Miracle Summoner

"Boom——!"

The shockwave expanded outward like a thunderclap, scattering dust and debris like a fierce gale. It swept across the nearby players, drawing sharp cries from many.

"Ugh...!"

Even Kirito, Asuna, Leafa, Lis, and Silica couldn't help but raise their hands to shield themselves. Saichou, Hanachou, and Pina clung tightly to Yui, preventing the crying Yui from being blown away.

At the center of the scene, Yuuki had already leapt high into the air, maintaining a downward striking posture, with sparks flying from her sword as it clashed against the Holy Sword, which Rozen had firmly raised to block the attack.

"....!"

The grinding of the Holy Sword and the black sword produced an even more intense spray of sparks.

Rozen and Yuuki were locked in a stalemate, neither able to gain an upper hand—or so it appeared on the surface.

The reality, however, could be seen in their expressions.

At that moment, Rozen bore a faint, amused smile, while Yuuki's face shifted between various expressions.

The reason was simple.

As the two swords clashed, Yuuki could see that her weapon's durability was rapidly decreasing at an alarming rate.

If this continued...

"Your sword's about to break, isn't it?"

With those words, Rozen suddenly retreated, voluntarily pulling the Holy Sword away from the black sword, only to immediately close the distance once more. The Holy Sword gleamed like a brilliant golden light, slicing toward Yuuki.

His reaction speed was on par with, if not superior to, Yuuki's.

And why wouldn't it be?

Rozen's reflexes had always surpassed those of Kirito, even back in SAO. It was only due to Kayaba Akihiko's interference that the unique skill did not fall into Rozen's hands, not because his reflexes failed to meet the acquisition criteria.

Now, having undergone ascension through Foreign Mana, Rozen's reflexes had reached superhuman levels, far beyond the realm of ordinary humans.

Keeping up with Yuuki was not only easy but entirely effortless for him.

"...!"

Yuuki was slightly shocked. Facing the ferocity of the incoming slash, she almost failed to react. By the time she did, the gleam of the Holy Sword was already upon her.

At the critical moment, Yuuki gritted her teeth, clenched one hand into a fist, and punched forward with all her might, striking the flat of the Holy Sword's blade.

"Clang!"

A loud, resonant sound echoed through the air.

This time, however, it wasn't the clash of blade against blade but Yuuki's fist hammering the side of the Holy Sword, deflecting it.

However, the Holy Sword's ability to sever steel was unmatched. Even though Yuuki's fist struck the flat side of the blade rather than its edge, her HP gauge trembled slightly, dropping a small amount.

In less than ten seconds of combat, Yuuki had already lost HP, putting her at a disadvantage.

Without hesitation, Yuuki spread her wings and ascended rapidly into the sky.

Seeing this, Rozen smiled faintly and spread his own wings, creating a gale as he soared upward at incredible speed to chase after her.

The two figures turned into streams of light, like twin bolts of lightning, racing upward while constantly closing the gap between them.

"Clang——! Clang——! Clang——! Clang——!"

The sound of metal clashing against metal echoed vividly through the sky as the two streaks of light repeatedly intersected and separated, rising higher and higher, only to clash again in a dazzling display of aerial combat.

Before long, they had ascended so high that they vanished from view.

"Follow them!"

Without hesitation, Kirito spread his wings and took off in pursuit.

Unsurprisingly, Asuna had already taken to the skies, flying toward Rozen and Yuuki.

"Hey!"

"Wait for us!"

"Everyone!"

Lis, Leafa, and Silica called out in turn, following quickly after them.

"Hurry up!"

"Don't miss this showdown!"

"This is incredible!"

The other players erupted into excited cheers, taking off in groups to follow.

However, compared to Rozen and Yuuki, their speed was drastically inferior. Aside from Kirito, Asuna, and a few others, most players were quickly left behind.

"Gu!"

"Gu!"

"Pi!"

Saichou, Hanachou, and Pina, however, kept pace admirably, trailing closely behind Kirito and the others.

"Papa! Mama!"

Sitting atop Pina's head, Yui called out, her voice tinged with a hint of grievance.

And so, Rozen and Yuuki, forgetting all their spectators, engaged in an intense aerial battle.

This fight was worlds apart from Yuuki's previous aerial duel against the player from the top 24.

That earlier battle could not compare to the ferocity and spectacle of this one.

Moreover, in her previous fight, Yuuki had dominated her opponent. This time, however, Rozen was dominating her instead.

There was no helping it.

"Haven't you heard? My aerial combat skills are even better than my ground combat ones."

With a laugh, Rozen's figure seemed to flicker like a mirage. His movements were unpredictable—sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes changing direction abruptly. This created countless afterimages of Rozen in the sky.

It was none other than the technique known as Variable-Speed Flight——.

"This... this is cheating...!"

Even Yuuki couldn't help but exclaim.

Not even she had ever encountered such a technique before—it was beyond the system's reach.

"So this is the power of the Magus?"

Yuuki had never imagined that she would be so utterly suppressed.

If not for her exceptionally high reflexes, which allowed her to react at the last moment to Rozen's strikes, she would have been defeated long ago.

Even so, Yuuki's HP had already dropped by half, entering the yellow zone.

This was a level of disadvantage Yuuki had never experienced before.

"Is there truly such a powerful player in this world?"

At that moment, Yuuki began to understand why Rozen had become the hero of SAO.

It was simple: he was overwhelmingly strong.

"But I won't surrender so easily...!"

Yuuki gritted her teeth and held her ground.

She knew that her only hope now lay in her sword skills.

Only by seizing an opportunity to unleash a powerful sword skill and land a hit on Rozen could she deal massive damage to him and turn the tide.

And Yuuki, of course, had such a sword skill.

Her self-created OSS, the eleven-hit combo, met all the requirements.