A Calm Blade
Victor charged forward toward Alibaba, ignoring the swarm of villagers rushing around the chamber.
His eyes were locked on a single target.
The necromancer.
Everything else faded.
The echoing chamber, the clash of weapons behind him, the sll of rot in the air—it all blurred into the background.
Victor bent his knee and launched himself forward.
A ripple of wind gathered beneath his feet.
"Sky Step."
Interdiate wind magic.
The spell compressed the surrounding air, turning invisible currents into solid platforms for brief monts. Each step hardened the air like a stone tile floating in the sky.
Victor stepped once.
Then again.
And again.
His body soared above the villagers as if he were running across invisible stairs in the air.
Lane noticed it first.
"Victor’s using wind magic...?"
Clara’s eyes widened slightly as she slamd her shield into the chest of a lunging corpse.
"So he can do that too..."
But Victor didn’t hear them.
His focus was absolute.
Alibaba watched the approaching figure carefully.
Interesting.
The necromancer had originally believed Victor to be a pure close-combat fighter—soone who used mana only to strengthen muscles and reflexes.
But this...
Wind magic.
And executed cleanly.
The boy was far more versatile than he appeared.
Alibaba lifted his skeletal hand.
"Frozen Lance Rain."
Mana gathered instantly above him.
Seven jagged spears of ice materialized in the air, hovering like deadly stars.
With a casual flick of his wrist—
They launched forward.
The icy projectiles scread through the air.
Victor’s golden eyes tracked them instantly.
He twisted his body mid-step.
Two spears sliced past his shoulders.
Another grazed his coat.
Three more ca straight at his chest.
Victor swung his scythe.
CLANG.
CLANG.
CLANG.
The curved blade shattered the ice spears one after another, shards exploding outward like crystal dust.
The final spear ca from his blind side.
Victor tilted his head.
It missed by a hair.
Alibaba watched with growing curiosity.
The boy didn’t speak.
Didn’t shout.
Didn’t taunt.
He simply moved forward.
Silent.
Deadly.
And that silence made the necromancer uneasy.
Victor’s mind was burning.
Curiosity.
That word echoed again and again inside his head.
Alibaba had slaughtered an entire village.
Experinted on their bodies.
Corrupted their souls.
And the reason?
Curiosity.
Victor’s grip tightened around the scythe.
What if this had been my village?
The thought arrived uninvited.
He imagined the small wooden house he grew up in.
His mother cooking in the kitchen.
The quiet nights.
The warmth of human life.
Then he imagined Alibaba standing there.
Cutting them down.
Experinting on their bodies.
Victor’s chest tightened.
Rage flooded through him.
Back in his previous life...
As the Supre Demon Emperor...
This kind of thing would not have angered him.
Demons lived by a simple rule.
The strong ruled.
The weak died.
But now—
He had lived as a human.
Loved as a human.
He had gained emotions he never possessed before.
And right now those emotions were boiling out of control.
His heart pounded violently.
His mana churned like a storm.
Even Diana’s voice inside his mind was drowned out.
"Victor—calm down."
But he couldn’t hear her.
Victor dropped from the final Sky Step and landed directly before Alibaba.
Steel rang as the scythe swung again.
Alibaba raised his barrier just in ti.
CRACK.
The protective magic groaned under the force.
The necromancer stepped back.
Such raw killing intent.
Alibaba studied the boy closely.
Despite the anger radiating from him—
Victor’s movents were still precise.
Every swing efficient.
Every step balanced.
This wasn’t wild rage.
It was controlled destruction.
This style...
Alibaba’s mind raced.
Over the centuries he had seen countless warriors.
Kings.
Assassins.
Sword saints.
But Victor’s style was different.
It was brutal.
Direct.
Optimized entirely for killing.
How could a boy who looks sixteen possess this level of mastery?
Alibaba’s curiosity grew.
No matter.
Once Victor died...
He could simply harvest the boy’s mories.
Alibaba raised his hand again.
"Grasp of the Abyss."
The stone beneath Victor’s feet darkened instantly.
A circular shadow spread outward.
Victor’s instincts scread.
Chains erupted from the darkness—solid black tendrils snapping upward like striking serpents.
Victor kicked off the ground.
He rose into the air again.
The chains snapped at empty space.
Victor twisted mid-air and slashed downward.
The scythe carved through the shadow chains.
They dissolved like smoke.
Victor landed several steps away.
The two fighters stared at each other.
Torchlight flickered between them.
Victor exhaled slowly.
His breathing steadied.
Control it.
The rage inside him was still there.
But now—
He was forcing it down.
His fingers loosened slightly around the scythe handle.
Victor inhaled.
Then exhaled.
Again.
The chaotic mana inside his body gradually settled.
Above his head—
Six needle-like blades floated silently.
Thin.
Sharp.
Deadly.
They hovered like loyal predators waiting for his command.
Alibaba noticed them now.
Weapons...?
Victor shifted his stance.
Right hand above.
Left hand below.
The scythe blade curved behind his back.
His left foot slid forward.
Right foot braced his weight.
His body lowered slightly.
A perfect killing stance.
Alibaba’s eye flas flickered.
This boy...
He just changed.
Monts ago Victor had been a storm.
Now—
He felt like a drawn blade.
Quiet.
Focused.
Dangerous.
Victor finally spoke.
His voice calm again.
"Sorry about that."
Alibaba tilted his skull.
Victor’s golden eyes t the necromancer’s burning gaze.
"Showing you such an unsightly battle."
Alibaba laughed softly.
"You call that unsightly?"
His skeletal fingers flexed.
"My boy..."
"Most people would call that terrifying."
Victor didn’t respond.
Alibaba tilted his head.
"Tell sothing."
His voice carried curiosity again.
"Where did you learn that fighting style?"
Victor slowly lifted the scythe again.
"I didn’t."
Alibaba paused.
Victor’s lips curved faintly.
"I lived it."
For a mont—
Neither moved.
Then Alibaba chuckled.
"How fascinating."
Mana gathered around his skeletal hands.
Dark energy condensed like liquid night.
"Well then..."
"...let us see how long that style keeps you alive."
Victor’s floating needles rotated slowly above his head.
His eyes sharpened.
And the duel continued.
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