Start in Terra, immortal

Looking at Bakal's enormous dragon body in the distance, Irena unconsciously tightened her grip on her weapon.

"Adventurer! Bakal's serious!" she shouted over the radio to the adventurer at Bakal's feet. "You didn't have to face an opponent you couldn't possibly defeat alone!"

Upon hearing this, the adventurer removed his radio and tossed it aside: "I don't understand any of that 'I can't win' nonsense! I still have the strength to fight!"

Maintaining the state of "Ten Thousand Swords Return to One" for an extended period consumes ten times more mental energy than in ordinary combat. Even adventurers who have reached this level of maturity are beginning to feel the pressure.

"Hoo~" He exhaled a breath of white air, calming his mind. The remaining half of the weapons in the sky began to tremble at the same time.

"Go!" The adventurer waved his hand again, and the five weapons on his back flew out simultaneously, carrying all the other weapons with them, shooting towards the Explosive Dragon King flapping its wings in the sky. At the same time, he stomped his feet on the ground and charged up with the sword stream.

The attack formed by ten thousand swords almost sealed off the space where Bakal was located. However, for Bakal, who had already returned to his dragon king form, this spatial blockade, which was not very strong, was easy to break free from.

Ignoring the now ineffective sword energy and weapons, Bakal opened his mouth wide and began to gather his fiery breath, aiming directly at the adventurer charging up from the ground.

"It's all down to this final blow!" Watching the flames blazing ever brighter from Bakal's mouth, the adventurer quickly assessed his remaining strength and made a decision. He gathered all his power into five weapons of different forms, arranging them before him.

After closing in to a certain distance, Bakal's breath flew towards him. Even though the breath wasn't slow, and even though he was in the air, it wouldn't have been difficult for him to dodge the attack if he wanted to. However, he didn't dodge.

The adventurer grabbed a blunt weapon formed from sword intent in front of him and slashed at the breath attack.

Bakal had not expected that an adventurer who was merely a mortal would have such courage to use his fragile mortal body to directly confront his charged breath attack.

"Hahaha!" Realizing that this was likely the adventurer's last resort, Bakal let out a hearty laugh. "For such courage, I acknowledge you! Adventurer!"

Then, he flapped his wings and swooped down towards the adventurer who was about to make contact with his breath. He was so fast that he caught up with the breath in the blink of an eye.

The invisible blunt weapon quickly collided with the breath, with almost no impact. The violent energy was about to tear everything it touched apart the instant of impact.

However, what met the blunt weapon was not a breath attack, but a swooping Bakal.

The moment the blunt weapon made contact with the dragon's claw, the terrifying aftershocks intensified the burst of energy from its breath. In an instant, a second sun appeared in the celestial sky, scorching and dazzling.

Just as the aftershocks were about to spread, several powerful slashes tore the 'sun' apart, splitting it into irregular spots of light.

Slowly, all the light spots began to converge towards the center, attaching themselves one by one to a giant lightsaber.

One end of the lightsaber is an adventurer, his body charred black, but his eyes still bright; the other end soars into the sky, with no end in sight.

"The Ultimate Swordplay: Heaven-Splitting Slash!"

He gripped the hilt of the giant lightsaber tightly with both hands, tilted his waist slightly, and swung it down with lightning speed as if it were nothing in his hands.

To the astonishment of the Celestial Allied Forces, the long sword light slashed across the sky from one end to the other, hanging in the air like a silver tassel.

Even though the sword light had disappeared, the brilliance of the sword still lingered in everyone's eyes.

Bakal, who had taken the blow head-on, crashed heavily to the ground. A deep, bone-revealing wound stretched from his left shoulder to his lower right abdomen, and dragon blood gushed from it, staining the area crimson.

Opposite Bakal, the adventurer, exhausted, knelt on one knee, using his sword as a crutch, panting heavily.

Touching the wounds on his body, still wreathed in sword energy, Bakal channeled flames into them, repeatedly applying them to the wounds. Each application scorched a section of the wound, until the bleeding ceased entirely.

"Haha!" Instead of pressing his advantage, Bakal laughed, "Since I became King of Troport, I haven't felt pain for nearly a thousand years. Now, you've exerted all your strength to inflict this level of injury on me after so long. Not enough!"

"Heh~" The adventurer slowly stood up from the ground, using his sword case for support. "I've never fought alone! Injuring you to this extent is enough."

"No! Far from enough!" Bakal shook his head. "You don't know what you're about to face. Merely injuring me isn't enough for you to face the challenges ahead. You need to become stronger!"

"What...do you mean?" From Bakal's words, the adventurer could naturally tell that he might have to face an enemy stronger than the Apostles in the future.

"Even among Apostles, there are differences. Moreover, there are beings stronger than Apostles." Bakal looked at the magic circle mark on his dragon claw.

"Someone once told me that beyond this universe... there exists a threat that even the Great Will must be wary of. Those beings covet this world, covet the power of the Apostles, covet... everything."

"And you," Bakal's gaze refocused on the adventurer, "you were chosen not merely to fight the Apostles. You are a 'blade,' a 'blade' that has been watched over and nurtured by a grander will. Your mission is far heavier than you currently know."

"A grander will? Who is it?" The adventurers recalled the mysterious figure who had warned them when they first arrived in this time and space. "Could it be him?"

"It seems you've met him," Bakal's voice suddenly rose. "Whoever he is, remember! Only when you are truly powerful enough for the Apostles to look up to you will you be qualified to touch that broader truth!"

After saying this, Bakal, dragging his heavily injured body, flew into the sky again, gazing in a certain direction, waiting quietly.

In the distance, where Bakal was looking, a portal suddenly appeared and gradually expanded.

"Thank goodness, we finally made it!" Maisie Kurio was the first to step out of the portal, followed by the Geboga, the original ultimate weapon against Bakal, which had been repaired by Odeiz and Kurio.

"Bakal, your next opponent is me!" Juvenil shouted at Bakal through the megaphone from the cockpit of the Geboga.

Upon seeing this familiar object, Bakal, disregarding the aggravation of his wounds, burst into laughter: "Hahaha, you really succeeded after all!"