"We barely made it in time… though 'in time' might be a stretch. Regardless, you seem to be breathing, Issei."
"You fought well to hold out this long. Rest now, Sekiryuutei Boy. We'll take it from here."
My eyes went wide as I looked at the two men standing in front of me as shields.
One was the strongest swordsman of this world, the previous wielder of Durandal. The other was the ultimate warrior known as the 'Sword Saint' in the alternate world of Ast Arde—and one of my personal masters.
Vasco Strada and Morris Noah had rushed to my side.
Hey, hey, hey, are you serious!? To see these two standing side-by-side like this…!
Even Asem, having absorbed Trihexa and mutated into an ogre-like demon, widened his eyes at their arrival.
"Aha… To think you two would show up here… Swordsmen—no, even including every other archetype, you two might just be the strongest pair imaginable."
At Asem's words, Master Morris let out a dry smirk.
"Hey now, since when did we become a 'pair'? We just happened to bump into each other on the way here. Well, taking you on with this old man helping out is definitely a bonus, though."
Hearing Morris's response, Old Man Strada let his wrinkled face soften into a smile.
"Fufu, those are my thoughts exactly. Now then, God of another world. It appears you were defeated by Sekiryuutei Boy, yet you absorbed the Beast of the Apocalypse to continue this feud?"
In an instant, Strada's warm smile vanished. His eyes narrowed, sending a piercing gaze that seemed to see right through Asem. It was a glare so intense it was impossible to believe it belonged to an octogenarian.
In his hand was a replica of Durandal. However, its design felt subtly different from before—a modified, upgraded version, perhaps? Despite the overwhelming holy aura wrapping around it, there wasn't a single tremor in his stance. Truly remarkable.
Master Morris hadn't even drawn his weapons yet, but like Strada, he exuded a sharp gaze and a dense, quiet aura.
Both of them intended to cut Asem down depending on his next answer. They were planning to crush Asem head-on, even after he had taken in Trihexa…!
Facing the intense pressure from the two swordsmen, Asem gave a faint, light chuckle.
"You already know the answer without needing to ask, don't you? You might be suppressing your killer intent, but the moment I make a suspicious move… Ah, terrifying, truly terrifying. But do you honestly believe those aging bodies can match me as I am now? You must be heavily exhausted from your battle with Vals, Morris Noah."
"Well, yeah. Even though Asia healed me up before I got here, I'm definitely not at one hundred percent stamina."
So Master was fighting Vals.
The fact that he was standing here meant he had beaten Vals… Seriously, this guy is unreal. He's a genuine cheat character.
However, Master Morris had clearly taken a toll. Though Asia's healing had removed any physical wounds, his clothes were shredded and tattered all over. No matter how insane Master was, taking on an Asem powered up by Trihexa in a fatigued state was a tall order.
And the same went for Old Man Strada. While he didn't seem exhausted, as Asem said, he was an old man. No matter how legendary he was, his stamina was bound to run out quickly.
Even with the two of them teaming up, as things stood—
"You speak the truth, God of another world," Old Man Strada said, nodding slowly.
"Even for me, my body would not hold out like this. However…"
Strada reached into his coat and produced a small vial. Inside was a liquid emitting a soft, faint light.
"Former Governor-General Azazel made a certain proposal to me. By combining the technologies of the Three Great Factions… he could reverse the age of my physical body."
WHAT…!?
Azazel-sensei made a proposal like that to this old man!?
Well, sure, if you combine the tech of the Three Factions, de-aging a single human body should be well within the realm of possibility. But de-aging Vasco Strada means—
"With this secret elixir, I shall return to the soldier I was in my prime."
Strada flicked the cap off with his thumb and downed the contents in one gulp. He crushed the empty vial in his grip.
Instantly, his body underwent a transformation. Thick steam began pouring out from his entire frame. As the steam grew denser, his physique broadened, and the youthful luster returned to his skin. When the mist finally cleared, standing there was… Vasco Strada in his fifties, looking roughly the same age as Master Morris.
A monstrous, crushing aura erupted from his body.
"My prime was not in my teens or twenties," the rejuvenated Strada declared.
"The mind is strongly tethered to the physical form. That is the conclusion I reached after fighting countless monsters and supernatural beings. Returning to a body in its teens or twenties would inevitably bring back even a fraction of the recklessness of youth. In a battlefield like this, such an immature mindset would be fatal. Therefore, I must return to the age where the balance between mind and body is honed to its absolute limit. For me, that age was fifty."
The connection between mind and body… Master had mentioned that concept to me before. I see—so instead of returning to his physical peak, he chose the age where his mental and physical state were perfectly balanced.
Master Morris let out a low whistle at the sight of the rejuvenated Strada.
"Oho, now that's nice. That bastard Azazel was holding onto something good, huh? If you had this earlier, we could've sparred like this way sooner. Right, old man?"
"Hmph. We shall cross blades to our heart's content once this battle is over."
The two smiled fearlessly.
…Are these guys seriously getting excited about finding a rival they can go all-out against?!
Asem remarked, "How fascinating. Two of humanity's strongest standing before me."
"Hey, hey. Old man Strada might be human, but I've been reincarnated into a Devil, you know? Man, how many times have we had this exchange? Am I the strongest… Devil now? Though, calling myself a Devil feels off since my magic capacity is terrible and I only just got reincarnated recently."
Master stroked his chin, pondering. Then, as if a brilliant idea hit him, he clapped his hands together.
"How about 'The Two Strongest Old Men' then? That fits us perfectly right now."
The rejuvenated Strada assumed a stance with Durandal, while Master Morris drew his twin swords.
And then—
"Listen up, God. Before we cut you down, I've got one thing to say. ——Don't underestimate old men!"
It happened in a flash.
In less than the blink of an eye, the clash had already begun.
Master Morris and the rejuvenated Old Man Strada, who had been standing right in front of me, closed the distance instantly without making a sound, engaging Asem in close combat.
Asem blocked Master's swords with a black blade formed from his aura, and used his monstrously enlarged left gauntlet to catch Strada's Durandal.
"HAH! To stop both our blades at once, you've got some skill!"
"That's my line! Forcing me to draw my weapon…!"
Asem swung his black sword, blowing Master back. He then grabbed Durandal with his gauntlet and hurled Strada through the air with raw strength.
Flipped away, Old Man Strada executed a seamless mid-air somersault, landing effortlessly—and then vanished!
Strada reappeared directly behind Asem, swinging Durandal with terrifying force! A colossal blast of holy aura unleashed alongside the slash!
Asem caught the holy aura with his gauntlet, but the sheer force knocked him backward. Channeling energy into his gauntlet, Asem shattered the holy aura and moved to counterattack.
However, as if anticipating this exact sequence, Master Morris charged through the shattered fragments of holy energy right behind it!
"RAAAAAH!"
Master swung his sword, pitch-black with dense sword pressure. The razor-sharp strike sliced right through the aura blade Asem had created!
He cut through Asem's aura blade!? How insane is this old guy!?
"Cutting my sword!? Impressive! But—!"
Asem pointed his index finger at the two old men, condensing his aura at the tip. Dark, wicked energy gathered rapidly before firing off as a destructive beam of colossal proportions!
What insane power… Is this the strength of Asem after taking in Trihexa…!?
The energy beam roared straight toward Old Man Strada—
"Hoh, quite impressive… This may very well be the greatest strike among all the monsters I have faced. However—"
SWISH!
Strada swung Durandal once.
The pitch-black wave was bisected cleanly down the middle, rushing harmlessly past both sides of Strada's shoulders.
"You absorbed that beast, did you not? Surely this is not the limit of your power?" Strada remarked calmly, without a trace of panic or exhaustion.
…I was speechless. Master was insane, but this old man was on a whole other level too.
Asem let out a dry, dumbfounded laugh. "Good grief… Talk about genuine cheat characters. Though, I don't intend to go down that easily either."
With that, Asem surged with dark aura once more, manifests a black scythe in his right hand and a sword in his left. Taking a single step forward, he closed in on the two at godlike speed.
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