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Mary"s Viper Sword struck forward.

The target had been determined, and only a point of the blade and the lightning energy touched, but the blue field of vision cleared for the first time.

"d.a.m.n it!"

She couldn"t see Jin because he was covered by the lightning energy.

Her younger brother, who didn"t dare to kill her and thus released the sword, was nowhere to be seen.

Where are you?

As those who realize their mistakes often do, she gritted her teeth.

An indescribable chill seemed to run through her body.

She would die if she didn"t withdraw her sword.

Her instinct told her that.

The experience gained in thousands of battles warned her of the same danger.

She had to reabsorb her aura, even if it caused a backlash.

She had to locate the position of the younger one.

Light Speed Thrust, a sword that pierced the sky.

So there would be a backlash if she forcibly withdrew this powerful sword movement.

Kraaaah!

Mary let out a cry as she changed her movements.

She felt that the muscles and bones of her waist and lower body, as well as her grip on the sword, arms, and shoulders, trembled as if they were breaking.

She withdrew the sword.

The advance of Light Speed Thrust, which was tearing through the lightning energy, stopped as if it were a lie.

The waves of lightning energy surged again, and flickering lights interrupted her vision.

Mary twisted her body, in a fleeting moment, and could perceive that the energy surrounding her came not only from the lightning energy but also from the black curtains.

What the half-sphere of lightning energy was covering was the force of the shadow.

From the beginning, Jin had released the lightning energy with the sole purpose of hiding the Shadow Energy curtains, to perform the Shadow a.s.sault.

She turned the recovered Viper in all directions to secure her line of sight.

Every time the lightning energy rose, the black curtains became instantly visible.

"Four, no. Seven!"

She thought that at any moment, something similar to a black sword energy would shoot at her.

However, the curtains remained still, and there were no signs of them moving yet.

Instead, Mary turned her body to the side.

"He was there!"

Jin pounced on her.

With every flash of lightning energy, with every blink, the distance between them was closing.

Along with Bradamante, tinted in black.

Finally, Bradamante and Viper collided.

It looked as if they had collided.

Mary showed an overwhelming response to Jin"s sudden attack despite her internal injuries.

However, Viper swung in the air.

The great sword energy that spread like a fan pierced through the lightning energy and shot up into the sky, disappearing.

Mary couldn"t help but be perplexed once again.

"He was right in front of me...!"

As if he were a ghost or had somehow teleported.

Her younger brother"s sword was charging from the front a moment ago, but for some reason, the sword was charging from her rear once again.

The shadows that spread around the two were some kind of "gate."

Only Jin, using the Shadow a.s.sault, could enter and exit through it.

That"s why Jin could once again seize the rear of Mary.

Just before the collision, Jin had crossed the curtain.

"Even my elder sister is a monster."

Blood splattered.

It was Mary"s blood.

Bradamante, who had been aiming for her throat, barely grazed her shoulder.

"I thought I could at least take off her shoulder."

Viper"s blade also grazed Jin"s cheek.

The fight was no longer visible from the outside due to the lightning energy and the curtains of shadow force.

However, everyone could hear the sound of the two swords clashing, the battle cries of the siblings.

And everyone sensed that when the shadow force and lightning energy dissipated, the one left standing would be the victor.

Kaaah-!

Every time Mary roared, the half-sphere of lightning energy seemed to tremble as if it were about to tear apart.

Jin unleashed a flurry of attacks to prevent his sister from gathering strength again.

"If I give her even a moment, she might come up with another technique."

Just before Mary was about to execute the fourth Light Speed Thrust, Jin felt an inexplicable discomfort.

The sword movement he intended to use was not the secret technique but the unfinished "ultimate technique."

Jin didn"t know it, but his instinct warned him of danger, just like Mary"s.

Jin had to press on without rest, so it didn"t even occur to Mary to use something else.

Hoo~

Mary wasn"t the only one breathing heavily.

Jin was also losing stamina.

Jin hadn"t executed the Sword of the Reign of the Kingdom of Legends, but he couldn"t help but get tired as he was rapidly consuming a level of lightning energy comparable to it.

Surprisingly, Mary was in slightly better physical condition.

Jin roared and gritted his teeth.

"It"s about time, but how is she still holding on like this?"

What he expected was clear.

"No matter how powerful my sister is, she can"t use the Light Speed Thrust so easily without a scratch."

Kooh-!

The moment his thought ended, Mary leaned forward and vomited blood.

The time had come to end the battle.

Jin stood in front of Mary and knocked down Bradamante.

Mary focused her last ounce of concentration on reading the trajectory of his attack.

Bradamante, who was raised at an angle, aimed at Mary"s neck.

Mary was about to miss the trajectory, but she raised the sword and managed to block it.

That fell within Jin"s expectations.

He had antic.i.p.ated that a superhuman like Mary would be able to handle it naturally up to that point.

"But in the meantime, she"s counterattacking...!"

However, blocking wasn"t everything.

She was even counterattacking.

To be precise, Mary didn"t exactly "block" Jin"s final strike.

Shadow Blade.

Second Move: Scissors.

Jin"s final trick.

The black blade of the scissors was forming on the other side of the trajectory traced by Bradamante.

In the end, Mary couldn"t block the final blade of the scissors.

The Shadow Energy blade grazed Mary"s face.

What the blade cut was the pirate patch she was wearing.

If it had aimed at her neck instead, it might have easily cut it.

"It"s over, elder sister."

From the beginning, Jin had foreseen his victory the moment Mary used the Light Speed Thrust.

Jin hadn"t let his guard down even at the final moment.

After all, his opponent was Mary Runcandel.

But the fact that Mary counterattacked at the last moment would remain a haunting experience for Jin in the future.

Mary Runcandel, the Seventh Flagbearer of Runcandel.

Regardless of each one"s battle prowess, all her siblings considered her the most formidable opponent when fighting for their lives.

When the mist cleared, both the lightning energy and the Shadow Energy on the battlefield vanished in an instant.

Suaaaa-!

Suddenly, a stream of water fell from the sky.

It was a stream of water falling from a ma.s.sive water wall formed when part of the sea split behind Jin.

It was the aftermath of Mary"s final counterattack.

"What just happened?"

"Did you see that?"

Cosmos, the pirates, the crowd, and most of Jin"s comrades had no idea why the water wall had formed.

Only those who had reached the rank of superhumans were aware that Mary had "wielded her sword."

"Heh, how did she manage to wield her sword at the last moment?"

"I... couldn"t see it clearly, Murakan-nim."

"I don"t know what it is, but if she had wielded the sword properly, the outcome might have been different."

Murakan and Valkas spoke, and Jin tried to swallow his dry saliva.

I thought it was a simple counterattack, but it was faster than the Light Speed Thrust...

No, even if I had known beforehand, I could never have dodged it.

"It was a cut close to divine power."

Runcandel"s ultimate technique.

Jin immediately convinced himself that the last horizontal cut that pa.s.sed by his side was one of Runcandel"s three ultimate techniques.

Definitely incomplete.

If it had been a complete ultimate technique, Jin would never have remained standing.

Woo~

The water wall collapsed like a sandcastle and returned to the sea.

"Both... both seem to be perfectly fine! But the fight is over...! Neither Mary nor Jin-nim is moving!"

Cosmos raised his voice, with trembling pupils.

The siblings made eye contact as they pointed their swords at each other.

b.u.m!

Mary knelt, and relieved sighs were heard.

"Argh! d.a.m.n it, I lost. I had no idea you could play with me like this with your tricks...!"

Mary spat blood and wiped her forehead.

Then, Cosmos announced the result of the battle with fireworks bursting everywhere.

"The winner is... Jin, Runcandeeeeeel! Congratulations! A fiery and unforgettable battle, a great fight that won"t be seen twice in a lifetime! Everyone, show your appreciation with applause!"

Amidst thunderous applause, Jin approached Mary and extended his hand.

"Why did you try to end the fight with Light Speed Thrust when you can use an ultimate technique? If you had executed your ultimate technique at that moment, I think I would have been the one defeated."

"I thought you had released the sword because you didn"t want to kill me, so it was a waste to show you this sword movement, but I forgot for a moment that there was no way you would have backed down like that. d.a.m.n it. I never thought I would fall for something like this."

"I used this sword technique against the guardian inspired by one of the Ten Great Knights, Sarah Runcandel. She wasn"t at her best and couldn"t defend herself. However, a.s.suming she had the ultimate technique, I"m not sure it would have worked against you."

"Hmph, are you comparing me to the old heroine of the Family out of fear that your sister might get angry?"

"Don"t you feel a bit upset?"

"Tsk, turns out I"m the one who backed down."

Mary took Jin"s hand and stood up.

Despite her tone, she had a refreshing smile on her face.

"...Jin, my younger brother."

"Yes, elder sister."

"Today, you officially defeated this Seventh Flagbearer of the Family."

"Can we really call it an official match? We had too many restrictions between us."

"That"s true. I fought with an eye patch the whole time, and you restricted the use of magic. But what does it matter? You didn"t let your guard down until the end, and I made mistakes that led to my own defeat. That shows you"re stronger than me."

As Jin didn"t respond, Mary burst into laughter.

"So, from today on, you hold the fifth position in the hierarchy of the Family Flagbearers. Hold it well, as I might reclaim it after rigorous training. And for that... Hey! Cosmos!"

"Yes!"

"Bring that here."

At Mary"s command, Cosmos hurriedly took something from his bag.

What he kindly handed over was a book.

Fifth Secret Technique, Light Speed Thrust - Cyron Runcandel.

It was none other than a training manual on the Light Speed Thrust Technique that Cyron had written for Mary.

"It"s not reasonable for the Fifth Flagbearer not to know a single secret technique of her Family, right?"

Jin received the training manual but couldn"t hide his astonishment.

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