Chapter 145 - Inheritor

"Hahaha! What now, you stupid elf hero!" Cornu mocked, his warhammer slamming into the wall. Sarion jumped back, his movement flexible and acrobatic as he dodged each and every strike coming toward him.

Sarion raised his blade with one hand. Cornu jumped high, delivering a heavy strike downward as the floor shattered, creating a crater.

The hero swiped a slash at Cornu's head, who dodged with ease. To the angel's surprise, a sword pierced him from behind. The hero before his eyes exploded, and Sarion became visible behind him.

"You damn elf!" Cornu swung his hammer horizontally in a full circle around himself.

Sarion jumped high into the sky as he snapped his fingers, firing several magics toward Cornu's face. Not much to damage, but more so to anger him further.

Cornu wiped the attacks from his face, his expression full of rage.

As Cornu flapped his wings toward Sarion, who was still midair, the elven hero chuckled as the angel's wings were severed.

"Wha—!!?" Looking behind him, he found the platinum hero piercing his spine as he fell to the ground.

Silvia laughed hysterically as she wiped a tear from her eyes. "He didn't see that coming, I bet."

Leon twisted his sword. With a swift motion, he severed Cornu's body.

"That was nice support, Leon," Sarion clapped as he landed near the two. "Good thing Feldway went far."

Silvia nodded as she placed both hands on her hips. "Anyway, I think we should leave before the area gets wiped out by those three."

Looking high into the sky, Leon frowned as Velzard was fighting Agni and Runa. He watched as his kingdom was in ruins. While he had confirmed that everyone had evacuated thanks to those two buying us time, he exhaled deeply, seeing his territory destroyed.

Silvia slapped his back, returning him to reality. "It's fine. Buildings can be rebuilt. You can take it from us two."

Sarion scratched his head. The trio vanished as the remains of the castle burnt and melted.

"Continental Eruption!" A loud explosion reverberated as Agni slammed his axe into Velzard. The flames burst high, the heat searing the drop in temperature.

Velzard activated her Snow Crystal as she blocked the attack from the fire spirit. She clasped her open palm, gathering the cold winds into a whirlwind of snow covering Agni.

"Shit," Agni cursed as he attempted to fly out of the encapsulation. As he made contact, his arm felt painfully cold ice that crawled through his limb.

He clicked his tongue as he covered his body in intense heat, his garment boosting his natural temperature that would normally be enough to even melt legend-grade weapons.

The blizzard continued to corner him into a spherical prison, then he noticed a small gap. Spewing flames from his mouth, he swung his axe at the opening and escaped.

Turning to Runa, he found her manipulating the blizzard and redirecting a part of it to her body. White mist covered her body as she exhaled cold air. Stringing her bow, she fired multiple arrows at Velzard.

"Frostbite." The barrage of arrows aimed at the True Dragon were shattered as Velzard blitzed through and grabbed her by the neck.

"Gahh!!" Runa screamed as she produced water from her body, covering the two of them. Velzard found it unpleasant as she threw Runa to Agni and left the ball of water.

Runa coughed as she manipulated the water. It continued to increase in volume and size until it grew into the size of a small mountain. It was a spherical ball that began to burst out geysers with intense temperature.

Steam burst out as the geysers became tendril-like limbs following Velzard around, tracking her every move and attempting to hold her in place.

Agni took deep breaths.

He held his arm that was shaking uncontrollably. The skin was showing signs of deep frostbite; even just moving it was dangerous enough. Taking a deep breath, he severed his arm from the elbow with his axe.

"Agh!" he screamed as he took deep breaths. Focusing his control, he grew a new one that was fully normal.

Covering himself in a gaseous body akin to the sun, he closed his eyes as the plasma swirled around him. Taking the form of a long serpent, as it dropped to the ground, it melted with ease and continued to sink.

Agni opened his eyes as his new form slithered into the sky. Hissing at Velzard, he spread out hundreds of flames.

"Plasma Hydra."

With his words, the head part of the serpent multiplied into three. The snake heads hissed and opened their mouths as they breathed fire at Velzard.

For her part, she merely activated Snow Crystal once again.

Runa took this opportunity to weaken the barrier. As her ultimate skill suggests, she has good control over all kinds of water and ice. Even if it is from a True Dragon like Velzard, all she needs is preparation and she can even intercept it.

The barrier wavered, and Agni took his opportunity and shattered it.

Velzard frowned as she decelerated the Plasma Hydra and froze them all solid.

She materialized a blade as the Plasma Hydra shattered, revealing Agni gripping his axe with both hands for a large arc.

Velzard blocked the blow and countered with her own.

While rarely using swords or any weapons in particular, she had long seen many users of such an instrument. Guy was a common sight and even her sister occasionally used a blade of her own.

The two clashed as sparks flew in the sky, their blades ringing. Velzard leaned slightly as an arrow passed by her side, thrusting her sword to Agni's neck, who blocked it with the body of his axe.

Another barrage of arrows filled her vision as Agni moved out of the way. Velzard raised her hand as she curved the trajectory of the arrows and returned them to Runa, who was forced to escape.

Agni continued being the main fighter with Runa as support. It was a hard-fought battle. It was, in terms of compatibility, a bad match-up for both the spirits.

Runa was placed in the back as her attacks would be manipulated, while Agni's strength lay in absorbing flames and high-energy attacks.

"This is getting tiresome," Velzard raised her open palm. She gathered a vast amount of magicules as she glanced at Runa.

Agni, seeing this, burst from his place, rushing to the True Dragon. "Not on my watch. Pyro Art: Conflagration Acceleration!"

With a sharp boost in speed, even a blur was not seen. Spinning his body, he raised his axe high as a sharp circular strike reached Velzard. "Flaming Stellar Strike!"

Velzard changed the direction of the attack to Agni. The two beings' attacks reached each other.

Velzard found herself with a large gash from her neck to her torso. A heavy groan left her mouth as blood covered her body. She held her chest as she focused on healing.

Runa used this opportunity to fire one last arrow. "Aquatic Grand Turret."

A large arrow appeared behind Runa that reached Velzard. The arrow pierced her stomach as she flew far, her expression wincing in pain.

"Agni!" Runa rushed to her companion's side.

The fire spirit Agni was frozen solid in place. The solid block of ice fell to the molten ground yet never melted. Not even one drop of liquid could be seen in the ice.

She placed both of her hands on the ice. Her palms glowed as she weakened the frost magic.

Velzard frowned, her thoughts growing erratic from the pain. She looked around dizzily, her senses extended to the entire continent looking for Guy.

Finding her target gone, she followed the trail, leaving behind the two spirits.

"Guy

Guy

Guy

Guy

Guy

Guy!

GUY!

GUY!

GUY!"

...

A body slammed into the Long Wall, decimating that part of the structure. With a hand gripping the edge of the broken wall, Michael stood back up, wiping away the dust.

In his hand wasn't Rudra's sword, Deva, but one he formed using his own abilities. For some reason, he could not access the First Hero's weapon, as if it was missing from his storage.

The ground cracked as tremors spread again.

The sound of metal hitting metal rang through the area. Large fissures and craters formed from each step the two sword masters took.

Using Rudra's skills, Michael managed to compete with his opponent in terms of pure swordsmanship. Though, he felt that she was still a league more skilled in the department from the First Hero's experience and training.

Michael parried a thrust aimed at his chest, redirecting the blade upward before countering with a downward slash at the hero.

Chloe jumped back, her guard up as she fixed her stance. The two returned as she entered his range once again.

Their battle continued, each strike sending more debris and gusts of wind that could collapse walls. The ringing of steel clashing grew louder and heavier as time passed. Their bodies vanished from the sight of the onlookers.

For most of them, even the elite could see only the sparks of their blades and the occasional blur. Those who could not keep track could only vaguely tell where they had already been. The dust scattering, the foot-sized craters in the ground, the collapse of buildings and walls.

They kept their distance as they observed, waiting to see the winner of the bout.

Michael snapped his fingers as the ground froze solid. Chloe's feet halted as the ice covered her lower body, completely encasing her.

With a smirk plastered on his face, he fired a disintegration spell above her while simultaneously erecting pillars of ice around her.

As the spell struck, the pillars of ice vanished from the disintegration spell. Michael jumped as a sword nearly reached his neck.

Behind him, Chloe was standing unscathed.

Their swords collided once again. As sparks flew around, Chloe glanced as Michael's eyes glowed.

Suddenly, she felt a familiar sensation, like a real-life glitch. Quickly adapting, she moved through stopped time. Michael jumped as a large arc aiming to sever Chloe's head came down. Raising her blade, she felt the pressure of the strike as the ground beneath her weakened.

She pushed back and kicked Michael in his side, sending the sentient skill a good distance away. He didn't stop the onslaught; he dashed back in.

Slashes with intent to dismember her entire body, rapid thrusts aimed at her vitals and her very soul. Each blow was meant to eliminate the threat before him.

Chloe focused as her eyes glowed, moving with reservation of strength. She kept it minimal as she parried and dodged each one of the blows.

Then, as Michael launched forward, raising his blade, time suddenly continued, causing another minuscule lag in judgment and processing as he appeared behind her.

She rolled as the blow left a massive crack on the ground. She turned, her blade ready.

"Absolute Severance."

Michael instinctively used Castle Guard before raising his blade. Forgetting the requirement of the barrier caused him to receive a heavy injury.

Blood trickled from his face as he stared at the missing limb from his left side. He gripped his sword in his right hand for a horizontal wide arc at Chloe.

She changed her grip on her sword and their blades struck.

Michael bit his lips as the blade snapped. Chloe, not wasting any time, slashed at his stomach and severed his head.

The head rolled on the ground, his expression one of fury and hate looking at the hero.

"I was so close to bringing Veldanava-sama back!" he cursed as he found Chloe walking toward him.

Squatting down, she grabbed his head with both hands.

"Reverse Fate."

Michael blinked, the fury in his gaze replaced with confusion.

"Who... where am I?"

"Do you want to see Veldanava-sama?" Chloe smiled, showing a reassuring expression.

"C-can you bring me to him?" His voice broke. He looked at Chloe with hopefulness. He wanted nothing more than to return to his true owner, after all. "Can I see him again?"

"Of course," Chloe nodded with no hesitation. "I swear that I will bring you back to Veldanava-sama."

The head slowly disappeared, bright light replacing it as it entered Chloe's body. She checked her body, her hands placed above her chest.

"You can come out now," she whispered. As she did, a cloud of dust revealed an uninjured Michael.

"Parallel Existence really is cheating, isn't it?" Chloe jested as she disappeared. A different Chloe walking forward from somewhere waved playfully.

"...Is what you said true?" Michael asked with great hesitation. His fist clenched as he looked at the masked hero. He had just heard her swear to bring the other 'him' to Veldanava. She could be lying to bait him, but for some reason, it didn't feel like it.

Even for someone like Michael, who didn't trust nor believe in just anyone.

"I swear on my life and my love for Rimuru," she puffed her chest, proudly exclaiming. "I can give you back to Veldanava-sama."

"What proof do you have!" he shouted uncharacteristically. "Don't think that I'lll be tricked by your words." He raised his weapon, glaring at her.

"He will return soon," Chloe didn't show fear, barely even registering the blade in his hand. "Once this battle is over, he will be reborn."

"I ask for proof! It's easy to make claims, but I require proof. Otherwise," he appeared in front of her, his aura filling the entire Long Wall, suffocating everyone nearby human, vampire, and giant.

Chloe smiled and whispered a few words to him.

His eyes widened as tears fell.

"Is... is that true?"

"What do you have to lose?" Chloe lowered the blade pointed at her. "You can easily destroy the world if he does not come back. But if you do it now, you'll never know if this is true."

Michael bit his lips, his eyes flashing back to the time he was serving the Creator. The time when he was being used for his real purpose, when he was happy observing Veldanava create everything.

"I'll see for now."

He vanished without a trace.

A/N: I completely forgot about Leon lol. Fun fact, I wrote 146 first because I forgot about Velzard, and Leon. Michael was suppose to be next chapter but it became specific to Feldway.