Rayleigh opened his left hand, and Sakanade's sheath flew over from the distance, landing in his grasp on its own.
After sliding Sakanade—now returned to the form of an ordinary sword—back into its sheath, Rayleigh called over the remaining Zanpakutō.
As the blades flew to his side, he spun once and returned all four swords to his waist.
"Oooooooh! So those endless strange powers of yours really do come from those swords!" Ares asked with a face full of wonder.
Rayleigh nodded and did not hide it.
"That's right. These swords are collectively called Zanpakutō."
"Zanpakutō?" Ares rubbed his chin. "They're not Magic Swords?"
"Mmm..."
He seemed to be trying very hard to remember, yet he could not find anything in his memory about these so-called Zanpakutō.
"If your definition of a Magic Sword is a consumable weapon that can release magical power, then Zanpakutō are naturally not Magic Swords."
"Don't tell me... you made these swords?"
"That's right."
"Ooh! I didn't expect the Lower World to have such extraordinary talent, someone capable of creating weapons this powerful to exist. I called you a swordsman earlier, but it seems I was wrong. So you're actually a smith!"
Ares longed for those swords.
Zanpakutō.
Judging from Rayleigh's performance, these swords were far superior to Magic Swords.
He wanted them.
He wanted them badly!
Ares's heart burned with desire!
But this time, it definitely was not possible.
And he had a feeling this would be the closest he ever came to possessing a Zanpakutō.
Yet he could not press the issue, because deep inside, he could feel that even if he risked everything, he would not succeed this time.
That sense of danger from earlier had felt extremely ominous.
As the god of war, for something to make him feel such a crisis meant Zanpakutō—and the creator of Zanpakutō—were truly anything but simple.
Rayleigh raised his voice and said, "Then can I assume this matter is over? From here on, you'll give up the pursuit and obediently go back?"
Ares showed no obvious expression when he heard that question.
Perhaps actively admitting defeat made him feel ashamed.
He merely wore a helpless look.
"Rather, shouldn't the question be whether you'll let us go?"
Up until now, Ares had not seen panic, impatience, or any other sign of possible defeat in the boy's eyes.
Add in that confident tone from before, along with the danger Ares had sensed...
Although it was hard to believe, this boy most likely possessed some kind of trump card capable of slaughtering everyone present.
An ability that could wipe out twenty thousand warriors in a single breath.
And that ability also came from that sword...
Ares's gaze fell on Sakanade.
"A blade of ice and snow that can change the sky and earth, a plant blade that can extend vines and drain power, a boundless blade that can turn into countless petals, and... an unknown power capable of erasing an army of twenty thousand."
Four swords.
Only four weapons called Zanpakutō, yet each power they possessed was worthy of being called a miracle.
How wondrous.
How astonishing.
And how terrifying.
"Then I'll take my leave." Rayleigh said that to Ares.
Then his figure flickered and vanished from where he stood.
Seeing that they had lost all trace of the enemy, the soldiers felt as though they had survived another lifetime.
They had clearly only been facing one man, yet they had experienced the greatest danger and terror of their lives.
Only their frozen hands and feet, along with the frostbite covering their bodies, proved that they had survived the battle against that monster.
Clang—
Clang...
Their trembling hands could no longer hold their weapons, and the weapons fell to the ground.
The moment the soldiers relaxed, they felt as if all the strength had been drained from their bodies.
Some staggered on both legs and dropped to their knees, tears spilling uncontrollably from their eyes.
The sound of sobbing on the battlefield grew louder and louder, spreading through the army like a contagion.
'We survived?'
'So cold.'
'It hurts!'
No one questioned Ares's sudden withdrawal.
Not only because he was the Father of Rakia Kingdom, a god, and the god of war.
But also because they had already lost the courage to continue fighting Rayleigh.
The only reason they had managed to hold on until now was because the army's collective momentum had kept them upright like a twisted rope.
Now, that rope had come undone.
Looking at those soldiers, Ares was not angry.
Because this was not something to be ashamed of.
He was the god of war!
The embodiment of war and slaughter, yes, but he was also an intelligent being capable of thought.
Gods were eternal and unchanging.
But Ares seemed a little different.
This incident greatly changed Rayleigh's view of him.
He had never underestimated any god, but from now on, he decided he would handle every interaction with gods even more carefully.
The troublesome part was that Marius did not have the ability to remove the curse.
It seemed Rayleigh could only return to Orario and ask Amid to purify it for him.
How embarrassing!
If his Kidō were a little stronger, he should have been able to cleanse it himself.
When it came to Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hohō, and Kidō, putting the rest aside for now, Kidō was something he could only teach himself and research on his own.
After all, in this world, he was the only one who could use Kidō.
There was no teacher who could guide him.
Fortunately, he had obtained [Gif Blessing: Minor], which had raised his overall aptitude.
...
After putting some distance between himself and the battlefield, Rayleigh discovered what looked like an abandoned village.
He checked his body and found dozens of sword wounds.
However, none of those cuts were particularly deep.
The worst one had only gone about two and a half centimeters into the flesh, and it had not hit any vital area.
There were also traces of three kinds of poison.
Wanting to find a quiet place to treat himself, Rayleigh entered the deserted village.
After an intense battle against an army of twenty thousand, he did feel quite exhausted now.
Just as he arrived before the village... an arrow suddenly tore through the air!
Rayleigh stopped.
The arrow landed perfectly in the ground right in front of him.
'There are people here?'
Rayleigh sensed his surroundings, then was surprised to discover that this clearly abandoned village actually held more than a dozen Reiatsu signatures.
Among them, there was no shortage of Level 2s.
As for the strongest presence, it had already reached Level 3.
'A Familia with this level of strength, appearing here?'
For a moment, Rayleigh could not guess where they came from, but he suspected they might be Evilus members who had fled outside the city.
This kind of strength would be considered a mid-tier force even in Orario.
Aside from their smaller numbers, their combat configuration was almost comparable to Apollo Familia.
Rayleigh gripped Sakanade in a reverse hold.
In this kind of battle against people, its ability could be considered his first choice.
"Man, who are you? This place is currently our temporary base. You... are you injured?"
A woman's voice came from the direction of the village.
Her voice was very cold.
But after noticing Rayleigh's injuries, she seemed to soften slightly.
At least, that was what Rayleigh thought.
Then the woman's voice became forceful again.
"Man, explain your injuries! Prove you aren't a bandit or some other wicked person. Otherwise—"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three more arrows flew over, sealing off Rayleigh's paths of movement.
Then, beneath his calm gaze, a blue-haired beauty of world-shaking grace stepped out from behind a large banyan tree.
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