Among all the people Rozen had met in his lifetime, if one were to speak of swordsmanship, then the strongest person was only one.
That was his first lover, the very first with whom Rozen had confirmed a relationship—the swordswoman known in her world as the strongest in existence, the Blazer— Edelweiss.
The one hailed as "Twin-Wings", the strongest swordswoman.
In terms of overall strength, perhaps she was not the strongest among all the people Rozen knew, but in terms of pure swordsmanship, Rozen had never seen anyone who could surpass her.
After all, Edelweiss's sword moved like the wind, soundless and formless. Every action was flawless, without even the slightest loss of power that could cause sound, and each movement transcended human cognition—her output of power was the extremity between "zero and one hundred," motion and stillness pushed to their absolute limits.
As a result, wherever Twin-Wings' sword passed, even rifts in space would be left behind, wounding anyone who dared to approach.
Such was Edelweiss: her very sword aura alone could cut matter, she could split stone with nothing but a piece of paper, and even cleave through space itself. Terrifying beyond measure.
And none of this was achieved through mysteries or magecraft. It was a great feat attained solely by skill.
It could be said that, if there were a Sword God in this world, the authority of such a being would amount to no more than this.
Edelweiss's swordsmanship had already reached the divine realm—untouchable by any other.
Though Rozen had not met Edelweiss in a long time, through the Absolute Contract they shared, he conversed with this first lover of his almost every single day.
Thus, even though Edelweiss had not yet returned to his side, she knew everything about Rozen.
And when Edelweiss learned of Rozen's Mind's Eye, she once said this to him:
"Since your Mind's Eye can peer into the microscopic world, see through all phenomena, allowing you to perfectly manipulate mana and perceive all weaknesses—then my swordsmanship should be realizable through you, shouldn't it?"
Indeed.
The sword of Twin-Wings could be realized through Rozen.
Because Mind's Eye could discern every phenomenon and weakness, so long as his level was high enough, Rozen could make every movement flawless, wasting not the slightest shred of power, transcending human cognition, and releasing strength in the extremity of "zero and one hundred"—just like Edelweiss.
Ordinarily, to achieve this, one would need not only supreme mastery of swordsmanship, but also the ability to unleash every ounce of muscular strength in a single, instantaneous action.
Such actions could not be done by human neural signals, which simply lacked the transmission rate.
To make it possible, one would need to alter the very signaling of the brain, increasing both the density and brevity of combat instructions.
That was something Rozen had never been able to do in the past.
After all, he was not even a swordsman to begin with.
For one who was no swordsman to aspire to the greatest swordsmanship—was that not a fool's dream?
But now, Rozen could achieve it.
The perfected state of Mind's Eye could grant absolute control over both strength and movement.
The demands on the brain—after the sublimation of Foreign Mana—Rozen was now able to meet them.
Moreover, Edelweiss often explained to him the principles and essences of her swordsmanship.
Under the full power of Mind's Eye, not only could Rozen replicate this divine-level swordsmanship, but by combining it with future sight and the perception of phenomena, he could raise it to even greater heights.
And so, at this moment, Rozen swung the most perfect, most powerful sword strike of his life.
So strong that even the legendary War God could not react.
"Guh…!"
Blood sprayed from Quetzalcoatl's mouth.
The ultimate, soundless strike left the War God, who had just unleashed a blow of overwhelming power, unable to evade—her body was cleaved open by a massive wound stretching from her left shoulder to her right abdomen, spilling forth heavy blood.
"You…!"
Quetzalcoatl coughed blood, staggering backwards step by step, clutching her wound, her eyes filled with shock as she stared at Rozen.
It wasn't just Quetzalcoatl—Mash, Ryougi Shiki, and Ishtar all widened their eyes.
"J-Just now… what was that…!?"
"What happened…!?"
"I couldn't see a thing!"
Through the communicator, Olga Marie, Da Vinci, and Roman all cried out in stunned voices.
The ultimate sword Rozen had unleashed—they had not even been able to see it. Even Sheba had failed to record it, detecting only faint traces of mana left in the wake of the Holy Sword's slash.
As Quetzalcoatl staggered back, Rozen slowly raised his still-closed eyes.
"—"
The next instant, he slipped forward soundlessly, instantly arriving before Quetzalcoatl. The Solar Holy Sword in his hand flashed like fire and lightning, leaving behind a lingering white scar in space.
"Ghkk—!"
Quetzalcoatl saw only a blur, and then blood blossomed across her body.
Another massive wound carved itself across her frame—this time running from her right shoulder to her left abdomen, crossing the previous scar.
A giant, blood-red "×" was etched upon her body.
"Argh—!"
This time, Quetzalcoatl finally cried out in pain.
Rozen had dealt her yet another grievous wound.
The terrifying sight left everyone present utterly frozen.
Only Altera, still in spirit form, recognized the swordsmanship.
"…As I thought, it's that woman's sword…"
Altera's expression grew complex.
By now, Quetzalcoatl had also finally understood.
Feeling the searing pain across her body, she gritted her teeth. But instead of retreat, her eyes only blazed brighter with fighting spirit, and she took a step forward.
But at that step, her heart suddenly trembled with a foreboding dread, and she immediately halted.
A cut opened across her cheek.
It was not a fresh strike from Rozen—rather, it was the lingering aftermath of his earlier sword.
"Spatial fracture…!"
Quetzalcoatl instantly realized, and let out a light laugh despite herself.
"As expected of the War God—you saw through it in an instant."
Rozen opened his eyes at last, lowering Galatine in a perfectly natural motion, and smiled lightly at her.
"That area has already been cut by me. You can't pass through it, you know?"
Saying this, he raised his sword once more, pointing it toward Quetzalcoatl.
"Well? Will you surrender?"
Rozen asked calmly.
Those same words—but this time, they brought only a bitter smile to Quetzalcoatl's lips.
Her wounds, combined with the sheer awe of Rozen's divine swordsmanship, filled her heart with both joy and resignation.
Joy—at the wonder of Rozen's achievement.
Resignation—at her own current condition.
If possible, she truly wished to keep fighting.
Indeed, having witnessed such godlike swordsmanship, how could a War God not desire to continue?
But she knew all too well—given her current state, even if she continued, she could no longer enjoy the fight.
And so, mingling joy with resignation, Quetzalcoatl gave a small smile.
"…Yes."
She raised her hand.
"Rendición (I surrender)."
The Sun Goddess admitted defeat.
Rozen had claimed victory.