"W-What?! What just happened?!"
"I don't know! But whatever it was, it’s bad!"
A roar, an explosion, and then a blinding flash.
Hex, who had been buffeted by the shockwave of the bursting magic power, shouted in a panic as the dust began to settle. Anhel replied, her voice taut with a sharp, prickly tension.
While everyone tightened their guard, sensing the abnormality of the situation, Melt stood alone, whispering with a pale face.
"That magic power... it’s from that Demonic Sword?! But how? Why?"
It was the same blood-colored, Reddish-black Magic Power she had seen when she and Yugo faced Batz.
Melt watched as that same Torrent of Magic Power erupted before her eyes once more. She shook her head in disbelief, then suddenly snapped to her senses and screamed toward the battlefield.
"Yugo?! Answer me, Yugo!"
"...Don't worry, Melt. I'm okay. But—!"
As the dust clouds kicked up by the impact cleared, Yugo stood his ground, replying to Melt without looking back.
He had fortunately escaped major damage by diving to the ground at the last second, but the threat had not yet passed.
Yugo sharpened his vigilance as he stared at Isaac. The man’s Twin Swords and his entire body were crackling with Reddish-black Magic Power. Isaac began to scream, laughing like a madman.
"Heh-heh-heh-heh! Hyahahaha! This is incredible! So this is the power that was sleeping inside me? The power of the Demonic Sword?! I can feel a level of power I've never known before!"
"Isaac! Where did you get those swords?!"
Having heard the term "Demonic Sword" escape Isaac's lips, Yugo pressed him for answers, his suspicions confirmed.
The Demonic Sword had been stolen from the Security Force just days ago. When asked why he possessed a weapon with that same power, Isaac merely grinned with a face full of madness.
"Heh... heh-heh! What does it matter? There's no point in telling someone who’s about to be minced into ribbons!"
"—!"
The bloodlust radiating from Isaac swelled and exploded.
The next instant, just as Yugo was pushed back by the sheer pressure, Isaac vanished, closing the distance between them in a heartbeat.
(You've got to be kidding me! He's way too fast!)
Isaac was now several times swifter than he had been at the very start of the duel when he was in perfect condition.
He moved at a speed that made it nearly impossible to track him with the naked eye—almost as if he were teleporting. Sensing that Isaac was about to swing his Twin Swords with that crazed smile, Yugo rolled across the ground at the last possible second to evade the strike.
"That was close! What the hell is going on with him?!"
Isaac's movements seemed cruder than before, lacking his usual refinement.
However, his sheer, overwhelming speed made him an absolute threat to Yugo regardless.
Furthermore, it wasn't just his speed. There was a dangerous, lethal quality about him that warned Yugo that a single hit would be the end.
As Yugo broke into a cold sweat inside his armor, forced back into a duel he thought he had already won, the crazed Isaac spoke with a twisted sense of glee.
"So close, so close! I really thought that one would hit! But oh well. Right now, I am the strongest. I’ll never lose to anyone. I’m going to carve you into little pieces for looking down on me! Heh-heh-heh-heh!"
"...It’s the same as Batz. He’s been completely consumed by the Demonic Sword."
A Cursed Magic Item that grants the wielder immense power in exchange for painting their heart with madness... that was the Demonic Sword.
Recalling Jinba's explanation and the state of Batz when he used the weapon, Yugo groaned. He realized that Isaac had also been swallowed by that dark power.
He didn't know how Isaac had obtained the weapon, but he didn't have the luxury of contemplating it. Standing before him was a man with skills far superior to Batz, now wielding two of those swords at once.
With a strange, high-pitched hum, Isaac swung a Demonic Sword, sending a blood-colored Magic Power Slash flying toward Yugo at high speed.
As Yugo evaded the projectile and struggled to keep up, Isaac called out to him, sounding delighted.
"How do you like it? This is my True Power! I was already the strongest, but by obtaining the power of the Demonic Sword, I have evolved into the Strongest Being! I have become a genuine, Invincible Hero!"
"You 'obtained' its power? You mean you were consumed by it! You aren't using that Demonic Sword; the Demonic Sword is using you! You aren't a hero anymore! You're just a monster rampaging on pure emotion!"
"Shut up! Don't be jealous of my strength, you piece of trash... Huh?"
"—?!"
Isaac had been looking down on Yugo, intoxicated by his own strength, but an expression of confusion crossed his face when he noticed blood dripping from his nose.
He tried to wipe it away with his finger, but the blood kept gushing out. He didn't seem to understand why. In a state of mental shutdown, he muttered while laughing crazily.
"Ahahaha! I guess I just got too excited and popped a vessel. Well, whatever! I’m in peak condition right now!"
Isaac laughed, but then blood began to stream from his eyes as well.
No matter how he looked at it, his condition was far from "peak," but the man himself seemed incapable of comprehending the horror of his own state.
Seeing Isaac like this made Yugo’s blood run cold.
He wasn't intimidated by the madness, but by the realization that Isaac’s life was in immediate danger.
A Life Force Advance... that was the only way to describe it.
Just before his rampage, Isaac had reached the absolute limit of his physical stamina. Both his body and mind had been pushed to their breaking point.
Yet now, from the moment the Demonic Sword claimed his heart, his physical abilities had improved explosively.
This wasn't just a simple magical reinforcement. The Demonic Sword had forcibly removed his internal Limiter, allowing Isaac to perform movements that completely ignored the concepts of fatigue or physical strain.
However, destroying those limiters meant his body was no longer being protected from the burden of its own power.
The hemorrhaging was a desperate danger signal from Isaac's flesh, which could no longer withstand the backlash of such miraculous speed. If he continued to fight, his body would eventually suffer a total collapse.
Because he possessed such excellent natural talent, the Demonic Sword was able to draw out even more power than usual. To make matters worse, Isaac was a Twin-sword User; he was wielding two swords, meaning the burden on his body was doubled.
"Isaac, stop this! If you keep going, you're going to die!"
"Heh... heh-heh! No way! I’m the strongest! I have power that won't lose to anyone! I can do anything alone now! I’m never letting go of this power!"
Completely captivated by the sword’s influence, Isaac was drowning in his own power and refused to listen to reason.
Yugo watched him intently—a man intoxicated by his own strength, deaf to the screams his own body was making. Making a grim decision, Yugo turned and shouted toward Anhel in the spectator seats.