The sound of steel hitting steel could be heard multiple tis in the coliseum. The knights and other sword users were quite curious about Lucen’s sword style.
It was a bizarre fighting style. At first glance, it seed to be a style born purely for speed, a technique ant to catch an opponent off guard with sudden draws. But after several exchanges, confusion began to ripple through the crowd.
Every ti Lucen’s strike ended, the sword flashed back into its sheath in a blur of motion, so fast the sound ca a heartbeat later, a tallic whisper followed by a sharp click that rang louder than the clash itself.
It looked inefficient, even foolish, yet the results spoke otherwise. Though technically slower than fighting with an unsheathed sword, each draw ca so swiftly, so cleanly, that it felt faster than sight itself.
The air cracked each ti the blade left its sheath, a sharp, thunderous pop that echoed across the coliseum.
Even the faintest trace of his sword carved pale streaks through the air, each afterimage shimring like molten silver in the heat of Elyra’s aura.
Unlike the others, Elyra had already seen this style before and was not caught by surprise. Still, the speed and power behind the strikes had greatly increased.
Despite Lucen only achieving his first mantle, against her, who was at the third, the difference in both speed and power were not that much different.
Elyra exhaled once, slow, deliberate; it was like she breathed out mist. She was getting ready to use the Runescar techniques.
[Runescar swordsmanship first form: Blazing fla!]
Elyra’s sword blazed to life, the flas along its length condensing into a razor-thin edge. The heat shimred in waves, bending the very air.
This was a technique that people had already seen before. It was ant to sharpen the blade with flas produced by the Runescar’s aura.
The air rippled from the sudden surge of heat, distorting the space between them until even the crowd’s silhouettes wavered like phantoms behind a curtain of fire.
The once-crisp morning breeze turned scorching as Elyra lunged forward, her sword slicing arcs of fire that painted burning trails in the air.
’Hoh, she’s faster than before.’
Despite Elyra’s increase in speed, Lucen, with his physical abilities plus the skills granted to him by his system, was able to keep up.
The first strike ca from the left. Lucen enveloped his scabbard with his aura mantle and parried the flaming blade by hitting the flat side of Elyra’s longsword.
Lucen then quickly drew his sword and struck at Elyra. Seeing the incoming attack, Elyra evaded by swaying her body backward.
Her boots skidded lightly against the stone. Of course, Elyra did not let up and used [Runescar footwork: Hazy Steps].
This was the sa footwork she used against Mireya in the semi-finals. The way she moved made it seem like there were several Elyras circling around Lucen.
This was ant to confuse the opponent so that they wouldn’t be able to know where the attack would be coming from. Of course, for Lucen, who had the battle instinct skill, this wasn’t really a problem.
’Well, using the sa tricks despite already showing them in previous matches. Does she think that I won’t prepare for this kind of trick? I guess I don’t really need to prepare too much, since I have skills that counter this technique. Whatever, let’s just see if she got a hidden trick.’ Lucen mused to himself as he waited for Elyra’s attack.
Elyra’s way of breathing changed again as she was about to use another Runescar sword technique. [Runescar swordsmanship second form: Burning Blossom!]
Unlike in the battle against Mireya, the second Elyra used this technique there were more petals scattering away from her aura mantle. Each petal burned hotter and brighter.
Lucen exhaled slowly; his deanor had once again changed as he drew his sword at a blinding speed.
After he had changed the character he was acting as using [Acting Adept] Lucen, then used RELEASE for a brief mont to be able to make this burst of speed happen. He was not able to perform the technique the sa as that hero samurai, but it was good enough.
The sword swing had cut every petal near him. Lucen then shifted back to the character he was using before. In that brief mont, Elrya had gotten behind him and slashed downward.
Lucen did a sidestep that second; it was as if he had eyes in the back of his head. Elyra’s blade missed by a few inches. Lucen then perford a back kick, Elyra quickly pulled back her sword, and blocked the kick.
Elyra flew backward, and the second she landed on the ground, she perford a new technique she had recently learned.
[Runescar Swordsmanship Fourth Form: Infernal Bloom]. This technique can only be perford after the second form, Burning Blossom, was used.
The ground beneath Elyra cracked as a shock of crimson light burst outward. The petals that were on the ground that Lucen did not cut down, since they weren’t near him, gathered into a concentrated storm, swirling violently around Elyra’s blade.
The air trembled. The petals, once drifting lazily like embers, now spun into a furious cyclone. Each fragnt of fla burned with intense heat.
The tiles beneath them began to glow faintly red; even the air above the stage shimred like molten glass.
This was one of the more visually striking Runescar techniques. In the ga, Lucen rembered this technique, which was one that could do AOE damage. Seeing it in reality was truly a sight to behold.
The gathered petals ford a spiraling inferno that extended her blade several ters long. The ripples of red heat made the entire area look hazy. She swung her sword.
This was not a move you could dodge at such close range. Lucen decided to take it head-on. Lucen once again used RELEASE.
His physical abilities pushed the very limit, as his aura and mana burst out. Lucen’s stance beca lower, his eyes sharpened as he waited for the right timing.
The second Elyra’s sword was close enough, before the petals could reach him, Lucen countered, his sword enveloped with his aura mantle, enhanced by RELEASE, t with Elyra’s burning storm-like blade.
The mont their blades t, the clash rang out like thunder, sharp and resonant. Sparks scattered in arcs of red and white, glimring against the morning sun.
Lucen’s attack was able to make Elyra’s hands push upward as she lost her footing and was about to stumble backward.
Of course, Lucen would not miss this chance and was about to press forward, but as he was about to sheath his sword again, it cracked and shattered like glass.
Elyra was then able to get her footing back and was the one who attacked with a horizontal slash.
Lucen used the scabbard enhanced with his aura mantle to block. The second he stopped the slash for a second, backed away. The scabbard, despite being enhanced by Lucen’s aura mantle, could not fully withstand the heat and lted a little bit.
Lucen tossed the scabbard to the side. Now he had neither a sword nor a scabbard. "I guess that’s as far as I could go with a sword of that quality. Well, I guess you are in the sa situation." Lucen spoke while shrugging his shoulders.
"That ans nothing. Mine did not break despite being of the sa quality, simply because I have a stronger aura. I did not win against you in skill, speed, or power. This just proves that if we had the sa rank of aura mantle, I would be no match for you."
Elyra responded, sounding a little disappointed, not in Lucen but in herself. "Still, this is truly an exciting battle. Since I was able to break your sword, that ans you’ll need to use your unique magic. Co on then, Lucen, show everything you got! Make this battle even more exciting than the one you had with Eisen! Make enjoy this more! This ti, I will show you how my sword will reach you!"
Elyra Runescar, who despite on the outside seed like the opposite of her father, was in fact, very similar to Kaelvar Runescar. When the battle gets heated up, so does she, and she finds that the more difficult the battle, the more excited she becos.
Her lips curved into that wild, feral grin Lucen rembered, a look that belonged more to a warrior who lived for the clash than a noble heiress.
"You’re getting a little bit too excited," Lucen spoke as he was once again reminded of one of Elyra’s character traits, battle-crazed, the sa as her father, Kaelvar Runescar.
To those two, winning or losing doesn’t matter; what matters is how much fiery passion they felt from battle. Lucen shook his head as he showed his confident smile.
"Well, I guess I, too, am getting a bit more excited." Lucen created two familiar revolvers in his hands.
"... Tsk, I know you can create a better thing with your unique magic. The larger one you use against Eisen. The thing that penetrated through his floating fortress of stone."
Lucen paused for a second and then realized that Elyra was talking about the bolt-action rifle he used. "These two are actually better, if you want to go all out." Lucen then got into a fighting stance as he pointed his two revolvers at Elyra.
[Runescar Swordsmanship Third Form: Crimson Veil!]
Elyra’s sword blazed to life. Flas roared outward, twisting like a blooming lotus, and the air itself warped around her, which looked like a flaming crimson veil.
"Then show it to !" She roared her voice like flas wanting to devour Lucen.
User Comments
0 comments from readers