CLEAVER OF SIN Chapter 592: Insanity

Debro observed every offensive move Asher launched with piercing, professional focus. He had initially intended to crush the youth using raw swordsmanship, deep combat experience, and superior physical prowess. After all, despite the Tenth Sun’s reputation for being exceptional even by Wargrave standards, his awakening had occurred only a year ago; expertise in battle is a discipline that requires years of dedication and grueling refinement to master.

Yet, to his utter astonishment, Asher kept pace in every category: matching him in speed, mirroring his strength, and mimicking his fundamental sword techniques blow for blow.

It felt almost surreal, as if he were witnessing a phenomenon that defied the very laws of reality. He struggled to fathom how such immense progress could be achieved in such a brief window. Holding onto that disbelief, he accelerated his rhythm, weaving thrusts and slashes into a relentless, unbroken chain of lethality. His strikes were precise and unpredictable, but Asher parried them with a grace that seemed bordering on the absurd.

Debro held back, not yet tapping into his full physical limit, his Astra energy, his awakened ability, or even his proprietary Katana styles. Still, according to the natural order, Asher should have been the weaker combatant. The gap in Life Rank he had mentioned earlier was no mere arrogance; it was a fundamental truth that had always held sway.

However, right before him, that established LAW was being shattered.

Amidst his shock, a surge of joy surfaced—a deep, burgeoning pride. How could he not be elated? Who wouldn't feel immense satisfaction seeing the person they held most dear exhibit such monstrous talent, defying everything the world once deemed impossible?

As their dance continued, he began to savor the rhythm and the unspoken rapport between their steel blades. To him, this sparring was simply another intimate way to pass time with the one he adored, Asher.

While Asher fought with a lethal edge, intent on inflicting true harm, these strikes were nothing more than child's play to Debro. Within his heightened sensory perception, he could deflect, evade, or counter every single motion without breaking a sweat.

Just as he held back, he realized Asher was not showing his full hand either. Debro knew the Wargraves possessed elemental affinities, yet Asher had utilized none. He knew of the devastating potential of Soul-bound weapons, yet no such overt offensive power had been unleashed. This was merely a fraction of the boy’s true capacity.

Debro subtly increased the tempo, not out of necessity, but from a growing curiosity. He wanted to test if Asher would stumble. Instead, Asher adapted instantly, shifting his pace before the acceleration took hold, as though he could interpret the very intent hidden in Debro’s movements.

That realization left Debro in genuine awe.

'Are all Wargraves like this?' he pondered. He had never engaged a Wargrave before, and their reputation as monsters among monsters was legendary. If a labeled failure like Asher possessed this skill, the implications were staggering.

He shook the thought away almost immediately.

'No... only my Asher could possess such gifts,' he decided with quiet conviction.

Even trapped in a life-or-death confrontation, he found leisure in these internal musings—a testament to his supreme level of control. He existed on an entirely different plane of power.

With his resolve set, he transitioned from defense to a sudden offensive strike, parrying Asher’s thrust before sending his own katana in a blinding arc toward the boy's chest. Asher reacted with reflexive fluidity, twisting his wrist to intercept the blow with perfect technique. Though the kinetic feedback surged through his frame, Asher did not falter.

The rapier surged forward again like a venomous viper, aimed directly at Debro’s vision. Debro simply adjusted his stance, stepping back to remove himself from the weapon's reach.

Asher had seen it coming.

Maintaining his momentum, he shifted his thrust into a lethal downward diagonal cut, eyes locked on Debro’s chest. The transition was flawless.

Yet, Debro had predicted this adjustment before the muscle even tensed. Preferring to dominate, he finally decided to stop playing the passive role.

With a flick of his wrist, his katana blurred.

Five thousand strikes ignited in a single second.

A cascade of silver light enveloped the decimated forest, each streak sharp enough to unravel reality. They coalesced into a unified storm of annihilation, descending upon Asher with the weight of a world-ending force.

Asher’s eyes widened in sheer panic.

Five thousand strikes in one heartbeat was beyond reason. Given the ease of Debro’s posture, he could surely triple that volume in half the time.

Asher didn't dare block the whole onslaught. He drifted into a kinetic blur, weaving through the gaps of the storm with desperate grace. The strikes he couldn't dodge, he met with Virelass, each impact sending agonizing shockwaves through his arms.

As the barrage struck the land, a portion of the forest simply ceased to exist. A ten-kilometer radius was erased, shattered into unrecognizable debris. Massive sword gashes scarred the earth, stretching for miles, creating nightmarish chasms that looked as if the Abyss itself were erupting into the world.

A massive pillar of dust billowed three thousand feet into the sky in a grotesque mushroom cloud. The air itself seemed to churn in violent madness.

In that moment of absolute ruin and total destruction, the only fitting word was: INSANITY.