Reincarnated as a Son of the Sword Saint and the Sage-Chapter 517: Finale

At last, the champion of this year's Imperial Battle Tournament had been hailed, and it was an unknown and mysterious warrior named Erik, who was also called the Phantom Fencer.

The tournament was full of twists and surprises. Everyone did not expect someone like Erik could become the last man standing. That would explain the underwhelming amount of cheers raining down on him as he was currently being awarded in the arena.

To honor the new champion, the emperor of the Dixon Empire would personally give the award to Erik. But before he proceeded to the champion, Emperor Alfred Dixon would first check the condition of the runner-up, who was his son.

"Edward..."

Words of genuine concern came out of the emperor's mouth as he looked at the newly resurrected Edward sitting on the floor while he was being accompanied by Edith and his friends. Hearing his father's voice, Edward briefly looked up at him before staring at the floor again.

"You must be happy that I did not make it, right, Father? Isn't it what you want?"

"No, Edward. I did not care if you won or not," the emperor said with a hint of sadness in his voice. "All I have been thinking is your well-being. A father could not bear to see his child suffer."

"No, I wasn't." Edward then looked at his father. "You might have been thinking that I was regretting joining the tournament. Now that I have lost, you are expecting me to follow more of your fatherly advice, aren't you?"

"That's not what is in my mind, Edward. It is true I was regretting not being able to stop you from joining, but deep inside, I am feeling proud of you for reaching this far. Nevertheless, I hope that we will come back to normal after this."

Despite his true and meaningful words, it did not seem to reach Edward's heart as cold as the stone slabs he was staring at. Edward was feeling more defeated, and emptiness slowly filled his heart.

"It's too late, Father. I'll be a laughing stock of the empire from now on. I am already expecting this would be used as a reason to strip off my position to the throne."

Using his sword as a cane, Edward slowly raised his body up. Edith and his friends assisted him not to lose balance.

"You can continue the ceremony and award the champion without me. I'll be going out from here, Father."

Edward said that before he turned his back to his father. Alfred wanted to go after him and convey more of his feelings, but it would just display a conflicted relationship to tens of thousands of people around. Hoping that they would make up later, the emperor turned and walked toward Erik.

"Kya! Edward!"

Suddenly, before he could take a step, Alfred heard a commotion from his son's direction. When he turned to take a look, he saw that Edith and Edward's friends were already on the floor, and they seemed to be shoved by Edward.

"Edward...! What's the problem?!"

The emperor yelled out his name, but Edward was unresponsive. Alfred knew from looking at his eyes that Edward was not in himself. After assessing the situation, Gavar decided to step in.

"His Imperial Highness does not seem to have his reasons right now! Seize him!"

At his command, the knights and guards nearby rushed toward Edward and quickly surrounded him. However, despite their numbers and respective strengths, Edward just knocked them off with a single swing of his great sword; some were severely injured.

"I forgot that he is over Level 700 right now. Fine, I'll do it myself."

Clink. Clink. Clink.

Gavar then drew out his sword and charged at Edward. They were equally matched, and the current Edward was notably a lot more skillful than what he showed earlier.

They exchanged blows for a few seconds until a pool of blood appeared on the floor. For unbelievable reasons, Edward was able to best Gavar and managed to sever his right arm. The crowd started to panic at that point.

"Ugh—!"

Gavar was anguishing in pain as he tried to cover his severed arm. The blood loss drastically weakened his body. He then dropped to his knees on the floor, and Gavar was eventually rendered unable to fight.

After eliminating the obstructions, Edward slowly walked toward his father. Every time he stepped forward, Alfred took a step behind.

"What's going on with you, Edward...? Why are you doing this?"

"..."

Edward was not answering his father, solidifying his assumptions that his son was not the one in front of him. Alfred had many questions in his mind, and he did not want to expect the worst.

Before Edward got any closer, Erik finally decided to step between them and intercept, which made Edward come to a halt. Erik then thrust his rapier forward and pointed it at Edward.

"What are you doing, Your Imperial Highness? Are you out of your mind?"

"..."

Maintaining his silence, Edward locked his eyes with Erik's for a few seconds before he swung his sword at him horizontally. Naturally, Erik blocked it; however, he did not expect how powerful Edward had become, and he had to hold his rapier with both hands not to get budged.

After that, Edward drew back his sword and then swung it again but with a greater momentum. This time, Erik had to step back in order to avoid breaking the thin rapier.

"Alright. You left me no choice. I have to incapacitate you then."

Thinking that half-baked moves were going to be ineffective against him, Erik ultimately decided to subdue Edward by forceful means.

"Impaler."

"No!"

Knowing what Erik would do to Edward, Alfred tried to stop him, but Erik was already locked in. Erik lunged at Erik at supersonic speed as he aimed the tip of his blade at the hole in Edward's armor he made earlier.

Erik expected Edward to block or parry it; however, Edward just thrust his sword forward, aiming the tip at him as well. For the first time since this scene started, Edward opened his mouth.

"Focused Repulsion."

Almost immediately, Erik's velocity drastically decreased until he was stopped by Edward's Level 8 Force Magic technique. After that, like how magnets repel one another, Erik was now getting pushed away, sending him flying fast in the air before directly crashing into the wall of the arena.

"Edwar—!"

After that, Edward then turned to his father and thrust his sword at him. In front of thousands of audience members, Edward stabbed the emperor to his death.