Clank!

As I block Niles' sword, I can feel the immense strength and rage his swing holds.

Boom!

I find myself unable to keep my feet on the floor; I am sent flying for a few seconds, before skidding on the floor to stop my launch.

Holding Rexorem with my two hands as I point it at Niles, I grin nervously when I see them trembling. My heart pounds harder in excitement on the contrary.

Activating my Origin: Pride, my hands immediately stop trembling as I receive the power-up from surviving Niles' attack. My nervous grin turns into an ecstatic grin as my muscles twitch, representing my eagerness to swing Rexorem at him.

"What have you done to my daughter?!" Niles shouts furiously. "Answer me, Demon!"

"Why are you so sure I am a Demon? Do I look like a Demon to you?" I mean, I look no different from a normal human currently, so I expected him to call me a traitor instead.

"Those who mingle with dogs will bark. Once you decided to join those savages, you have lost the right to be called a human. Now, answer me! What have you done to my daughter?!"

Swish!

Instead of immediately answering him, I use my Footwork Technique as I dash at him. I reach him in less than a second, which is fairly quick, in my opinion, considering the fact that we are 32 feet apart.

"Now, your daughter is not the only Felicia in this world, isn't she?"

I powerfully swing Rexorem at Niles.

Clank!

He, unfortunately, managed to block it, but I can strangely hold him in his place. The power-up that I received earlier gave me a quite significant boost, which means the gap between us is quite huge, so this is quite concerning.

He is purposely holding back, and I am inclined to believe that he is doing it because he has something to say to me.

"You are right... But, as a father, I know who have wronged my daughter. I can see her suffering through your eyes!" Niles exclaims.

"That's rather ridiculous, don't you think?"

Showing no intention to respond me, his Mana bursts forth; my heart skips a beat as he washes me with his killing intent. Rexorem that has been pushing back his sword is now getting pushed back.

My hands tremble as I try to fight his sword back, but I eventually give up since I don't see the point in doing it. Kicking the floor, cratering it in the process, I jump back to make a distance.

Niles can now do a full swing thanks to my retreat. His sword splits the air, producing an air blast that can even wind me up slightly.

"Damn! That doesn't count as surviving his attack, huh?" I click my tongue when I sense I don't receive any power-up.

"I have to prevent him from holding back to receive power-ups, huh?" I muse. "I can do that by infuriating him, but that is essentially playing with fire, which is what I have always been doing."

Inhaling softly, I channel my Mana into Rexorem and the Magic Stone on it. The Magic Stone has absorbed the essence of the Magic Stone on Yūto's sword, so I am going to use the ability that the late Hero's sword used to have.

historical

When the Magic Stone glows brightly in red, I can't help gritting my teeth. Rexorem is getting heavier, and I don't know when it will stop.

[Master, stop feeding the Magic Stone your Mana!]

"You should have said it earlier, Rexorem!" I mutter in slight annoyance.

Doing exactly what Rexorem told me to, the sword immediately stops getting heavier. I heave a sigh of relief at that, but soon widen my eyes when Niles suddenly appears in front of me.

Swinging Rexorem to block his sword is a chore, but I fortunately can still block it in time.

Clank!

Expecting myself to be thrown away to the back, I am pleasantly surprised to find myself rooted to the spot. My hands are trembling lightly; but, overall, I hold my ground well.

"This ability... You are full of surprises, aren't you?" Niles quirks his eyebrow.

"To be fair, I am also surprised by myself from time to time."

Increasing the power he puts in his sword, Niles swings it wildly, sending me skidding to the back. My feet destroy the floor tiles this time since, apparently, I am heavier thanks to Rexorem's new ability.

"I need a quick explanation about what this new ability is and how to use it," I say softly, waiting for Rexorem to answer me.

[This ability or Skill, which is what I like to call it, is named Great Impact. It allows you to instantly increase the weight of your weapon and your body mass to increase the impact of your attack.]

Clank!

As soon as Rexorem finished his explanation, Niles swings his sword at me, sending me flying. His swing is powerful enough for Wind Magic to not be able to help me stop my flight.

Boom!

"Keugh!" Luckily, there is a wall to stop me. "Fuck! Is this how it feels to be planted in a wall? I honestly didn't expect to experience it this soon."

As soon as I notice Niles charging at me, I quickly get myself out of the wall and take a distance away from him. I receive a power-up in the process; my broken bones that I didn't know were broken are healed in a second.

"Despite already receiving more than five attacks, I have only got two power-ups? I need to infurtiate him more," I mutter. Swinging Rexorem to the side, I shout, "Now that I think about it, Felicia didn't look like you at all!"

"What do you mean didn't, bastard?" Niles' eyes darken. "Please tell me that means she looks like me now."

"Well, that's a very optimistic yet foolish guess."

"I will kill you, you accursed Demon!"

Boom!

As Niles' Mana floods the entire room, I can't stop myself from smirking in glee. I have finally enraged him once again; I am sure he doesn't want to hold himself back anymore now, which means I am guaranteed to receive power-ups from now on.

Crack!

Kicking the ground, he propels himself toward me. I lift Rexorem above my head, and swing it down at the same time I activate Great Impact.

Niles' advance is stopped as he is forced to block Rexorem that is now ten times heavier than before. The ground caves in; it is honestly amazing we haven't destroyed the entire floor yet.

Rattle.

"You... I will send you to hell!" Niles shouts with a trembling voice and teary eyes. "My daughter... You... You have killed my daughter!"

What I heard is technically the truth, but I can't help getting a bitter taste in my mouth. I don't regret what I have done, mind you, but this is my first time having someone point out that I am the bad guy.

Surprising me with his rage, he gradually pushes Rexorem back. I immediately deactivate Great Impact, intending to make a distance, but I make a mistake by doing that.

Whoosh!

As Rexorem retains its original weight, the power that is holding Niles down is gone. In result, he managed to surprise me with his great force and throw me to the air high enough for me to almost hit the ceiling.

I use Wind Magic to stop my flight—it works this time—but as soon as I prepare myself to land, Niles is already above me swinging his sword at me. Swiftly, I put Rexorem in front of me to block his sword.

Boom!

I managed to prevent my body from getting split, but I am thrown to the ground like a meteor in result. The ground caves in when my body lands on it; I broke my spine due to the impact.

The pain doesn't bother me in the slightest, but my incapability to move almost costs me my life. If not for the fact that I can use Wind Magic quick enough to get myself out of the crater, Niles would have already pierced me with his sword.

Whoosh!

My injuries are immediately healed when I received two power-ups from surviving Niles' onslaught. I stand up in vigour, and carefully observe his Mana Flow to spot his weakness.

"This guy's Mana Pool... It is crippled," I mutter. "He is this strong in spite of that? He must have been an admirable Swordman in his prime."

Exhaling audibly to even my breathing, I channel my Mana into Rexorem. Its blade is immediately covered in an ethereal, red film of Mana as its edge glistens to show how sharp it is.

Niles, on the other hand, assumes a stance as he circulates all of the Mana in his Mana Pool throughout his body. I can see his Mana that is colored in green covering him like a thin mist even without the help of my mask.

Crack!

The ground craters as it can't hold the pressure of his Mana any longer. Looking at this, I strengthen my body as much as I can with Mana, because I know each one of his blow will be deathly to me.

Swish!

We both kick the ground at the same time; we swing our sword with all our might at each other. When Rexorem clashes with his sword, it can't even hold it for a second.

In result, I am sent flying for the third time and planted to the wall for the second time.