Ling Qing stood there, the smile gradually fading from his face. The wind blew, rustling his silver-white hair.
He let out a sigh of disappointment.
He had thought he had finally found an opponent strong enough to give him a thrilling fight, but it turned out to be just for show.
Sheathing his sword, Ling Qing turned to leave. He had spent a whole week getting here, all for a single strike. Now he would have to spend another week traveling back. It made him question what he was even doing, why he was wasting his time like this.
Still... at the very least, he could tell Yuishinryu that he had put an end to the legend of the Zaraki demon.
"Hey—where do you think you're going? You're not just gonna slash me once and run, are you?"
Suddenly, a voice came from behind him.
Ling Qing froze.
Before he could turn, an immense pressure erupted from behind him. The swelling power had a physical effect, churning the air into a violent tempest.
Ling Qing suddenly realized something.
Where was this headwind coming from?
He turned his head and saw a powerful energy, visible to the naked eye, pouring out of the man on the ground. It was as ferocious as erupting lava, as if the man himself were a living volcano.
Like a waking demon, immense power surged from his body, creating a tidal wave of spiritual pressure that distorted the very air. The ground itself seemed to tremble under this terrifying force.
The fallen man propped himself up with his free hand, slowly getting to his feet, and gave Ling Qing a bloodthirsty grin.
"You're... pretty strong, huh?"
That's what the man said. There was no trace of intellect in him, only the raw, savage power and bloodlust of a wild beast.
"Then you shouldn't die so easily!"
Ling Qing's eyes widened. The terrifying feeling of being stared at by a massive monster from point-blank range was like an arrow piercing through all his defenses and into his heart.
But Ling Qing felt no fear.
The man had taken such a devastating blow and not only survived but had gotten back up, unleashing an even greater power. He projected a sense of dread and intimidation that Ling Qing had never experienced before.
Faced with such an opponent, the smile that had vanished from Ling Qing's face reappeared.
A terrifying force swept towards Ling Qing, threatening to engulf him. This was no longer a gentle breeze that could only stir his hair, but a crushing pressure capable of pulverizing anything.
However, an explosive force was instantly released from Ling Qing, forming a dark purple haze that expanded in a circle around him. The space around him also distorted, and countless black and purple particles of unknown origin floated in the warped air.
The dark purple haze clashed with the incoming wave of energy. The collision created a vortex of power that shot straight up into the sky, forming a terrifying pillar of energy.
Ling Qing's silver-white hair, usually combed back like Vergil's, was whipped into a frenzy by the vortex, dancing wildly before his eyes.
Yet, Ling Qing simply drew his sword from his waist again and swung it fiercely!
The torrent of power was abruptly cut in two. The terrifying force was deflected to the side, annihilating everything in its path and leaving behind only bare earth.
On the other side, the man with the blood-soaked chest stood, not grimacing in pain, but poised and expectant.
"Just as I thought, you're way more interesting than the trash I've killed!"
The man pointed his serrated blade at Ling Qing and laughed heartily.
"Enough talk. Let's fight to the death!!"
Ling Qing slowly raised his own sword, bringing it up to the side of his face. He placed his right hand over his left on the hilt, the slender blade also pointing at the man before him.
Unrestrained, torrential power.
And a quiet power that concealed an explosive, terrifying force.
Both energies were unleashed completely, without reservation.
Until this man's power had triggered his own like a reflex, Ling Qing had never realized just how much strength he had accumulated. He'd never noticed how much he had been suppressing himself. In a world where he could find no worthy opponents, where everywhere he looked was just trash, there had been no one who deserved his full attention.
But now, a man worthy of his full strength, his full effort, had finally appeared.
The exaggerated grin on his face softened into a faint, lingering smile.
"It is what I have wished for, but dared not ask."
The moment he uttered those words, Ling Qing became a phantom, lunging towards the beast-like man. A ghostly green flame seemed to flicker in his eyes. For the first time, the blade he wielded looked different. Dark purple energy flowed over it, and as Ling Qing swung it, it left a visible trail of black laced with faint purple in the air.
He didn't open with his usual Zanshin—a preemptive strike of sword light. Instead, he launched a direct attack, accompanied by a terrifying roar that tore through the air.
By the time the man noticed, Ling Qing was right in front of him.
Yet, faced with the sudden slash, the man showed no fear, only a widening grin.
Lacking Ling Qing's elegance and overwhelming power, and with no strange effects on his blade, the man simply raised his arm and swung his sword.
Just before Ling Qing's blade could strike him again, he brought his own sword up to block it.
CLANG!
The two blades collided with a deafening screech. The moment they met, both men felt a massive force hit them head-on, forcing them both to take a step back.
Even so, neither of them lost their grip on their sword.
Neither of them made another sound.
Once the battle had begun, all that mattered was pouring everything into their blades and cutting the other down.
An instant later, after each had retreated a step, they threw themselves at each other once again!
The continuous clash of swords rang out, and with each impact, shockwaves of force pulsed outwards, sweeping across the land and destroying everything in their path.