Chapter 9: The Contradictory Holy Sword Showdown! A Fateful Clash of Blades!

Zeros calmly blocked the combined attacks of the two reincarnated warriors’ Holy Swords without suffering so much as a scratch.

His Holy Sword, Perfect, possessed the effect of being “absolutely impossible to cut,” making it the exact opposite of Yario’s sword, which possessed the effect of being able to “cut absolutely anything.”

Its defensive power was overwhelming. Even attacks with tremendous destructive force could be stopped without leaving a single wound.

“W-What is this…?! I always prided myself on there being nothing I couldn’t cut…!”

“Ono, ono… Same here… This has never happened before…”

Choho and Tasuke, stunned by the realization of their defeat, completely lost their will to fight.

Still smiling, Zeros looked down on them.

“Pathetic weaklings…”

Then he shifted his gaze toward Yario.

“Kukukuku! Then I suppose I’ll fight you next!”

“What?!”

Yario felt a chill run through him.

Seretine immediately stepped forward and protested.

“Why does it have to come to that?!”

But Zeros dismissed her without hesitation.

“Stay out of this, woman! Yario is the only one I care about!”

“I’ve had my eye on you ever since you obtained that Holy Sword that can cut through anything!”

“Why are you treating me like an enemy?! Aren’t we both heroes?”

“I’ve been dying to know which one would win if your Holy Sword and mine collided!”

A bead of sweat rolled down Yario’s cheek.

This was what people called a contradiction.

A Holy Sword that could cut anything versus a Holy Sword that could never be cut.

Which would win?

There was no way to know.

No one could even imagine the outcome.

The tension was so intense that everyone held their breath.

Perhaps convinced that his own victory was certain, Zeros slowly approached one step at a time.

“Let’s settle which one is stronger! And of course, the loser dies!”

“Ugh…!”

Yario imagined what would happen.

If his Holy Sword lost, he himself would be sliced in half and die screaming, “GYAAAAH!”

Seretine turned toward him.

“You don’t have to accept such a ridiculous fight!”

“B-But… he clearly has no intention of backing down…”

Perhaps having made up his mind, Yario drew the Holy Sword Absolute from its sheath.

Seretine stared at him in disbelief.

“Sorry,” Yario muttered.

“Don’t you dare lose!”

“Yeah!”

With Seretine watching him, Yario continued forward.

Yario and Zeros glared at each other with serious expressions.

Then they raised their Holy Swords, each possessing an effect that directly opposed the other.

Yario sensed that the battle would probably be decided in a single instant.

“You really won’t give up on this fight?”

“Getting scared now? I’ve been itching to defeat you! And so has this Holy Sword Perfect!”

“Fine. But don’t think the Holy Swords alone will decide the winner!”

“What nonsense are you talking about?!”

Zeros, burning with excitement all by himself, was clearly intoxicated by the supposedly perfect power of his Holy Sword.

That was when something clicked in Yario’s mind.

Still, he hesitated to settle the battle that way.

“I have nothing more to say… Come on. Let’s fight!”

“Then, Hero Yario!! DIE!!”

Zeros raised the invincible Holy Sword that could never be cut and charged forward.

The overwhelming pressure of his attack terrified Yario, but there was nowhere to run.

Steeling himself, Yario charged as well.

At the same time, he extended the hilt of Holy Sword Absolute, transforming it into a spear, and thrust forward with all his strength.

“TAKE THIS!! STRIKE LANCER!!”

“GUGYAAAAH!!”

Incredibly, Yario’s Holy Spear pierced straight through Zeros’s chest, sending blood spraying into the air.

That was right.

Zeros had become so dependent on his Holy Sword’s ability that he had completely forgotten about attack range.

No matter how incredible a Holy Sword might be, if your opponent lands the first attack, you cannot win.

Still utterly stunned, Zeros collapsed face-first onto the ground with a heavy thud.

“Th-That’s impossible…?! I have this invincible Holy Sword… How could I possibly lose…?!”

Still lying on the ground, unable to believe his defeat, Zeros looked up at Yario.

“It’s true that if our Holy Swords had actually clashed blade against blade, even I don’t know which one would have won. But there’s more to a fight than the weapons themselves. Range matters too. If you forget something like that, you can lose even a battle you should have been able to win.”

“I-I see… So I lost because… I became arrogant over the power of my Holy Sword… G-Goddamn…”

Zeros lowered his face to the ground and died.

His body went limp.

“Log, log! He seriously won!”

“That’s Yario for you!”

Choho and Tasuke were deeply impressed by Yario’s quick thinking and began to respect him.

Perhaps…

Maybe this man really could defeat the Demon King.

The two stood up and extended their hands.

“We’re counting on you from now on!”

They exchanged handshakes of friendship.

And so, Yario and Seretine added the reincarnated Choho and the otherworlder Tasuke to their party and once again continued their journey.

They also obtained the Holy Sword Perfect, completing their now truly perfect set of equipment.