Shikkaku Mon no Saikyou Kenja~ Sekai Saikyou no Kenja ga Sarani Tsuyoku Naru Tameni Tenseishimashita~

Chapter 336: Strongest Sage, Identity Seen Through

I was still young when I fought Zadokilgias in my previous life.

This demon held the upper hand in term of pure combative skills back then.

As such, winning proved difficult in a direct confrontation.

That was why I developed [Resonant Sword].

This demon would dodge every single one of my magic attack and block all my sword slashes.

However, Zadokilgias's body itself wasn't sturdy enough to receive those slashes.

As such, letting it take my sword slashes and break its body with [Resonant Sword] is very effective.

[Resonant Sword] is virtually a technique specialized in killing skill-based demons like Zadokilgias.

"…To think there's someone who deploys that magic in this era."

Zadokilgias took some more distance away from me as it said that.

Gaining distances is the basic method for fighting a Disqualified Crest.

Magical ranged attacks are favorable to Zadokilgias especially for avoiding clashing its sword against my [Resonant Sword].

But that's speaking only if Iris wasn't here.

Getting away from me means getting into Iris's range.

『There it goes! I'm gonna get it!』

Iris swung down her claw the moment she saw Zadokilgias getting away from me.

Moving away from me here naturally got it closer to Iris.

Inviting her for another attempt at the demon.

Zadokilgias deployed a new set of barriers mid-air as a foothold to dodge her attack.

They were farther apart than earlier thus it made it in time.

However--that instance it deployed barriers created an opening if only for a second.

It's not a problem with skill, it's simply due to the latency of outputting magic.

It's not long enough to get a hit in--but more than plentiful for getting in the range.

Making use of this chance, I made us engage in a close quarter combat.

"…What an irksome tactic."

Zadokilgias blocked my sword slash which had got [Resonant Sword] added.

Then--the moment our swords touched each other, mine got repelled back.

--『Reflective Strike』.

A magic that outputs a huge blast of mana all at once to instantaneously flick the opponent's sword away.

This magic will forcefully repel away the opponent's sword no matter what magic enchanted on that sword, it's unparalleled in a close quarter sword combat.

Against someone with an inept sword skill, the opening created by this magic could even be used to deal a finishing blow.

There was even a period of time where sword enchant magic was seen in a bad light due to this [Reflective Strike] magic.

However, such a mighty magic does not come without a price.

This [Reflective Strike] outputs a vast amount of mana through one's sword, it's a basic magic in a sense.

Which is precisely why it's mostly unaffected by other magic--but as a drawback, you're required to release a huge amount of mana all at once.

Even amongst Disqualified Crest bearers, only a few with exceptionally sturdy magic circuits, and high-ranking demons that far outclass Zadokilgias are capable of releasing the required amount of mana in an instant.

In all other cases, one has to build up mana in their sword over time and release it only when the need arises.

Due to the load caused by building up mana, [Reflective Strike] users can't use other magic in parallel.

In contrast, I'm only deploying the much easier to cast [Resonant Sword] over [Reflective Strike].

Meaning I could shoot other attack magic with my spare energy.

"…Dodging even this huh…"

Zadokilgias managed to deal with the combination of my attack magic and [Resonant Sword] somehow.

Defending against an attack while enduring the load from invoking [Reflective Strike] should be quite a task--yet, it dealt with it well.

As that thought crossed my mind, Zadokilgias spoke up while flicking my sword away.

"You bastard… You're even better than the guy who killed the past me in skill alone."

The guy who killed the past Zadokilgias… Me huh.

Indeed, my magic skill has seen much improvement compared to the me back then.

Now that I think about it, the me back then was quite crude for a magic combatant.

…That said, I was already 80 by then, so my magic circuits were far far superior than the current me.

I gave a reply while thinking that.

"I see. So you're saying you're going to meet your maker a second time?"

"Not happening. Regardless of your skill, this absolute gap in powers aren't something that can be easily overturned… In fact, the only time you managed to deal damage was from that [Resonant Sword] ambush--even after all you've done thus far."

Zadokilgias is peering for a chance to attack even while chattering away.

This conversation itself is likely an attempt to take me out of my pace.

The act of talking may slightly throw off one's pace if they don't have enough experience in battle, creating an exploitable opening.

That's probably this demon's aim--but unfortunately for it, this tactic is meaningless to me.

It might have worked on the past age 80 me though.

"…How old are you anyway? Those magical skills, that bottomless swordsmanship--cannot be of a mere child. I wouldn't be surprised if you told me you were a 『Reincarnated』 one like me."

Zadokilgias murmured when it saw me not relaxing my guard.

Looks like it's made a conjecture of my identity.

Not like that would be of any use in this fight though.