Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume16 Chapter12 (section)

===Part 3===

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Inside the towering wall of darkness&mdash;

Kamito and the ghost of Sword Saint Avril were clashing blades intensely.

"Go forth and pierce, all-annihilating demon lightning of punishment—Vorpal Blast!"

The jet-black lightning released from the Vorpal Sword poured all over Avril.

However, it inflicted almost no damage to Avril. Against Nepenthes Lore's elemental affinity of darkness, Est's anti-magic properties seemed to be more effective.

'&mdash;Kamito, I will switch to support. Use Miss Sacred Sword as your main offense.'

"Got it&mdash;"

At Restia's suggestion, Kamito redistributed the divine power assigned to the Vorpal Sword over to Est.

'Are you sure, darkness spirit&mdash;'

'Yes. In exchange, please yield to me the right to sneak into his bed.'

'Unacceptable&mdash;'

Est instantly replied. Kamito really wished that they did not engage in this sort of rights transaction negotiation in the middle of battle.

The Demon Slayer in Kamito's hand glowed with silver-white radiance.

Next&mdash;

ROOOOOAAAAAAR——!

Avril roared. In that instant, Kamito smelled an intense stench of death and hastily jumped to the side.

Three flashes of the sword swept by. The tip of the blade brushed against his forehead, instantly messing up his bangs.

Absolute Blade Arts&mdash;Most likely the prototype of Shadowmoon Waltz. Kamito managed to dodge this move purely because he knew its motions.

The prototype's movement of the sword was not as refined as Greyworth's swordsmanship, but as a result, it caused Kamito's judgment to be off by a little.

(...! Crap!)

Seizing the opportunity when Kamito lost balance, Avril's sword went straight for the opening.

Kamito hastily blocked using the Vorpal Sword in his left hand, but&mdash;

In that instant, a scorching sensation of pain coursed through his body with a sizzling sound.

His back had touched the darkness barrier

"...Guh, ooh...!"

Gritting his teeth to bear the intense pain, Kamito mustered all his strength to hold his ground.

(As expected, he's pretty strong...)

Kamito's forehead broke out in cold sweat.

Despite a body that had turned into a corpse, his superb swordsmanship remained intact.

Before Kamito's eyes was not some random monster but a genuine master of the sword.

&mdash;But at the same time, another thought crossed Kamito's mind. Even for a master who had attained such a height, a man crowned with the title of the Sword Saint, he still succumbed to Ren Ashdoll's power, turning into this kind of monster.

Holding his sword in both hands, Avril attacked Kamito fiercely. It was probably the prototype of Crushing Fang, the Absolute Blade Art for destroying weapons&mdash;

(Now is the time&mdash;)

Instantly, Kamito lowered his stance and released in one go the divine power accumulated at his feet.

"Absolute Blade Arts, Seventh Form&mdash;Biting Dragon!"

What he used was an Absolute Blade Art developed from the thrusting move of Purple Lightning, an attack for sending the enemy upwards.

Enveloped in miasma, Sword Saint Avril was launched into the air.

Jumping into the air, Kamito instantly reversed his sword stance.

"Absolute Blade Arts, Second Form&mdash;Meteor!"

Pouring all of his divine power into the Demon Slayer, he swung.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

With the sound of an explosion, the ground was gouged up, producing a cloud of dust.

"...H-Huff, huff, huff&mdash;"

Consecutive usage of the Absolute Blade Arts, twice in a row, was too great a burden for the body.

'&mdash;Kamito, it will be dangerous if you recklessly strained yourself any further. My power will not be enough to keep things suppressed.'

Hearing Restia's warning...

"Yeah, I know..."

Kamito answered urgently.

The divine power inside him was in disarray. His control over divine control was gradually getting more difficult.

At this rate&mdash;

Just then, the dust settled and a shadow enveloped in miasma slowly stood up.

"So even that didn't work..."

Kamito's throat twitched.

In terms of swordsmanship, the two of them were virtually equal. However, the opponent possessed an immortal body after being transformed into Nepenthes Lore. Furthermore, the enemy also had a massive advantage in the quantity of overall divine power.

At the current rate of divine power consumption, he could very well end up devoured by the power of darkness.

However, this was not an opponent that he could defeat while holding back.

(I've got to decide the match in the next attack&mdash;)

Kamito gripped the Demon Slayer tightly.