The world exploded around .
Seraphine's spear roared like thunder as it sliced through the air, its gleaming tip shimring with a blue energy that sought my throat at an absurd speed.
My body reacted before my mind could. Electricity tore through my muscles as I leaped backward, feeling the blade whistle just past my chin.
'Unbelievably fast. I almost couldn't keep up.'
The ground beneath my feet gave way.
Gravity distorted with a deafening crack, and I pulled myself to the side using gravitational magic just monts before the impact. A smoldering crater opened where I had been standing, shards of stone flying like razors as she spun her spear and pursued without hesitation.
'She was fast. Too fast.'
I dodged a lateral strike by re milliters, but the back end of her spear shaft slamd into my abdon like a battering ram. The impact sent flying.
The world blurred.
My lungs burned as I was thrown dozens of ters, skidding across the arena, rocks cracking beneath my body.
But before the pain could take hold, I was already moving. A blue flash erupted from my hands, electricity surging through my legs and accelerating my synapses.
My gloves began to glow, and two small lightning swords materialized in my hands. Around , three lightning serpents coiled around my body, appearing alive and ready to strike.
'Yeah, I stole this idea from Thadeus. Damn geniuses.'
Seraphine's spear was just a few ters away when one of the serpents moved on its own and intercepted the attack. A cry of pain escaped her lips as electricity coursed through her body.
Her movents slowed montarily, giving the space to take the offensive. I moved swiftly and, in a spinning motion, attacked the most vulnerable parts of her armor: the joints at her elbows and knees.
Seraphine kicked the ground in an attempt to destroy one of the platforms and push back, but it didn't work. Gravity suddenly increased more than tenfold, preventing the shattered rocks from scattering.
Her body abruptly grew heavier, pinning her to the ground. And yet, I missed.
One of my lightning swords was intercepted by the shaft of her spear, while the other struck her chest plate.
'Damn it!'
At the last second, she managed to shift slightly, avoiding the elbow connections.
Seraphine retaliated with a kick in my direction. Quickly, I backed away, launching another serpent at her.
Her spear t it again, but this ti, with a fluid motion of her hands, the serpent coiled around the spear's shaft, reaching the joints of her fingers.
Electricity spread through Seraphine's body, pushing her back ten ters.
Less than five seconds had passed since the duel began.
Without losing the initiative, my gloves glowed once more. The lightning covering my legs shattered the ground beneath my feet, and with a throwing motion of my arms, I hurled a rain of stones at her using gravity.
She went into defensive mode, swiftly destroying the stones with her spear. But in the heat of the mont, using my maximum speed, I hid behind one of the launched stones.
When Seraphine destroyed the stone, two lightning swords slashed in an 'X' across her chest.
"BOOOOOOOOOOM!"
The clash of my lightning swords against her resilient armor created an explosion with a shockwave that sent her flying backward at high speed. Her body tumbled across the arena.
Seraphine drove her spear into the ground to stabilize herself.
But when she lifted her head, searching for , she found nothing. Thirty ters above the arena, I was channeling ten orbs of electricity. Unlike Thadeus, who had created a technique focused on area suppression and destruction, I had opted for a different approach, one perhaps inspired by the many gas I had played on Earth.
The ten orbs moved at impressive speeds toward Seraphine, who finally noticed . I was standing still, in zero gravity, above the arena.
Just a few ters away, the orbs began firing lightning bolts in her direction. She agilely dodged the first few, running at full speed, evading the attacks.
My orbs continued to follow her, maintaining an ideal spacing from one another. Whenever an orb fired a bolt and missed, another orb moved to intercept the bolt and absorb the energy used.
This way, half the orbs were always in front of her, and half behind.
I increased the pace. Now, bolts were fired two at a ti. She continued to dodge with a speed far beyond what was normal for her level.
'A lancer focused on speed is impressive.'
In just a few seconds, an intricate web of lightning surrounded Seraphine, who finally began to show signs of reaching her limit.
In a brief mont, our eyes t. A shiver ran down my spine, and then a spear was hurled toward at staggering speed.
The ground cracked from the impact.
But five lightning bolts struck her squarely.
Her body was catapulted and thrown over fifty ters, creating a massive trench in the ground.
In front of , in less than the blink of an eye, a spear was just a few ters from my chest. It was fast—perhaps the fastest attack I had ever seen in these four weeks.
'If that hit , I'd be dead for sure.'
This was the problem in a mage versus warrior fight. We need dozens of attacks to overwhelm a warrior. anwhile, they only need one full-strength attack to split us in two.
Fortunately, I wasn't an ordinary mage. And, as I said, gadgets are cheating.
A translucent purple gem activated in my gloves during the critical mont. In front of , my typical gravity shield ford on its own, using energy collected by my Nexus.
The spear was deflected just inches from my body, grazing my side and avoiding a fatal blow.
"AGh...." I scread in pain, being thrown by the residual impact toward the ground.
I hit the ground like a missile.
The pain of several broken ribs flooded my abdon. Blood trickled from my mouth; so of my organs had been punctured, but I had survived Seraphine's lethal attack.
I slowly got to my feet, staring at her still trapped in the trench on the ground. Half of her body was buried in the arena, with only her legs sticking out.
But before I could question Elian about the victory, her arms shattered one of the platforms, dragging her battered body upward.
Blood dripped from her skin and pooled on the ground. Her face was marked with abrasions, and blood trickled from her ears and mouth.
Through the gaps in her armor, signs of internal injuries were visible. Her steps were shaky and apathetic, but determined.
Her expression remained indifferent, but for the first ti, I could see so emotion in those cold eyes.
'What is that?' I tried to decipher the feeling.
I could have ended it all right then and there, but I didn't.
Slowly, Seraphine tried to stabilize herself in the arena. Her body moved sluggishly. Her spear was too far away, far beyond her reach before I could destroy her completely.
But in the end, I didn't attack.
'Why??' I questioned myself. 'Just finish it! What's different about this fight compared to the others?' I kept asking myself.
My Djinn instincts wanted to teach sothing, show sothing, but I didn't know what.
Reluctant about how to proceed, I decided to follow what my instincts were telling .
"Phew... screw it!"
With a slight movent of my fingers, I used gravity, and her spear floated in the arena, planting itself in front of her.
'Hoo, I managed to get an emotion out of that stone face! Confusion!'
Seraphine looked at with questioning eyes but only found my usual expression.
Confident golden eyes, black hair tied in a ponytail, and two stylish black gloves beneath my semi-destroyed blue robe.
Her two hands gripped the spear tightly. Her body positioned itself for a charging attack. I felt the prana in her body leaking wildly.
'She's accelerating her flow to the maximum, no matter how much she can absorb!'
"Alright, let's go for the final attack," I said aloud.
Her spear glowed blue. Her body showed signs of swelling, hyperventilation, and hypercirculation. Her legs tensed, ready to lunge.
"BOOOOOOOM!"
Like a cot, she attacked with everything she had.
My eyes glowed intensely, my signature attack coming to life. Before she could hit , two colossal lightning bolts shot from my eyes, destroying everything in front of . Two fissures ford side by side on the arena floor, creating a shockwave that hurled everything away. Dust and debris covered the clash of attacks.
However, Seraphine's attack never reached .
My lightning bolts also didn't travel endlessly, stopping at sothing in the middle.
The dust settled, revealing Elian with his hand outstretched, standing in front of a fallen body on the ground.
Seraphine, lying in the arena, had a serene expression, as if she had finally found peace.
'She was strong. And to think she's only at the awakened level. Terrifying!'
Seraphine's power rivaled so of the champion-ranked warriors I had faced. And usually, in those cases, it almost always ended in a draw.
"Winner of the penultimate duel, Glenn!!" Elian declared with authority.
There was no noise from the stands. Even so mbers of the Lunaris Argentum reacted indifferently. Not even her brother, Aeloria, showed any resentnt.
'These guys are a bit crazy!'
A satisfied smile appeared on my face, and I slowly dragged myself back into Hera's arms. She would have a long job of patching up.
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