He had the Viscount summon Alan out, embedded dark gems at the four corners of the Viscount's training grounds, and prepared to activate the ultimate technique of Shadow Magic—
Shadow World.
Preparations were complete.
Once someone was dragged into this world, they were dead.
A world of nothing but shadows, and he himself—
Shadow World
—would merge with it to become invincible.
When was the last time he'd been this meticulous with his preparations?
And then he showed up like a fool, and
Shadow World
dragged him in. Alan was supposed to die with his five senses barely functional.
◇◇◇
He was gradually getting used to it.
By some vague instinct, he could tell where the shadow swords were coming from.
He tilted his head to dodge, twisted his body to evade.
Sometimes attacks he couldn't avoid came through, but the auto-shield blocked them, so it was fine.
Still, he couldn't quite sense Mist's presence.
Wait—could it be that this world itself was Mist?
"By becoming the shadow myself"... is that what he meant?
With the [Divine Eye], it really was true.
Shadow World
—a field that allows the practitioner who has become the shadow itself to launch infinite attacks.
However, the duration apparently wasn't that long.
Still, he couldn't do something as uncool as waiting until time ran out.
"
Shadow World
— [Reverse] toward Mist!"
◇◇◇
In an instant, color returned to his vision.
The familiar training grounds of the Vermilion household.
His father, brother, and the soldiers were still there.
He had thought it was a prolonged battle, but within that
Shadow World
apparently not much time had passed at all.
And then there was the black figure blending in among the soldiers.
To put it simply... like how culprits in detective anime are depicted as solid black silhouettes before their identity is revealed.
Mist had indeed become the shadow itself.
"Guh... I can't see anything! What did you do, Alan?! I'll skewer you with my shadow blade—where did you vanish to?!"
His own
Shadow World
Trapped in the Shadow World and driven to madness, Mist unleashes Shadow Blades without restraint, slashing at everything in sight.
The mansion's soldiers, unable to dodge the Shadow Blades spawning one after another from Mist's pitch-black body, are impaled and killed one by one.
◇◇◇
With the mansion's soldiers nearly annihilated and Mist's mana apparently depleted, the shadows enveloping his body faded away, revealing his true form.
"Hah... hah... How could this be... Alan, to think you would humiliate me twice—remember this..."
"Dragon-Slaying Sword!"
A single flash of a blade capable of slaying even dragons strikes at Mist as he tries to flee.
This is the Sword Saint's ultimate killing technique.
Father—Ryan's sword pierced through Mist's chest.
"Gahh... you... you dare betray me..."
"Betray you? Hmph. Did you really think a dog of the Church could give me orders? How presumptuous of you to bring out a Sword King. The pinnacle of the sword should belong to me, a noble of distinguished lineage."
"Wh-what did you say..."
"I had planned to finish you all off in the moment you took down Alan, but I must say, that was rather anticlimactic."
Father pulled his sword from Mist's chest.
"I was... defeated by such trash... Forgive me, Your Holiness, the Pop—"
Mist died with a face twisted in bitter regret.
"Well now, my Sword Saint has ascended to Sword King!! I've always despised how you held a higher rank than me and let it go to your head. But in the end, you proved useful after all. Ha ha ha ha!!"
Wait, isn't this supposed to be the part where I defeat Mist? By any reasonable logic?
"Now then, Alan."
Father swung his sword once, flicked Mist's blood from the blade, and turned toward me.
He looked absolutely delighted.
"What?"
"Your swordsmanship was garbage. You didn't have any other aptitudes either. But I'll acknowledge the skill you showed in defeating the Shadow Mist right before my eyes. Since you didn't even use a sword, I won't recognize you as my heir, though."
Haaah.
"Cain lost his Sword Hero skill because of you, but they say if he puts in the effort, he can acquire sword-type skills again. Apparently the church investigated past precedents and found that to be the case. I even thought about destroying you, but right now I'm in an excellent mood. I'll give you the chance to support Cain as penance."
***
Skills: [Reverse], [Divine Eye], [Sword God], [Phantom Thief Gentleman], [Dark Magic], [Rock-Iron Magic], [Holy Magic], [Space-Time Magic], [Scorching Magic], [Frozen Ice Magic], [Magic Hand], [Seduction], [Pain Relief], [Complete Status Abnormality Resistance], [Flame Spirit's Protection], [Phantom Demon], [Swift Wind Thunder], [Dark Spirit's Protection], [Supernatural Strength], [Thunder God Sword], [Strong Luck], [Clear Storm Magic], [Humility], [Heaven's Gate]
Rank: Gold (Alisa: Gold)
Thank you for always reading😊