Azimuth: The Elden Throne

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/BOOOOOOOOM!/

Metal clashed, reverberating through the desert dunes.

Destruction spread as sand was kicked up high, traveling far into the distance, forcing Tina and the others around to step back or be buried in the flying dunes.

After being here, they realized this wasn't exactly he best place for them to fight... But then again, where else?

/CLANG!/

Amidst the sandstorm, another clash ensued, dispersing all of the dust around them as the impact cracked the stone beneath their feet.

Once dispersed, they could now see what was going on, a draw between the two.

Dale held his training sword forward, clashing it against Sarferato's cleaver.

Both weapons shone with light, one purple, the other red.

Dale's Aura was akin to the chaotic waves of the ocean, always revolving, splashing around the place, while Sarferato's Aura was violent, explosive, and dense… But contained.

Many years of mastery allowed him to tame even the fiercest of powers.

Like a pressurized bottle, it was always ready to explode, brimming with latent power.

"I'm impressed, I didn't expect you to last this long." Sarferato said to Dale as he pushed his cleaver down, causing Dale's feet to dig onto the earth

The soft sand around them had already been cast away, revealing a layer of condensed dirt and sand, the result of the rainy seasons.

Yet here, even with the compact ground, it could not resist the weight of the cleaver, being akin to soft clay under its might.

"..."

'It's heavy… At this rate will be buried alive.'

'He doesn't even look like he's putting a lot of effort into this… Sigh.'

'I know I'm physically stronger than most of them, but the difference in experience is far too wide.'

With an intent gaze, Sarferato looked down at Dale as he pressed him down, saying:

"Hum… I would've stopped here, but I got a bit curious, you wouldn't mind if I had some fun as well would you?"

"Huff… Just don't go too hard, I have things to do after this."

"Heh, don't you worry about it, I'll take it easy… !"

As he said that, Dale took his chance to strike, performing one of the many techniques he learned during his training.

He gathered his aura at the edge of his blade, exploding it, successfully pushing Sarferato's cleaver back by a little.

In that little moment of freedom, he changed his stance and struck forward towards his chest!

"ARG!"

However, instead of remaining still, Sarferato smiled for a single moment before he closed his lips and tensed his body, pushing his cleaver down with such speed it turned into a blur to Dale.

"Sh…"

/BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!/

The cleaver instantly fell onto Dale's shoulder!

But with that strike, wouldn't he have been cut into two?

"Tsk, old fart! I swear that if he's not in one piece after this I'll take one of yours and offer it as tribute for him!" Tina exclaimed out loud from afar as she looked at Sarferato

"Hm? Haha…"

He chuckled awkwardly as he looked down at the hole he dug, saying:

"You hear her? Get out of there before she cuts one of my arms off."

"Be it now or before, Witches have such foul personalities… Though I can't say mine's gentle either, hoho!"

"... Arg… It hurts…" Dale replied from inside the hole

/Sush!/

He raised his left hand, digging himself out of the hole as he climbed back onto the surface.

His clothes were now in tatters and he was bleeding slightly on his right shoulder, but overall, he was fine for what may have been the force of a comet striking the earth.

"Excellent, you're fine. A little scratched but I had faith you'd be fine."

"Faith? That strike could've killed the Greater Devil if it landed on its head!"

'The undeveloped one I mean… I'm not so sure about the one before entering the cocoon and the result after… The Greater Devil was massively weakened due to his half transformed state.'

"HAHA! Yet you're still in one piece, that speaks to the lengths of your achievements."

"I saw what you did there, great application, you surprised me… I thought you would be able to defend against a more serious strike, and you did. Excellent application of Defensive Arts."

"And I know you prefer the spear, I apologize for forcing the sword onto you, I kind of forgot you're a Spear user since you're always holding the Sword of the First."

Sarferato scratched his chin as he said that, but Dale wasn't really paying much attention...

"... It hurts…"

"HOHO! Of course it does! The Corps defensive Arts are meant to keep you alive and in one piece, not to prevent you from taking any damage."

"Warriors grow with scars and wounds, if you take no hits, how can you prevent them?"

"Anyhow… I'm satisfied, I've seen enough to confirm what I wanted, we can always see the rest after."

"You're stronger, faster, and a bit more mature than the last time we met each other yesterday. Too much of a change to explained otherwise..."

"Your combat sense is also sharper and you have achieved some mastery in techniques I haven't even thought of teaching you yet."

"That's all I needed to know…"

"Is it?" Dale asked as he smiled

His heart began to beat with great strength as his eyes shone with bluish light.

"You may be done… But I'm not yet."

/BURST!/

Dale's Aura exploded with might, and with speed rivaling everything Sarferato had seen so far, Dale raised his fist, aiming for his chest.

"!"

In the hyper augmented perception of Sarferato, he saw as Dale's fist slowly inched towards his chest.

"Hm…"

'I can't move… Sigh, I'm getting old… No, I'm far too old already.'

His body may be decadent, but Sarferato's mind was as sharp as ever… No, one may say he's much better than he was during his prime.

If Sarferato could recover his youthful body, he would be many times stronger then he was during his time as the General of the Infantry.

But of course, Humans are meant to dream of impossible realities.

/SLAM!/

Dale's fist reached Sarferato's chest, sending him back with force against a distant dune.

/FLASH!/

"HUPP!"

In that moment of victory, Dale pushed himself even further.

His Aura gathered in his blade, expanding upwards, reaching to the skies like a pillar of light.

'Right now, I can't exert as much force as I did in the Drula Mountains.'

'Without the Set effect and my items… This is the most I can do.'

His sword before him, he suddenly collapsed all of his Aura onto a single point of his sword, creating an incredible compressed point of light.

/SLASH!/

He swung his blade downward, forming a wave of light that cut through the desert towards the direction Sarferato had been launched.

/Flash…/

/BOOOOOOOOOM!/

Suddenly, from the golden dunes, a flash of red light exploded from within, destroying Dale's energy wave as a smiling old man stepped out from within, his cleaver up high.

"Come on kid, show me a bit more."

"HUPP!"

Dale didn't stop, dashing forward as he began to remember his days training with his reflection.

He tried to bring forth its techniques and abilities, the way it fought and positioned itself in the battlefield.

It was nothing short of imitation, but wouldn't the imitation of a God be a Demi-God still?

/SLASH!!/

"!!"

Dale's Aura quickly changed, taking the shape of a purple curtain behind his sword's path, drawing an Arc whenever it moved.

As he swung it forward, sparks of light ignited within the violet sheet, like stars in the night sky.

The sight of this caused Sarferato to smile widely as he prompted his own Aura forward, something he hadn't done in decades… No, he did it once, when he received the earrings from Dale not that long ago.

/SLAM!/

Red thunderbolts gathered around his cleaver. They crashed against the sand, melting it into glass as the cleaver swung against Dale's sword.

/CLANG!/

The two weapons collided in the air, a similar scene to how this fight began, only now that the attacker defended and the defender attacked.

The only issue that hadn't changed was that either now or before, the one with a smile hadn't changed…

/BOOOOOOOM!!/

Their clash created a small mushroom cloud in the desert, prompting the onlookers to close their eyes as a wave of sand blasted their faces.

But thanks to Tina, they weren't buried in the sand.

…

In the epicenter of their clash, a crater remained, reaching so far down the buried trees began to reveal themselves, husks of a once glorious forest.

Deeper down, there was a hole, inside it, buried in the sand was a man...

/PULL!/

With one pull, Sarferato pulled him out, letting him collapse onto the ground...

"Huff…"

At the center of the crater, Dale remained still with his eyes closed, too tired to move or protest.

Albeit, even now, his stamina was quickly recovering, in no time at all he would be ready to duke it all out again…

"Heh… I'll still make a soldier out of you boy." Sarferato said with a smile as he stepped next to Dale

"Huff… Are you sure you won't make a cripple out of me?"

"Ha! If you can joke then you're fine! Come, let's get out of this desert, I already have enough sand in my boots."

"Huff… Just… Give me a few seconds to catch my breath…"

"No can do!" He said as he crouched down, pulling Dale to his shoulders like a sack of potatoes

"I'm sure they're all very curious, let's give them a heads up."

"..."

'Sigh…'

Tired and full of sand everywhere, Dale let himself be dragged around like a child.

This much embarrassment was nothing compared to losing his loved ones.

The first of a series of steps into changing the future, the first day of many ahead of Resko's uprise.

But first... He needed a shower.

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Notes