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True vacuum. A space that defied description, completely devoid of matter.
Evergrant and Joshua stood on the edge of that.
Everything seemed to freeze. Evergrant had sucked everything, even down to the last piece of dust, out of the air.
Naturally, the people nearby stopped breathing in shock as they paid attention to the two in the true vacuum.
“Tower Master.” Gabiji's mouth hung open in unabashed awe.
That fight was between two humans who were far beyond human limitations.
Evergrant stepped forward. The pressure of Theta’s special magic, combined with Stormwind’s power, continued to expand in Evergrant’s hands.
As he approached, Joshua calmly lowered his spear.
“You have an inflated sense of self-importance. Your ability to tell lies without blinking is a notable quality, too.”
“Lie?” Joshua cocked his head to one side.
“I don't know where you picked it up… but a Primordial Stone is an instrument of a god; it would eat away human life itself, not to mention what two would do. Do you think it’s possible to wield two?”
“Well…” A gentle grin spread across Joshua's face as he swished the spear's tip to a new position. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
“....” Evergrant’s eyebrows twitched. “You should be ashamed of your arrogance. It will get you killed.”
Pop.
It sounded like air had popped out of something, but the effect wasn’t as soft or as light as the sound had seemed.
The entire area was engulfed by raging winds. The magic had finally left Evergrant’s hands.
Crack.
The intense wind carrying intangible power swept by. Its pressure was so strong it cracked the ground, and the sky itself seemed to break apart.
There were now three enormous winds that continued to grow in strength; no, it could no longer be described as wind. It was a superstorm, and it only had one target.
“M-Move!”
“I’m getting swept up!”
“Stop talking nonsense and get out of the way!”
The mages standing behind Joshua predicted the storm’s route and started to yell as they began moving away.
The storm did not stop. In fact, it just became stronger and more powerful.
Joshua waited until he could feel the strong wind blowing in his face before he took action.
The mana within him began to boil, soaking his entire being with power like water into cotton and waking up every muscle and cell of his body.
His blazing red spear rapidly began to draw a circle in the air, speeding up each time the long weapon completed a rotation. It didn’t just create a whirlwind. The spear point constantly released a white stream of electricity as it spun, and the annihilation flames, hotter than any other fire in the world, flickered and sparked on the butt.
Red and white flew through the air; it was a feast for the eyes.
Evergrant’s eyes slowly widened as he took in the magnificent sight.
“No… No way—”
“There’s a saying that goes, ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.’”
Joshua’s voice was backed by mana so that even above the howling of the storm, Evergrant could hear Joshua's words clearly.
“Stormwind’s power of the winds that you bear, and Magma and Bronto’s power that I bear…”
Evergrant’s face was awash with wonder as he witnessed Joshua accurately identify the Primordial Stone.
“Which do you think is stronger??”
“You—!”
“Let’s test it.”
When Joshua was done talking, Lugia shifted—a mass of wind pressure formed in front of the spinning spear.
Magic Spear Arts, Level 6, Wind Spear.
What started as a single gust of wind grew into a devastating hurricane. The force of it made the ocean cry out, the ground quaked, and the heavens above trembled in fear. How could a mere human being fight against what had become a natural disaster at this point?
“Stone Rain!” Evergrant yelled in a panicked voice.
Summoned by the highest of earth magic, a lofty Class 6 spell, thousands of rocks began to fall from the sky.
Evergrant managed to cast the spell with only the name and not a chant, and then he did it again.
“Stone Wall!”
This time, a solid earthen wall was built to protect Evergrant. The speed of its creation was beyond comprehension. If it had been a simple wall, it wouldn’t have been this thick or sturdy, but the stones falling from the sky seemed drawn to the wall and fused to it.
Evergrant made a good call there.
“Kyaa!” Iceline shrieked as the blustery wind stung her eyes; everyone else’s reaction was the same.
The storm created by Joshua’s wind colliding with Evergrant’s wind made it nigh-impossible to open their eyes.
“My god…”
Cain’s lips parted only as long as it took to speak and immediately closed afterward. Squinting against the wind, he had seen an incredible sight.
Unlike what many had thought, the two winds created by the two opponents had not canceled each other out. One was winning over the other in a subtle but discernible fashion.
“As expected of our master…”
“What did you see?” Icarus asked from beside him with her head ducked against the wind.
“This… fighting spirit—”
“Explain it so I can understand!”
“Master’s wind is eating the Class 8 magic spell that the mage made.”
“...!”
Cain continued to mutter, dumbfounded by what he was seeing,
“If other people saw this, they may stop saying that a mage is better than a knight in a war…”
“You’re ridiculous!” Theta yelled at Cain before the poor guy could even finish his words. “Tell me: who would see that monster as a simple knight!?”
“What, then, you think he’s a mage and not a knight?”
“A magic swordsman, at least… No, I don’t know, maybe he’s a magic spear knight!”
“But he doesn’t actually know how to use magic?”
“Huh?” Theta’s brow furrowed at Cain’s words. “Then answer this.”
“Do we have to do this right now…?”
“Is there any other knight in this entire continent that has the ability like your master?”
“That’s…”
“See?” Theta saw how stumped Cain was, and he started laughing.
“This and that is different!”
“Let me ask you one more thing.”
“Again? What else—”
“About you, of course.”
“Huh?”
“Do you think that one day, you’d be able to demonstrate a similar ability to your master with just your sword?”
Theta’s words kept Cain silent. He thought about it for a while but ultimately decided it was pointless.
After all, it was impossible for him to do so. His master wasn’t someone who could be in the same category as himself.
As the storm began to dissipate, Icarus noticed that Cain was becoming increasingly glum.
“Why are you belittling him?”
Theta responded to the sudden voice with an incredulous look.
“No—” he began, opening his mouth slightly.
“Are you bullying him just because you’re from the Avalon Empire?” Icarus fired off, her hand resting on her hip.
“That wasn’t my intention…” Theta rubbed his chin.
“Icarus…” Cain's expression changed as a realization hit him.
Wasn’t she usually the one who fought with him? But she was taking his side right now. He couldn’t help but feel comforted and emotional. Perhaps any attention was good attention, and they had just been pulling each other’s pigtails.
“You, I knew it… You like…”
Icarus flinched and gave Cain a dubious glance as he gently approached her.
“Don't come at me with that disgusting look, or I will punch you because it's not like that.” She turned to him and lifted her delicate fist.
“If… It doesn't matter if you're a guy or a girl; I promise I won't be disappointed either way.”
Cain’s words seemed to shake Icarus down to her core.
“What the heck does that even mean?”
“What do you think it means?”
Icarus couldn’t help but step back under Cain’s burning gaze.
“Stop that. It’s not possible in Avalon.”
“Do you think we should emigrate?”
“Stop it!”
BOOOOM!
The two were unable to continue their talk due to the deafening sound.
“Master?”
Icarus’s head turned to the side. She could feel anxiety creeping up on her, but her worries were, of course, unwarranted.
“Kuuuuugh….”
A deep groan came from the direction Icarus was looking.
The electrified and flaming wind pounded violently against the hard rock barrier. Yet even the earthen wall’s steely strength was not enough to resist such force as it began crumbling.
“How… How is this possible!” Evergrant bit his lips.
Even after witnessing it with his own eyes, he still didn't believe it. He had thought Joshua was just bluffing, but now, he had to believe Joshua. Joshua really did have God’s Artifact—a Primordial stone. There was no other explanation. Nothing other than equal or greater strength could beat his Stormwind.
“Have you already become a god, Joshua Sanders?”
“I still have a long way to go.”
“...What?” Evergrant flinched as Joshua’s voice reached his ears.
“I have something much more incredible to show you.”
Something began to vibrate the air after Joshua was done talking.
Evergrant’s eyes slowly widened.
“This—?”
Something was vibrating nearby, and he could feel it. It came from… right in his hand, of all places.
“Stormwind?”
His absentminded murmuring ended with an expression of anguish twisting Evergrant’s face. The heat was so intense that it burned his skin.
Understandably, Evergrant opened his hands in shock.
A pale green light soon floated in the air.
Joshua’s familiar voice suddenly reached Evergrant’s ears.
“Didn’t I tell you, that’s not yours.”
“...!”
“If you’re not chosen, then you could never hope to achieve that power. Even if by some chance, I didn’t have Magma or Bronto…”
Joshua let the silence hang for a tense moment before grinning.
“I still wouldn’t have lost to you.”
“You—!”
Swish!
Stormwind dropped straight into Joshua’s hands.
After that, a swarm of pale green lights enveloped the sky.
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