The Rebirth of Humanity

Their auras erupted at the exact same moment.

And in the next instant—

Fafnir and Griselda collided.

CLAAAAANG!

The entire sky trembled.

The black sword and the purple sword collided in midair, and an enormous wave of energy exploded between them.

Neither of them retreated.

Their feet remained firmly planted in the air, each one driving their sword toward the other with all their strength.

Sparks flew in every direction.

Energy clashed between the blades until it seemed as though even the heavens themselves were incapable of bearing the pressure.

Griselda looked at Fafnir.

An excited smile adorned her face.

“This time, I won’t let you retreat.”

Fafnir replied calmly:

“And who said I intend to retreat?”

The power of his aura increased.

And so did hers.

Then—

BOOOOOOOM!

The two were blasted away from each other.

But Griselda did not stop.

She spun through the air, steadied herself, and charged forward once again.

She vanished from his sight.

Fafnir suddenly appeared behind her.

CLANG!

She turned at the last moment and blocked his strike.

But Fafnir did not stop.

A strike from the right.

She blocked it.

A strike from the left.

She retreated.

A strike from above.

She raised her sword with both hands and blocked it.

Then—

Fafnir kicked her squarely in the middle of her body.

BOOM!

Griselda was sent flying hundreds of meters.

But she stopped before crashing into the ground.

She looked at him.

Then wiped the trace of blood from the corner of her mouth.

She smiled.

“So you’ve started using more than just your sword.”

Fafnir descended slowly.

“Didn’t you notice that a moment ago?”

She laughed.

“I did.”

Then she raised her sword.

“And that’s why…”

Her eyes changed.

“…I’ll start doing the same.”

She vanished.

In the next instant, she appeared before Fafnir.

But she did not attack.

Instead, she vanished again.

She appeared behind him.

Then to his right.

Then to his left.

Then above him.

Then below him.

Her movements were vastly faster than before.

But Fafnir did not move.

He remained standing still.

His black eyes watched the space surrounding him.

Then he suddenly raised his sword.

CLANG!

He blocked a strike that came from behind him.

Griselda appeared.

But she did not stop.

She vanished again.

CLANG!

He blocked a second strike.

Then a third.

Then a fourth.

Every strike came from a different direction.

Yet Fafnir blocked every one of them.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

“Your movements have become faster.”

Griselda’s voice came from an unknown location.

“But?”

He replied:

“They’re still obvious.”

The smile disappeared from her face.

In the next instant—

All of her illusory images stopped.

Then they vanished.

Silence descended.

Only Fafnir remained standing above the island.

One second passed.

Then another.

Suddenly—

Fafnir sensed her presence.

But she was not in front of him.

Nor behind him.

Nor to his right.

Nor to his left.

She was beneath him.

His eyes widened slightly.

Griselda tore through the earth and shot upward at tremendous speed.

CLAAAAANG!

Fafnir blocked the strike, but he was forced backward.

The earth beneath him exploded.

Then Griselda appeared before him.

Her eyes gleamed with excitement.

“This time, I concealed my presence completely.”

Fafnir looked at her.

“Better.”

Then he charged toward her.

CLANG!

The swords collided.

BOOM!

CLANG!

BOOM!

CLANG!

BOOM!

The strikes came one after another.

Their movements could no longer be seen.

Only dozens of black and purple flashes remained, darting between the sky and the earth.

Every collision created another explosion.

The barren mountain began to collapse completely.

Massive rocks broke apart and fell into the ocean.

The surrounding forest was transformed into a vast expanse of shattered earth.

As for the ocean—

Its waves rose to tremendous heights.

Yet neither of them paid any attention to the destruction.

Their entire focus was fixed on their opponent.

Strike.

Block.

Attack.

Dodge.

Then—

CLANG!

Their swords locked.

Fafnir and Griselda stood face-to-face.

Both were breathing more heavily than before.

New scratches had appeared across their bodies and clothes.

But neither retreated.

Griselda said:

“You’ve changed.”

Fafnir replied:

“So have you.”

“But I didn’t expect you to become stronger after all these years.”

Fafnir smiled.

“Five thousand years is a long time.”

She looked at him.

“For you as well?”

A brief silence followed.

Then he said:

“For everyone.”

But there was something in his eyes that Griselda could not understand.

Something mysterious.

Something that had not existed in the Fafnir she had known five thousand years ago.

She said nothing.

Instead, she tightened her grip around her sword.

The purple energy around the blade began to condense.

Then it condensed further.

Until the sword seemed to be forged entirely from purple lightning.

Fafnir raised an eyebrow.

“It seems you haven’t used the full technique yet.”

She smiled.

“I told you I was saving it for this day.”

Then she raised her sword toward the heavens.

The sky changed.

The clouds began to swirl around the island.

A massive vortex of energy formed above her head.

Purple energy gathered from the heavens, the ocean, and the earth.

Then it surged toward her sword.

BOOOOM!

The island trembled.

Fafnir stared at the scene.

For the first time since the beginning of the battle, his expression became more serious.

Griselda said:

“This is the technique I haven’t used since the Primordial War.”

Then she looked at him.

“I thought I would never need it again.”

Fafnir smiled.

“And I thought you would never force me to use it.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“Use what?”

He did not answer.

Fafnir gripped his sword with one hand.

Then something strange began to happen.

The black energy surrounding his body began gathering around his blade.

But it was not like his previous aura.

It was denser.

Calmer.

And more terrifying.

All the sparks surrounding him disappeared.

Even the air itself seemed to come to a standstill.

Griselda stared at his sword.

Then her eyes widened.

“No…”

Fafnir smiled.

“You remember.”

Silence descended.

Griselda said:

“That technique…”

“Yes.”

“You only used it when…”

He interrupted her:

“When there was no room left to retreat.”

The black energy around his sword intensified.

Griselda said:

“So you’re serious.”

“From the beginning.”

Then the two charged.

BOOOOOOOOM!

The sky disappeared beneath an explosion of black and purple.

The swords collided.

But this time—

Neither of them was sent flying back.

The pressure continued.

Then a wave of energy exploded around them.

The ocean rose dozens of meters into the air.

The last remnants of the mountain collapsed.

The remaining trees were shattered.

The two stood at the heart of the explosion.

Then Fafnir suddenly appeared before Griselda.

She raised her sword.

CLANG!

She blocked the strike.

Fafnir appeared behind her.

She turned.

CLANG!

Then he appeared before her.

CLANG!

Then above her.

CLANG!

But Griselda began keeping pace with his speed.

Every strike he launched was met by one of hers.

Every movement had a response.

Every attempt at surprise met with a defense.

Until the battle became like a clash between two storms.

No one could tell which of them would fall first.

They retreated at the same time.

Both stared at each other.

Then Griselda laughed.

“You know something?”

Fafnir said:

“What?”

“I missed this.”

Fafnir smiled.

“So did I.”

Then he added:

“But don’t think that will make me let you win.”

She laughed.

“I never asked you to.”

The two raised their swords.

Their auras grew stronger.

Then they charged once again.

CLAAAAANG!

Black and purple light erupted above the deserted island.

The battle continued.

But something had changed.

Neither of them was testing the other anymore.

Neither of them was hiding their strength anymore.

They had reached the stage that would truly determine—

Which of them would remain standing.

And which of them would lose the wager.

At the heart of the storm, Fafnir and Griselda’s eyes met once again.

Their smiles were identical.

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