A swordsmanship focused on speed.
It was very efficient.
It was even more efficient when the person was powerful.
That’s why Kevin becomes one of the strongest in the world in the future.
But then again...
I memorized every move of this swordsmanship.
The Demon Earl sheathed its katana and then took a few steps toward me.
I didn’t move, and instead, I stared at the demon in amusement.
It didn’t take long for me to get in its range.
So, with a burst of energy, the demon unsheathed its katana and, at an incredible speed, slashed it right at my neck.
Haha.
I could just counter this with my own sword.
Maybe even move aside.
But oh well.
I covered my neck in a Telekinetic barrier.
The katana got closer and closer to my neck.
Yet it also continued slowing down until finally, as it was just one inch away from cutting my neck off, the katana stopped completely.
The demon’s eyes widened.
It immediately tried to retreat, but it couldn’t even move its katana an inch.
It was stuck.
"If swordsmanship is all you have going for you, then this is it," I said.
The demon just stared at me for a moment.
Then, it finally let go of its katana.
For a moment, I thought that it was forfeiting.
But that was when the demon finally stripped away its humanoid form.
Two black horns appeared on its head as its skin turned demonic.
As two slim wings sprouted from its back, it suddenly extended its hand forward.
Before I could realize what was happening, my sight vanished.
I couldn’t hear anything either.
I wasn’t dead.
But...
This demon somehow took away my hearing and my sight.
"..."
Although I couldn’t see or hear it, I could still sense the demon through my Telekinesis.
And by now, it had begun channeling its energy.
Was what it just used not its Gift?
Just then, I felt a certain warmth, which made me immediately back away from the demon.
Demons can’t use normal flames.
They use Hellfire.
A flame that can never be put out unless the demon itself is killed.
If I get hit by that... and the demon somehow runs away, I’m screwed.
So once again, I decided to take this seriously.
I grabbed the demon’s katana that had been hovering right beside me and tossed aside my own.
The katana felt much more familiar in my grip.
After all, this was the signature weapon for kendo.
So as I felt the fire get closer and closer, I held the katana a tad bit more tightly with both my hands.
Then, I raised the katana above my head and decided to try out my new combo.
Density Manipulation + Mass Manipulation.
The sword’s weight immediately increased by tens of tons.
I was supporting myself with Telekinesis, but just holding it nearly broke my wrists.
Regardless of that, when I couldn’t push the weight any further, I suddenly infused lightning inside of the katana itself.
Unlike when I usually do it, where I just cover the weapon completely, this time I went for a much harder approach.
I infused lightning into every single dense point in the katana.
That created a special reaction that enhanced the lightning conductivity of every single point, and the longer I kept this up, the more the power of the lightning would get increased.
But I soon felt the katana crack.
It couldn’t hold up what I was doing.
Yet I didn’t even budge.
After all, one attack was enough.
I made sure that none of the people, including Clementine, were in the radius.
Then, I focused my Telekinesis on the incoming hell flames.
They were really close now.
So, after taking a single deep breath, I flexed every muscle in my body as I forced the katana downward.
It was difficult.
Much more difficult than I had imagined.
And yet, with every inch I lowered the katana, the surrounding air tore apart.
So I gave it one last push by overloading all my muscles with lightning.
The katana had finally reached the ground and struck the earth.
The katana immediately shattered, but...
Nothing happened at first.
I thought that maybe I did something wrong.
But after just a small delay, a large amount of energy burst forth from where I swung down the katana and traveled at an incredible speed toward the demon.
The hell flames didn’t stand a chance as my attack dissipated them in an instant.
I couldn’t see what was happening.
I couldn’t hear it either.
But the ground underneath my feet shook violently.
I could only imagine how destructive this attack was.
The energy eventually reached the demon, and with a frantic motion, it tried to redirect the energy.
It didn’t stand a chance.
The energy swiftly passed through the demon.
In an instant, my sight and hearing came back.
I expected to be met with a bit of destruction.
But what I saw in front of me... I could hardly believe it.
From where I stood, a cone-shaped ravine, whose bottom I couldn’t even see, had suddenly appeared.
From where I stood, it was only a thin line, but by the 10-meter mark, the width of the ravine was at least several hundred meters.
And my attack traveled far.
Way past the demon, and even toward the nearby mountains... which, by now, were completely decimated.
Everything in front of me was gone.
Everything.
A portion of the city, half of the forest, an entire mountain range.
And all that was left in my attack’s wake was a massive ravine that extended for tens of kilometers.
More importantly, it seemed to be slowly collapsing the earth around it.
"..."
This attack...
It was like a natural disaster.
A massive natural disaster.
Since when could I do something like this?
I still remember the days when I could barely move the leaves of a tree.
I still remember when I nearly died to a lesser vampire just because my Telekinesis was too weak.
Just how did I grow this much in such a short amount of time?
More importantly... I was still a High-Grade 29.
The higher the Grade, the more beings existed that defied all logic.
And it looked like I might be joining them soon.
Though, as the shock and awe faded from the aftermath of my attack, I quickly glanced around.
Clementine and the others were behind me.
Most of them lost consciousness from my attack, while the few that were left stared at me in reverence.
At least they were safe.
So was Clementine.
So I turned back to the ravine, narrowing my eyes at a particular figure a bit further down.
...I should go collect the answers to my questions now.