Tianluo charged forward, swinging his sword in an attempt to strike Blackbeard. Blackbeard responded with a swing of his own. Their blades collided, unleashing a massive burst of energy. Tianluo's sword, once capable of slicing through dimensions, now seemed ineffective against Blackbeard's weapon. Or was it?
Upon closer inspection, Tianluo's sword was still cutting through dimensions with every swing. However, Blackbeard's blade appeared to be made of overlapping, rapidly regenerating dimensions. As a result, their clashes looked like ordinary swordplay at first glance.
They continued to exchange blows. Tianluo mixed his sword techniques with hand-to-hand martial arts, targeting Blackbeard's body while defending against his strikes. But the thick black aura surrounding Blackbeard acted like a powerful armor.
Tianluo pressed his attack. Blackbeard parried his sword strike, but Tianluo followed up with a swift kick to Blackbeard's arm. The pirate's sword flew into the air, but Tianluo didn't stop there. Using his hand as a pivot on the ground, he swung his legs and locked Blackbeard's arm just as the pirate reached for his weapon. With a spin, he threw Blackbeard to the side.
Blackbeard was flung a good distance away but managed to land safely. Then again, Tianluo's real goal was to disarm him.
"Khahaha, you think an attack like that can separate me from my sword?" (Blackbeard)
"!?" (Tianluo)
The sword, which should have landed far away, suddenly vanished. Then, as Blackbeard extended his arm, the weapon reappeared in his grasp.
"I expected as much. Equilibrium Break won't be defeated so easily." (Tianluo)
"Oh, so you know you can't hurt me. I'll admit your attacks are sharp. Even with Equilibrium Break, I haven't been able to land a clean hit on you. But you haven't hurt me either." (Blackbeard)
"Your sword and body are both coated in powerful energy overlapping, rapidly regenerating miniature dimensions. Even if I destroy them, they just come back instantly. What a hassle. You really live up to your name King of Space Pirates, Blackbeard the Gravity." (Tianluo)
*
"Whoa, what's going on? His energy level just skyrocketed." (Gai)
"Equilibrium Break is an advanced ether technique. Even among ether users, only about 1% can reach that level. Still, considering his opponent is Blackbeard, it makes sense." (Mei)
"I see... sounds way overpowered. But Tianluo looks like he's doing fine. I think he's got this." (Gai)
"Of course. Like Blackbeard, big bro Tian is also one of the top 10 strongest in the universe." (Mei)
"Eh!?" (Gai)
"Leader! I mean Leader!" Mei quickly corrected herself.
…Is Mei a brocon? I didn't want to think about it too much. Instead, I got up from where I was sitting. I used a basic teleportation spell to move anywhere within my line of sight. Naturally, I wasn't about to teleport into the middle of Tianluo and Blackbeard's battle.
I teleported over to Kagura, who was watching from the opposite side. After defeating all of Blackbeard's henchmen, Kagura, knowing her limits, chose not to jump in right away. She watched carefully, ready to act if needed.
"Yo." (Gai)
I greeted her with a tap on the shoulder.
"Wha!" (Kagura)
Startled, Kagura leapt back and immediately countered with her talismans. Without even looking to see who it was, she triggered them.
I quickly used wind magic to gather all the talismans into one spot, severing their energy circuits. As a result, when Kagura tried to detonate them nothing happened.
"Ha!? Gai!? Where did you come from? Wait, did you just cancel my talismans' circuits?" (Kagura)
Kagura, stunned, couldn't decide what to ask first. After a flurry of questions, she paused, took a deep breath, and regained her usual calm.
"What do you think we should do?" (Kagura)
She seemed to drop all her previous questions in favor of practicality.
"Well, since they blew up your boat ship, how about we borrow one of Blackbeard's and return to your main ship?" (Gai)
"Huh? You're suggesting we just leave Tian to fight Blackbeard alone?" (Kagura)
"Relax. I'm sure he'll be fine. Even Mei said Tianluo won't lose to Blackbeard." (Gai)
"Yep." (Mei)
"…" (Kagura)
"Alright, we'll go back first and prep for extraction at the right moment." (Kagura)
She dashed toward one of Blackbeard's ships and signaled for me to follow. I caught up, activating a cloaking spell that covered us both, making sure Blackbeard didn't spot us.
*
The clash continued a sword that could cut anything versus one that couldn't be cut. Swift, sharp strikes met an impenetrable defense.
"Khahaha! What's wrong, Jiang Tianluo the Thousand Dimension? Isn't it time you used yourEquilibrium Break? Only Equilibrium Break can stand against Equilibrium Break!" (Blackbeard)
"Tch. I really hate using techniques that feel like cheating. But… I guess I have no choice." (Tianluo)
Tianluo touched the tip of his sword with his left hand. Just as a white light began to shine, a crack appeared between him and Blackbeard. It grew slowly but steadily.
"What the ? Why did that appear here? Blackbeard, is this your doing?" (Tianluo)
"Huh? As evil as I am, even I wouldn't do something like that. And I'm not strong enough to pull it off anyway!" (Blackbeard)
*
A wall that looked like something out of a sci-fi movie loomed ahead of us. Kagura and I moved quickly down a narrow corridor illuminated by glowing blue strips along the floor and ceiling. As we approached a heavy, metallic door, it slid open with a soft hiss, revealing the control room of the spaceship.
The space inside felt cold but alive panels blinked with data streams, holographic monitors hovered midair with real-time readouts, and a massive window at the far end displayed the boundless canvas of space, stars twinkling in eerie silence.
In the center, like a throne in a digital temple, stood the captain's chair.
Sitting in it was a beautiful woman with white hair tied in a ponytail and deep blue eyes. She wore a long coat, a short skirt, and… fox ears? A headband, maybe. She had a tall, slim figure and pale skin. Her sharp gaze and charming smile gave off the aura of a warrior meeting a worthy opponent. She was, to put it bluntly, stunning.
Still, I kept my cool. I returned her smile with one of my own, poker-faced. But if someone had mind-reading magic, they'd know I was screaming inside because this woman was exactly my type.
"Welcome to our adventurer spaceship, Infinity." (Mei)
"Un." (Gai)
Honestly, aside from Mei's beauty, it was my first time on a spaceship, so I couldn't help looking around in awe.
Then my eyes fell on a stern-looking man sitting in a corner, holding a square-shaped device. He looked over at me.
"Oh… you noticed me? I was sure I'd concealed myself using light magic and erased my presence." (Ballack)
The man stood up. He was tall, robed, and clearly built like a warrior.
The air shifted the moment he moved. The temperature didn't change, but everything felt heavier. Denser. Like gravity itself had remembered it had a job to do.
When I first met Tianluo and Kagura, I didn't sense much from them. But after learning about ether energy, I tried converting my detection method. I realized their energy levels weren't that different from mine at least when translated to mana. But this guy…
This man's energy level was easily three times mine, and that was just in his normal state.
"Outer space is terrifying. Are there many people this strong out here?" (Gai)
"Hah!? If there were more people like Ballack in space, the universe would've been destroyed already." (Kagura)
"Leader, Ballack, and Blackbeard are among the top ten strongest in space." (Mei)
"My name is Ballack, a magic user like you. A pleasure to meet you, Gaia Matera the direct successor of General Bailou." (Ballack)
"Nice to meet a magic user with that much mana," I replied, shaking his hand.
After introducing myself to Ballack, I glanced around again until I noticed a projector showing the battle between Tianluo and Blackbeard. The fight had been evenly matched… until Tianluo seemed about to use a certain technique. Suddenly, a crack opened between them, growing into a gate.
Before I could even ask, Mei, Ballack, and Kagura all showed alarmed expressions.
"Why did that appear!?" (Mei)
"Could it be… Blackbeard?" (Kagura)
"I doubt it. He doesn't have that kind of ability. And even if he did, it's impossible to summon or control something like that." (Ballack)
"Leader! Return to the ship immediately! We're leaving this planet now!" (Mei)
"Already on it. Blackbeard's agreed to stop the fight. We'll use one of his ships to return. You all prep for warp." (Tianluo)
"Roger that!" (Mei, Ballack, Kagura)
"Eh? What's going on?" (Gai)
"No time to explain. Gai, follow me!" (Ballack)
"Oh… okay." (Gai)
Still unsure what was happening, I decided to follow orders. After all, I was just a passenger. I followed Ballack to the ship's exterior. Thankfully, thanks to barrier magic protecting our bodies like armor, we could move freely through the vacuum of space.