Chapter 46: The Underworld Stirs

On the outskirts of the visiare settlement, in a wide, open stretch of land, two figures stood watching each other closely.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Lord Nereziel?”

Osvel gripped his sword and took an offensive stance.

“I don’t want to do this! But for some reason, trouble keeps chasing me!” Nerez let out a tired sigh. “Anyway, I have no choice but to see whether my skills haven’t rusted as badly as this sword… But don’t you dare cut my head off by accident! Remember, this is only sparring!”

“O-Of course! I will be careful, Lord Nereziel!”

Nerez let out one last sigh and gripped his own rusty sword as well (not without a bit of disgust, since it was the sword of one of his skeletal warriors).

Despite his reluctant attitude, the moment Nerez took his stance, Osvel realized his opponent had not left a single opening for him to exploit.

That, along with the imposing aura his shining magenta eyes revealed, sent a cold sweat down the sword prodigy’s back.

“No matter how I look at it, I’m the one who needs to be careful not to die…” Osvel muttered to himself.

The two watched each other for several seconds without moving a muscle. It was only when an oblivious rabbit hopped between the bushes that Osvel made the first move.

With a single leap forward, the visiare warrior crossed several meters, but the moment his feet touched the ground, his figure vanished in a bluish flash.

!!

In that same instant, he appeared behind Nerez and unleashed a fierce slash at his neck.

Clank!

But his blade met Nerez’s, and a metallic crash rang out, shaking the air.

“What did I say about not cutting my head off?”

Osvel put some distance between them with another leap before adjusting his stance again.

“Of course, Lord Nereziel. At no point did I feel I was anywhere near able to do so…”

“Has no one ever told you it’s the thought that counts?”

Now it was Nerez who launched himself forward with a powerful leap, closing the distance in an instant, his speed easily rivaling Osvel’s spatial magic.

“Wai—!”

Osvel could not finish the word. He barely managed to bring his sword up in defense, and only because his mastery of the weapon bordered on inhuman.

Clank!

But this time, the clash of metal was so brutal that it sent Osvel flying through the air. His body bounced off the ground and rolled several meters before crashing into the trunk of a tree.

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“How strange. I could have sworn I held back my strength much more than when I fought Cerys… Sorry, Osvel. Are you alive?”

“I’m fine, Lord Nereziel…” Osvel replied, rising to his feet as best he could. “It is an honor to cross swords with you. Taking a blow like that is a small price to pay.”

“That’s not a small price, Osvel. You’d better go see a healer soon… I’ll have to adjust my strength again. But this really isn’t normal at all.”

“Of course it’s normal. You have more followers now, and that affects every aspect of a god’s existence… But why are you humiliating mortals, Nerez?”

Cerys’s voice came from behind him at that moment.

“Humiliating? We were just doing a little sparring…”

Just what I needed. As if having a ridiculous amount of spiritual energy wasn’t enough…

“Sparring with mortals?” Cerys asked, looking at Osvel’s battered figure. “What is that supposed to accomplish besides humiliating them?”

“…”