Dysfunctional - An Assassin's Guide to Reincarnating in Another World Chapter 456 455 - World Tournament(Part 14)

Point-of-View: Jhin

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That hurt quite a bit...fortunately, it does not feel like I broke anything. But my abdon and back are in a bit of pain, this will likely slow down by a small, but significant, amount.

No matter, that was an impressive attack, I cannot afford to get hung up on it...I need to move past it and gain the upper hand in this fight.

"Whatcha waiting for? Co at , bro," He taunted with a grin.

Well, if he insists...I then adjusted my grip on the handle of my blade and flung it straight at him like an arrow before rushing forward at top speed, a look of surprise appearing on his face as he blocked it using his axe, my blade bouncing off the flat of his axe as it struck it.

I then ford Destruction Magic blasts in each hand and fired them at him from mid-range, before drawing my sword back towards .

He evaded my first blast and batted the second one away with his axe, before leaping backwards as I closed in on him, grabbed my sword and slashed upwards at him, the tip of my blade grazing his chin.

He then blasted out a wave of black flas at , likely enhanced by wind...I ford a wall of flas in front of myself as I jumped away to the side, my flas only slowing down his attack for a brief instant, barely enough for to evade.

I had sustained a few burns on my legs...tch, black flas are rather troubleso. As a Demon, I have more of a resistance to the negative energy signature it possesses, but this body is still human, so I do feel the effects to an extent.

What a nuisance.

To make matters worse, he is up in the air now...Excalibur gives the ability to jump across the air, however I have no yet mastered that technique. But I cannot hope to land any significant attacks if he stays airborne...

As he fired out a barrage of black fla fireballs down at , I bent my knees and sprang up with all my strength, batting away the incoming fireballs as I shot up through the aid rapidly.

He swiftly flew off to the left as I closed in on him, I imdiately responded by kicking out my right leg to send myself chasing after him-...oh, no, that was too much force!

He evaded with relative ease as I lost control and was forced to land back down, my feet hitting the floor with a loud thud. Tch, having to rely on a still-unreliable option is frustrating...

His Mana reserves are fairly imnse, I cannot realistically expect him to use all of it simply by dragging this fight out. Should I use the finishing move of my blade?

It is far more effective on a grounded opponent that an airborne one...if he chooses to use his finishing move from up there, he will have the advantage. The fact that he has not used it likely ans that he is wary of leaping up into the air again.

"Hey, what do you say we put an end to this? Defend against this if you can," He suddenly called down with a smirk, he axe raised to his left, coated in roaring black flas.

Hm? Does he plan to combine his flas with the finishing move of his axe? No, I do not think that is what he is planning...but then, what is he-...?

Suddenly, he shot down towards at a blinding speed, blasting compressed wind jets out from the soles of his feet.

He closed in on in the blink of an eye, swinging his axe down at as he did. I was just barely able to raise my blade up defensively and block his swing, my knees buckling under the weight of his strike, the floor beneath my feet cracking and breaking apart. Right as our weapons clashed, he unleashed the flas around his axe, several of the streaks hitting and searing my skin painfully.

He then swiftly flew back up, using the Propulsion technique again to shoot himself up...and then blasted himself back down towards .

I deliberately let my right knee hit the floor, in order to secure a more solid base to be able to absorb the impact of his strike. Once again, I was only barely able to get my sword up in ti, most of my body still numb from the force of the previous impact.

I braced myself as he closed in on and slamd his axe down at again, which clashed onto my blade with imnse force, rattling my bones as my knee painfully dug into the floor. S-so heavy!

And in practically an instant, he was back up in the air, preparing to swoop down again. Tch, he got ...his strikes are too powerful, it is all I can do to block, let alone counter.

At this rate, it will only take two or three more strikes at most for him to break through my defenses. I have no choice but to gamble. I shall focus solely on offense, and abandon my defense.

As he rapidly blasted down towards yet again, this ti, I did not prepare to block...instead, I prepared to drive my blade straight at him. The instant he closes in on ...I shall thrust my sword right towards his face.

Here he cos!

Hm? The way he is holding his axe, his right hand holding the middle of the handle while his left hand was firmly grasping the base of the handle...does he intend to thrust instead of slash? Is that in response to my change in stance? Very well, then, as he says...bring it on!

As he closed in on , I imdiately drove my sword up towards him, as he simultaneously drove his axe down towards ...my weapon will hit its target first, my reach is longer than his!

Well fought indeed, but this fight is-...suddenly, right as the tip of my blade got within an inch of his forehead, he took his right hand off his axe handle...and then fired out a wind blast from his left hand, which was gripping the base of his handle.

In the blink of an eye, I found myself outside the barrier in the very next instant. Right before I could strike...he extended his reach imnsely by propelling his axe at my head with a wind blast. Impressive.

I felt a sense of frustration rising up inside ...I did not make any mistakes, I perford close to my best, and yet...he bested . Yes, I am frustrated, but satisfied, my performance in this competition was quite good, not ideal, but there is room for improve-...

"Aw, look who lost, you have my sincere my condolences," Smirked Belia with a mockingly sympathetic look on her face, before dropping all pretenses, "Hah, that's what you get for shitting on my joke!"

"How childish, you disgrace yourself, forr Demigod," I huffed in response, deciding to bottle my irritation.

"The high road, huh...how boring. Well, anyway, the winner is...Rion of Abyss! Oh, and let add, THE LOSER IS, the participant with the highest power level in the competition, Jhin of Abyss! Let's have a round of pity applause for the LOSER, everyone!"

"Uh, hey, man, don't let it get to you," Remarked Rion with a sheepish grin as I felt it beco a lot more difficult to bottle my annoyance.

He had a thin trickle of blood running down from his forehead...ahh, I see, the tip of my sword must have pierced his skin before I got teleported out. Had I been just another fraction of a second faster, I would have won...

"What could you possibly an? Nothing 'gets to '," I responded with a strained smile.

"S-sure...let's, uh, let's head back, what do you say?" He suggested awkwardly.

"Yes...that sounds good."

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Point-of-View: Kuro Black

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"Okay, we've got a half-hour break before the final. So, what's everyone's impression of the tournant so far?" I asked the other leaders.

"Pretty entertaining so far. Of course, it does help that one of ours finished in the top four," Grinned Sylvar in response.

"I agree, especially since two of the Rustlands' participants finished in the top eight, with one of them currently in the top two with a chance to win the whole competition," Nodded Cusana with a smile...guess she's extra pleased since it's her daughter who's made it to the final...

"I thought it was unfortunate that none of Idyll's participants made it to the top eight, and only one making it to the top sixteen, but nevertheless, this has been quite enjoyable to watch," Added Siterra in approval.

Aweso, I think it's safe to say that this has been a fairly resounding success.

"Excuse , Lord Kuro, I have a small concern to report," Suddenly ca Zero's voice, as he poked his head inside the VIP area.

"Hm? A small concern? If it's not a big deal, you can handle it as you see fit, you know,", I responded.

"Well, you see...it is a bit bizarre, I am uncertain as to what to do in regard to this."

"Okay fine, go ahead, what is it?" I prompted him.

"Yes, my lord. We have received several reports of people and the intelligent monsters briefly seeing a strange, glowing orb of light. I myself saw it too, along with a number of other Vampires and Demons. I had soone check with the participants as well, and of all of them, Rion, Azeria and Rain all said that they saw it too. I am still checking with more people, so I cannot yet confirm how many saw that light...but from the list I have put together so far, it seems like all of them are either intelligent monsters, or those with significantly high power levels."

"Hey, I saw that light too! You did too, right, Bell and Kuro?" Spoke up Sylvar.

Yeah, that's right, that dim ball of light...I half-thought that I'd imagined it. It was actually for real? Just what the hell was that, anyway? And why are so many people seeing it? Sohow, it's giving a really bad feeling...

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