The Second Strongest Has Returned

Chapter 6

Reinhardt

The clash of swords was intense.

“…What… is that…?”

The accompanying shockwave roared.

Jehad could only gape at the sight.

‘…When did Miss become this…!’

The Ariasphil before him was not the same “Miss” he had known for a week. The level of her swordsmanship, the purity of her mana, and even her stance were on a completely different level.

‘…And who is that boy…’

Who was that boy blocking all of Ariasphil’s strikes?

How could a mere mercenary… How!?

But amidst all this, there were two things Jehad hadn’t noticed.

The first was that Jehad himself couldn’t fully follow their movements with his eyes.

The second was…

‘…Still strong. I shouldn’t hold back.’

‘Faster than expected. If I go easy… I’ll be pushed back.’

Those two, the boy and girl, were not yet using their full strength.

Kaang!!

As their swords clashed, they momentarily distanced themselves.

“Hoo…!”

Ariasphil exhaled deeply and fully unleashed her mana. The surrounding winds howled, and mana converged upon her.

[It’s coming, kid.]

“I know.”

The sword strikes surged. Each blow was a full-powered assault, and such swordsmanship was rampant.

‘It’s not just her strength or stance that’s good.’

She accurately anticipated Leo’s trajectory and countered with the most appropriate swordsmanship. Within a week of training, Ariasphil had already devised countermeasures against Leo.

[She truly is a genius. Her talent grows endlessly like weeds.]

It was a remarkable skill to turn a compliment into an insult.

But…

She could narrowly lose. That fact didn’t scare him. No, on the contrary. The idea that she could threaten him brought Leo immense joy.

“Today…! I will win…!!”

To finish it, she maximized her mana. Now, it was beyond Jehad’s level to follow.

But…

“…Huh?!”

Her opponent was the number two who had always threatened her.

[Oh…!]

It wasn’t just one sword that deflected her blade.

“You’re indeed fast. It’s hard to counterattack with just one sword.”

Leo counterattacked with two swords.

“…Leonardo, you’re using dual swords…?”

“Well, depending on the situation. I haven’t really chosen a side.”

While Leonardo had talent in weaponry, he didn’t possess the pinnacle growth potential like Ariasphil.

So, the method he chose was…

[Wouldn’t it be better to dig deep into just one thing?]

One technique alone couldn’t defeat Ariasphil. In one approach, she was undoubtedly first-class.

[So you’re going for quantity over quality?]

Ignoring the belittlement, Leonardo gripped his swords with both hands.

“Here I come.”

The counterattack began.

It wasn’t just twice as fast as before; the successive connections were also combined unpredictably.

‘Strong…! And fast…!’

Barely deflecting those strikes, Ariasphil was shocked again and again. She thought she had caught up, but Leonardo was beyond that.

‘However…’

She also had talent beyond that.

‘It’s not as strong as before.’

With both hands swinging swords, the attack’s strength naturally dispersed.

Realizing that wasn’t difficult, she had always been the first to topple the number two.

Kaang!! Kang!!

The distinctly different clashing sounds changed Leo’s expression.

‘She’s already found a way to break through? She’s terrifying.’

Their swords clashed repeatedly. And the resonance of those swords neared its conclusion.

“Hah… Ha…”

“…Hoo…”

Mana deeply concentrated on their swords. That next clash would likely end the duel.

‘I will win…!’

‘I can’t lose yet.’

Their stances were ready. All that remained was the collision of their blades.

They charged at each other, swords meeting.

Kwaaaang!!

A deafening explosion.

But it wasn’t the sound of swords clashing.

[What the! Damn!! It’s the best part!]

They stopped their sword dance and turned toward the explosion.

“…What is it!? Miss?!”

[A monster.]

“It’s a monster.”

The thick, filthy aura of demonic energy was immediately palpable through their honed senses.

“A monster?”

“Sorry. The duel will have to wait!”

With that, Leo started running towards the explosion.

“Wait! Leonardo!”

Leo didn’t respond and sprinted towards the village where the explosion occurred.

“A monster, all of a sudden…!”

[Did a gate suddenly open? This didn’t happen before the regression?]

In the previous timeline, he hadn’t known there was an issue. Normally, Leo would have lost to Ariasphil, and she would have left the village early.

Leo, feeling humiliated, would have followed her and left the village too.

“I heard rumors of a gate appearing in the village before, but… This kind of thick demonic energy…”

[Yeah, it’s not just a goblin or a group of skeletons.]

As they ran towards the village, screams of people echoed. The village was already on the brink of ruin, and dead bodies were easily found.

“Uwaaaah!!”

That fierce roar, he had heard it before.

“Balrog…!”

[…A young one, but definitely a Balrog.]

The monster of inferno, the Balrog.

“Uwaaaah!!”

Spewing flames, the Balrog began massacring the villagers.

“Help…!! Daddy…!! Mommy…!!”

A child was crying near the Balrog. The Balrog was about to send the child to join his dead father.

Kaang!!

“Uwah…?”

The Balrog’s fist was stopped by Leo’s sword.

“…Huh…?”

The child, who had shut his eyes tight, cautiously opened them.

“Hey, kid…! I’m having a hard time holding this…!”

The Balrog’s fist was slowly pushing against Leo’s sword.

“Could you please run away?”

“A… Ah…! Yes!!”

At Leo’s words, the child started running hurriedly.

[…Alright, now you should run…]

“No.”

As he parried the fist, Leo replied.

[What? You’re not going to run?]

Measuring the distance to the Balrog, Leo gripped his sword again.

“…Yes.”

[Are you crazy? It’s a Balrog, even if it’s a young one.]

A Balrog was a formidable opponent that a 2-circle mage or a 3-star knight could barely defeat.

Of course, this was a young one, but the gap between species was already disadvantageous.

“…So what? I’m the only one here who can fight.”

He was right. The village guards couldn’t possibly defeat a Balrog, and neither could Jehad nor even Ariasphil.

[…Do you want to be a hero?]

“No way.”

Leo didn’t want to be some hollow hero.

“Running away would be embarrassing. As the Sage’s apprentice and that person’s rival.”

[…Ugh, what’s the difference.]

Even while sighing, the Sage smirked. Leo also smirked while facing the Balrog.

[It’s coming.]

The Balrog charged, flames spewing from its mouth.

“Uwaaaah!!”

Even a touch from the flames, a brush from its fist, would be fatal. With only one core, Leo would be instantly killed.

‘So I’ll dodge everything.’

The Balrog’s attacks never reached Leo. He narrowly avoided every single one.

[‘…He’s deliberately showing a weakness and making the attack trajectory simple.’]

Leo didn’t have the physical capability to surpass the Balrog. It had strength and speed superiority. So, Leo created a deliberate weakness.

Getting hit by such an attack would be fatal, but it fixed the Balrog’s attack to one he could definitely dodge.

[…Crafty brat.]

“I’m about to die, can you shut up?”

This method had another advantage beyond just defense and evasion.

“Uwah?!”

As the Balrog swung its fist, Leo’s sword slashed it. The surprise strike slightly cut the Balrog’s fist.

[…You can even counterattack. And you say you’re not a genius? Deceiver.]

A counter while evading, attacking at the perfect moment when the opponent missed their strike.

“Shut up! One hit and I’m dead!”

Saying that, Leo swung his other sword.

Pachang!

The sound of metal shattering, the cheap sword couldn’t be expected to perform well.

‘…This is enough.’

But it didn’t matter. The impact of the breaking sword would cause a momentary pause in the Balrog’s movement.

“Uwah…?!”

Leo didn’t miss that moment of pause.

“Uwaaaaah!!”

Driving his other sword into the Balrog’s wrist, he twisted it backward.

Crunch.

With the sound of bones breaking, the right hand lost its strength.

‘Good. If this continues, I can win…!’

“Uwaaaah!!”

But unfortunately,

Hwoooosh!!

the opponent wasn’t a chivalrous knight, but a monster of inferno.

‘A breath attack…!’

[…It’s not aimed at you. Don’t worry about it…]

When he looked that way, he couldn’t dismiss the thought.

“Mommy…! Please get up…!”

It was that child

again.

“Luis…! Leave your mother and run…!!”

The child desperately tried to pull his mother, who was pinned under the rubble.

“Damn…! Damn…!”

Cursing, Leo dashed toward the mother and child, towards the incoming fireball.

He then parried the fireball with his aura-infused sword.

“Run quickly!! Do you want to go to heaven together!?”

“But her arm…!”

“Ah!! Damn!!”

Cursing, Leo kicked away the debris pinning her arm.

“Hurry!!”

The mother grabbed her injured arm and ran with the child.

“Now…!”

“Uwaah!!”

The fist was already flying.

‘Damn it.’

[Damn it.]

The impact sent Leo flying.

“Kuhuck…!”

He crashed into a building wall, his body in tatters.

Bones dislocated and shattered, blood wouldn’t stop flowing from his mouth.

[Are you okay?]

<…Do I look okay?>

[No.]

Why ask when you know the answer?

[…Can you stand?]

“Uwaaaaah…!”

He didn’t have the luxury of 10 seconds.

The Balrog was closing in, 100 meters every second.

[…Hey, you’re gonna die.]

“…I won’t die.”

It was do-or-die.

With one hand, he drew out mana. Not in the form of steel-like aura, but soft iron-like mana.

[Are you going to use it? Can you do it?]

The Sage’s technique, magic.

If he was going to die, he would at least gouge its eyes out before going.

“Uwaaaaah!!”

The spell was nearly complete, the fist was also about to land, a hair’s breadth away from life or death.

Kwang!!

The Balrog was faster. The fist had already hit.

“…?”

But Leo wasn’t hurt.

“…Are you okay?”

It was her sword that blocked the hit.

“…Ariasphil?”

It was Ariasphil who had blocked the attack.