Chapter 426: A Completely Different Ending!
Clang—!
Each collision between the swords unleashed another violent shockwave.
Fortunately, the force of those shockwaves was finally contained within the arena.
Led by Kurono and Nene, every professional Mage-Knight and teacher worked together, with Stella supplying an enormous amount of mana to support them.
Only then were they able to contain the aftermath of Luke and "Edelweiss's" battle.
Clang, clang, clang, clang—!
This "Edelweiss" was no different from the real one.
Every movement she made was completely silent.
Only when her twin blades collided with Luke's sword would a clear metallic ring and deafening explosion echo through the venue.
The power of Twin-Wings Sword Style far exceeded ordinary imagination.
Forget normal Blazers. Even world-renowned fighters like Kurono and Nene were not confident they could withstand it.
Luke could only do so because he used the same Twin-Wings Sword Style and had spent considerable time sparring with Edelweiss.
By now, he had gained a deep understanding of her swordsmanship.
Otherwise, even if their swordsmanship stood in the same realm—and Luke might even be slightly superior—he would inevitably suffer injuries.
And even calling Luke slightly superior was somewhat misleading.
Luke had indeed defeated Edelweiss in swordsmanship, but his victories came mostly from adaptability and variation.
In terms of pure fundamentals, Edelweiss was probably still stronger.
Their exchange was unbelievably fast.
In only an instant, countless clear rings from colliding swords echoed throughout the venue.
Luke and "Edelweiss's" spectacular duel stunned the audience.
But honestly, almost no one could truly see what was happening.
Black and white sword lights flashed repeatedly, while deafening impacts and metallic clashes filled the arena.
It certainly looked spectacular and made everyone's blood boil.
But without reaching a certain realm, no one could even follow their shadows, much less understand the actual exchange.
Ignoring everyone else, Luke was genuinely enjoying himself.
However, as the battle continued, he gradually discovered the flaws of the "Edelweiss" before him.
In terms of raw combat ability, this "Edelweiss" was unquestionably powerful.
She might even surpass the real Edelweiss.
But beyond raw strength, she lacked two critically important factors.
Starfall Sword traced an unusual arc and knocked both platinum-white blades aside.
In the very next instant, Luke shifted into offense, blue starlight wrapping around his sword as he struck toward "Edelweiss."
Naturally, her platinum-white blades returned in time to block him.
Luke and "Edelweiss" continued exchanging countless strikes.
Most importantly—
Neither of them was injured!
That was right.
Neither Luke nor "Edelweiss" had landed a single clean strike on the other.
At first glance, there seemed to be nothing strange about that.
Their swordsmanship was at a similar level, and both used Twin-Wings Sword Style. Countering each other move for move seemed perfectly reasonable.
But in reality, the very fact that they could trade attacks and defenses evenly was already wrong!
During Luke's two previous battles against Edelweiss, when had he ever defeated her without being covered in blood and pushed to his absolute limit?
Forget forcing Edelweiss onto the defensive.
Merely blocking her sword strikes required Luke's complete concentration.
As those battles continued, he would gradually fail to keep up and begin accumulating injuries.
Yet now, although this "Edelweiss" possessed similarly terrifying strength, she only suppressed Luke at the beginning.
As the battle continued, their exchange gradually became even.
Why?
The answer was simple.
This was the first fatal flaw in the "Edelweiss" Sara had painted into existence.
Growth!
Forget monsters of talent like Luke and Edelweiss.
Even Ikki, Stella, and Touka could gradually grow during battle.
The more intense the battle, the faster that growth became.
Whenever Luke fought Edelweiss, he improved at an astonishing rate.
Within moments, he could become accustomed to the pressure and adapt to it.
Edelweiss was the same.
She improved at a pace no slower than Luke's, continuously maintaining her absolute advantage throughout the battle.
It was precisely because that overwhelming suppression lasted so long that Luke had to abandon less important attacks and trade stamina for opportunities to counterattack.
But the "Edelweiss" before him could not grow!
Forget rapid improvement.
A person materialized from Sara's painting could not improve even slightly during battle.
Whatever state they possessed when painted was the state they would remain in forever.
Consistency was an advantage in most circumstances.
Against Luke, however, it became a fatal weakness.
Luke did not need to do anything special.
As long as he dragged the battle out, he would soon adapt completely to this "Edelweiss's" swordsmanship.
In fact, although her presence remained terrifying, she was already beginning to lose the ability to make Luke feel the pressure of death.
Clang—!
Starfall Sword collided with a platinum-white blade once again.
And finally—
"Edelweiss" took one step backward!
From beginning to end, Luke had not even used Ser-Veresta.
Because besides her lack of growth, this "Edelweiss" possessed a second fatal flaw.
"Sigh…"
Luke's boiling blood gradually cooled.
His soaring fighting spirit slowly faded.
After calming down, he released a somewhat regretful sigh.
"In the end, you're still only an imitation."
Luke's words contained no real dissatisfaction.
Sara had already given him far more surprises than he expected.
He genuinely had no complaints.
At most, he simply felt reluctant that the battle had already reached its limit.
However, the audience interpreted things very differently.
Very few people knew Luke had defeated Twin-Wings Edelweiss twice.
In the eyes of the public, Luke and Edelweiss were existences that could not even be compared.
The idea that Luke could never win had taken root in almost everyone's mind the instant "Edelweiss" appeared.
The Seven Star Sword Art Festival was ultimately only a tournament for student Mage-Knights in the small nation of the Far East.
Edelweiss stood at the absolute summit of the world.
They belonged to entirely different dimensions.
That was the common understanding of everyone in the venue.
So when "Edelweiss" took that single step backward, it was almost as shocking as watching their entire worldview shatter.
Yet the person who found it hardest to accept was, naturally, Sara.
"I-Impossible…"
It was not that she had never considered the possibility that her Purple Caricature would lose to Luke.
In fact, she had expected this imitation of Edelweiss to eventually be defeated.
But Sara had never imagined that Luke would emerge without even a single wound!
According to her calculations, defeating "Edelweiss" should have consumed at least eighty or ninety percent of Luke's combat power.
Even if he was not completely exhausted, he should at least have been visibly drained.
But now…
"How could this possibly happen?!"
…
…
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