Ex-Rank Awakening: My Attacks Make Me Stronger

This was the first time Leon had ever stood against a true Rank S.

No tricks like the battle with Eleanor's master. No controlled spar meant to temper his edge. This was a clash against a powerhouse, a realm reserved for legends whose very presence bent the battlefield.

Leon's gaze locked on Lancelot, it was steady and unwavering.

Without hesitation, he burned every attack points he had accumulated for the day. The surge was immediate, a torrent of strength rushing into his body, swelling his muscles, sharpening his senses, feeding his veins with raw, crackling energy. There was no stress multiplier this time, but the sheer quantity was enough to turn his body into a weapon. Temporary, yes. But he would make it count.

His domain burst forth like a storm. It didn't fully suppress Lancelot, the man's sheer will and rank resisted it but the weight pressed on him enough to tip the balance.

"So it was a domain…" Lancelot's voice was cold, eyes narrowing as he felt the unseen pressure crush around him. He had dismissed Leon's earlier stunt as luck, a fluke. But now, feeling the domain's grip firsthand, he could not deny it. 'A domain? At Rank 3?' That was supposed to be impossible! Yet a boy who had just popped up from nowhere was wielding it like second nature. His jaw clenched. 'It doesn't matter,' he thought 'Headquarters will deal with him once I drag him to the capital.'

There was no room for talk. Lancelot was not a man of compromise. Only action.

Leon moved first. His black blade sang through the air, aura flaring as he roared—

"Extreme Art: Cross Impact!"

The sword carved two blistering arcs, one vertical, one horizontal, forming a radiant cross of force that screamed across the battlefield. The night split apart as the attack surged forward.

Lancelot didn't even flinch. He snorted, his hand flashing to summon a long spear that gleamed like condensed starlight. One thrust. Precise and brutal with all it's power concentrated at the tip. The spear pierced the heart of Leon's attack, splitting the cross apart with a thunderclap of aura.

"Boy," Lancelot said, his tone edged with disdain, "you're too early to think sneak attacks can work on me."

But then his eyes widened.

Leon was no longer in front of him.

High above, the sky seemed to respond to the blood in Leon's veins. His new race called to the heavens themselves. Lightning coiled across the dark, webbing the clouds in violent streaks of white-blue.

Leon raised his blade, his voice thunder itself.

"Extreme Art—God of Thunder!"

A deafening crack split the heavens as every strand of lightning poured into him, crowning him with divine wrath. He descended like judgment itself, sword blazing with the weight of the storm, the strike crashing down on the Imperial Guard.

The heavens split.

BOOOOOOM!

The impact erupted, shaking the city of Shantel to its bones. A shockwave tore outward, rattling windows, toppling weakened walls, and splitting the earth beneath their feet. The roar of the strike echoed through every street.

****

Racheal could hear it, the deep, resonant rumble of Leon's strike, she could feel it in her bones. The manor walls quivered, the ground beneath her boots trembled. Yet after that single violent shake, there was… nothing. The devastation she had braced herself for never came. It was as though the full force of Leon's thunderous attack had been caged at a single point, its fury swallowed before it could devour the city. Only faint traces of power leaked out, harmless ripples that kissed the streets of Shantel without breaking stone.

Her bow hand trembled, not from fear, but from awe. 'Even now… even when facing someone so far above him, he's still protecting the city?' Her throat tightened. 'What kind of experiences does one need to go through to carry that kind of dedication?'

Inside the manor, James and his squad, could not resist pressing to the windows. Their eyes were wide, hearts pounding as they watched. James clenched his fists so tightly the knuckles whitened. 'Please… let our Lord prevail.' His silent prayer drifted into the chaos outside.

Then the smoke parted.

Racheal's breath caught, James's squad gasped, and disbelief painted every face.

Leon hung suspended in the night sky, sword poised mid-strike, lightning snapping around him like a halo of wrath. But his blade… was caught.

Lancelot stood before him, one hand gripping the weapon, his expression unshaken. The crackling lightning that should have been tearing him apart was instead siphoned into his palm, swallowed like water into a dry well.

"Black Star Art, Form One—Absorption."

His voice was like iron. The last sparks of thunderlight vanished into his hand, leaving Leon's strike defanged. Lancelot's other arm pulled back, spear gleaming with killing intent before thrusting forward with blistering speed.

In that heartbeat, Leon had only two choices—abandon his blade or take the full brunt of the attack.

But Leon never thought in two choices.

In a flash, the black sword vanished into his inventory, Lancelot's grip closing on empty air. Leon twisted, the spear grazing past as he dropped and rolled, boots hitting earth with a thud. The strike speared into the void, splitting only air.

Leon reappeared in a crouch, his blade already back in his hand, his eyes locked on the brief opening Lancelot had left behind.

"Extreme Art—Horizon Cleave!"

His sword screamed upward in a devastating vertical arc, Tier IV Force exploding along its edge. The slash expanded into a massive aura wave, hammering into Lancelot's hastily-raised barrier. The shield held, but only barely. The impact roared like a collapsing mountain, tearing Lancelot from the sky and hurling him across the horizon. He smashed through the air like a comet before crashing beyond the walls of Shantel in a thunderous impact that shook the forest.

Leon didn't waste a breath. His figure blurred as he launched into pursuit, black blade in hand, his aura flaring like a storm that refused to die.

The battle had left Shantel behind.

It was now a duel between a rising storm and an unshakable star.