Chapter 338 : Rid vs King Albert, Commander Marshall and Florian part 2

King Albert's right arm went airborne after being severed from his body. He stared at the floating limb without reacting in the slightest. Seeing him so focused on his severed arm, I prepared to launch another strike—a final blow intended to defeat and kill him instantly.

~Secret Sword Art - Dragon Slayer Technique: Dragon Beheading Slash~

I quickly swung my sword toward King Albert's neck. But just before the blade could connect, a tornado suddenly erupted in the space between us. Upon seeing the tornado appear, I immediately aborted my attack and darted backward to evade it. As I retreated, the tornado began to grow in size.

"That tornado... it looks like Senior Florian has risen again," I thought.

I turned my gaze toward the tree wall where Senior Florian had been leaning. Sure enough, he was back on his feet, though his left arm was severed and there was a puncture wound beneath his chest. Blood was still gushing heavily from the severed arm and the stab wound.

"Even with blood pouring from those two wounds, he can still move. Well, that makes sense; he’s a demon under someone’s control, so he surely doesn't feel a shred of pain from those injuries. It seems I’ll have to sever his torso or head so that he—no, so that they won't move again," I thought, glancing at Commander Marshall, who had also managed to stand up.

Commander Marshall’s condition was dire; much of his body had been scorched by the attack I had unleashed on him earlier. Yet, despite the severe burns covering his body, he remained standing.

Then, the swelling tornado suddenly began moving toward me. Seeing this, I braced myself to cut right through it. However, just as I was preparing to cut through that tornado, others appeared around me. Three new tornadoes emerged in my vicinity. They slowly grew in size until they matched the original tornado. Then, all three began moving toward me, following the path of the first one. Now, four tornadoes were closing in from different directions, as if surrounding me. Yet, I remained calm as they approached. I prepared to strike them all down at once, waiting until they were within close range. A few seconds later, as they drew near, I unleashed my attack.

~Secret Sword Art: Wind Slayer – Full Moon Slash~

I executed the attack in a full-circle motion. The strike successfully cut through all four tornadoes simultaneously, causing them to slowly dissipate after the impact.

After slicing through the tornadoes, I saw Commander Marshall driving his greatsword into the ground. The blade was wreathed in electric magic—but it was unlike ordinary electric magic, for the electricity was black.

"A fusion of electric and darkness magic, huh. If he’s driving that electric-charged sword into the ground, his objective is clear," I thought.

The electric magic enveloping Commander Marshall's greatsword began to spread across the ground. It surged rapidly toward the spot where I stood. However, having anticipated his move, I quickly leaped into the air to avoid the oncoming electrical surge. As I hovered in the air, I saw the electrical magic emanating from the sword Commander Marshall had driven into the ground spreading across the entire area.

"Landing on the ground right now would be extremely dangerous while it's still charged with that electric magic. For the time being, I’m better off hovering in mid-air until the magic dissipates. It certainly won't vanish on its own; I’d have to either pull Commander Marshall’s sword out of the ground or kill him to stop the flow of magic, even if the sword remained embedded. Naturally, I’ll choose the latter, since killing him is part of my objective anyway. Not just him, I have to take out King Albert and Senior Florian as well to put an end to this assault. I can't afford to waste time; I need to finish this immediately," I thought.

With that, I shot straight toward Commander Marshall, who was focused on channeling his electrical magic into the sword embedded in the ground.

"He’s completely focused on channeling his magic into that sword. That leaves his defenses wide open. I’ll kill him first," I thought.

I surged forward, preparing to strike Commander Marshall. However, just as I was closing in on him, King Albert and Senior Florian intercepted me. They rushed toward me at high speed, swords in hand. King Albert wielded a sword wreathed in black flames with his left hand, while Senior Florian held a sword enveloped in wind magic in his right. Both of them swung their swords at me. I quickly parried their attacks with my own sword. Our sword clashed, and we locked into a contest of strength, each trying to overpower the other. I was being pushed onto the defensive, struggling to hold my ground against the combined force of King Albert and Senior Florian; slowly, I began to lose ground in the clash.

I then attempted to amplify my power, aiming to win—or at least force a stalemate in the clash of strength against the two of them. To focus on boosting my power, I slowly closed my eyes. As I did, I felt my strength surging beyond its previous limits, and I knew I could prevail in this contest. Sure enough, I began to push King Albert and Senior Florian back. Now, it was they who found themselves on the defensive. Sensing my increased power, I snapped my eyes open and immediately blasted King Albert and Senior Florian away.

"You two are just in the way. Move aside," I said.

King Albert and Senior Florian were sent flying, slamming hard against the wall of trees behind them. I then darted toward Commander Marshall; I could see he had already pulled his massive sword from the ground and was preparing to strike. He unleashed several electric-infused slashes at me as I rushed toward him. Seeing this, I prepared my own counterattack. Ignoring the incoming electricbslashes, I charged straight at Commander Marshall, cutting through the electrical arcs to close the distance. After successfully breaking through those electrical slashes and closing in on Commander Marshall, I immediately attacked him with a lightning-fast sword swing.

~Secret Sword Art: Dragon Slayer Technique – Electric Dragon Slayer Slash~

I struck Commander Marshall squarely in the neck. His head was instantly severed by the blow. As his head was lopped off, the lightning slashes I had previously cut through were also split in two. His severed head hovered in the air for a few seconds before finally dropping to the ground. Commander Marshall's headless body slowly fell and lay upon the ground.

After successfully killing Commander Marshall, I immediately dashed toward Senior Florian, who was beginning to rise after being slammed against a tree trunk. Having regained his footing, Senior Florian unleashed several wind-based slashes at me. Even as the wind blades hurtled toward me, I charged straight into them without dodging. I shot through the wind slashes just as I had done with the lightning strikes Commander Marshall had unleashed earlier. Having pierced through Senior Florian's wind attacks, I finally closed the distance between us. I then launched a lightning-fast strike before he could react.

~Secret Sword Art - Dragon Slayer Technique: Wind Dragon Slayer Slash~

I struck Senior Florian precisely across the neck. His head was instantly severed from his body and sent airborne. At the same moment, the wind slashes I had previously pierced through were also split in two. Then, Senior Florian's airborne head began to fall to the ground, while his body slowly collapsed and slumped onto the earth.

"I never expected Commander Marshall and Senior Florian to use the exact same attack patterns. Whether it was because they were under someone's control and couldn't attack freely, or for some other reason, it made defeating them easy. Even though they had transformed into demons with skin tougher than other races, their hide wasn't as thick or hard as that of the Dragon race. The ~Dragon Slayer Technique~ was more than enough to kill them."

"Now, only King Albert remains. I wonder if he’ll use the same attack patterns as Commander Marshall and Senior Florian. If he does, it’ll make things easier for me," I thought.

With that, I dashed rapidly toward King Albert, who had just recovered after being slammed against a tree trunk earlier. Seeing me darting toward him, King Albert immediately rushed toward me as well. I was slightly taken aback by this.

"He isn't launching long-range slashes like Commander Marshall or Senior Florian did; instead, he’s chosen to charge right at me. It seems King Albert is employing a different attack pattern," I thought.

King Albert surged forward, his sword wreathed in black flames, and immediately struck at me. I quickly parried the blow with my own sword, but he kept pressing the attack at close range. Despite his relentless close-quarters assault, I managed to block every strike. As I parried his blows, I sensed something odd about the power behind them; his attacks felt weaker than before.

"King Albert's attacks feel weaker than they used to. Is it because he's attacking with his left hand? He used to wield his sword with his right, but since I severed that arm, he's been forced to use his left. It seems he isn't accustomed to wielding a sword with his left hand, which explains why his attacks are so feeble."

"That must be why he isn't launching any long-range attacks at me. It’s not that he doesn't want to; he simply can't, because he's forced to use his non-dominant hand," I reasoned.

I pondered this while continuing to fend off the close-range sword strikes King Albert was unleashing.

"With attacks this weak, King Albert poses no threat. I’ll end this right now," I thought.

King Albert continued to assail me with close-range sword slashes. A moment later, as King Albert swung his sword toward me, I quickly swung mine to meet it, clashing our swords together. His sword was instantly knocked aside by the impact. With his weapon deflected, I immediately prepared to launch an attack against him.

"Farewell, King Albert. You may now depart in peace, for you will no longer be controlled by the one who held sway over you."

~Secret Sword Art – Dragon Slayer Technique: Dragon-Beheading Slash~

I unleashed a swift slash toward King Albert's neck. The sword severed it instantly, sending his head flying through the air. It hovered for a few moments before finally dropping to the ground, while his body slowly slumped and collapsed onto the ground. I gazed at the fallen King Albert body; blood was gushing profusely from his severed neck.

"I suppose I owe Her Majesty the Queen an apology for killing King Albert. She had said she would punish him herself, yet I took that responsibility upon myself."

"And what will Charles and Chloe feel if they find out or see that I was the one who killed their father?" I wondered aloud.

Just then, I realized two people were watching me from a nearby connecting corridor. I hadn't noticed them earlier because I had been fully focused on fighting King Albert, Commander Marshall, and Senior Florian. Yet, their presence felt strangely familiar. I turned to look at them. There stood Charles and Chloe, both bearing visible wounds. They were staring at me with expressions of utter shock.

"R-Rid... w-what have you just done?!" Chloe asked.

-To be continued