The Author's POV

"I'm afraid I'll have to refuse once more."

I refused firmly, meeting Waylan's piercing gaze with a calm demeanor.

His face contorted, and I braced myself for the inevitable surge of power that was about to emanate from him.

Sure enough, the space around us began to distort, and the air crackled with energy. I could feel the pressure building up, suffocating me, until Waylan finally extended his hand in my direction.

"Very well. I guess there's no need for you to remain. Allow me to take your powers away."

I felt a strong force suddenly seize my entire body and drag me in the direction he was facing. The force that was surrounding my body caused my bones to crack, and my face began to distort under the pressure.

In spite of that…

"I'm good."

A white film suddenly erupted from within my body and covered every square inch of my skin, shattering the force that was encircling me at the time.

Golden runes and words floated around me at the same time, and I finally caught my breath again.

"Hm?"

My sudden actions seemed to surprise Waylan as he looked at me strangely.

I did not pay any attention to the expression on his face, and I quickly moved away from the area I was in. At the same time, I directed the demonic energy that was coursing through me all over my body, and I could feel my body beginning to transform.

Cr― Crack! I couldn't quite make out what was going on, but when scales started to form across my hands, and two wings started to shoot out from my back, I knew that the transformation had been successful.

That very moment, I felt my body burst with incredible power.

"How unpleasant."

Waylan's expression changed to one of abject revulsion as he witnessed my transformation. The manner in which he looked at me shifted even further, and he extended his hand to face my direction.

WOOOONG―! A colossal hand materialized out of nowhere in the form of a large projection, reaching around him and making its way in my direction.

'…It looks like I've underestimated him.'

I came prepared… I believed that I did, but as I watched the enormous hand coming toward me, I realized that I had grossly misjudged the power of a Protector.

Despite that…

"Ugh."

I reached out with my hand and took hold of my sword. As I continued to look at the enormous hand, I inhaled deeply and noticed that my body was undergoing yet another shift.

My muscles were rapidly expanding, and I felt a tremendous amount of energy rising up from the depths of my being.

"Huh."

The incredible pain that came along with the expansion of my muscles caused me to take a deep breath and hold it.

'It's fine… I'm already used to pain… this isn't anything new…'

In the time that it took for me to get ready, the hand was already in close proximity to me, and I felt as though I had stopped breathing.

…The power was not something I could thread lightly against.

The fourth movement of the [Keiki Style] : World Splitter.

Click―!

Following a subtle clicking sound, the hand came to a sudden stop in front of me… just a few inches away from my nose, and I felt sweat trickle down the side of my face.

Nevertheless, it came to a stop, and after a short while, the hand shattered right in front of my eyes in the form of golden particles, at which point I was finally able to see Waylan once more.

He had a surprised look on his face at the moment.

"Haa…ha… haa…hhaaa…"

On the other hand, I was having a tough time with it. My chest was on fire, and the pain in my muscles was excruciating.

The toll that my body took just to stop that one attack was anything but pleasant.

As I focused my attention on the serene figure of Waylan off in the distance, I cursed under my breath.

"Sh..hhaaa…it…haaa"

That…

That took everything I had.

Combining the [Keiki style] and the [Gravar Style] together, I was able to unleash an attack that was far more powerful than what I'd normally be able to release, but… the mana consumption… it was far too great.

"Haa… Haaa…"

I clenched my teeth, which resulted in a stream of liquid gushing into my body. Instantaneously, both the rhythm of my breath and the mana that circulated throughout my body returned to normal.

'…Good thing I have several potions prepared.'

It never hurt to be prepared beforehand.

"I'm surprised you managed to stop that."

Waylan did not immediately launch another attack after the previous one. At this point in time, he seemed more interested in my abilities than anything else.

"Are you absolutely certain that you don't want to join us? You may currently be weak, but there is no doubt that you will eventually develop the same level of power as us, the Protectors."

"Again, with that?"

While I brought my sword closer to my body, I cast a glance in Waylan's direction. Channeling the mana within my body, the pain that was already present in my muscles became even worse.

"Didn't I already tell you that I'm not interested? Why don't you understand that no means no?"

I stepped forward and slashed.

Clink―!

The slash was rendered ineffective as it stopped mere inches from Waylan's face as a small barrier appeared in front of him, but I had anticipated as much from the outset.

Clink―! Clink―! After the initial slash, I proceeded with another slash and then another slash after that. I was able to sense an increase in both the speed and power of my attacks as I continued to string them together one after the other.

"This is…"

When Waylan saw the movement of my sword, his face changed for some unexplainable reason, and the space around him warped.

My blade missed because of his actions, but I continued.

Clink―! Clink―!

It all took place in the space of a few seconds, and by the time I had reached the thirty-first movement, the space around Waylan had already begun to show visible cracks.

'Almost…'

I clenched my teeth when I saw this.

…I could feel at the moment that I was only a few slashes away from breaking apart his first line of defense.

I was close… so close…

Bank―!

"Huh?!"

My blade came to a sudden stop.

Immediately after that, Waylan's hand appeared from behind the barrier and grabbed hold of my blade. His face, which had shown only minute shifts in appearance since the last time we spoke, had become horribly distorted.

"This… This sword art…"

As his chest heaved up and down in an uneven manner, he appeared to be having difficulty finding the appropriate words to express himself.

As he stared at the blade, there was no longer any trace of the tranquility and clarity that had previously been in his eyes; instead, he appeared to be consumed by nothing but rage.

'Oh, shit.'

I attempted to pull my sword the moment he reached out for it, but it was as if an invisible force had wrapped itself around it, and I was unable to move it at all.

As soon as his hand got a hold of the sword, his face contorted into an incredibly repulsive expression. He gently stroked his face with his other hand, following the line of the scar on his face as he did so, and then…

"…I'm sure of it."

He looked away from the sword and turned to look at me.

I attempted to apply a greater amount of force, but after observing that the sword would not budge, I quickly gave up. I was making an effort to conserve my mana, and I didn't want to throw away my mana by attempting to regain control of my sword.

"Sure of what?"

I asked, calming down a bit and taking note of his abnormal state.

Waylan's eyes cleared up a bit.

"This is the same sword art that that old guy used…"

"The what?"

"…The same one that scarred my face."

He repeated this while pressing his palm firmly against the blade of the sword. Because of how firmly he held onto it, the sword began to creak under the pressure.

"Huh?"

I looked at him strangely.

'The same one that scarred my face?'

I did wonder where the scar came from, but it actually came from Grandmaster Levisha?

'Right, but… doesn't he know that this sword art also belongs to Kevin?'

"I thought I'd gotten rid of all three of them…"

Waylan looked at me.

"…yet, for some reason, you were able to acquire all three of their sword arts. How is this possible?"

Because of the increased pressure that was emanating from Waylan's body, I found it increasingly difficult to maintain a firm grip on my sword.

In any case, his words astounded me.

'He seems shocked by the fact that I possess all three sword arts… I'm sure he already knew about the Keiki style, and shouldn't he also know about the Levisha style? It's not like Kevin hi―'

I had a sudden epiphany, and everything clicked into place after that. I clenched my hands around my sword even more tightly and turned my attention back to Waylan.

"I think you should already be aware of the answer, shouldn't you?"

Waylan's expression froze, and his eyes soon regained their calmness.

"Indeed."

He nodded his head and gazed back at me.

"I indeed already know the answer… I was just momentarily surprised by an old memory of mine clouding my judgment. I apologize."

The moment I opened my mouth to respond, I was startled by the sensation of something pressing against my stomach.

BANG―!

"Akh!"

I didn't know what happened from that point on as I felt myself lose grip of my sword. I then felt my body shoot in the opposite direction, and my organs shatter.

My vision blackened shortly after that.