"Hehe... I win!"
Davin sank his blade deeper for good asure, feeling his opponent’s cold skin brush against his own.
He was certain he had hit the right spot.
Death was imminent.
But—
"No, you haven’t."
"Wha—?"
POW!!!
Before Davin could even react, a deafening blow hit him in the jaw, sending him flying away.
"Guh!"
He hit his back against the wall, feeling an agonizing recoil spread throughout his body.
Such pain!
He gritted his teeth to endure it.
But there was one thing he could not contain, and that was his shock at Rey’s survival.
Just how did he do it?!
’I was so sure I won, yet he still turned the situation around. Is this still Chaos Art? What Technique is he using?’
While he was still contemplating this matter, Rey already had a fair idea of the situation.
’Curse Art, huh? This isn’t the first ti I’ve faced one, but this is the first person of such a skill level that I am fighting.’
Rey was well aware of how difficult it was to implent Curse Art in a fight.
It required a lot of preparation to fully bring out the true essence of the Art, but that didn’t an combative applications did not exist.
’Most people would use Curse Art as a support or secondary ability, but he actually uses it quite effectively to attack. It’s rather unfortunate for him that this is a terrible matchup.’ Rey smiled silently.
Davin’s Binding Techniques wouldn’t work on a Soulless like Rey, and his Projection Techniques—while effective—were not strong enough to overco him.
’For example, he definitely used poison against just now, but my undead body is practically immune to toxins, so...’
There was no effect.
Even the so-called fatal attack that was dealt to Rey was pretty much useless due to the static nature of Soulless and how they often reverted to their base state.
Thus, Rey had no weaknesses that this person in particular could exploit.
’He is also generally weaker than in terms of combat. I don’t think I’ll require Ancient MajiK to finish him off, after all...’
Rey was in a hurry, but he also wasn’t interested in exerting himself beyond what was necessary. Although he recognized that Davin was likely trying to buy ti for Logan to back him up, Rey knew the distance between the Desgarron Manor and their current location, and he used that to calculate how much ti he had at hand.
’Even if I assu that Logan will co here imdiately after he arrives at the Desgarron Manor, I still have ten or so minutes to fight.’
He wasn’t desperate yet.
’Has he used up all his cards? I can’t be too certain about that...’
"Tch! Very well!"
Davin cleaned the blood-coated saliva on his lips as he staggered forward.
His rage was too obvious.
Although he remained ignorant on why he kept losing, he was determined to erge victorious.
Due to his hot-headed nature, he had even forgotten about his plan to involve Logan.
He now wanted to kill Rey himself.
’Curse Art...’ Steam proceeded from his lips as he exhaled deeply. ’Projection Technique #6: Trait Manifestation.’
This was the strongest ability at his disposal.
The power to create a functional property out of thin air. An object that embodied a desired trait... a true manifestation of power.
Davin stretched out an arm, and a weapon appeared in his hand.
It resembled a gun, one that glimred with bright silver and sleek black colors. It made a warbling sound as crimson hues danced all around it, giving the weapon an aura of death.
Rey narrowed his eyes once he saw this.
As for Davin, he had a bloodthirsty expression on his face. He didn’t even bother pointing the weapon as accurately as possible towards Rey.
He already knew it would hit.
That wasn’t all.
’A sure-hit bleed effect... that’s the trait that this weapon embodies.’
He could fire as many bullets as he wanted as long as he had enough Ether. These bullets were guaranteed to pierce through Rey and make him bleed non-stop.
More and more bullets would increase the rate of bleeding.
But... What kind of bleeding?
Davin wasn’t stupid.
He knew that sothing had to be different about Rey since his body was able to perfectly reject such a lethal dose of poison.
It had to have been related to a hidden power.
So what would happen if he stripped Rey of that mysterious power, or rather, his access to it?
Indeed!
The ’thing’ that would be bled wasn’t his energy, but his Ether!
’I want to see how you’ll keep annoying when you don’t have any Ether left.’ With a sadistic smile on his face, he finally pulled the trigger.
"Just die already..."
BAM!!!
For a mont, there was silence.
Only loud ringing filled the expanse, before blood began to ooze from a large, gaping injury in the chest.
Mixed with the blood was the unmistakable trace of Ether.
The energy flowed, restrained, leaving the victim stunned by the sight he was witnessing.
"H-how...?"
Stupefied, Davin asked, seeing that his own body was rapidly losing physical and spiritual strength due to his grave and fatal injury.
He could barely move.
Even when he tried to heal himself to limit the flow of his injury, he realized that the rate of his energy reduction was too fast.
He could not activate any Technique.
The expenditure rate was simply quicker than the infusion period.
He already knew this.
It was one of the intended after-effects of the shot he fired. The shocking thing about this developnt was... that it hit him.
Why?
’Why was I shot instead?’
"Reversal Technique #7: Effect Betrayal."
Rey’s voice echoed within the vast expanse, taking on an arrogance that rightfully belonged to the true victor.
"W-what...?"
Davin felt stunned.
He was correct to feel this way.
Rey had used a Sequence 7 move to disrupt a Sequence 6 move.
If Davin had used this power half-heartedly, it would be one thing. But he had intentionally poured a lot of Ether into his Technique.
Yet it was overco by a lower Sequence Technique?
The Reversal Technique, for that matter!
"A simple trick, really." Rey shrugged, not even blinking at what he saw. "I simply had more Ether to spare than you."
"Im... possible..."
Davin fell to the ground at that mont, already a corpse before he hit the ground.
Rey stood still in silence.
He knew Davin had every right to maintain disbelief. The truth was that Rey’s quality and quantity of Ether didn’t play that big of a role, especially since there was a ceiling for Ether usage in each Technique.
Going above it would cause the Technique to fall apart.
Naturally, a higher Sequence Technique would have a much higher ceiling compared to a lower Sequence.
Davin had poured Ether in the upper-limit of Sequence 6, thus even if Rey used the highest amount of Ether allowed for his Technique, it shouldn’t have overco Davin’s.
But why did it?
The answer was both simple and complex.
... Chaos Energy!
As a Soulless, Rey’s body was filled to the brim with Chaos, which simplified any Technique he used under the Chaos Art.
It also amplified Chaos Art used against him, while minimizing the effects of other Arts.
Thus...
’My Reversal Technique overpowered Davin’s move. But since Logan isn’t present and will view all of these as mories of Davin, I had to say he used far less energy than he actually did to justify my victory.’ Rey sighed, approaching the corpse with caution.
Why did Rey use Ancient Magi in the end?
He had initially thought he wouldn’t have to resort to such ans to defeat Davin.
But, Davin used a Sequence 6 Technique.
It made Rey cautious.
After all, it was a Sequence 6 Technique that turned him into a Soulless.
Surely, a Sequence 6 Curse Art was dangerous enough to be taken seriously. It could actually harm his new body.
’I didn’t know what effect his shot would have on . He also looked so confident, so to be on the safe side, I decided to resort to Reversal Technique as protection.’
With the benefit of hindsight, Rey now understood that it had been a waste.
’It must have had a sure-hit effect, targeting my vital organs, which would then cause my Ether to bleed out...’ Rey correctly guessed the matter within seconds.
’But that would not have affected too much.’ He sighed. ’My Ether would have been reverted to its original state. I can’t grow stronger or weaker as a Soulless.’
Perhaps if it were a mid-Sequence attack like Sequence 5, or a high Sequence which dealt with more conceptual matters, Rey would be more worried about the outco.
But it was imnsely doubtful if a weapon conjured by a Sequence 6 Projection Technique would overwhelm the Chaos Energy in his body and disrupt his stagnancy.
’Still, I don’t regret my actions...’
After Rey observed the body for a while, he finally left the alley.
’I made the correct choice in that situation. It would have been foolish to take such an unnecessary risk when I didn’t have all the variables figured out.’
Besides, now that he finished the fight early, he had more ti to flee.
Of course, Rey didn’t calculate his period of retreat within the ten minutes he allocated for battle. However, having more ti to escape Logan’s surveillance was always welco.
He could never be too careful.
’Nevertheless, this has been a satisfying experience. I am thirty percent more confident that things will go my way now.’
*******
’This is...’
Logan stood before Davin’s corpse, a complex expression on his face.
Davin was one of the people Logan had to look after as a senior mber of the Sunlit Order who was positioned in the Desgarron Manor. He naturally had a strong bond with the young man.
And now... he was dead.
’I promise you, I’ll find whoever did this to you...’ A look of pure rage ford on Logan’s face as his bloodshot eyes bulged to the extre.
’... And I’ll take revenge on your behalf!’
[A/N: What’s with everyone and their obsession with revenge? Can’t we all just forgive? Hmm?]
Reviews
All reviews (0)