Without a word, the Sword Saint’s blade drew an arc in the air, launching an attack.

It marked the beginning of a storm-like dance of slashes.

Slash, slash, parry, thrust, slash, thrust, slash, slash, slash, slash, slash.

Facing the relentless storm of sword strikes, I was forced to continuously retreat, unable to counterattack. Each time I received an attack with my soul equipment, a high-pitched metallic sound, as if my ears might burn, resonated.

The Sword Saint was not using his secret techniques, yet each of his strokes was heavy and sharp. Even though I was purely on the defensive, his blade often gouged into my body. It felt like his swordsmanship was even more brilliant when he wasn’t using flashy Kei techniques.

In addition to that, from the side, the Light God Baldur pressed on with sword skills that were no less superior than my father’s. It was absurd to think about the level of the enemy we were facing now.

“Phantom Blade Style, the Minor Yin Form: The White Greatsword.”

Judging that I would be overwhelmed if things continued this way, I gathered my remaining strength and forcibly unleashed a technique of the Four Symbols secret teachings—

“Phantom Blade Style, the Gen Form: Mountain Deity.”

The last of my Eight Trigrams secret teachings was blocked. It seems the Gen Form was a defensive technique similar to my barrier, effectively stopping my Kei technique shaped like a white tiger without even flinching.

Even though I expected it, having my final trump card blocked made me grimace reflexively.

If the Sword Saint had an invincible body like the Light God Baldur, there would be no need for him to use a defensive technique. Likewise, if he could have avoided my Kei technique, he would have done so without resorting to defense.

From this, it was clear that my White Greatsword posed a considerable threat to the Sword Saint.

Yet, the fact remained that my strongest attack had been blocked without causing any damage. The word “stalemate” flashed through my mind.

And before I could think of a way to break through, the counterattack came immediately.

A slash from the Light God Baldur, bright as lightning, grazed my forehead, and blood sprayed from the cleanly sliced wound.

Though the wound itself was quickly healed, there was no stopping the blood that splattered into my right eye.

“Damn!”

As my right vision turned red, the Sword Saint’s thrust pierced through my shoulder, shattering the collarbone almost simultaneously.

The wound on my shoulder was quickly healed again, but the vision stained with blood did not return to normal so quickly. For me, who was already stretched to my limits in attack and defense, this impairment was far too significant.

Once again forced into a purely defensive position, I had no room to counter and could only focus on defending. Yet, I couldn’t fend off all the attacks, and in the next moment—

With a heavy thud, a burning, intense pain shot through my right side. The Light God Baldur’s sword, striking from my blind spot on the right, had deeply penetrated my body.

“Gah, ugh!?”

I activated my regenerative ability immediately, but unlike before, the wound did not heal as quickly. I realized that the Kei in my body was depleting.

With the wound not healing, the pain would not fade. Though I was accustomed to the pain from battle, ignoring the agony of a piercing wound in my side was difficult.

And the Sword Saint did not miss this opening. Though I managed to dodge a strike from the right by bending my body at the last moment, I couldn’t completely avoid it.

My right eyelid was split open, and blood burst forth. Had my evasion been a moment later, my right eye itself would have been severed.

Essentially, the result was much the same. The blood flowing from the wound completely obscured my right vision.

From there, it was one-sided.

Everything felt slow, as if the hands of the clock were moving slower just for this moment—a strange sensation.

The Sword Saint’s treasured sword and the Light God Baldur’s light sword furiously struck, trying to cast me into the underworld. With one eye obstructed, dodging all their attacks was impossible.

My abdomen, my eyes, my entire body was slashed. Eventually, I could no longer create footholds with Kei and was slammed to the ground.

A gasp escaped my lips. At the same time, I felt strength draining from my entire body. The effect of “Sei” had finally worn off.

Yet, with Kei depleted, I scolded my body, stained entirely red with flowing blood, and continued to resist defeat.

There was no longer any strength left in me to counter. Resistance seemed futile with no future in sight. Yet, refusing to kneel before my father, I stood up out of sheer stubbornness.

Against such resistance, the Sword Saint and the Light God Baldur mercilessly hammered in further secret techniques.

“Phantom Blade Style, the Yang Form: Heavenly Prison.”

“Phantom Blade Style, the Yin Form: Hell.”

What the secret techniques entailed was unclear to me, my vision and consciousness blurring.

All I understood was the sky dazzlingly brightening, and that brilliance transforming into countless chains that bound my arms, suspending me in midair.

Then the ground darkened to pitch black, from which countless thorns rose, entwining around my suspended legs. Only these two sensations were clear.

As the name of the technique implied, “Prison,” I was bound in midair, shackled by forces from both heaven and earth, like a criminal awaiting execution.

Suspended, I vaguely thought.

The secret techniques of Dual Extremes were not meant for mere humans but were Kei techniques designed to imprison something far greater. The force binding me felt so overpowering that I couldn’t help but feel this way.

If my intuition was correct, what could that something be?

It wouldn’t be just any Mythical Creature. For those, the Eight Trigrams or Four Symbols would suffice. The Dual Extremes techniques must be for subduing beings beyond those.

Such were the thoughts in my fading consciousness. Not that my father could read my thoughts, but his next action seemed to provide an answer to my questions.

In my field of view, the figures of my father and the Light God Baldur slowly merged into one. Not because the soul equipment was put away, but because the Light God Baldur had entrusted his power and authority to my father.

How did I know this? The Kei pressure emanating from my father doubled, and the radiance that the Light God Baldur had been emitting was now being released from my father’s body.

With the Kei and invincible authority of the Light God Baldur now his, my father, having become an entirely supreme being, readied the Sasayuki stance.

Then, my father voiced the name of the technique.

—Phantom Blade Style, the Taiji Form: Slaying the Dragon