Chapter 91

Far from the supply storage, Rio and Shiraha arrived at a residential area to the west of San Anku Mayu, filled with abandoned houses. The few remaining residents had already evacuated, and the unoccupied blocks were completely dark. Relying on the moonlight alone was not reassuring, so Shiraha deployed orbs of light around them.

"The Night Stalker is coming."

"I can sense it, too. I can tell even without seeing it."

Though still invisible, the area was permeated with a dim, murderous aura. The intense malice sent shivers down their spines, and the heavy, suffocating air made it hard to breathe. Despite being invisible and having no presence, the overwhelming, thick aura of malice was proof of its existence. There was no sign of Konrads and the others. They might have been delayed, considering the possibility that the Night Stalker wouldn't chase Rio and the others, or they might be dealing with the White-faced one.

Rio held his sword in a standard stance, keeping the tip slightly away from himself.

"Shiraha, don't get too far away, okay?"

"I know. I'll stay close."

"Stay close... This isn't the time to be joking around."

Given that the Night Stalker was a famous evil spirit, Shiraha was probably trying to ease the tension, and Rio smiled wryly. In the tense atmosphere where they didn't know when the attack would come, Shiraha deployed orbs of light in a spherical grid. Even if the Night Stalker was invisible, without a penetrative ability like the divine sword Obufus, it would touch and move the orbs, revealing its approximate position. Suddenly, countless orbs of light appeared, and Rio didn't miss the slight movement of some of them.

Using the limit of his body enhancement, Rio closed the distance in one step and swung his sword horizontally. There was no resistance. Incorporating the flexible wrist movement he learned from Yebus at the Milot dojo, Rio quickly raised his sword.

Shiraha moved to Rio's side, channeling magic power into the magic array on the hilt. The ground beneath Shiraha's feet rapidly rose, accelerating her forward in front of Rio. Shiraha raised her sword in a reverse diagonal stance. Realizing it was a feint from the slight deceleration, Rio skillfully moved to Shiraha's side.

Using the touch of their shoulders as a signal, Rio and Shiraha swung their swords to the left and right spaces. There was no sensation of cutting anything. They faced each other back-to-back and retook their stances.

As soon as the orbs of light repositioned, the sensation of Shiraha's back moving away was felt. Rio instantly pivoted on his left foot and stepped to Shiraha's right with his right foot. Before the sound of Shiraha's sword cutting through the air reached him, Rio stepped forward with his left foot and thrust. Without changing his expression at the empty air sound indicating a miss, he took another step with his right foot and slashed diagonally to the left. Realizing it missed, he pivoted on his right foot and leaped forward with his left foot, delivering a horizontal slash.

Without a word, Rio and Shiraha moved in perfect coordination, efficiently covering each other's gaps and launching attacks around them. Their movements, refined through training with the elite knights of the Rosiz family and integrated into their self-taught sword techniques, were seamless and efficient.

The continuous sound of their misses was as smooth as a dance performed under the moonlight, a testament to their refined and efficient movements. However, they weren't hitting anything.

"This is endless."

They couldn't keep this up all night. Rio, focusing on defense with a low stance, suggested to Shiraha.

"Let's use magic cuts. The light magic will expand, so redeploy the orbs."

"Okay. Be careful."

Rio took a deep breath and activated his body enhancement beyond its limit. Excess magic power left his body, distorting the scenery like heat haze despite the night. The orbs of light moved, and seeing this, Rio instantly kicked off the ground.

"There!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs, releasing magic power with his voice. The wavering sound expanded the presence of something just within his reach. With a twist of his waist, Rio thrust his sword with all his might. The hard sensation, like piercing through glass, was unlike anything he had felt with previous magic cuts. Without hesitation, he pushed his sword forward. As he shattered the magic barrier, something appeared in front of him.

Thick legs like those of a male deer, muscular and sturdy hips, an upper body covered in a hard, glossy skin like a beetle, and thin, branch-like arms reinforced with four spiral white muscle fibers. The three eyes on the wolf-like face were wide open in shock. Seeing the Night Stalker's stance, Rio shouted to Shiraha.

"Don't charge in!"

The Night Stalker had a clearly specialized curved sword in an upper stance, ready to attack. Shiraha, who was about to attack from the side, stopped abruptly. However, before she could stop, the Night Stalker had already stepped forward. In a split second, Rio raised his body enhancement to the limit, enveloping himself in heat haze. His figure blurred in the haze as he stepped forward and thrust his sword. Seeing Rio's thrust, the Night Stalker hesitated for a moment but then swung his curved sword at Shiraha, a powerful strike that could easily cleave through a skull.

"Damn."

Rio turned his thrust into a horizontal slash with a wrist movement, spreading his feet shoulder-width apart to brace for the impact. He raised his sword to protect Shiraha's head. The two swords collided, and a harsh metallic sound echoed. The Night Stalker jumped back, putting distance between himself and Rio. Rio, with his tingling hands, took a standard stance. Shiraha stepped in front of Rio, ready to protect him until the tingling subsided.

"Rio, are you okay?"

"...Yeah."

While giving a short answer, Rio stared at the Night Stalker. Their eyes met. The Night Stalker's eyes were filled with malice, but more than that, they were brimming with joy, like a child purely enjoying the fight. Rio, with his tingling hands, gripped his sword again.

"Shiraha, he's just like me."

"Just like you?"

"He doesn't have the talent for existing sword techniques."

Rio was aware of his lack of strength. His self-taught sword technique avoided direct clashes to avoid being overpowered. However, he had managed to block the Night Stalker's upper strike in a desperate stance, indicating that the strike was not as powerful as it could have been.

"He can't wield a powerful sword."

Moreover, the Night Stalker, who should have relied on surprise attacks due to his invisibility, had taken a perfect upper stance, a stance for a counterattack.

"I don't know where or how he learned it, but he uses a self-taught sword technique, just like me."