Chapter 335: The Platinum Sword Breaks Again!
The sword light that chased after it instantly split the "star" in two, then continued without stopping, slashing toward Edelweiss, who had lost all means of defense.
Star Swordsmanship Secret Technique!
Iai Technique: Star-Cleaving!
Edelweiss, who had been restricted in place, truly could not move right now.
She could only stare blankly as the "star" crashed into her body and broke through her defense.
She could only stare blankly as Luke's sharp sword strike gradually approached.
The beautiful scene of a sword cutting apart a star appeared before Edelweiss's eyes, and she stood motionless, as though stunned by that painting.
But in reality, Edelweiss knew that what was affecting her movements was the mysterious power that had suddenly erupted from within her body.
Feeling this power, which was completely different from mana, and also feeling the same power faintly coming from the raindrops landing on her body, so subtle it could easily be ignored, Edelweiss immediately understood.
She smiled in relief within her heart.
She knew that this time, she had lost again.
And compared to last time, this defeat was even more complete.
This sword technique with its strange binding power could not trap Edelweiss for very long.
In only a few seconds, she would break free from Chinsei Ame's restraint.
But a few seconds were enough.
The sword strike right in front of her would not give her any chance.
This time, it was real.
The swordsman named Edelweiss had lost to Luke.
"Haah."
A sigh rang out.
The meaning contained in it was extremely complicated.
There was disappointment, happiness, relief, and unwillingness.
But more than anything, there was admiration and helplessness.
However, the strange thing was that Edelweiss should currently have been restrained by Chinsei Ame.
So where had this sigh come from?
"I'll count this round as your victory."
"In a contest of swordsmanship, I am inferior to you."
The one who spoke was Edelweiss, who should have been unable to move.
The instant she opened her mouth, a strange power appeared around her body.
Immediately after that, the power of Chinsei Ame directly dissipated, and Edelweiss once again swung the platinum longsword in her hand.
"I originally did not intend to use my Desperado power in this battle."
"But I have no choice but to admit that if I do not use it, this time I lose."
Whether because of her responsibility toward Rebellion's plan, or because Edelweiss herself did not want to taste defeat again, she could not obediently fall here and give this battle a perfect ending.
She wanted to.
But she could not.
Because in Rebellion's plan, Luke had to suffer injuries here that would make him unable to participate in the Seven Star Sword Art Festival for a short period of time.
Otherwise, the plan would be equivalent to failure.
"I have ruined the battle between swordsmen, and I will feel guilty for that."
"But right now, you must fall!"
Edelweiss's sword met Luke's slash head-on.
Perhaps, just as she said, it was because she felt guilty.
The Desperado power only appeared for an instant, and after breaking Chinsei Ame's restriction, it vanished without a trace.
But even so, Edelweiss without her Desperado power was still overwhelmingly powerful compared to Luke.
After their sword strikes clashed, there was no doubt that Luke would be defeated.
Not only did Edelweiss understand this, but Luke understood it very clearly as well.
Otherwise, he would not have planted the foreshadowing of Chinsei Ame ahead of time.
He had fallen short at the final step.
Facing such a desperate situation, Luke smiled.
The failure of Chinsei Ame had long been within his expectations.
Edelweiss could choose not to use her Desperado power in battle out of pride as a swordsman.
But Luke, who sought to reach the highest peak and became stronger for the sake of becoming stronger itself, would never place his hopes on someone else showing mercy.
Desperado power?
If she used it, then she used it.
Failure?
If he lost, then he lost.
Luke never considered those useless things.
What he had always done was use everything he had to carve out the only ray of hope within a pitch-black abyss of despair.
The purpose of Chinsei Ame was never to make Edelweiss take this strike without any resistance.
Luke was not that naive.
Leaving aside whether this move would be seen through or whether it could successfully restrain Edelweiss, simply placing his hopes on someone else was absolutely not something Luke would ever choose.
One second was enough.
Even a single instant would do.
As long as he could make Edelweiss miss the timing to avoid Star-Cleaving, then Chinsei Ame would have perfectly achieved its goal.
Having missed the timing, Edelweiss could no longer dodge.
She could either take this strike or choose to break through it.
And that was exactly what Luke wanted.
Seeing the smile on his face, Edelweiss understood its meaning immediately.
'Does he intend to use that ability that cuts apart my Device again?'
The instant this thought rose, Edelweiss let out a light snort in her heart.
Contract power directly covered the platinum longsword, transforming into a shield to cancel abilities and cutting off Luke's plan at the root.
The previous battle had already proven that her contract power could successfully cancel Luke's strange ability.
Just to be safe, Edelweiss had even deliberately increased the output of her contract power.
Trying to use his "cutting" ability to shatter her Device had now become nothing more than a fantasy.
Edelweiss's instant change was seen clearly by Luke.
He knew his intention had been seen through.
However, Luke did not care.
Instead, he smiled proudly.
In the next instant…
Clang—!
The pure-white blade and the platinum blade collided, producing an ear-piercing screech as the blades scraped against each other.
Just as both of them had judged, Luke's Star-Cleaving was blocked by Edelweiss without any pressure.
And it seemed that his "cutting" ability had also failed to take effect.
However, do not forget.
What Luke held in his hand was Ser-Veresta!
Whoosh—!
Black flames began burning fiercely as Luke poured Prana into it.
The Prana inside his body and within the Sword Sheath of Tranquility rushed wildly into Ser-Veresta.
The pure-white blade instantly turned into an ominous black.
That was the true form of the Demon Sword after being wrapped in black flames.
Then…
Crack—!
A familiar sound rang out under Luke's proud smile and Edelweiss's disbelieving gaze.
Ser-Veresta's ability was to cut and burn all things!
Unlike the conceptual ability "cutting," Ser-Veresta's ability to destroy weapons was purely physical destruction.
Physical destruction often appeared powerless against many strange abilities.
But precisely because of that, the black flames, which could not touch the contract power, would not be blocked by it.
Under the support of the Sword Sheath of Tranquility, Ser-Veresta running at full output directly cut apart the Device in Edelweiss's hand, Testament.
It split that platinum wing-like longsword in two!
…
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