Nameless King

The first skirmish ended with Gisle flying aside, disappearing among the massive trees and forest thicket. However, Wain was the one who received the first wound, and though it was only a scratch, it showed that Gisle had potential.

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

After a while, Gisle emerged from the woods, kicking off the dust and a few leaves that had fallen on him.

"Damn, that was stronger than I expected. Usually, the wind is great for reducing enemy speed as well as damage, but even so, it was damned dangerous." Gisle said calmly as a slight smile appeared on his face. He immediately noticed the scratch on Wain's face and Gisle knew it was a real success.

"Why aren't you regenerating?" Gisle asked in confusion since Wain could heal such a simple wound in a second.

Wain was silent for a while until he said, "Well, because I had an idea. How about this, if you give me nine more wounds, even if it's just scratches, I'll tell you my story with Gladius. I think it would help you with awakening consciousness in your weapon if you need it."

Gisle's eyes went wide and a shiver ran through his body as Wain's words meant so much more than just useful information.

'Wait...Is it really possible...?' Gisle inwardly muttered while in disbelief, 'Hasn't Gladius always had consciousness...? In that case, how did Wain achieve it? Damn, I must find out!" Gisle inwardly exclaimed, clenching his fists tightly.

"However, with every scratch I get, I'm going to get more serious. I'm not saying I'm not serious now, but we both realize that if I used all my strength, you'd be dead already." Wain said calmly with a shrug.

Gisle gulped with a slight nod.

"Fine, then let's get on with it." Wain's eyes narrowed as he took a step forward.

A the same moment, his silhouette blurred and he appeared next to Gisle with his sword drawn to attack. The attack was simple but very fast, enough to cut off Gisle's arm.

'Fuck! He's gotten so much faster! I have to do it too!' Gisle internally exclaimed as several wind currents formed around his feet. The two whirlwinds made him much faster, so Gisle managed to step aside at the last moment.

A moment later, the tip of Wain's sword touched the ground. There was a quake as a wide gap appeared ahead, dividing part of the field in two.

Gisle stared at it with a frightened look since he knew that if he had been in front of Wain, it would have cut him.

'He said he would get more serious after every wound he received...? Damn, in that case, I'd better start using something stronger too.' Gisle muttered inwardly before raising his katana above his head, gripping its hilt tightly.

'Oh... Looks like something interesting is about to happen.' Wain smiled weakly, preparing to attack.

Whoooooooooooosh.

A tremendous amount of energy erupted from Gisle as multiple streams of wind appeared beside him, all of them heading toward the katana, endowing the weapon with wind power and greatly increasing its size.

"You cut the ground with a simple swing of your sword, but with this attack, I can even cut through a mountain, so be prepared to be wounded more seriously than a scratch!" Gisle exclaimed swinging his katana with lightning speed.

Wain could have dodged it by jumping aside, but he wasn't going to do that as he understood that this fight was a test for Gisle that would help him become stronger, so Wain had to let him fight until he ran out of strength.

"You can cut a mountain? Not bad, but the wind can do more!" Wain said with an excited expression before thrusting the Gladius into the ground and stepping forward.

At the same moment, a massive wind blade emerged from the katana, destroying everything in its path. The nearby trees were uprooted as well as the boulders shattered into many pieces, unable to withstand such powerful pressure.

Wain's coat fluttered violently, it seemed like it could fly off at any moment due to a strong gust of wind while Wain stood firmly in place.

"Very nice, with that attack you could easily wound a monster on the Absolute Stage, however, it's not enough for me." Wain's pupils narrowed as he abruptly slammed his palms together, clutching the blade between them.

The wind blade emitting a piercing sweat tried to reach Wain and cut him, but no matter how hard it tried, it could make no further progress as if Wain was an insurmountable barrier, then Wain tilted his palms slightly.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

The blade cracked as a moment later it shattered into a multitude of shards, like a mirror. They were carried away by a random stream of wind, merging with it along the way.

"Not bad, not bad at all." Wain nodded his head in a confident manner, "However, you should have done something more interesting if you wanted to hurt me."

"Hah, are you sure about that?" Gisle smirked, pointing to Wain's hands, his fingers had several scratches on them, six in all.

"I couldn't catch your face it's true, but even though you blocked my attack, you still took damage. That's more than enough to be a success." Gisle said contentedly with flaming eyes.

Wain shook his head as a slight smile appeared on his face, "You realize what's about to happen, don't you? You've already inflicted seven wounds on me, so only three are left to win. I can't lose that fast, so be acceptable, use everything you've got if you don't want to die."

With those words, Wain released some of his aura as massive streams of darkness spilled around him like rivers. Though Wain was far away, Gisle felt the terrifying pressure emanating from him as Gisle began to breathe heavily.

'Damn, he isn't joking. Well, I was going to do it anyway.' Gisle inwardly muttered preparing to activate a Beyond and the Form at once.