’Pow! Whack! Crunch!’
Having never witnessed a duel between necromancers before, the Hayward brothers watched, mouths agape.
"What is that!"
"They’re getting faster!"
’Swish! Thwack!’
They fought with reckless abandon, forgoing defense entirely for an all-out assault. Their limbs beca blurs, leaving afterimages that were impossible to track. But most striking of all...
"Wow...!"
Even in the heat of battle, the two boys were grinning from ear to ear, completely lost in the thrill of the fight.
"This is incredible!" the Hayward brothers exclaid, their eyes shining.
’Pow!’ After their kicks collided, they sprang apart, and in the sa instant, both boys aid their fingertips at each other’s heads.
’Sickness’
’Strangle’
’BOOM!’
The two curses t in midair and detonated, shrouding the space between them in a cloud of black smoke.
’Whoosh! Whoosh!’
Six vials of potent poison shot through the smoke, hurtling toward Hector. He tried to leap back, but...
’Slither!’
A rope of Cloud erupted from the sand, instantly wrapping around his ankle and rooting him to the spot.
"What a brilliant combination!"
"You can do it, Simon!" irin and Kamibarez shouted, their hearts pounding in their chests.
Simon imdiately activated a magic circle.
"Break!"
’Clink! Clink!’
The sigils drawn on the vials glowed, and all six potions shattered at once. Their toxic contents sprayed outward, engulfing Hector’s vision in a cloud of green.
’Blast’
But Hector’s response was instantaneous. He completed and activated a magic circle in less than a second, unleashing a gale of jet-black wind that blew the poison away.
When the air cleared, Simon was gone.
’Above!’
Hector snapped his head up. A massive, pitch-black subspace had torn open in the sky, and Simon was floating beside it.
"Fire everything!" Simon commanded.
From within the subspace, a legion of skeleton archers unleashed a torrential rain of arrows. Hector stomped his foot, dissipating the Cloud that held him, then threw up a jet-black shield and charged forward. Arrows rained down around him, carving a path of destruction in his wake.
"Tch!"
Now it was Hector’s turn to counterattack.
’Bone Spear’
Skeletons reassembled into volleys of sharpened bone spears and shot toward Simon. Not to be outdone, Simon summoned his own skeletons. The mont they appeared, they scattered like buckshot, latching onto the incoming spears and wrenching them off course.
"Oh!"
"His undead control is quite impressive," one of the adults remarked with admiration.
’Thud!’ The mont Simon landed back on the sand, Hector charged like a rhinoceros. Simon simply extended an arm.
"Restore."
’What?’
Hector’s head whipped to the side. Bones that had been hidden in the sand began to rapidly click back together.
’A Skeleton Mage!’
Three consecutive ’Dark Blazes’ surged toward Hector, but he burst through the flas, his charge unbroken.
"Gate Open!"
This ti, Overlord’s blades closed in on Hector from six different directions. A savage grin spread across Hector’s face. ’I’m fighting with everything I have. I can feel myself hitting a wall. And yet, even when I push with all my might, he ets it head-on.’
’How can I not be thrilled!’
The grin remained plastered on his face. Hector activated the completed magic circle on his back.
’Swoooosh!’
Simon wasn’t the only one with tricks hidden in the sand. Dragon scales erupted from beneath the surface and flew to Hector, cladding his body in armor.
’Dragon Form 50%’
It wasn’t a simple attachnt, either. The scales anticipated Overlord’s trajectory and impact points, reinforcing those specific areas.
The six tentacle-blades screeched against Hector’s scales, sending sparks flying as they glanced off.
"Woooah!!"
As Hector effortlessly shrugged off the Overlord’s assault, a roar went up from the crowd. Even Simon was startled, instinctively bringing his arms up in a defensive posture.
"Got you! Simon Polentia!"
’CRAAACK!’
A punch, empowered by his Dragon Form, smashed through Simon’s guard. The force of the blow sent Simon skidding back across the sand, carving a long trench.
"Simon!!" his friends cried out in alarm.
Simon staggered but managed to regain his footing as Hector continued his relentless charge.
’He got a good hit in on .’ Even at only 50%, Hector’s Dragon Form made him nearly impossible to beat in a contest of pure strength. Hector knew it, too.
’He’ll try to run and buy ti to complete his Royal Guard!’ he thought.
However, Simon’s choice was completely unexpected.
’Clatter! Clatter!’
He unceremoniously dumped eight skeletons from his subspace and spread his arms wide.
’Clack! Thwack! Clack! Clack!’
The bones of the eight skeletons flew to Simon, covering his body until his uniform was completely obscured. He now stood two heads taller, his fra far more imposing. He looked like a walking fortress of bone.
’Bone Armor - Heavy Defense’
With a ground-shaking tremor, Simon charged forward, eting Hector head-on.
’THWACK!’
They locked hands, bent their knees, and began a titanic struggle for dominance.
’Creeeeak!’
A look of bewildernt flashed across Hector’s face. Clad in the thick Bone Armor, Simon was matching him in strength. Under his Absolute Command, every single bone fragnt was generating an attractive force, pulling inward.
’To think he’d challenge to a head-on fight!’
Simon wasn’t running; he was eting force with force. Simon, who had always physically looked up at Hector, was now looking down on him. This guy was truly...
"Keuk!"
...utterly unpredictable.
"Kwahahahahahaha!" Hector let out a crazed laugh. ’This is what I’ve been waiting for! A fight that makes my blood boil!’
’Crack! Crack!’
As Hector roared and poured more strength into his push, the Bone Armor began to groan and splinter.
"Simon Polentiaaaaaa!!"
’RUMBLE!’
The Bone Armor finally shattered, and Hector broke through. The mont he reached for the now-exposed Simon...
’Thwack! Thwack! Clatter! Thwack!’
Simon had already slipped away, and the Bone Armor had found a new owner. Hector was suddenly encased in bone.
’A trap!’
"First ti using this," Simon said, kneeling on the sand and swinging his arm. "This is what you call a ’Bone Prison’, right?"
He knew Hector had been eagerly anticipating this duel. He was now using that very knowledge as a weapon, a key to his victory.
"Simon Polentia!!"
’Crack! Creek!’
Hector tried to brute-force his way out of the Bone Armor, but Simon simply snapped his fingers.
"Spin."
The word had barely left his lips before the Bone Armor began to rotate like a top. The intense vertigo sapped Hector’s strength, halting his escape.
"...Wow!" The Hayward brothers stared, speechless at Simon’s cunning viciousness.
"Simon-hyung... for a quiet guy, he fights pretty dirty...!"
"That setup was insane! Finish him, Simon!" Dick yelled, his face flushed with excitent.
"He completely read Hector’s tendencies. If he casts Sickness now, it’s a guaranteed win," irin said with a satisfied smile.
"A truly wise strategy!" Even the gentle Kamibarez offered her pure, unadulterated praise.
The three Hayward brothers exchanged glances. ’What on earth are necromancers even like...?’
’THUD!’
Just then, Hector’s body, still trapped in the Bone Armor, shot into the air. A magic circle had appeared on the sand beneath him.
’Damn it, a leap spell!’
Simon, who had been preparing a curse, quickly looked up. Hector, still armored, was plumting straight toward him.
’BOOM!’
The Bone Armor shattered on impact, and from the explosion of bone fragnts, Hector erged like a tornted soul escaping hell, charging forward once more.
’Just as I thought.’ Tension filled Simon’s eyes as he retreated. ’I knew he was strong, but this is beyond what I imagined. No... he’s even stronger than before.’
Simon took a shallow breath and placed his hand on the magic circle at his side.
"You should be honored. I’ll be using this technique for the first ti in our duel."
’Tsssssssssssss-!’
Simon began to pull sothing from the magic circle. Hector’s eyes went wide, and he skidded to a halt. A murmur went through the watching adults.
"What is that?"
It was a long spear composed of shimring violet light.
"A variation of jet-black?"
"It could be that Cloud ability Simon uses."
"It’s neither," Richard said, his eyes gleaming as he shook his head. "That is a power that has never existed before."
Holding the violet spear, Simon slowly settled into a fighting stance.
’Simon Original - Chaos Spear’
’What the hell is that!’ Hesitation flickered in Hector’s eyes as he charged. Faced with a technique he’d never seen, he had no choice but to stop and prepare himself.
"Dodge this, Hector!" Simon roared, hurling the spear with all his might.
’Thwack!’
Seeing the Chaos Spear flying straight for him, Hector prepared to sidestep it. However...
’Swoosh-!’
Without warning, the spear veered sharply to the side, right in front of his face.
’Whoosh!’ This ti, it shot upward. ’Fwoosh!’ Then backward. ’Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!’
With no discernible pattern, the spear carved through the air like a mad thing, a flurry of countless purple lightning bolts.
’VWOOOOOOM!’
The strike, when it ca, was from behind. Hector spun around just in ti to see the Chaos Spear tap against his back. There was no pain.
As the purple spear clattered harmlessly to the ground, Simon clicked his tongue in disappointnt.
"A dud, huh."
"What kind of joke is this?!" Hector bellowed, enraged at being tricked, and charged again.
Simon calmly pulled three more spears from his waist. ’Slither.’ He held them in one hand and tossed them carelessly in random directions.
"Keuh!"
Hector was forced to halt once more. Three bolts of purple lightning were now dancing wildly through the air. His instincts scread that it was too dangerous to ignore them and charge in.
’Zip!’ One spear grazed his shoulder. Another nicked the shell of his ear.
’Damn it! It’s impossible to predict!’ Its trajectory, speed, power, and even the point of impact were all completely random. It was, in a word, Chaos.
’But that must be true for him as well!’
As Hector stomped the ground and charged, Simon leaped into the air. He held out an empty palm, assuming a throwing stance.
’Thwack!’
As if by magic, one of the chaotic spears flew directly into Simon’s waiting hand.
’He can predict its movents!’
’BOOM!’
Simon hurled the spear with all his strength. It smashed through Hector’s guard and detonated against his barrier suit in a massive violet explosion.
Taking more damage than ever before, Hector was thrown to the ground. His faction mbers cried out in dismay, though they continued to shout words of encouragent.
"I’ll tell you, since you’ll figure it out soon enough," Simon said, picking up a fallen Chaos Spear and twirling it. "I set a destination point before I throw it. The path it takes is random, but its final destination is always where I command it to go."
Hector’s eyes glead. ’I already figured that out. That’s how he caught the spear in mid-air so easily.’
’Ping.’
A sharp pain lanced through Hector’s head.
It wasn’t just the physical damage. The mont he was struck by Chaos, a headache erupted, jumbling his thoughts. He pressed a hand to his forehead as he pushed himself up.
’Does it have a curse effect?’ If so, he had to respond. Hector activated his final magic circle.
’Creek! Crack!’
Scales completely enveloped his body. He summoned wings from his subspace and attached them to his back. His fra grew larger, a tail sprouted from his spine, and his snout elongated into a reptilian maw.
’Dragon Form 100%’
-KWOOOOOOOOAR!
Having fully transford into a Corpse Dragon, Hector let out a deafening roar.
’Swoosh!’
A Chaos Spear shot toward him from behind, but he casually flicked his tail, wrapping it around the spear and crushing it into nothing.
[Chaos, or whatever you call it, is useless in the face of overwhelming power!]
"If that’s how you want it, fine." Simon placed his hand on the magic circle he had drawn earlier. His final Chaos spell was complete.
’It’s finally ti.’
Simon cald his pounding heart and activated the magic circle. ’Ti to summon a creature of Chaos!’
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