Demon Lord's Reincarnation

Lisa who was barely able to stand smiled fearlessly at Valdel. She then turned around and walked towards her twin blades that she tossed aside. Once she had her swords back in her hands, she lowered her hands so that the blades were pointing downwards. In the distance, Ren was shocked when he saw her stance.

That was the same stance Leo loved to use once he got serious. Leonard Tranor was one of the stronger incarnations of the Strongest Mortal Soul, and his techniques were all top class. Yet that stance was basically his signature stance, his most powerful skills can only be used with that stance.

A stance that could defend and attack within the same breath. Even though Lisa was far weaker than Leonard Tranor, Ren could feel that Lisa's sword intent had reached an unbelievable level.

...

Valdel who was standing in front of Lisa was even more dumbfounded than Ren. The power Lisa was emitting wasn't the increase of one's mana, it was the power of a concept.

'This is a Sword Intent and a rather powerful one at that.'

Valdel had memories of facing those using Sword Intent most of them were heroes he had faced as Demon Lord Kir. Sword Intent does not rely on the strength of mana or any other spiritual energy, nor did it rely on the strength of one's physical body. Sword Intent can only be achieved if one has reached a certain level of their understanding in the way of the sword.

Valdel could also manifest Sword Intent but his version would be weaker as his true fighting style relied on his body. The concept he cultivated was battle intent, but even that was not at the same level as what Lisa was showing right now.

...

While both Valdel and Ren were in a state of awe, Lisa was in a trance-like state. Seeing as this would be the end no matter what, she put everything and betted her entire existence into her swords.

When Valdel saw Lisa's sword intent solidifying he sighed and took a stance. Even though Lisa was already nearly out of mana and her body had a few broken ribs, he did not let his guard down. Valdel used a breathing technique to stabilize his mana. He then waited for Lisa to make a move.

Seeing that Valdel was done with his preparations, Lisa slowly walked towards him. Unlike before when she burst forward at unbelievable speeds, this time Lisa was walking as if she was taking a casual stroll.

As Lisa was getting near, Valdel observed Lisa's every movement. He wanted to see if there were any signs of what she would do next. Yet no matter how hard he looked there was nothing, it was as if she truly had no intention of attacking him.

Since he had no way of knowing what she would do next, Valdel decided to discard the idea of evading and circulated the entirety of his mana through his body. He strengthened his defense to the extreme.

The moment Lisa was within arm's length from Valdel, her arms suddenly blurred. Even with Valdel's dynamic vision, he was unable to see the moment she initiated her attack. There was no time to evade nor block the move that was about to come.

Valdel gritted his teeth and waited for the attack to arrive. Lisa's swords were now pointing at Valdel's heart and neck. Yet despite the speed and precision, she could not follow through, she had used everything she had simply to make that move.

Despite Lisa being the one who attacked, she started bleeding from her mouth and her hands were now trembling. She smiled sweetly at Valdel and spoke.

"It would seem that this was my win, right?"

"Yeah, it is."

"So am I strong enough to follow you guys?"

"Yes, you are."

"I see, so I finally proved myself worthy to be a part of your group."

"What do you mean, Lisa? You were always a part of our group." Hearing Valdel's response, Lisa showed a bright smile.

"Is that true, that's good to hear." After saying those words Lisa could no longer keep on standing and collapsed to the ground. Valdel caught her, he almost cried as he felt Lisa's life fading in his hands.

It was at that moment, Ren appeared before the two. When Valdel and Lisa saw Ren, they wanted to question him if he was the dream world Ren or the real world Ren, but before they could ask anything, Ren spoke.

"Lisa, I'll ask you this once, right now I have the power to bring you and Valdel back to the real world, do you wish to go?"

When Valdel and Lisa heard Ren's declaration they were surprised. After a moment of silence, Lisa shook her head and responded.

"There's no need, I already achieved everything I wanted. If I go back now, I'll just once again become the weak Lisa that would hold you guys back."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I have already proven myself worthy to call myself a part of the group. I get to die in my beloved's arms. The only thing that would make this better is if Lara was here."

"In my current state, I can fulfill that request." Ren used the original Incarnation's power and sliced through space and pulled something from beyond it. Ren had forcibly summoned Lara into this dream world.

Lara who was at first in a state of confusion looked around and was able to get the gist of what was happening. Seeing what happened dumbfounded Lisa as she chuckled.

"You really can do everything... It's been a while, Lara."

"Yeah, it has been a while, big sis."

Seeing her sister, her childhood friend, and her beloved surround her as she was dying, made Lisa feel a sense of content.

"This truly was the best dream... Lara, I wasn't able to say this before, but thank you for being the best little sister." When Lara heard what Lisa said she couldn't hold back her tears and cried as she responded.

"It was an honor to be your little sister."

Lisa then looked at Ren who was standing beside Lara.

"Ren, was I a worthy student, a worthy friend?"

"You were one of my best students, and there can be no denying that you were a worthy friend. Be proud Lisa, for I Ren an incarnation of the Strongest Mortal Soul approve of you."

Lisa could no longer hold herself back when she heard Ren's approval. Lisa's tears fell from her face, and she smiled a very brilliant smile. She then looked at Valdel who was gritting his teeth looking like he was in pain. She lifted her weak arms and caressed his face. She then lifted her face with much difficulty and kissed Valdel.

The kiss between the two only lasted for a second but to them, it was an eternity.

"Thank you for coming back for me. Thank you for allowing me to love you." Valdel then hugged Lisa tightly.

"I'm glad that this time I get to see you all before I go... Thank you, guys... For granting me... A... Wonderful... Dream-"