I stepped into the repaired arena with a certain calm that I hadnt felt in quite a while. Not since before I awakened, in fact. After a mont of deliberation, I realized that this would be the first fight I actually wanted to have because I wanted to. There wasnt anything else to it. Until now, every fight I had been in had been for the sake of sothing else, be it levels, to prove a point or simply to survive.
This ti, however, I just wanted to enjoy the act of fighting. To test my skills against soone I respected. On top of that, I wouldnt have to hold back like I did against friends. I had to give it to the tournants organizers, they knew how to set the stage.
The rough, earthy flooring that the arena had had an hour ago had now been replaced by clean white tiles. To be fair, maybe this change had only been made in response to the previous fights, which had all turned the arena into a crater.
On the opposite side of the circular area, a relatively small woman stood. With blonde hair and stark blue eyes, any sensible person would describe her as beautiful. Her petite face gave away her age, she looked no older than . The seeded list had put her at just a few months older than , as well.
Eri was a holy maiden of the church of Helios, and she represented them in this tournant. I didnt really know the implications of all this, but it was clear they were proud of their foremost tier 2 classer, seeing as how several priests and nuns were in the stands, holding a banner that said Go, Eri!.
Chuckling at the sight, I noticed a faint blush appear on my soon-to-be opponents face, though I paid it no heed. Now was the ti to fight, after all. With my newly evolved skills, I was confident in overcoming Eris experience and battle-sense. Well, I would hold off on using [Corrosive mark] and [Cascading mana-intrusive swordsmanship] for a while. It served well to keep a few trump cards for later in the fight.
Finally, the announcer began his speech.
Ladies, gentlen and others, welco to the finale of this gripping tournant! After a series of overwhelmingly difficult challenges, only two contestants have made it further than their peers, grating them a spot in the finals!
On one side, we have a familiar face, Arthur the [Overloading Death Knight]! People have started to call him the immortal after his last series of fights, where he started to show his true power! His superior defences, overwhelming style of combat and nigh-invulnerability make him a truly fearso opponent! He participated in the tier 2 doubles finale as well, where he defeated Peter Arcellus in a head-on clash. Will he be the victor in the singles tournant as well?!
That will depend on his opponent, Eri Helios, proud holy maiden of the church! A prodigy since birth, this [Angelic spear maiden] quickly rose through the ranks, so much so that even the bishop took notice. As a result, he personally saw to her training! Eri uses a sharp and fluid style of combat. This, combined with her incredible holy power has allowed her to pierce her opponents defences no matter what! The ultimate offence versus the ultimate defence, who will prevail?!
And look at this, both participants have equipped their titles! [Dark prodigy], in Arthurs case and [Holy light] in Eris case. We can only imagine what effects those two titles will have!
Now then, without further ado, I shall comnce the countdown. Arthur and Eri, you may start in 321...start!
Without hesitation, we both shot into action. I didnt bother holding back and imdiately phased into shadows, reappearing behind Eri. She reacted instantly and whirled around when she sensed danger. She backhanded her spear and would have knocked any ordinary person out with the blunt force she sent towards my head. Unfortunately for her, she hadnt known that I remained intangible for half a second after reappearing. As a result, the but of her spear phased right through my head. I moved out of the way and brought down my sword, aiming straight for her neck. I was halfway there by the tile I rematerialized. Eri eyes went wide in shock as she saw her ineffective counterattack. Then, her hands and spear turned into a white blur. The shifted just enough to block my strike in the nick of ti, saving Eri from a humiliating loss.
I recovered from the failed attempt quickly and took a step back, sending a barrage of sword arcs her way. She blocked each one with her surprisingly versatile spearman ship, before sending a strange bolt of mana my way by thrusting her spear in my general direction.
Thinking that that must have been the equivalent of a sword arc, but then for spears, I blocked it and used the strikes montum to launch myself another few steps backward.
By this point, five illusory spears had appeared around Eri. She charged forward, her spears in tow, and assaulted with a flurry of strikes from her spears optimal distance. The giant, illusory copies of her weapons danced around her and moved to join her assault.
Recognising her strategy and the danger it posed, I had to co up with a plan to counter it. I knew that if I got stuck in het flow, I would slowly be worn out or overwheld by her varied attack-patterns. Her illusory spears were the real problem. They covered for her shortcomings and would force in place. Even if I decided to just ignore the wounds they left as they stabbed , I wouldnt be able to deal with Eri. Wounds might not be deadly to , but even in the best-case scenario, they still impaired my mobility.
To make matters worse, Eri would have more tricks up her sleeve. Thankfully, I had considered all these facts beforehand and co up with sothing.
I waited for Eri to charge at again and moved the mont her spears got within a few ters of . Activating a skill, I felt my mana flow into action.
My grin widened as I felt five black orbs co into existence around . Despite the skill becoming cheaper than before, I felt nearly all my overloaded mana be expended as it gathered in five separate places, but the result was worth it. The five marbles shined like black stars in a white sky, drowning out the light that Eri gave off.
I saw confusion in Eris eyes, which then turned into panic as she started to realise what I was doing. Luckily for her, I wasnt aiming for her. With a rough push from my [Overload aura], the black orbs each shot toward a separate illusory spear. I knew they had physical properties, so I wasnt surprised when every orb exploded on impact. I was surprised by the size of the explosions themselves, though. Both Eri and I had gotten caught up in the series of blasts. In fact, we were at the epicentre.
I felt my flesh tear and bones break as my legs buckled under the shockwaves that ca from every direction. As the dust started to settle, I had to tear several pieces of armour out of my body, because they had gotten stuck there. Slowly, I felt my body nd itself.
Then, suddenly, Eri shot out from the cloud of dust, her spear aid straight at my heart. I moved to block with my sword and activated my maelstrom too, in panic. Surprisingly, Eri all but ignored my maelstrom, though my sword managed to knock her spear off target.
Eri looked a little roughed up, but a golden halo above her head must have protected her from the worst of the blast.
Both of us backed up in trepidation, unwilling to give the initiative to the other person. Her giant white spears had been destroyed in the blast, thankfully. The five circular craters around us were the only sign that they had even existed. Despite this, Eri maintained her usual calm.
Then, the calm was cast away by the storm. Both of us launched into a series of attacks, both long and short ranged. Eris bolts clashed against my sword-arcs, and her spear clashed with my sword. We shot back and forth across the arena, our feet digging into the ground each ti we tested our strength. I managed to skilfully redirect a few of her ranged attacks and land a few small cuts on her body in direct physical combat, but it was still clear that I was outmatched.
Eri wielded her spear like a part of her body rather than a tool, and her skills showed this. One mont she would be spinning her spear above her head, creating waves of white mana that threatened to throw into the air, and another she would send a deadly series of thrusts my way, that left deep grooves in the walls of the arena.
Even though I was holding my own, she was slowly starting to push back. Already, dozens of wounds had appeared on my body, appearing faster than dark form could heal them. I tried to buy so ti by hiding in my maelstrom, but the white halo would appear above Eris head and she would just walk straight through it as if it wasnt even there.
The few tis I ca close to seriously wounding Eri, her arms would turn into a white blur like before and block my strike just in ti. Evidently, she had so powerful skills that served to keep at bay.
Surprisingly, she was the first to lose her cool. She ended our clash and started at with a resentful look in her eyes.
I know you can leave curse marks. Why havent you? Are you looking down on ? Or are you trying to get sothing from ? Go all out, coward! she said, flustered.
Sighing, I decided to just be honest with her since I wanted to avoid stupid misunderstandings.
My curse mark levelled up before. Its quite deadly now. Are you ready? I asked, determined. I knew I would have to use it if I wanted to win.
Dont announce your surprise attacks, idiot! she said, blushing.
I laughed for a mont, before phasing into the shadows. She whirled around with her spear, looking for where I would reappear. In monts like these, I would have to rely on an old trick: appearing above my opponent.
I thrust my sword down as I fell. At the last second, her defensive skill activated again, saving her just in ti. Despite this, I had managed to leave a small wound. With it, I had left the corrosive curse mark. Now, all I would have to do was hit the curse mark enough tis to win the match.
Then, Eri pulled a move I didnt expect. Instead of making so space, she ignored her festering wound and counterattacked. I blocked, but she successfully managed to leave a small nick of her own. The skin on my torso bled a little before dark form moved to heal it. As my dark mana made contact with the wound, I felt a painful pang near the wound, making stumble.
W- what? How?! I shouted. This was the first ti I had felt pain this intense since my awakening.
Eri smiled.
Did you think the church wouldnt copy the idea of curse marks? Holy marks are difficult to cast, but theyre powerful. She said, slightly smugly.
I laughed as the pain intensified, almost making dizzy. Then, Eri gasped as I cut off a chunk of my torso, bone and all. The pain stopped, though the chunk of flesh and bone on the floor still sizzled with holy power. Dark form moved to heal my ribs and flesh without issue.
She stared, aghast, at the gaping hole in my chest, which showed my still beating heart.
I grinned.
Are you sure all that effort to copy curse marks was worth it?
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