Chapter 512: Mixing Breathing Styles
Galahad.
It was the name of an important figure from the legend of King Arthur.
He was one of the Knights of the Round Table under King Arthur’s command, and also the son of Lancelot—the very same Lancelot who was known as the strongest among the Knights of the Round Table.
Even though his reputation was not as prominent as famous Knights of the Round Table like Lancelot, Gawain, and Mordred, since his presence did not stand out as much, he was still celebrated as the perfect knight, praised as the youth destined to inherit the next era of the Round Table.
It was said that there was an empty seat at King Arthur’s Round Table, known as the ’Seat of Calamity,’ regarded as the most dangerous seat, where whoever sat in this seat would face misfortune.
Yet there was actually one person who sat there openly, without fear—a seat nobody else dared to take.
It was said that, in King Arthur’s eyes, one of the Knights of the Round Table existed perhaps to correct his own shortcomings—a being more perfect and resolute than himself.
And that person was Galahad.
Galahad’s most famous legend was the quest for the Holy Grail, a miraculous relic said to grant any wish.
In Galahad’s lifetime, nearly everyone sought the Holy Grail, which could fulfill any desire, and King Arthur himself was no exception, yet in the end, none succeeded.
Only Galahad succeeded in finding the Holy Grail that even King Arthur had failed to obtain, yet he made no wish upon it, but instead returned it to heaven.
In the end, the unselfish Galahad ascended along with the Holy Grail, leaving behind a silent yet brilliant legacy in the world.
Now, Mash called out the name of this legendary perfect knight before the cursed Moss of Britain.
In fact, there was nothing improper about this because, in the first place, she truly could be called Galahad.
One should remember that she was a Demi-Servant, a being born from Chaldea’s experiment that fused the power of a Servant with a human, becoming something between the two.
Coincidentally, the Servant she fused with was none other than Galahad, which in turn made her both Mash and Galahad, both human and Servant.
In other words, she had the right and legitimacy to claim the name Galahad.
However, even as Mash called out Galahad’s name, she did not refer to herself as a Knight of the Round Table but called herself a Fairy Knight.
Such a fact not only caused Riezel to narrow his eyes, but also left Mash stunned on the spot.
’Fairy Knight?’
’Galahad?’
’What are they?’
Having forgotten everything, Mash had shouted those names out of instinct, and now she was lost in confusion.
Of course, the Moss didn’t care about her confusion.
*Vmmm—*
With the sound of the air trembling, dark, cursed energy gathered, forming projectiles above the heads of every Moss, all aimed to fire at Mash.
"?!"
Mash’s defensive instincts were triggered.
She quickly cleared her mind, tightened her grip on her shield, and prepared to block Moss’s attack once again, but unfortunately, she never got the chance.
*BANG!*
A blast suddenly erupted behind Mash.
"Kyaaa—!"
Caught off guard, Mash let out a startled cry.
Amid her cry, a streak of fire flashed past her and shot toward the Moss at incredible speed.
Anyone who knew Riezel and saw this scene would have been shocked.
At this moment, Riezel was clearly using Sun Breathing, but it felt as if he were using Thunder Breathing because the explosive speed that only Thunder Breathing could unleash was now on display.
At this moment, there were only two differences between the current Riezel and when he used Thunder Breathing.
One, what sounded was not thunder, but explosions.
Two, what appeared was not a lightning bolt, but flames.
Other than that, Riezel’s speed, explosive power, and straight-line dash were identical to those of Thunder Breathing’s Thunderclap and Flash.
"Sun Breathing - First Form - Dance."
With a faint voice, the flames moved at breakneck speed to the front of a Moss.
Inside the flames, a blazing slash erupted, tracing a perfect circle like a miniature sun wheel appearing on the ground, and sliced toward the Moss.
*Pssshhh—!*
A blazing slash, as fast as a lightning bolt, swept through several Moss’s bodies, carrying immense heat and force, effortlessly cleaving all of them in two.
*SKRAAAAGH—!*
*SKRAAAAGH—!*
*SKRAAAAGH—!*
Strangled screams escaped from the Moss that were cut in half, and immediately, flames ignited their bisected bodies, burning them completely to ash, leaving not a trace behind.
"..."
In an instant, silence fell over the area.
Mash stared wide-eyed at the scene, stunned, while the remaining Moss, filled with dark, cursed energy, seemed frozen for a moment, as if shocked by what had just happened, not moving an inch.
*Click—*
Riezel appeared amidst the flames, completely ignoring the countless Moss around him, and slowly sheathed his sword as he stood still.
A faint smile, tinged with surprise, quietly appeared on his face.
’It worked.’
Yes, it worked.
’Unleashing the explosive technique of Thunder Breathing while in Sun Breathing mode really worked.’
Needless to say, that was exactly why Riezel had just been able to move at such incredible speed, and why it had looked so much like he was using Thunder Breathing.
One should note that the first sword form of Thunder Breathing, Thunderclap and Flash, was a quick-draw strike.
It involved channeling power into one foot, then releasing it all at once, dashing forward at a speed that seemed to tear through the air like thunder, closing in on the opponent at such velocity that even demons couldn’t follow, and then landing a lightning-fast strike to sever a demon’s head.
Thunder Breathing placed extremely high demands on the explosive power of both legs, so although Thunderclap and Flash was the most basic first sword form, it was also the hardest to master among the six sword forms of Thunder Breathing.
Given that, if one used Sun Breathing and channeled power into a single foot like Thunder Breathing, then released it in an instant for a high-speed rush, what would happen?
Riezel had just given the answer.
What tore through the air was no longer thunder, but an explosive blast.
What burst forth was no longer a lightning bolt, but flames.
As a result, the slash unleashed was not Thunderclap and Flash, but Dance.
In fact, this was the Sun Breathing variant that Tanjirou once used in the original work called ’Dancing Flash.’
Riezel had remembered that move right when he thought about boosting his speed while using Sun Breathing, so he tried it here, and it worked on the very first attempt.
’It makes sense.’
Riezel spoke quietly in his heart.
’Thunder Breathing was always the breathing style I used most, especially Thunderclap and Flash. I’ve used it just as much as any of Sun Breathing’s sword forms.’
’And since I developed the thirteenth sword form of Sun Breathing, Blooming Radiance, which, like Thunderclap and Flash, is a quick-draw technique, with that kind of foundation, even if others couldn’t do it, there’s no way I’d have trouble pulling off Thunder Breathing’s explosive technique while using Sun Breathing.’
Even Tanjirou had managed it, so of course Riezel wouldn’t fall short—that was the idea.
Naturally, this was just the beginning.
’If I can use the fundamental technique of Thunderclap and Flash to unleash a Sun Breathing sword form, can I do the same with Godspeed?’
’If Godspeed works, then what about Flaming Thunder God?’
’If I could unleash a speed on par with Flaming Thunder God while using Sun Breathing, then even in Strong Attack Mode, my speed wouldn’t lose out to Fast Attack Mode—maybe I could even surpass it?’
If this worked, then Riezel’s Strong Attack Mode would gain the benefits of Fast Attack Mode, achieving the perfect balance of overwhelming power and incredible speed.
At that point, Riezel’s strength would skyrocket, and perhaps facing Lancelot or Gawain again would no longer be such a headache.
’In the original work, Tanjirou even managed to use Water Breathing together with Sun Breathing, pulling off that unbelievable hybrid technique.’
’If that’s possible, maybe I could go even further—mix Thunder Breathing into Sun Breathing, and use both at once.’
’What about Wind Breathing? Moon Breathing? Could those be combined too?’
Because he had successfully performed Dancing Flash, Riezel’s mind wandered with all sorts of ideas.
"Mr. Riezel!"
Just as Riezel’s thoughts started to drift, Mash cried out in alarm, snapping him back to reality.
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
In the next instant, a barrage of jet-black projectiles rained down, landing on Riezel’s body, engulfing him and setting off a chain of thunderous explosions.
Seeing Riezel, who had charged into their midst, gotten surrounded, and was now standing there absentmindedly with his sword sheathed, the Moss that had hesitated before finally attacked all at once.
*BANG!*
A blast powerful enough to send shockwaves through the air erupted, leaving cracks running through the ground, but this time, the explosion was not caused by the Moss—it came from an eruption of blazing flames.
At this moment, the flames evaporated the air, unleashing searing heat, and even drove away the dark magical energy that carried tremendous cursed power—this scene looked just like holy flames purifying evil, suddenly igniting in the darkness and swiftly blowing away the writhing Moss all around.
"Sun Breathing - Sixth Form - Burning Bones, Summer Sun."
A slashing attack, like a vortex of flames, surged explosively with burning intensity, cleaving through each of the Moss that had been sent flying.
*Pssshhh—!**Pssshhh—!**Pssshhh—!*
Burning sounds resounded as the blazing slashes resembled flashes of fire, instantly cutting through every Moss before they could even hit the ground, slicing them all cleanly in half and killing them on the spot.
Raging flames erupted, engulfing each of the Moss, purifying, banishing, and burning them away until nothing remained.
Riezel stood with his sword in hand, surrounded by clusters of falling flames, each containing a Moss gradually being burned to ashes.
In Mash’s eyes, the sight resembled a spectacular fireworks display—remarkably sacred and undeniably beautiful.
’A-Amazing...’
Mash was stunned once again.
She didn’t know what those monsters were or how dangerous they might be, but her intuition still told her that what she was witnessing was something impossible to see in everyday life—something no ordinary person could ever hope to do.
At this moment, in Mash’s eyes, Riezel was no different from a god.
He was the god of fire who commanded the flames.
He was the god of the sun who brought light to the land.
He was also the god of war and the god of swords, whose sword moved as if it possessed a will of its own.
"Mr. Riezel... is way stronger than Sir Gawain..."
Mash subconsciously muttered, then suddenly froze.
’Who’s Sir Gawain?’
Mash tilted her head, confusion written all over her face, the look slightly easing the tension in the air.
"You okay?"
Riezel walked over and, seeing Mash’s bewildered expression, asked her right away.
"N-No problem!" Mash snapped out of it and quickly shook her head. "Um... those things just now were...?"
"They were Moss." Riezel didn’t pursue the matter further and answered her question. "I’ll explain the details once we’re back."
"Alright." Mash nodded solemnly, then asked again. "Do you know Galahad and Fairy Knight?"
"...You don’t know?" Riezel gave her a strange look. "Then why did you announce yourself with those names?"
"Well... I’m not really sure myself..." Mash hesitated, not knowing how to explain. "At that moment, I just had this feeling, like a voice inside my heart told me I could do it."
"Heh, I guess that makes sense." Riezel couldn’t help but chuckle. "Honestly, no one’s more suited than you to use Galahad’s name, but it’s one thing to call yourself Galahad; I didn’t expect you to use Fairy Knight, too. Good thing you’re a Demi-Servant. You might not be a real Servant, but you still have Servant traits. Otherwise, the fairies in this country might just die laughing."
Fairies could distinguish between fairies and humans by their scent, magical energy, and appearance, but they couldn’t tell fairies apart from Servants, so in the eyes of most fairies, Servants were basically just like them.
In other words, Mash, just like Riezel, could disguise herself as a fairy and wouldn’t be mistaken for a human. Even if she called herself a Fairy Knight in front of a crowd, it would probably only surprise people, not make them laugh at her.
Understanding this, Riezel glanced at Mash beside him, seeing that the faint glow around her had already faded.
However, from the moment Mash arrived here, came to Britain, set foot on the land where the Knights of the Round Table lived, the power belonging to Galahad inside her had been completely awakened.
Adding her declaration as a Fairy Knight, Mash had probably received the same blessing as the other Fairy Knights known as ’True Name Redesignation.’
At the very least, the power Riezel sensed from Mash just now, one not inferior at all to a Fairy Knight, was definitely not his imagination.
Of course, that power wasn’t a fake like Tristan’s, but rather on par with Lancelot and Gawain.
"Knights of the Round Table, huh..." Riezel murmured softly.
He really wanted to see for himself what those famous knights looked like when they appeared on this land.