The Sword Servant towered over them, its jagged armor catching the dim cavern light like shards of obsidian. Its single blood-red eye locked onto Kelvin with pure hatred, the air between them so tense it felt like the cavern itself might shatter.
Kelvin tilted his head slightly, gauging the creature's movements.
"You're big," he muttered, "but you're not scary."
"Only Basic Tier Rank Three and it's this strong… If not for my physique, I'd already be dead. If this were higher-ranked…"
A chill ran through him.
The monster roared, shaking the ground.
The monster roared, shaking the ground. In the next instant, it blurred forward, swinging its massive sword-arm in a wide arc. The strike cracked the stone floor, sending fissures spiderwebbing outward.
Kelvin sidestepped, barely a whisper of motion, and retaliated with a quick slash aimed at the joint of its arm. Sparks flew, but the blade skittered off the creature's armor without leaving a mark.
"Tch… tough hide," Kelvin thought, springing back just in time to avoid another cleaving strike.
Silvia, standing several meters behind, frantically flipped through the glowing pages of her magic book. "Hold it off for just a minute!" she shouted.
Kelvin glanced over his shoulder. "A minute? Lady, I might not have ten seconds if you don't hurry."
The Sword servant stomped forward, the force of its step making loose rocks leap from the ground. It thrust its sword-arm downward like a spear, aiming straight for Kelvin's chest. Kelvin crossed his blades, catching the blow — but the impact sent him skidding backward, his boots carving trenches in the dirt.
He grinned despite the strain. "Alright… guess we're doing this the hard way."
Energy flared around him, a faint crimson aura licking along his arms. With a sharp exhale, he lunged, striking in a blur of motion. His swords moved like twin streaks of light, targeting every possible weak spot — under the arm plates, along the neck joint, behind the knee.
The Sword servant bellowed, swiping wildly, forcing Kelvin to weave between the blows like water flowing around jagged rocks. The clash of steel on stone echoed in the chamber, each hit sending shivers up Silvia's spine.
Her hands trembled, but she kept muttering incantations. Glyphs spun around her, glowing brighter with each word. "Almost there… just a little more…"
Kelvin ducked under a sweeping strike, his hair brushing the ground before he twisted up and landed a spinning kick against the Servant's jaw. The monster staggered, more surprised than hurt.
"You hit like a mountain," Kelvin said, "but mountains fall too."
The Sword servant roared again, this time sweeping both arms in a devastating double strike. Kelvin crossed his blades in front of him, but the sheer force flung him against the cavern wall. He grunted, dust falling from the ceiling around him.
Silvia gasped. "Kelvin!"
Before the creature could press its advantage, Silvia slammed her hands together. The magic circles floating around her shot forward, layering themselves in the air between Kelvin and the monster.
"Barrier of Aegis!" she cried.
A shimmering golden wall erupted into existence. The Sword servant's blow landed against it with an earth-shaking BOOM, cracks forming instantly — but it held long enough for Kelvin to roll back to his feet.
He spat dust from his mouth, smirking. "Not bad, crybaby."
"Shut up and kill it!" she snapped.
Kelvin's expression sharpened. "Gladly."
He sheathed one sword, gripping the other in both hands. Energy surged into the blade, making it hum with raw power. His eyes narrowed as he measured the creature's breathing, the timing of its attacks, the subtle twitch in its leg before a strike.
The Sword servant lunged again. Kelvin sprinted straight toward it, ducking under the first swing, sliding between its legs. As he passed, he slashed upward — and this time, the blade bit deep into the softer joint beneath its thigh armor.
The monster howled, staggering to one knee.
Kelvin didn't waste the opening. "Crimson Fang Strike!"
His sword exploded with energy as he leapt high, bringing it down in a devastating vertical slash. The impact tore through the creature's shoulder, severing part of its sword-arm.
Silvia's eyes widened as fragments of stone armor clattered to the ground. "You… actually hurt it!"
The Servant's fury reached a new pitch. It roared so loud the cavern seemed to quake, its remaining arm smashing the floor in an attempt to crush Kelvin.
But Kelvin was already gone, moving too fast to track. He reappeared behind the creature, delivering another flurry of cuts. Each strike chipped away at its armor, revealing the molten, pulsating energy beneath.
The Sword servant staggered, swaying like a collapsing tower. Kelvin exhaled, ready to deliver the final blow — but before he could, Silvia raised her hand.
"Wait… let me try something."
She whispered a final incantation, and a spear of pure white light formed above her head. With a decisive thrust of her palm, the spear shot forward, piercing the Servant straight through the chest.
When Silvia's spear of white light pierced through the creature's chest, the monster froze.
But instead of blood—
Black-crimson energy burst out of the wound.
The creature's armor began cracking apart unnaturally, glowing with strange runes that hadn't been visible before.
The Sword Servant let out a distorted, hollow scream.
"Krrrkk… Master… the seal… has… been… weakened…"
Kelvin frowned.
"Master?"
The monster's single eye flickered. Then its entire body shattered into fragments of blackened stone, collapsing into dust.
Silvia lowered her hands, breathing hard.
"Guess I'm not useless after all."
Kelvin smirked.
"Could've fooled me."
But something felt wrong.
Where the creature had fallen, faint crimson runes now pulsed on the cavern floor — ancient, cracked, and incomplete… like part of a much larger seal.
Silvia stared at them.
"Kelvin… these symbols… this wasn't a normal monster."
Kelvin's grip tightened around his sword.
"…Yeah. I felt it too."
A low, distant rumble echoed from deeper within the cavern — not from collapsing rock…
…but from something stirring.
They turned toward the dark passage ahead.
Somewhere beyond it…
The true Sword Fiend had felt its servant die.