"Sorry for the wait."
The air cracked with tension.
Then—
SWOOSH!
Lucavion vanished.
The space between them collapsed in an instant, his black estoc already driving forward—sharp, relentless, a needle of death aid directly at Thaddeus' throat.
CLANG!
Thaddeus barely caught the thrust, his longsword angling just in ti to divert the lethal strike. But Lucavion didn't stop. His wrist twisted, redirecting the estoc mid-motion—
SWISH!
A feint. A second thrust, sharper, aid for the gap beneath Thaddeus' ribs.
THUNK!
Thaddeus dodged—just barely. But before he could step away—
Lucavion moved.
He twisted low, his foot sweeping out—
CRACK!
The Duke's knee buckled slightly, his balance thrown off for the first ti.
Lucavion's smirk widened. That's more like it.
His estoc flashed upward, carving toward Thaddeus' exposed side—
CLANG!
Thaddeus intercepted at the last second, but his guard had slipped—his grip slightly off, his weight uneven.
Lucavion felt it. Exploited it.
SWOOSH!
He lunged, his blade slipping through the smallest opening—aiming straight for Thaddeus' heart.
CLANK!
A desperate parry. Sparks flared as the Duke barely redirected the estoc, but—
Lucavion was already moving again.
He pivoted, his body fluid, his estoc a flickering blur of silver and shadow. Thrust after thrust, each strike honed, rciless, targeting nothing but vital points.
Thaddeus grit his teeth.
Faster. He's faster than before.
SWISH! SWISH!
CLANK!
The Duke's sword trembled under the assault. For the first ti, he was only defending.
Lucavion stepped in—
A thrust toward the Duke's wrist—
CLINK!
A twist—his estoc flicking toward his throat—
CLANG!
A feint—then the real attack—
SWOOSH!
Aid for the soft spot beneath his jaw—
THUD!
Thaddeus wrenched himself back, the tip of Lucavion's estoc slicing past, grazing his collar.
Too close.
Lucavion grinned. "What's wrong, Mister Duke?"
He didn't wait for an answer.
Instead, he pressed forward, a relentless flurry of strikes, his estoc a storm of controlled destruction.
Thaddeus' sword arm burned under the force. His grip tightened.
Then—
A shift.
His golden eyes sharpened.
Enough.
His stance changed.
Lucavion's estoc shot forward—
THUD!
Thaddeus slamd his palm against the flat of the blade, disrupting its path, pushing Lucavion slightly off-balance—
SWOOSH!
He twisted, his longsword carving downward—
CLANG!
Lucavion barely caught the strike, steel shrieking against steel.
A second swing—faster—aid at Lucavion's shoulder—
SWISH!
Lucavion ducked, the wind of the blade slicing just over his head.
Their footwork blurred across the clearing, neither giving an inch. The fight had shifted—
From a battle of skill—
To a battle of instinct.
Lucavion's estoc flicked toward Thaddeus' ribs.
CLANK!
Thaddeus countered, his blade sliding against Lucavion's with controlled force.
Lucavion smirked.
Then—
He let go of his weapon.
Thaddeus' golden eyes widened—
But in that instant—
Lucavion twisted his body, stepping inside Thaddeus' guard, his palm striking forward—
THUD!
A direct hit.
His fist slamd into the Duke's ribs, the impact forcing the older man back a step.
Lucavion caught his estoc mid-air, spinning it in his grip.
"Getting slow, Thaddeus?"
Thaddeus exhaled sharply.
He hadn't expected this.
Lucavion wasn't just fighting skillfully—
He was fighting to kill.
The younger swordsman tilted his head, his black eyes gleaming, his smirk widening ever so slightly.
"You wanted to fight like I did on the battlefield, right?"
He lifted his estoc, the tip glinting under the morning sun.
"I hope you're not regretting it."
Thaddeus exhaled. Then—
For the first ti—
He smiled.
The amusent was slight, just a flicker in his sharp, golden eyes.
"You're finally showing your fangs."
Lucavion's grin widened.
Thaddeus lifted his longsword once more, shifting into a new stance.
The morning air trembled.
Lucavion's smirk remained, but there was sothing sharper beneath it now—sothing untad, eager.
Thaddeus exhaled, rolling his shoulders. Then, almost casually, he lifted his longsword, his golden eyes steady. "Enough of this."
Lucavion tilted his head, curious.
Thaddeus' voice carried sothing different now—not just challenge, but sothing deeper. A weight of the past.
"…At that ti," the Duke murmured, "against Gerald—I never got to finish our fight properly."
Lucavion's smirk faltered for half a second.
Gerald.
His master.
The man who had shaped him, forged him, taught him how to wield a blade not just with skill—but with intent.
The thought settled, pressing against sothing deep inside him.
Then—he let out a quiet laugh, shaking his head.
"Mister Duke," Lucavion said, tilting his estoc forward. His voice was smooth, unwavering. "I am not Master."
Thaddeus chuckled under his breath, shaking his head slightly. "I know that."
His grip on his sword tightened. Mana rippled through the air around him, crackling with restrained force.
"But let this old man have his fill."
Lucavion exhaled, closing his eyes briefly—then they snapped open, pitch-black and gleaming.
"Any fight with a strong is welcod."
Without hesitation, he pushed his sword forward.
The air around his blade rippled.
A cold, consuming darkness expanded from the estoc's tip—
Then—
Black starlight surged forward, streaking through the air like falling teors.
「Void Starfall Blade: Starlight Needle」
A dozen spears of void energy launched from his blade, cutting through space itself, their edges glistening like fractured stars.
The ground beneath them cracked under the sheer force of it.
Thaddeus' golden eyes glead.
Mana howled around him—
Lightning surged.
⚡ [Storm Sovereign's Dominion: Thundering Aegis] ⚡
A barrier of storm and lightning erupted around the Duke, arcs of electricity intertwining, forming an unbreakable defense. The very air humd with power, crackling with raw elental force.
BOOOOM!
Lucavion's starlight needles crashed into the barrier, detonating on impact. Black and gold energy collided in a brilliant explosion, sending shockwaves through the clearing. The ground trembled, the sky above montarily darkened by the sheer clash of power.
Dust and debris swirled.
Then—
A flash.
Lucavion moved.
Straight through the lingering explosion, his estoc already carving through the air—
And Thaddeus was waiting.
Their blades t.
The clash of steel and mana surged through the battlefield.
Lucavion's breath ca steady, but his body knew the truth—his strength as a 5-star had yet to stabilize. Each exchange with Thaddeus forced him to adjust, to sharpen himself.
And the Duke?
He was relentless.
CLANG!
Lucavion barely dodged a sweeping arc of the longsword, his estoc flashing to parry. But the mont their weapons t, he felt it—
A pulse of mana, controlled, refined, bending the force of the clash in Thaddeus' favor.
Damn, he's folding the impact into his next strike…
Before Lucavion could react—
SWOOSH!
Lightning surged through the Duke's longsword, twisting through the air in spirals of crackling gold.
THWACK!
The flat of the blade struck Lucavion's side, sending him skidding back across the ground, his ribs flaring with sharp pain.
He clicked his tongue, rolling his shoulder as he forced himself upright.
That hurt.
But his eyes glead.
"…Not bad, Mister Duke," Lucavion muttered, rotating his wrist. His grip on his estoc adjusted, the blade humming with dark starlight.
Thaddeus exhaled, shifting his stance. "You're adjusting well."
Lucavion's smirk widened slightly. "Oh? A complint?"
His mana surged.
The estoc glowed—darkness and starlight intertwining.
Then—
「Void Starfall Blade: Eclipse Star Trail」
A streak of void energy burst from Lucavion's blade, a cascading trail of blackened starlight searing through the air, splitting the battlefield in two. The very fabric of space bent, the attack curving unpredictably, seeking openings from all angles.
Thaddeus' eyes narrowed.
His blade shifted.
Golden lightning swirled.
Then—
⚡ 「Storm Sovereign's Dominion: Thunderous Horizon」 ⚡
A field of electric currents expanded around him, warping the flow of space itself.
Lucavion's Eclipse Star Trail bent mid-flight, its trajectory disrupted, forced away by the storm's dominion.
Lucavion's brows twitched. Tch… mana manipulation on that level?
But he was already moving.
His estoc flickered, starlight gathering at its edge—
「Void Starfall Blade: Starsurge」
A piercing thrust—this ti, condensed. A single streak of absolute force, refined into one perfect strike.
Thaddeus exhaled.
「Storm Sovereign's Dominion: Arcwall Bastion」
⚡ BOOM! ⚡
A shimring arc of storm energy manifested, intercepting Lucavion's Starsurge. The two forces t—
And for a mont, there was no sound.
Then—
CRACK!
The barrier fractured.
Lucavion grinned. Not perfect, huh?
Without hesitation, he pressed forward—
「Void Starfall Blade: Cosmic Steps」
His footwork blurred, warping the distance between them in an instant.
Thaddeus' golden eyes flickered.
Lucavion was already behind him.
The estoc struck forward.
For the first ti—
The Duke turned his head slightly, eyes sharp.
And smiled.
⚡ 「Storm Sovereign's Dominion: Ruler's Gale」 ⚡
A burst of wind exploded from his body, knocking Lucavion off his feet.
THUD!
Lucavion's body twisted mid-air, but—
SHNK!
A sharp pain flared across his arm.
Blood dripped.
Lucavion landed, his breathing steady but his expression montarily blank. He looked down. A cut—clean, precise. The Duke's blade had grazed him in that exchange.
"…Heh."
Lucavion exhaled, his lips curving upward.
This is good.
His body was adjusting, his control sharpening—
And Thaddeus?
He wasn't holding back.
Lucavion exhaled sharply, rolling his injured shoulder. Then, raising his estoc once more, his eyes glead with untad excitent.
"This is getting fun."
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