Chapter 85: The Greatest Sword in History
The clash between the dragons had thrown the weather into chaos, and Edo was thrown into an uproar.
At the top of Edo Castle’s main keep, Princess Kagura was issuing commands in every direction, her voice cutting through the din of the storm.
“An intense gale is approaching. Bring every ship in the harbor back immediately!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
She gazed upward, unease creasing her brow. Above, the clouds churned into furious, roiling masses, and on the ground, violent gusts tore through the streets.
“It’s rare for a storm to strike at this time of year, Your Highness,” one aide remarked.
“Yes. I’ve never seen anything like it. And somehow… it feels different from an ordinary storm. As if… the heavens themselves are angry…”
“Perhaps it is the Wind God and the Thunder God quarreling,” another suggested.
“…Let us only pray it does not escalate further.”
(What on earth is happening in Hinomaru…?)
Meanwhile, the battle itself had reached a terrifying intensity.
Whenever Ryoma Izanagi swung his blade, whirlwinds erupted. When Takemikazuchi Ryu swung his, bolts of lightning streaked across the battlefield. Each clash of swords rent the earth asunder, and the ground trembled with deafening roars.
It was, quite literally, an apocalyptic spectacle.
The terrain had already lost all resemblance to its original form. Perhaps for beings who normally rule over the heavens, the earth beneath them mattered little.
From an outsider’s perspective, the duel seemed evenly matched.
In reality, however, Ryu was on the defensive. He had learned to counter between blocks, but he could not yet fully transition into offense.
…Because the greatest swordsman in the world excelled at defense as well.
Ryu deflected a horizontal slash and attempted a diagonal strike of his own. But his movements were blocked with minimal effort, and a counterattack came immediately.
Amid the chaos of the fierce duel, Ryu analyzed calmly.
(The timing of his strikes, the angle of his blade, the force… everything is perfect. This is the world a genius—among geniuses—creates after endless effort. It’s tragic, but it’s a realm far beyond my reach.)
Ryu, unfortunately, was no genius.
(I can’t match him in technique… but when it comes to raw power, I know something even greater.)
Having traded blows with a dragon king before, Ryu knew this fight was still tame by comparison.
A faint smile crept across Ryoma’s face.
He was not underestimating Ryu. He was simply… enjoying it.
“Haha, I’m getting warmed up now,” he said.
“Good. That’s all that matters,” Ryu replied.
(Is there… truly a world even beyond this?)
The ultimate pinnacle of swordsmanship.
It was a question that would haunt every blade-wielder forever: the final frontier of swordsmanship that even Ryu could not yet imagine.
Yet, a man had stepped one foot into that realm.
(His technique is still developing. He isn’t especially gifted, yet he shows no haste. In fact, he seems to anticipate the next move. That is the mindset of someone with unshakable confidence. Let’s see if I can break that sword, that confidence…)
Ryoma’s presence shifted.
“Ryu, you are the first in history to face this technique.”
“…I am honored,” Ryu replied.
Ryoma sheathed his sword and assumed the stance of an iai strike. Ryu tightened his grip on his own blade.
(Here it comes… Sakamoto Ryoma.)
This technique had no name. If anything, it could only be described as—the ultimate sword in history.
Ryoma honed his concentration to the extreme.
“…”
Then, he moved. Swift as the wind, he closed the distance and unleashed his technique.
CLANG!!!
“Ugh…!”
Ryu thought he had managed to block it—yet,
“…huh?”
Before he knew it, Kurikara had been knocked aside, and countless slashes marred his torso. The black armor was pierced; his flesh was sliced directly. Blood danced through the emerald wind.
Ryoma’s assault did not stop. That first strike was merely an introduction.
Despite accumulating injuries, Ryu skillfully deflected blow after blow.
(I see… this is your true sword…!)
(…Have you noticed?)
There were countless exceptional schools of swordsmanship. Ryoma had refined the ultimate moves from each into a single, flowing barrage of attacks. That was the essence of this technique. A dragon clad in the wind itself wielding such strikes was unstoppable.
Wounds multiplied, layering atop old scars. The ground turned red with blood.
“Are you about ready to surrender?”
“…Never.”
Arms still functioned. Legs still carried him. Eyes still saw. Ears still heard.
—I can still fight.
At his core, Ryu’s strength was simple: never give up.
Messy, step-by-step growth. That was the essence of Ryu Arden.
(…It felt just like that day.)
The first time Ryu had blocked an attack from a dragon king—he had been battered and broken, yet he had endured.
Ryoma’s frustration grew.
(Why won’t he fall…!)
Even Ryoma, master swordsman, felt the weight of such resilience.
Then—
CLANG!!!
Ryu finally stopped the attack. For a single, fleeting moment, he had fully withstood the ultimate sword. He had halted Ryoma’s strike.
He did not waste the opening. Ryu shoved Ryoma’s blade aside and drove a powerful slash into the exposed torso.
“Ugh…!!”
Ryoma took a step back, touching the wounds along his body.
(Such deep injuries… such a thrilling fight… when was the last time I felt this alive?)
He, like Ryu, ignored the pain and gripped his sword once more.
But—
Ryu’s magic surged.
No, “surged” isn’t enough. It erupted.
“!!!!!!”
(Th-this magical energy…!!!!!!)
A crucial reminder: Ryu was, after all, a magician…
“Ryoma, thanks. Because of you, I’ve… reached the next stage. In swordsmanship, at least.”
“W-what are you saying…”
Ryu had felt the limits of his growth in combat experience, sealing his magic to fight. Ryoma had allowed him to break through that ceiling.
As a comrade, Ryu had no choice but to demonstrate a fraction of that power.
Raising one hand toward Ryoma, he warned,
“Ryoma, dodge with your life!”
“???”
“Hou-Rai – Void.”
A thunderous roar of a lightning dragon erupted from his hand.
“!!!!!”
Ryoma covered his legs with wind and soared into the sky.
(So he can fly… he’s been hiding even more power…)
Ryoma glanced behind, sweat beading on his brow.
(If that had hit… I might be dead…)
Behind him, nearly all terrain had vanished. The ground of the wasteland was carved away, and even the air and sound seemed erased—as though the space itself had been cleaved.
“Watch above.”
“Above…?”
Lightning flashed through the storm clouds. Ryu’s magic—Hekireki Indra—struck. Even Ryoma could not fully evade, and half his body was scorched.
(This… surpasses even the bounds of magic…)
His emerald armor finally dissipated.
Yet Ryoma himself was a dragon. Naturally, he was skilled in magic too.
“Idaten!”
A massive tornado assaulted Ryu.
But—
“Ao-Yoroi – Susanoo-no-Mikoto!”
He deployed a speed-specialized magical armor to evade. Ryoma repeatedly targeted Ryu with tornadoes. The wasteland became a deathly wasteland, torn by relentless storms.
(Naggingly attacking from the sky with magic…)
Ryoma lost sight of his target.
(Where is Ryu…?)
Scanning desperately, he heard a voice:
“Above.”
Looking upward, he saw a blue dragon peering down, and atop it stood Ryu.
“You thought you alone could fly?”
“!?!!?”
(A blue… dragon…??)
Ryoma was struck by the dragon’s tail and slammed into the ground.
“Ughh!”
His lungs emptied in a single breath.
Immediately, he felt an overwhelming magical power.
(This magical signature…!!!)
Struggling to rise, he looked up again.
GOGOGOGOGO
“Ryuen Banrai!”
A colossal thunder dragon emerged from the storm clouds. If it fell… death was certain. Ryoma swallowed hard.
“Even now… you still fight?”
“Of course. A samurai’s shame is to surrender here.”
Ryoma’s hands trembled as he drew Futsunomitama again.
“Indeed…”
(As expected of the world’s greatest swordsman… extraordinary in every way.)
The massive storm dispersed.
“…Huh?”
“This is the finale. A fine fight.”
Killing was never the goal. They had merely drawn swords to test each other’s strength.
“That’s enough, don’t you think?”
“Yes… I suppose so…”
Ryoma returned his blade to its sheath, his expression a mixture of regret and frustration—the thrill of the fight ended, and yet the sting of defeat lingered.
Ryu helped him recover and together they returned to Esther.
“Your swordsmanship was insane. Especially that last ultimate combo of yours.”
“Your swordsmanship wasn’t bad either, Ryu. And I didn’t know you were a magician—when you unleashed that huge spell, I nearly panicked.”
“This! Stop moving, you fools!”
(They fought until they were utterly battered…)
“Brururu…”
“Gyaaa!”
(Ryu’s Ryuen Banrai was incredible!!!)
After Esther treated their wounds, they were restored in no time.
The scars Ryoma bore from this fight would be treasures for life. And, naturally, the same went for Ryu.