Rematch

Frondier looked at Renzo’s weapon.

‘……A spear.’

Renzo’s great sword was shattered by Mjölnir. Instead, he was holding a spear that was longer than his height in his right hand. It heightened Frondier’s tension.

Renzo’s God, Ares, is the master of all weapons as his name suggests, but he especially excels in spearmanship. He even has a beloved spear among spears called ‘Enkephalos.’

If that spear were Enkephalos, then that means Renzo is holding his God’s beloved spear.

“How long are you going to stay on top of the train? Do you want to blow up with the passengers?”

Renzo deliberately didn’t attack Frondier who was on top of the train. He had no interest in the other passengers. He had no intention of taking them hostage.

Renzo just wanted to have a proper fight with Frondier. Passengers were just a hindrance.

“How kind of you.”

After saying that, Frondier took a breath.

“Menosorpo.”

A huge Rune unfolded along with his words. Renzo let out a chuckle upon seeing the scale of the infinitely spreading Rune. He took a deep breath as if he smelled a pleasant scent.

“Yeah, now I remember. That Rune, you had that.”

Frondier used his aura to rise up using Menosorpo. Renzo’s eyes lit up.

‘He’s using aura. I can feel it but I can’t see it with my eyes. An aura of ‘colorlessness’!’

Renzo swallowed his exclamation and spoke.

“An aura, and ‘flight.’ You’ve improved a lot while I was gone, Frondier.”

Frondier, who was watching Renzo chattering away, shifted his gaze to his right arm whether it was in provocation or sincerity.

It was Renzo’s prosthetic arm.

“I’ve seen that somewhere.”

“I got one. It’s frustrating, but it’s definitely sturdier than my bare arm. You won’t be able to cut it off easily anymore. Of course, that’s only if you manage to pierce through my aura.”

Frondier observed the prosthetic arm equipped on Renzo. The joint. It wasn’t properly done, it was twisted by force. The state of the inside of his arm must be gruesome.

"......Thompson's, huh."

Frondier let out a meaningful laugh.

"Just like you, Renzo."

"──Kr."

Renzo's clothes billowed. Aura wrapped around his body, and a red energy draped over it.

Aura and the divine power of Ares. Renzo released all of it in an instant. The complacency he had shown when they first met, the constraint that he shouldn't kill Frondier, all of it disappeared. Thanks to this, Renzo's face was now lifted in exhilaration.

"I won't hold back anymore. I'll kill you with all my strength."

With a refreshing smile, yet with a ferocity that didn't match, Renzo said, shooting a fierce killing intent towards Frondier.

Frondier received that smile with a smile of his own.

"Don't be too hard."

Weaving

Grade - Legendary

Dragon Heart

Frondier ingested the Dragon Heart he had Weaving. His mana exploded in growth, and the tie he wore shone brightly. The colorless aura was affected and surged greatly.

"I'm the one who made it the most fun for you, right?"

Frondier's fierce aura and fearless words. Renzo looked at them with surprised eyes for a moment, then smiled again.

"That's right. Indeed."

Clunk- Clunk-

Behind Frondier, the train of the aerial railway was crossing to the other side.

Both instinctively knew. The moment the train completely disappeared would be the start of their battle. Frondier didn't want to involve the citizens, and Renzo wanted Frondier at full strength. Their desires were aligned.

Though it was a short time until the train disappeared, Renzo felt his body itching, opening and closing his fist.

And the moment the train completely vanished, Renzo's smile deepened.

"Here we go...?"

Renzo attempted to charge at Frondier but suddenly leaned to one side. His body's balance was off.

Instinctively, he looked to his left. There was a sword floating in mid-air.

Frondier had cut the thread that was supporting Renzo with that sword. With nothing to support him, Renzo fell through the air.

'How did he know!'

Renzo fell. Looking down at him, Frondier said,

"What a face, as if asking how I knew."

Frondier sneered with an evil face. His ruthless act didn't end there.

Weaving

Rank - Divine

Khryselakatos, Lokhiera

Frondier wove a bow and arrow, aiming at the falling Renzo.

"Just floating there required Cain's help, so blocking this while falling must be difficult, right?"

"──This,"

Before Renzo could say anything,

The harmony of 'Falling Rain' and 'Sure Hit' was launched.

Pfffthhhh-!!

Turning into 'fireworks', they flew towards Renzo.

"You cowardly baaaaastard!!!"

Spear Technique

Renzo Original

From left to right

Even while falling, Renzo extended his spear and swung it. The momentum, filled with divine power and aura, resembled a storm. Many arrows were caught in this wind and blown away.

This was a technique used in previous battle to drop 'Falling Rain', but this time, it's not the same 'Falling Rain'.

"It's really like a heavy rain!"

And all of it was aiming for Renzo. Even after being pushed back once, there were still many arrows left.

Renzo once compared 'Falling Rain' to a hundred archers, but now the arrows had multiplied to ten thousand in an instant.

If the comparison held, now the arrows were in the 'legion' category.

Renzo's hand went behind his back.

"I didn't want to show this so soon!"

What Renzo took out from behind his back was a shield. It wasn't very big since he could hide it with his back.

"Ha!"

Clang!

Renzo clashed the spear and shield together once. And the moment he pushed the shield forward.

Tatatatang!!

The arrows raining down were deflected. Not only those that hit the shield but also arrows outside the shield's range began to deflect the moment they got close to Renzo.

"What's that?"

Frondier narrowed his eyes at the scene. That small shield was blocking every incoming attack regardless of its area. In this case, being small wasn't a disadvantage at all.

"It's not Renzo's aura. It's the power of the shield."

If he had been as skilled in manipulating aura like Pascal, spreading it out like a shield, there wouldn't have been any need to bring out that shield in the first place. He was hiding it behind his back as if it was something important.

"…So, how is it?"

After the noisy hiss of arrows had ceased, Renzo, who had been kneeling on the ground, stood up. There wasn't a single scratch on his body.

He had blocked the explosion of fireworks without any damage.

However, Renzo's shoulders drooped slightly, and the breath he exhaled was long and deep.

'…He's relieved. That means he was tense.'

Frondier confirmed that. Renzo was terrible at hiding his expressions and had no acting skills.

'If he could block it anyway, why was he tense?'

Maybe that shield, although it appears perfect, isn't? Is Renzo unscathed now partly due to luck?

"I can't let it happen like this!"

Renzo shouted loudly at that moment.

"I almost forgot. You're the type who's good at using your wits!"

Renzo jumped on the spot.

By jumping, he reached the same eye level as the flying Frondier.

"…This crazy bastard."

"Right, did you call me!"

Clang!

Frondier quickly drew a short sword, and it collided with Renzo's spear.

'Ugh!'

Frondier staggered. If it came down to a simple contest of strength, Frondier was at a disadvantage.

However.

"Damn it, stop hovering cowardly!"

Since Renzo had simply jumped up to attack, he lacked the support to keep pushing Frondier back. After clashing weapons once, he fell back to the ground.

Frondier looked down at Renzo, thought.

'I need to figure out what that shield is. And that spear too.'

Renzo, holding both a shield and a spear. Frondier felt uneasy looking at that silhouette.

But how to find out? So far, I've focused on understanding the ins and outs of my enemies by using the information I already knew and spending time on it.

If they were hiding something, I would test various methods and infer from there.

There's no way they would tell me if I just asked. All the enemies I've met so far have been clever–

‘…no, wait.’