Law of Space and Time

Chapter 23-2: Erwin VS Lana (2)

As soon as the first sword struck Erwin, Lana could already tell that he wasn't going to defend himself, even if his decision cost him his life. Unfortunately, once the Shadowgleam Sword Array was unleashed, there was no way even for her to withdraw it. As such, she could only rush toward Erwin as quickly as she could. Even though her magic allowed her to fly far faster than a normal levitation spell would, what she needed right now was a spell like Erwin's space split technique.

As Lana was flying toward Erwin, she was releasing one spell after another to try and eradicate as many of the swords that were hurtling toward Erwin as possible. Her sword array was completely random and chaotic, and all of the swords had potent tracing properties, so she had no effective ways to stop it. Furthermore, some of the magic swords had already taken on a substantial form, so they couldn't be erased using magic.

Meanwhile, Onean was looking on with a concerned expression from the contestants' spectating platform. She was initially going to save Erwin, but upon recalling what he had said to her prior to entering the tournament venue, she decided to refrain from doing so, but her hand was already gripped tightly around her staff.

At this point, Erwin's body was already riddled with dozens of sword gashes of different sizes, but he didn't seem to be able to feel them at all as he stared blankly at his own blood, which was dripping down onto the snow around him.

Many of the spectators thought that Lana had sealed Erwin using her domain-type spell, thereby preventing him from being able to use his light shield. However, they had all overestimated Lana's magic. The truth of the matter was that Erwin simply didn't want to use his light shield. As for why that was the case, it was because he was waiting.

He looked on as Lana frantically sped toward him, and a warm smile appeared on his face, even though he was bleeding profusely all over his body.

Lana's heart was also throbbing with pain as she looked at all of the wounds that had been inflicted onto him. She had already made up her mind to cut off all ties with him, so why couldn't she stop her own heart from aching for him? Where had this lump in her throat come from? And why was her vision being blurred by tears?

She couldn't answer any of those questions, nor did she want to think about them.

Even though Erwin's entire body was riddled with wounds, this was the moment that he had been waiting for all along, so he certainly wasn't going to let it slip. He abruptly reached out to wind an arm around Lana's waist, while raising his other hand to conjure up his light shield, and countless longswords instantly clattered into the outer wall of the light shield.

A wave of cheers immediately rang out from the spectator stands.

"I gotta hand it to him, he's a brave man! He was this close to being stabbed into a pincushion!"

"This is the first time I've ever seen anyone try anything like this during the Pillow Sword Tournament!"

"No wonder both Her Highness and Prince Lazaar's daughter have taken a liking to him. His courage and determination really are unmatched."

"This isn't just a matter of courage anymore, this is an act of sheer audacity!"

Meanwhile, Erwin stood within his light shield with his arm wound tightly around Lana's waist, as if he were trying to fuse their bodies together.

"Let me go, you bastard! You just want to make me cry!" Lana couldn't bear to use magic to force him away when he was already so severely injured. In addition to that, the masculine aura radiating from Erwin's body was making her feel lightheaded and completely unable to resist. In any case, she wouldn't be able to use any magic inside the light shield even if she wanted to.

"No! I'm never letting you go!" Erwin dug his fingers tightly into the delicate skin of her waist as he asked with a mocking expression, "Why do you care if I live or die? Aren't you avoiding me? Aren't you trying to cut all ties with me?"

Lana didn't know what to say. Her pristine white dress had already been stained red in many places by Erwin's blood, and she could only weep in silence.

"What's happened to that sharp tongue of yours? Why aren't you saying anything?" Erwin asked in an angry voice, paying no heed to his profusely bleeding wounds and his rapidly dwindling reserves of magic power and stamina.

Lana couldn't tell him the reason why she had been avoiding him the past few days, so she could only bury her face against his chest and allow him to do as he pleased with her. After a while, she raised her head to look up at him. "Why couldn't you just leave me alone and live out your life in peace? Why do you insist on putting yourself in harm's way?"

Tears were streaming down Lana's face as she spoke, and Erwin had never seen her look so vulnerable before. As a result, he couldn't help but feel a little panicked, internally denouncing himself for being too harsh with his words. Thus, he didn't carefully process Lana's words, and he came under the false impression that she was only referring to the sword array when she accused him of putting himself in harm's way.

"Look over there." Erwin used his staff to point at the tallest of the ice pillars. At this point, the color was already beginning to drain from his lips.

Lana raised her head and cast her gaze toward that direction, but she couldn't see anything special about it. Instead, it was Erwin who was momentarily entranced by the sight of her bright and teary eyes.

Lana was quite amused by his dazed expression, and a bright smile broke through her tears as she burst into laughter.

"Don't blink now!" Erwin said as he withdrew his light shield, and the residual magic energy from the sword array and all of the elemental matter that was about to flow into the light shield instantly surged into his severely ravaged body.

Lana could see cold sweat pouring down Erwin's face, and it was clear that he was overexerting himself. She wanted to stop him from continuing what he was doing, but the stubborn look in his eyes told her that nothing was going to stop him.

A burst of purple fire erupted from the top of Erwin's staff, quickly igniting the top of the tallest ice pillar. All of a sudden, the top of the pillar of ice erupted into crimson flames. Erwin had exhausted the last ounce of magic power and stamina in his body to release all of the matter energy that he had accumulated.

The fire at the top of the ice pillar began to spread downward, and the second ice pillar was quickly also ignited, followed by the third one, then the fourth...

As the ice pillars were ignited, they began to sizzle audibly as clouds of water vapor drifted through the air.

In the blink of an eye, all of the ice pillars of different heights had been ignited. The ice, fire, and mist formed an ethereal scene that resembled paradise on earth, and all of the spectators were stunned by what they were seeing.

Never did they think that they would witness such a glorious scene during a match of the Pillow Sword Tournament, and all of them were looking on with awe and amazement in their eyes.

Even King Cameron couldn't help but turn toward Master Piro as he exclaimed, "How are the young people these days so creative with professing their love? Back in my day, it was only confessions and love letters!"

Master Piro merely gave a cold harrumph in response. His prized disciple was clearly also emotionally invested in Erwin, and he was thinking about how sad she was going to be to see this.

Prince Lazaar was still watching with his usual polite smile, but it was clear from the set of his jaw that he was gritting his teeth tightly.

Even with tens of thousands of people watching amid the ethereal paradise of ice, fire, and mist, Erwin still had his arm wound around Lana's slender waist without any qualms, and Lana made no effort to resist as she laid in his arms like an obedient wife.

The two of them watched in silence as the pillars of ice melted one after another, following which the scorching flames formed a joyful circle around them. The fire was then quickly snuffed out by the heartless storm of ice and snow, leaving only a few plumes to smoke as a reminder of its existence.

Even the most beautiful moments would inevitably pass by.

It was only a fleeting moment of breathtaking beauty, but through it, Erwin had already expressed everything that he wanted to say to Lana.

Lana naturally understood what he was thinking. This fleeting spectacle bore a strong resemblance to their passionate yet unpredictable relationship. She looked up at Erwin to find that even though his face was deathly pale, there was a fiercely possessive look in his eyes, and her heart instantly melted under his scorching gaze. A tragic yet blissful smile appeared on her face.

So be it. Who cares what happens tomorrow? If I can't keep him safe, then I'll just have to die with him.

With that in mind, she pressed her lips, which were slightly salty with her tears, against Erwin's pale lips, while Erwin wound his injured arms tightly around her waist.

All of the spectators felt as if they had just gone on an emotional rollercoaster. Erwin's matches had never disappointed them, and the sight of the two combatants turned lovers caught in each other's embrace on the competition platform instantly elevated the atmosphere to an unprecedented high.

"I don't think I can ever catch up to Erwin. If I had even a quarter of his skills, Gwen would've already agreed to marry me!" Larwood sighed with a shake of his head.

Meanwhile, Chase and Kaiba were already stunned to the point of speechlessness, and only after a long while did Chase also heave a faint sigh. "Some things just can't be taught."

Everyone's attention was focused on Erwin and Lana, so they failed to notice a certain silver-haired figure leaving the contestants' spectating platform.

Much to everyone's disappointment, Erwin was unable to persevere to the very end. He was only able to enjoy Lana's passionate kiss for a few seconds before he fell unconscious from overexertion. Thankfully, Lana was able to react in time and catch him before he fell.

Unfortunately for Erwin, it appeared that he was going to be making a fourth trip to the tournament committee's treatment tent.

Prior to this, all of the administrators were at a complete loss for what to do. Erwin and Lana were supposed to be duking it out, but instead, the competition platform had become a stage for them to showcase their love, leaving the administrators with no clue how to judge the match. Thankfully, Erwin fainted just in time, so the decision was made for them.

Thus, Erwin's journey in the Pillow Sword Tournament finally drew to a conclusion, and he had truly left a profound mark on the history of the Pillow Sword Tournament. Thanks to him, not only were the spectators able to witness the powers of the most talented young individuals throughout the entire kingdom, they were also able to watch a rousing romantic tale unfold before their eyes.

Many years later, spectators of the Pillow Sword Tournament would still always speak about the legendary 29th edition of the tournament, about the unprecedented magic displayed by the miracle-worker that was Erwin, about his love story with the princess and the daughter of the prince, and about that spectacular show of ice and fire. Never had there been a contestant as romantic and wilful as Erwin, and he met no match in everyone who came after him, either. His combination of fearlessness, determination, and youthful stubbornness could never be replicated, so he would forever remain in everyone's memory as one-of-a-kind.