The Author's POV

My eyes opened widely as a subtle yet familiar clicking sound filled the air.

'I...mpossible!'

The thought flooded through my mind as I subconsciously activated my 'Eyes of Chronos' to slow down time.

My shock grew even more as I watched Lightning Dragon slowly unsheathe his sword and aim it at me. Despite time moving at a far slower rate than reality, Lightning Dragon's movement seemed smooth and completely unaffected by the rate at which time was flowing.

Thin blue threads spewed out from his hands and sword, as the sword fully unsheathed itself from the scabbard.

What was worse was the fact that all I could do at the moment was watch as the sword slowly aimed for my heart.

But ever so slightly, I was able to move and shift my body in a way that avoided my heart. Just barely.

Spurt!

A small hole appeared on the left side of my chest as time flowed at a natural rate. Following this, my body was pierced by an inexplicable sharp pain.

"Khh..."

Despite my best efforts to distance myself from him, as he again grasped his sword's sheath, Lightning Dragon continued to pursue me. With blood dripping down from my shoulder, I pressed my foot to the ground, and cracks formed beneath the area I stepped on.

"Fuck..."

I cursed underneath my breath as I once reactivated 'Eyes of Chronos' and carefully analyzed his every movement.

This time, I activated Eyes of Chronos to its fullest potential as time slowed down even more. As the seconds passed, it became increasingly difficult to see as the skill took a particular toll on my eyes. Regardless, I persevered through the pain.

Suppressing the pain, I paid close attention to his every movement.

'This stance, and movement, it is without a doubt the Keiki style...'

Using that information, I was able to confirm that it was indeed the Keiki style. It was clear from his movements and how he channeled his mana.

It was exactly how I did it.

'...but how is this possible?'

Upon realizing this fact, many questions emerged inside my mind.

Of such question, the main one was.

'Did Grandmaster Keiki give this sword art to anyone else other than me?'

If I thought about it, this made sense.

It wouldn't be surprising if Grandmaster Keiki had set up a similar place to the one I visited, considering that his main objective was to defeat the demons.

The more people that used his sword art, the higher the chances of us winning.

That being said, he wasn't stupid to the point of giving it to anyone.

If everyone had the Keiki style, chaos would inevitably ensue in the human domain.

In other words, doing so would be the same as giving nukes to just anyone.

There was a reason why most five-star sword manuals were kept hidden. It wasn't only for the sake of keeping it to themselves, but it was mostly to limit people from gaining access to them.

That and the fact that not just anyone could practice them.

'This must be it...'

After racking my brain over the matter, this was the only explanation I could think of for why Lightning Dragon knew the Keiki style.

"...You're wrong."

But it was at that moment that a figure appeared next to me.

Lightning Dragon in the distance,

a better

'...What?'

Was my analysis wrong?

Lightning Dragon, I did as he

'It's the same.'

It was exactly

'Wait...'

But just then.

widely as I finally

'His eyes.'

They were shining.

naked. It felt as though all of my secrets were laid bare for

' What the...'

once more, I deactivated 'Eyes of

Spurt—!

pain coming from the right side of my

"Ugh."

I returned my

"They are not shining..."

This...

I thought back about what his eyes were capable

'That's right, his eyes...'

it at Lightning Dragon's head in a swift whipping motion. This time, I didn't apply any mana to

closely

Swooosh—!

my attack. He then followed up with his own palm strike that directly hit me in the chest, sending me crashing against the side of the

Bang—!

feeling a powerful force hit my back, I spat out saliva and my eyes rolled backward. Slowly,

"Cough...Cough..."

direction. It was then that my eyes locked with Lightning Dragon

'His eyes didn't shine.'

shine. This confirmed it. My theory as to

thanks to those

see the mana flow of an opponent. My initial

only thing I had grossly underestimated. I had also

couple of glances at my sword art. By mimicking its mana flow, coupled with his incredible speeds, he was able to create a version of the Keiki style that wasn't any different from

I wasn't able to

same, and the speed of his movements also being the same, it was practically impossible

my sword style, could he also do it with other sword

my spine as I thought of such a

what kind of monster is

sword art in such a short period of time, I now understood why he compared his

was simply

Dragon's previously vibrant eyes returned to their usual

a

all you got?... Or do you still have something up your

I wiped the side of my

"...So?"

impatient voice rang

of my lips

"Give me a second."

'...I've figured it out.'

way to

when he saw this. Regardless, he didn't seem to have any intentions of stopping me as he

slowly started to heal up, I started to stretch my neck and

toward

Tok. Tok.

through the quiet arena, the rhythmical sound of my footsteps echoed

I was a

ensuing silence, neither of us said

with each other, we both placed our hands on the sheath

Click. Click.