The Laughing Swordsman

Apollo and Layla looked at the old man curiously.

Layla whispered to Apollo.

"Hey, should we trust him?"

Apollo tilted his head to the side.

"I'm not sure!"

Although they hushed their voices, even the average person could easily hear what they were saying.

The old man's eyelid twitched.

"If I wanted to, I could've poisoned the berries and water. Distrusting me at this point is pointless."

Layla looked at the old man, then darted back to face Apollo. She continued whispering, though she made no effort to do so quietly.

"I don't get it! What does he mean?"

Apollo had a serious contemplating expression.

"I think he said he was trustworthy?"

Layla nodded enthusiastically.

"Ah! That means we can trust him!"

Apollo nodded in agreement.

"Yeah! That must be right."

The corner of the old man's lip twitched. Perhaps these two were a little too innocent.

Apollo and Layla hurried over. The old man walked leisurely, like how you would expect from a person with his looks.

Layla bounced up and down as they made their way through the plain.

"Hey, hey what is your name?"

The old man let out a small smile.

"I have long discarded my name. However, people tend to refer to me as The Vanquisher."

Layla's furry ears twitched.

"Ohhh! Do you want to be friends, Vanquisher?"

The Vanquisher chuckled.

"Sure."

Layla raised her hands in the air.

"Yay!"

Apollo joined her.

"Yay!"

The Vanquisher stroked his long beard.

"So, are you children Collector Mages?"

Layla opened her mouth, but words didn't come out.

Her face darted towards Apollo.

"What is a Collector Mage?"

Apollo scratched the side of his head.

"I don't know!"

The Vanquisher sighed.

"A mage is someone that draws in mana from the environment to cast spells."

Apollo nodded with a serious expression.

"Ah, I don't get it."

Layla shook her head.

"Me too."

The Vanquisher laughed.

"I suppose I should've expected that. After all, you weren't disturbed by the lack of mana in this place."

Layla turned to Apollo. There was a finger on her chin.

"Do you get what he is saying?"

Apollo shook his head.

"No..."

The Vanquisher sighed.

"Sorry, sorry. Anyways, if you don't know about magic, it appears the only thing left is the body."

He stopped walking, causing the two to bump into his back.

Apollo rubbed his head.

"Ah, why did you stop?"

The Vanquisher turned around.

"I want to show you something. However, if you aren't powerful enough, it will be a double-edged sword."

He raised his hand.

"So we will spar."

Then clenched it into a fist.

Layla tilted her head to the side.

"Do you mean play?"

Apollo scratched the side of his head.

"Spar doesn't sound like play..."

The Vanquisher smirked.

"You can think of it in that way. Now, try and hit me."

Layla smiled.

"Ok!"

Suddenly, she bolted forward, leaving only an afterimage.

The Vanquisher raised an eyebrow, disappearing as well.

The two stirred up large gales of wind, violently blowing aside the grass and flowers.

Apollo's jaw dropped.

"So... fast!"

He was just barely able to make out their actions.

Layla swiped at The Vanquisher's torso. However, his figure flashed, leaving Layla to strike the air.

The Vanquisher appeared behind Layla, he was sending a palm towards her head.

Layla couldn't see but somehow tilted her head to dodge anyway.

Their figures continued flashing across the grass plain.

Apollo had been watching with a dumbstruck expression.

Suddenly, he broke out of his stupor, shaking his head.

"Ah, I forgot to join as well!"

Apollo dashed over, bokken in hand.

It should be known, if it was a normal person, their eyes wouldn't even be able to register an afterimage.

Apollo's eyes weren't monstrously better than the average person's. However, his processing speed was already nearing the limit of a human.

This was the case ever since he broke out of the loop with Willow.

On top of that, the elixir he drank earlier had made his processing speed even faster. This was just enough for his eyes to catch their image.

Apollo's bokken flashed.

The Vanquisher did the limbo, letting the bokken pass by above him.

Before he had a chance to recover, Layla pounced.

The Vanquisher twisted his body, letting Layla skid past him.

Layla's hands were in the shape of a claw. When she passed by The Vanquisher, she tore a piece of his coat.

Then, she collided with the ground.

A thundering boom resounded.

A large crater formed along with cracks that stretched over twenty meters from the point of impact.

"Aw, I missed!"

Apollo was thrown in the air from the shockwave.

The Vanquisher took advantage of that appearing before Apollo and sending a palm towards his back.

However, Apollo's bokken moved before The Vanquisher even had the intention of attacking.

The Vanquisher's eyebrow raised.

His palm hit the tip of Apollo's bokken. Then, was thrown to the left.

Apollo's bokken twisted elusively, deflecting the attack.

While The Vanquisher was still surprised, Apollo's bokken swung towards him.

The Vanquisher blocked the attack with the back of his fist.

Both of them came out of the engagement unscathed.

Layla bent her knees before launching herself upward.

"Rawrrr!"

She swiped at The Vanquisher, prompting him to throw his palm out in kind.

A thundering crash reverberated throughout the air.

Both of their hair violently whipped back, dancing with the wind.

Layla fell towards the ground but landed on all fours.

She let out a giggle.

As for The Vanquisher, he was sent a few meters up into the sky. However, he plunged down the next second.

Apollo traced an arc towards the sky, pushing the grass below him to the ground.

The Vanquisher chuckled. He swung his palm as though it were a sword.

Two blades of wind collided, shaking the air.

The Vanquisher landed a few feet away and cupped his palms.

"Haha, you two are quite strong!"

Layla blushed.

"Aww, thank you!"

Apollo smiled.

"Hehe, you aren't joking?"

The Vanquisher smiled.

"Of course not.. Now, follow me to my library."