NOVEL NEXT Chapter 39: An Overwhelming Victory
It happened in a flash, a bright ray of silvery light beamed across the short distance of a few meters, traveling to meet its stationary foe. It was a speed few could even catch with their eyes, as it left only a trailing line of light in its wake. Yet, the target of this ray was even swifter compared to its movements.
In merely a second, this individual had not only avoided this ray of light by shifting his body to the side; he even counter-attacked by using the hilt of his sword to hit the ray of light that swept by his side.
Ting! The sound of metal responded as the ray of light vanished, revealing the unstained metallic edge of a simple looking sword. The sparks from the collision swept across the area, showering two figures.
During this silence, both Nero and Avollo looked at each other as the sparks swept across their faces. Their expressions varied as Nero carried a look of shock on his face when he stared at the edge of his sword resting against the hilt of Avollo's sword.
Avollo merely showed a cheeky smirk as he whistled before speaking, "Wow! Now that was a good Flash Cut, I must say, Nero, you've mastered quite the skill in these short two days. I am amazed by your progress, but... even so, it's still not enough. The quality of this technique was too low, and while your mastery is extremely high, reaching the third stage... you are still quite limited."
Nero hearing Avollo's words only now recovered from his shock, he quickly cleared his thoughts and retreated by kicking the ground with his feet leaping backward by two to three meters.
'Damn, even when he deliberately suppressed himself to my level, his skill is vastly superior to my own. At such a level he should be high in the Rising Talent Ranking List, but the question is just who is he on the list...?' Nero thought rapidly, trying to analyze his situation and his opponent, his arm trembled slightly as it even felt a bit numb.
Avollo, upon seeing Nero retreat shook his head as he once more lowered his sword to his waist and held it in one hand, still carrying a free and natural look, looking no different from grass in the verdant field capable of flowing with the rising winds.
As he assumed his natural state, a sharp aura rose around him, making him seem no different from a peerless sword that was pointing towards Nero. It even seemed as if this sword was one with nature, assuming unity with all things.
"Nero... you are talented, but your gifts aren't suited for the sword. Allow me the wake you from this false path before you trod its limits to no return," Avollo said with a piercing glint in his eyes as he tilted one side of his body, making it seem as if it was weightless.
As if Nero felt a terrifying amount of danger, his awareness which was already exploding in full slowed everything down by a drastic degree. Yet, even in this state, Nero knew that Avollo's suppressed strength was far from he could imagine.
'Tsk, I can't afford to go down like this, not before giving it all I have...' Nero thought with a firm look in his eyes as he lowered his stance and leaned his torso forward with his arms by his right side.
Not even wasting any time, he sheathed his sword once more and pushed even more Magic Power into it while simultaneously channeling power to his feet ready to use his Four Point Unity Steps.
"Have a taste of my Cutting Leaf Sword..." Avollo said in a resonant voice that reached towards Nero's ears, causing his eyes to narrow as he was now ready to unleash the attack.
In an instant, after Avollo's words, the slow-motion world of Nero's heightened perception encountered something strange.
Avollo blurred as he left behind a brilliant green-ray while moving towards Nero's direction. He didn't even move like someone who was running, as he seemed to have jumped from his position at a low angle, blasting towards Nero like a rocket.
In this posture, he still kept one side of his body lower than the other as if pushing all of his weight into the side, holding the now dazzling sword that shone in green lights.
In Nero's eyes, he only saw Avollo rapidly flashed from a distance before arriving directly before him at a low angle.
'I mustn't take any chance; I must face him with all I have and strike him before he strikes me!' Nero shouted in his mind, feeling a dense amount of fear towards Avollo's lowered arm. The sweat from his forehead ran down his cheeks as he revolved his Magic Power, invoking his [Four Point Unity Steps] at maximum as he unsheathed his Crimson Iron Sword in a flash and attacked.
At this moment, following the shrill cry of his sword, Nero's eyes shone with a rich killing aura, as they glowed in a reddish light, looking to be similar to the eyes of a Death God.
Avollo seemed to have perceived his movements, he was a bit surprised by Nero's change, but he merely smirked while twisting his body and swinging his lowered arm that held his sword.
Swingggg! The two ringing cries of their swords echoed, as a dazzling silver light flashed before being encompassed by a radiant ultra-thin green light.
Nero, who was moving at extremely high speeds, cut a straight silver line towards Avollo's body, the sword cut directly through him, causing Nero's eyes to shine with happiness. However, not long after, Avollo's body vanished as only the thin green light remained.
'Oh, crap!' Nero shouted inwardly as his eyes showed a panicked look; he tried to keep aware of the light, but as the green light moved, the illusion of a leaf being cut in half flashed before his eyes and everything returned to normal.
At this moment, both Avollo and Nero were standing two meter's distance apart. Their backs facing each other as the wind blew across their battlegrounds, swaying their hairs and battle wears. The swords in their arms shimmered in a cold ray as a slight haze swept between them, adding even more atmosphere to their surroundings.
Adult Nero, who watched this in silence, shook his head as he thought, 'Now you know, now you understand the difference between a true prodigy and common talents...'
Following Adult Nero's thoughts, Avollo waved his hand, causing his sword to vanished back into his storage space as he turned around and faced Nero, who still had his back turned.
Avollo grinned and spoke, "You should have learned by now why you aren't suited for the sword? Even with your mastery of the Flash Cut, you still didn't invoke its essence. With my mastery of the similarly Low-Level Cutting Leaf Sword, I was able to naturally invoke its 'True Intent,' creating the illusion you previously witnessed."
As Avollo said this, he began to walk towards Nero at a steady pace with his eyes shining in a bright ray. He then continued to speak, "You also have astounding perception and awareness, but your aura emanates a dense will to slaughter. I couldn't help but notice this stain that lies deepest in your mind in our previous exchange. How do I know this? It's simple; it is a trait from my family and a gift related to my eyes. I believe because of this stain; you are more attuned to the Killing Path for warriors. You would do well with a saber as a partner, or maybe a weapon more like a spear, killing multiple foes in a single sweep. As for your foundation, I was planning on helping you learn a few things, but I didn't think you'd already grasp such a perfected foundation. It seems that I was wrong to think that you were someone with no backing. Huhu... Nero, that's all I have to say, for now, let us retreat from here, I hope that you can learn from this defeat."
After finishing his statement, Avollo tapped Nero on his shoulder and stood before him with a smile as the mechanical system notification sounded.
[Duel finished! Winner Avollo!]
[Terminating the Private Duel Ring!]
As those notifications sounded, the mist began to fade revealing the scene on the arena, as everyone looked at the stage in surprise. Most of them didn't think the battle would end so quickly, as those who knew of Avollo's true identity looked at the arena with expected eyes.
Elly looked at Nero with a gloating look, but as she saw his current expression, her expression changed as she felt a tinge of pain.
Raynas only now recovered from his shock as he never in his dreams thought that Nero would have the guts to challenge such a character. He spoke while looking at Nero on the stage, "I must say, I never thought it would've been him in that arena, but he truly has a lot of guts, to be defeated by that Grass-Root Sword Kid, should be his honor."
A cold wind blew, sweeping by everyone including Nero as he stood on the stage. He had a long line across his body that spewed out a gush of blood before his hazy consciousness faded into the unknown and he slumped over on onto Avollo's shoulder.
"Oto~, shall we get going?" Avollo said as he grasped Nero and carried him away, ignoring the eyes of the crowd as he soon after vanished through the halls.