He grunted.
"Last-second save..."
Lexa calmly summoned two more swords.
Unlike the others...
These glowed a deeper crimson.
Their aura felt entirely different.
They didn't wait for commands.
The instant they materialized...
They moved with wills of their own, following only the simplest instructions Lexa had engraved into them beforehand.
Oddly enough...
Neither attacked Gorgon.
Instead...
They remained hovering beside her.
Lexa frowned.
"Why aren't the Blood Knight swords joining the battle?"
Then...
The sky darkened.
A gigantic shadow swallowed her.
"Oh..."
"So you did have something else hidden."
Gorgon, still desperately defending himself, glanced upward.
"She isn't recalling those six swords to defend herself?"
"I was hoping she'd panic..."
"Why?"
"Are those two swords enough?"
Seconds later...
He received his answer.
One crimson sword calmly raised its tip.
A gigantic mana-forged hammer descended.
The tiny sword met it head-on.
The hammer stopped.
It simply...
Couldn't move any farther.
The mountain beneath them trembled violently.
The second crimson sword vanished.
Its speed far surpassed the six swords attacking Gorgon.
Nearly three times faster.
Before anyone could follow it—
It pierced straight through the chest of Gorgon's mana clone.
The clone shattered instantly.
Disappearing.
Gorgon sighed.
There was no point continuing.
The six broadswords remained aimed directly at him.
Lexa had quietly sheathed her own sword sometime during the exchange.
He lowered his hammer.
"I surrender."
Dante smiled.
"Decent."
"You two can stop."
Gorgon nodded.
Both he and Lexa walked back toward the group.
Dante casually snapped his fingers.
An impossibly dense wave of mana flooded the area.
Jurian.
Aishwani.
Eliosphere.
Elric.
Amber.
Even Gorgon himself...
Everyone stared in complete disbelief.
Matter itself seemed to be manipulated.
Flesh rapidly regenerated.
Blood replenished itself.
Broken tissue restored.
Lexa's ruptured eardrums healed.
Her hearing slowly returned.
Within less than ten seconds...
Both fighters stood as though they had never battled at all.
Every gaze slowly turned toward Dante.
Meanwhile...
He remained completely unconcerned.
His hand lazily continued caressing Vexion's backside.
"What do you think, Lexa?"
Lexa smiled.
She gave Gorgon a respectful nod before turning toward Dante.
She couldn't help chuckling after seeing everyone's stunned expressions directed at her master.
"He's good."
"Really good."
"His tactical awareness is even higher than Elric's was."
Elric coughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment.
Lexa continued.
"He understood his own strengths."
"He immediately sought to overwhelm me before I could dictate the pace."
"He knew retreating wasn't an option against someone faster than himself."
"So he committed entirely to offense."
"He even intentionally accepted injuries..."
"...simply to allow his skill to fully come into play."
Vexion, still seated comfortably on her master's lap, nodded in agreement.
"Indeed, Master. He's very good. Good enough that I would like you to recruit him."
Jurian was about to speak, but the shock still hadn't left him.
Dante can casually manipulate such dense mana...?
Isn't this guy supposed to be Level 1?
Could he actually be Level 3...?
No... impossible. Level 4 students are almost exclusively third and fourth years.
Then... how?
Unable to understand it, he instinctively turned toward Aishwani.
She didn't even bother looking back.
Her eyes remained fixed on Dante.
His earlier words echoed through her mind.
"You and Jurian are strong."
Was he mocking us...?
Or... did he simply know he was stronger than both of us, so he could casually say something like that?
Dante, meanwhile, simply nodded before gently patting Vexion's backside.
She immediately understood what he wanted.
Her lips formed a small pout.
"Master..."
Dante chuckled.
"I need our faction members to see your strength as well."
He smiled mischievously.
"Think of it this way."
"The faster you finish..."
"The faster you get to come back."
He paused.
"Within reason, of course."
Vexion sighed dramatically.
She reluctantly shifted her hips before pressing herself one last time against the persistent hardness beneath her, rubbing teasingly against it through her dress.
Almost unwillingly...
She stood.
Everyone who had been looking at Dante with admiration instinctively looked away.
Some things simply refused to change.
The sky might collapse.
The stars might lose their light.
The world itself might come to an end...
But one thing remained absolute.
Whenever Vexion wasn't actively sheathing it...
Everyone could always rely on Dante's Sword of Justice to stand proudly for what's right.