Velren exhaled slowly, tightening his grip around the hilt of his katana.
For the first ti ever, this was an actual fight against another person.
Not against Fenrir. Not against Skoll.
Those two were monsters—legends in their own right. No matter how much training he endured against them, he was still no match for their overwhelming strength. They weren’t a fair asurent of his skill.
Which made this mont all the more interesting.
How does he compare to his peers?
The ice-wielding student—let’s call him Ice—forged another jagged spear of frost, his breath visible in the suddenly chilled air. His teammate, a broad-shouldered brawler with knuckle-guards, cracked his fists.
"You gonna keep standing there?" Ice taunted, hurling his spear forward.
Velren flickered.
A blur of movent.
The ice spear pierced through his form—only for it to vanish into empty air.
"Tch—again?!"
The brawler moved instinctively, turning his head just in ti to see Velren materializing behind Ice, flashing his katana.
"Behind you!"
Ice reacted fast—raising his arms as a thick wall of frost surged up between them.
But Velren didn’t stop.
His blade struck the frozen barrier—CRACK!—splintering through the ice.
A heartbeat later, a vortex of ethereal black tendrils spiraled into existence from his free hand.
Gravemaw.
A pulling sensation gripped the battlefield.
The shattered shards of ice, loose dirt, and even the air itself seed to warp as the semi-null space opened.
Ice staggered, causing his footing to slipped. "What—"
But his teammate reacted fast. The brawler lunged through the force, swinging a brutal punch toward Velren’s ribs.
’Whoa!’
Velren barely managed to disengage, shifting his weight and twisting his body to avoid the blow.
But the brawler wasn’t done.
He stomped down—shattering the ground beneath him—and launched a devastating uppercut.
Velren leaned back, narrowly avoiding the impact. The sheer force whooshed past his face, strong enough to crack the bark of a nearby tree.
’Damn, that’s heavy.’
Velren’s feet barely touched the ground before Ice took advantage of the mont, slamming his hands down—
A surge of frost burst from the ground in jagged, towering spikes, encasing everything in a frozen cage.
Velren barely managed to weave between the rising ice pillars.
But just as he slipped through—
SWOOSH!
A second barrage of ice spears was already in mid-air, all locked onto him.
"Let’s see you dodge this!"
Velren’s eyes sharpened.
’Then I won’t dodge...’
A flicker—his katana flashed in rapid motion.
The first spear shattered. The second deflected. The third—
Velren twisted—he launched himself into a dizzying spin, his katana carving a spiraling arc around him. Each turn scattered shards of broken frost outward, the whirling motion making his figure erratic, harder to target directly.
Mid-air.
He spun—and suddenly, Gravemaw manifested once more.
This ti, he aid it below.
A vortex of dark energy expanded, pulling at the ice spears, dragging the frost down into nothingness before they could reach him.
Then, he dove.
His blade scread through the air, targeting Ice’s unguarded flank.
"Shit—!"
A desperate wall of frost rose to shield him—
Too late.
Velren’s katana sliced through.
Not deep—but enough to force Ice back, staggering, a thin cut marking his forearm.
"Damn it," Ice growled, stepping back as his breath beca more ragged.
But his brawler teammate was already rushing forward.
A straight punch—Velren sidestepped.
A follow-up kick—he barely ducked under it.
A feint—shit, Velren felt the fist connect this ti, slamming into his side and sending him skidding backward, causing him to coughed by the impact.
’Alright. That one hurt.’
"You guys... hit hard, huh?"
Ice grinned despite the wound.
"Yeah? Try keeping up."
Velren just simply smirked, rolling his shoulders.
Ice narrowed his eyes. "Cocky bastard—"
Before he could finish, Velren was already moving.
A blur. A step forward—then another.
Velren suddenly dropped low, sliding across the frost-slicked ground like a speeding bullet. The unexpected maneuver made Ice instinctively hurl his ice shard toward where Velren should have been standing—only for it to soar harmlessly over his crouched form.
Ice hesitated—flicking his eyes between the sudden shift in position.
That re hesitation was enough, Velren was already in front of him with his katana on the ready.
"Tch—!"
Ice barely managed to summon a shield of frost in ti, forming the icy wall between them.
But—
CRACK!
A sharp hiss filled the air as Velren’s blade split the frozen shield in half.
Ice reeled back, but his brawler teammate was already charging forward, aiming to intercept.
Velren saw him coming.
’Good. Co closer...’
As the brawler swung his fist, Velren leaned back, narrowly avoiding the impact.
Then—Gravemaw.
A vortex erupted in the space between them, creating a sudden force that yanked the brawler forward, throwing him off balance.
"What the—?"
Velren capitalized on it.
He spun—bringing his katana’s poml up—slamming it into the brawler’s jaw.
THUD.
The blow sent the brawler stumbling, causing his vision to swam.
One down for now.
Velren turned back to Ice—
Only to see the air freezing around him.
’That... looks bad...’
A sharp cold swept through the battlefield. Ice had abandoned defense—he was going all in. But Velren had already felt it before he even saw it.
A storm of razor-sharp ice shards burst from the ground, swirling around him in a deadly vortex.
"Let’s see you cut through this!" Ice shouted.
Velren’s gaze sharpened.
Fine.
Then he’d just have to break through.
He sprinted straight into the storm.
The ice slashed at his skin. but Velren didn’t slow down.
He zigzagged in sharp, erratic bursts—dashing right, then left, each motion breaking the predictable rhythm Ice had expected. His katana swept in wide arcs, not rely blocking but breaking the flow of the incoming shards, creating pockets of safe paths within the maelstrom.
"What—?"
Velren’s katana whistled through the air—
And struck.
A sharp pain blood across Ice’s arm as Velren’s blade cut past his defense.
"Gah—!"
Ice staggered, causing his stance to faltered, but Velren didn’t give him ti to recover. With a final push, he vanished—flickering behind Ice, resting his katana’s edge just above his shoulder.
"Ga over."
Ice tensed, and his frost magic faltered.
Defeat.
The brawler, still dazed, groaned from where he’d fallen.
Velren gasped for breath, lowering his blade.
Unfortunately for the two, they had no idea what kind of opponents he had been up against before.
Beasts that dwarfed human capabilities in every way. Creatures that had shredded through his defenses ti and ti again, pushing him to the very brink of survival.
Velren shivered slightly at the thought of those training montage that he had endured...
He then shook his head, exhaling through his nose before turning on his heel.
Ti to check on Eterna... He sprinted toward the beacon, his katana was still in hand.
But then—he noticed sothing.
The beacon.
What was supposed to be a blue light soaring high above the sky earlier... had now turned red.
Velren’s steps slowed for just a mont, his brow furrowing.
That ans—
He quickened his pace.
***
The battlefield should still be in chaos. Should be.
But as he broke past the tree line—
What greeted him was not the sight of a battle in progress.
No.
The fight was already over.
A lone silver-haired girl stood near the base of the beacon, her rapier was lowered at her side, completely unscathed.
And around her—
Four unconscious bodies lay strewn across the battlefield.
Velren stopped in his tracks, staring.
Then—he let out a hollow chuckle.
"She’s a monster..."
Reviews
All reviews (0)