The Laughing Swordsman

The dragon's body that Hex slashed with his black hand split into several pieces, like meat on a chopping block, then fell to the ground. As for the dragon's head that Hex hit with his skeletal hand, it stretched out into a thin line before disappearing.

The creature that resembled a phoenix pulled its head back. The glowing white eyes and smile seemed to shimmer a little more brightly than usual. Then, its head shot forward, while a huge blanket of black flame shot out of it. As for the old man, he pulled back a little, getting behind the creatures he summoned.

Hex disappeared just before the black flame hit him, letting it land on the ground below him. The blanket of fire did not die down once it hit the ground. In fact, it grew in intensity, making it look as though a wildfire was raging through the forest.

Hex reappeared a few meters forward, then charged towards the phoenix. As though offended, the phoenix let out a distorted screech. The flames raging on the ground formed numerous thin scrawny black hands that shot up, reaching out.

Hex noticed this and turned his head slightly to look over his shoulder. He saw the hands reaching out to grab him and rose his own in response.

Hex's skeletal hand swiped through the air. The black flames twisted into a long and thick line before disappearing altogether.

Then, Hex turned around and slashed with his black hand, tearing the phoenix into several pieces that fell to the ground, as the dragon did.

However, there was still one creature left.

The last creature that looked like a six-horned demon had raised its hand with the palm facing upward. Suddenly, it clenched its hand into a tight fist.

It was a bright day, but suddenly, the sky became dark.

The light from the glowing white eyes and mouth of the six-horned demon shone bright, almost like spotlights. The same went for Hex's blue glowing eyes and mouth.

Three tall pillars burst out of the ground, in a circular pattern, far apart from each other. They began to bend towards the center, as though some strong magnetic pull caused them to curl up. This force made Hex himself begin to twist. In particular, his clothes began twisting strangely.

However, Hex was still able to move.

His hood fell off, but his first priority was killing the creature that resembled a six-horned demon. His black claw slashed, splitting it apart like the others.

As for what was revealed after the hood came off, it was a set of shiny white hair. As for the bright purple horns on his head, they somehow seemed to grow larger.

Hex wished to put his hood back on as soon as possible, however, before he could regain himself, the old man reappeared right in front of him, just staring.

A wave passed through the air.

Every single tree within one hundred meters began to decay rapidly, becoming black ash in just a few seconds.

An eagle far off in the distance suddenly stiffened up, before plummeting to the ground.

The three black pillars began disintegrating, seemingly dissolving into the air. 

As for Hex, he froze.

The old man had used some kind of fear-related power, the same one Hex had access to. Seeing that Hex could no longer move, the old man felt reassured of his victory.

He gradually retracted the fear he was emitting and reached out with his hand.

"Checkmate."

However, a similar fearful aura burst out of Hex, prompting the old man to reactivate his own to counterattack.

The old man frowned, clearly filled with disbelief.

Was Hex not afraid?

In reality, Hex had been terribly afraid when the aura had covered him. In fact, he even flinched.

...However, there was something that he was even more afraid of than this suffocating feeling of fear.

Once Hex recalled that memory, he broke out of that state easily. Hex was still afraid, but he was also brave enough to face it.

And so, face it he did.

An eerie silence filled the air. The old man and Hex stared at each other silently. From the outside perspective, it seemed rather unassuming. However, even the snowflakes in the air were afraid, scattering to the side so as to not get closer to Hex and the old man.

It was almost like the two were sharing a silent conversation, or long lost family, finally reuniting. However, that was most definitely not the case. The both of them were using their strongest attack.

And the result was just the two of them standing there.

A few seconds passed and in those few seconds, there was not even the sound of a gust of wind. The both of them currently had a head full of white hair, making them match.

And for a few moments, it seemed like this standoff would never finish.

However, after only five or so seconds, the old man began to panic. Several thoughts flashed by his mind, which came together to become one single question.

How?

How was Hex able to maintain this state for so long?

The old man no longer had the energy to support this form freely, but he was stubborn, thinking it was impossible for Hex to continue for much longer.

The strange emanating fear that came from the old man did not pause. However, his body began to change.

The already wrinkly skin of the old man wrinkled even further, almost like it was drying up. The old man's hair began to weaken, becoming thinner. The eyes of the old man quickly became bloodshot.

As for Hex, his black skinned hand was undergoing something similar, wrinkling further as though drying up. The same went for his head of white hair, which also began to thin.

The old man narrowed his eyes.

He quickly realized that Hex was determined to take this to the end.

However, the old man did not share this determination.

His figure began to distort, before he disappeared altogether, leaving Hex alone in the middle of the snowy forest.

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