast.

So, if he used the Twenty-Four Steps of Space from his perspective, like the first time he had used them in battle in the Golden Forest...

Then he already had a general idea of what the result would be.

Soon, he arrived in front of Alessia within a world moving so slowly, but from the outside, his speed looked as though he had teleported.

Well, in theory, the Twenty-Four Steps of Space were a form of short-range semi-teleportation.

So, to Alessia, it was as if he had teleported.

"...?"

Her eyes widened and, without enough time to move her sword, she felt a powerful blow strike just below her chest.

Adel’s sword struck Alessia’s body head-on.

Instantly, her body became a blur as she shot forward. However, how could a 6-Star be pushed back so easily?

Alessia used mana in her legs and stopped midway.

She felt intense pain spreading through her abdomen and chest.

Of course, nothing had been broken; no organs or bones.

’Ha, ha. If I were a 4-Star, I’d be lying on the ground coughing up blood.’

But she was not a 4-Star. She was a 6-Star, and her body was even stronger than that of a 5-Star.

Even so, Adel’s movement impressed her.

However, she quickly snapped out of her thoughts when she sensed that Adel had disappeared once again and was attacking again.

Alessia raised her sword. In one fluid motion, Lunar mana flowed through her body like water running through a river.

The flow within her entire body moved so naturally that it felt as though she controlled everything flowing inside it.

Clang!

Her sword blocked Adel’s attack, but Adel did not stop there.

Adel continued attacking and disappearing; Alessia’s body began to feel slight discomfort.

It was not exhaustion, but rather something more electrifying due to how powerful the blows were.

Alessia then hardened her body. At a certain moment, the Lunar mana flowed through her body in a different way.

’Now this was exciting.’

First Form of Eclipse: Moon Fragment.

The sword art of House Moonlight. Alessia used the first form without hesitation.

Her eyes glowed with a silver hue, and silver lines appeared from her eyes and spread down across her arms.

It was as if a tattoo had appeared out of nowhere, but this was familiar whenever she used <Eclipse>, the sword art of House Moonlight.

At a certain moment, the silver mana fragmented; each fragment resembled a crescent moon.

Her sword became covered in those fragments and, without hesitation, Alessia attacked.

Clank!

Both swords collided. At first, nothing happened, but in the very next second...

The two swords shattered into fine pieces and wooden splinters.

However, the silver fragments covered everything around Adel. In an instant, his body was filled with thin wounds and cuts.

As if a thousand swords had sliced through him.

His expression did not twist in pain; he did not even feel pain.

To Alessia, that could not help but be surprising.

The First Form of Eclipse causes such severe and agonizing pain that the enemy would rather die.

That was right, the Moonlight family was known for its sword art, as if it were torture in the middle of battle.

’He didn’t feel pain... ha, look at this.’

His smile was so wide it seemed almost unnatural, and his eyes, once silver, were now opened wide.

Not from shock or surprise, but from pure enjoyment.

"Ah... ah... I’m at my limit."

Adel murmured as he felt his body giving in to exhaustion.

Just as he had imagined, his current body could only withstand two uses of the Second Form of Inverted Heaven.

One more use, and there would only be two possible outcomes.

Total collapse, leaving him crippled, or death from extreme exhaustion.

That was why he stopped and ceased attacking.

’She’s really insane. She used the First Form of Eclipse.’

Something else that surprised Adel was the First Form of Eclipse.

The sword art better known as sword torture.

’That’s why their House is the strongest among the five.’

He let himself fall into a seated position due to extreme exhaustion.

Adel’s breathing was ragged, but at the same time, he felt something dripping from his nose.

’I guess my brain almost short-circuited.’

Because of his traits and the Second Form, when Alessia used Eclipse...

His mind became flooded with information, analyzing his opponent and every movement.

Even though he failed to decipher the First Form of Eclipse.

It was enough to nearly burn out his brain, literally.

’With this, I can confirm that yes, it’s possible to learn the enemy’s sword art.’

He just needed a little more time. Besides, with his overwhelming talent...

It would only take him one or two minutes to understand most sword arts.

And the more complex ones, like those of the Five Houses, could be comprehended within a matter of minutes.

’I don’t know about the Five Swords sword art, but in any case, my current self can only copy sword arts below the level of the Five Houses.’

Anyway, his body was so exhausted that he could not even move.

At that moment, Alessia spoke as she suddenly appeared beside him.

"That was very fun, junior. I hope to have more duels with you in the future."

"..."

’No way. Maybe I’d use you as a punching bag, but even then, I still wouldn’t do it.’

Alessia turned around and smiled at everyone.

"Congratulations on joining the Anti-Villain Club. I’ll explain the rules once we return."

Shortly after, Rinna appeared in front of Adel and told him to lie down on the ground.

She used Light Magic to heal his injuries and restore his stamina and mental energy.

"You’ve become stronger, Adel."

"I train every day, so it’s only natural."

Rinna sighed and said:

"Ah, at this rate, I won’t be able to defeat you someday. I still want a rematch from that time."

She puffed out her chest. Shortly after, Adel got up from the ground.

At that moment, Alessia shouted:

"We’re heading back, juniors."

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Author’s note.

Sorry, guys. 🙏 Lately, I’ve been publishing Chapters irregularly, 😮‍💨 but starting tomorrow, I should begin posting at the same time every day.

Ah,🧐 and I’m planning to publish 10 Chapters at some point this month, maybe between the 15th and the 20th.

Anyway, for these next few days, I’ll only be publishing 2 Chapters daily. Soon, I’ll move on to 3 Chapters daily and, eventually, to the 10 Chapters.🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

And please give me some Powerstones or Golden Tickets.