Adam had been preparing for the battle against Arnoth for practically an entire month. It was the first ti he knew which monster would be his enemy, where it was, and when their fight would take place.
He had never prepared for a battle before, only for missions.
Adam didn't know that at the Fu Cathedral, the Plague Reaper would appear, just like he didn't know about the Crimson Monarch's temple under the Fortress of Lone Serpent.
Sure, he had a fight against Fromund at the Moon Colosseum and trained with Reinz, but it was all different.
Arnoth was an S5 monster. Adam was aware of it, of what he had done and what his chances of winning were.
Thus, Adam realized that he most likely needed to open the last lesser gates and get rid of the Crystal Gates completely. This would allow him to get the full power of the Stellar Flow and get closer to creating the Third Key.
But, Adam was confident in his abilities even without the last gates. He thought he could give Arnoth a decent fight, cause him a lot of trouble even with his current training.
Well, he was badly mistaken.
Crackle.
A heavy shield slamd into Adam, who at the last mont managed to set up the first needle for defense. Energy traveled to his arms and shoulders to lessen the impact as much as possible.
In a heartbeat, the impact threw Adam aside with such great speed that his flying fra shuddered.
Bam. Bam. Bam.
Faster than he could take a breath, his back crashed into several massive pillars, shattering them one by one.
All Adam saw was Arnoth slowly take a step forward. He was strong, not the most agile but fast enough that even Adam couldn't react to his attack.
Sure, the shield was not a weapon to attack. Was the shield even a weapon?
Well, it depended on who was using the shield and how. Most often for defense, that was obvious.
But, shields were heavy and sturdy objects, a strike with a shield was just as powerful or even stronger than a hit with a mace. The sharp corners of so shields could be blades and if the shield had the right shape and bends, it could be a boorang.
Arnoth's was simple. He just used the weight of his shield and his physical power to attack Adam.
However, it wasn't Arnoth's strength that struck Adam, but his speed.
Whoooooooosh.
Before crashing into another column, Adam did a sorsault in the air, touching the surface with his feet.
In a light leap, he found himself on the ground, on the smooth marble separating him and Arnoth.
'Shit, he's so big, his armor, sword, and shield probably make him slower than he really is,' Adam thought. 'Yet, what was that surge? He was in front of so fast...'
Adam realized that none of this was because Arnoth had a hidden ability that made him faster. No, it was much simpler than that.
'He's just stronger than . He is one stage higher...' Adam gulped, gripping his needle tighter. 'He and Kreyna are both S5 monsters, but the Plague Reaper was just as much a Purple Threat monster as dozens of others. To consider them equal would be foolish.'
"What are you thinking about?" Arnoth's voice echoed along the columns. "I doubt my power is surprising to you. You ca here because you knew it would be a hard fight, but you believe you have a chance of winning, don't you?"
Adam spat a clot of blood as he brushed his mouth.
Then, a slight smirk showed on his face. "Sure, I am. You're saying that because you think the sa way."
"Indeed. But, you still don't know what kind of monster you're fighting against."
"Argh...?"
Arnoth's words stumped Adam.
"Wait, I know your na and title. Are you saying there's sothing else I should know about?"
"Hmm..." Arnoth lingered, slowly putting his shield forward. "Not as an enemy could, but as a Phantom."
Adam's eyes showed loss. He couldn't understand what Arnoth was talking about, and there was no words from Silvana either.
"Go ahead, show what you can do, Adam Vinter." Arnoth's aura grew stronger. "If you give up after one attack, what's the point of it all?"
Coldness filled Adam's gaze as a second needle appeared in his left hand.
He was leaving his trump cards behind, for now, he didn't dare to use the power gene or artifact too soon.
"Shut up, big knight. All I heard about you was that you were silent and quiet, but you turned out to be quite talkative."
Step.
Adam rushed forward, hopping from one point to another, quickly approaching Arnoth, who stood in one place.
"Impressive," Arnoth grunted, even to his gaze there were only running shadows in front of him. "But, sooner or later you're going to have to attack!"
Whoooosh.
At the sa mont, Adam appeared in front of Arnoth.
They both knew what Adam was going to do, and Arnoth was ready to accept it.
"You think your shield is strong, don't you?" Adam's gaze pierced Arnoth as his left arm ca into motion.
Arnoth's eyes narrowed, watching the short white line hovering in the air from Adam's needle.
"But, nothing has been able to stop my path yet! Even if it's a crack, sooner or later I'll destroy you!"
At their next breath, Adam's fra shuddered, following the white line of his path.
As always, he was to be behind his enemy, at the end point of his path, leaving only destruction behind.
Clang.
The tip of the white needle broke off, whizzing in front of Adam's shocked eyes.
His body slamd into Arnoth's shield at the speed of the path.
For the first ti, Adam t an obstacle he could not pass through.
"Oh... Adam..." Arnoth croaked. "One can never rely on a single move. For the hour will surely co when it will lead you to defeat."
Then, a bright light burst from the cracks in Arnoth's shield, causing space to distort just as it had before Vorx's explosion, but several tis more powerful.
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