' What is it? It looks like he's taking a step towards me but then he just disappears and appears beside me?
It's not spatial manipulation because I can see through Spatial Warping, it seems more nuanced than that, a skill I don't fully understand…..
The position of his feet is different from when he walks in versus when he emerges out, it's like he's walking towards me but I can't see it.
Could it be another dimension?
Yes, it's most definitely a dimensional ability, most likely a type of void manipulation ' Rudra thought as he kept trying to dodge Max's attacks albeit being caught by the very tip of his sword.
All in all, it took him only two seconds to see through Max's skill as the next time as Max tried to use dimensional walk, Rudra simply used the power of darkness to envelop himself as the next time he emerged and tried to hit Rudra, he completely missed his mark and was engulfed in pitch-black darkness which numbed all his senses and completely blocked his vision.
[ Way Of The Wind ]
Max closed his eyes and tried to anticipate Rudra's movements using the way of the wind, however, his brother's swordsmanship was too fast for him to counter.
*CLANG*
*CLANG*
* REVERBERATION*
-50,000
*CLANG*
-50,000
*CLANG
*CLANG
*SPLAT*
*THUD*
Within an instant, Rudra returned the damage received by him twofold as within the darkness his superior swordsmanship left Max no room to counter.
Although Max tried to parry Rudra's attacks, his dual swordsmanship with years of experience easily opened up Max's defence as he received two cross-slashes to his chest, one winding punch to the side of his throat and a brutal kick that saw him thrown out of the darkness and crash against the pink barrier as he spat a mouthful of blood.
' He saw through my skill….. just like that? ' Max wondered as he got back to his feet and wiped the blood off his mouth.
Rudra stood opposite him, calm and unmoving as he patiently awaited Max to take the initiative for the next attack.
Uptil now, neither brother had used their peak abilities and were only getting a feel for the battle, however, what was remarkable was that both possessed the ability to surprise the other.
Rudra, with his extensive battle experience had never encountered a move like dimensional walk, while this was the first time Max faced an opponent like Rudra who could find a solution to everything that he threw at him with ease.
No other warrior in the universe was like his brother in this aspect.
To Rudra, thinking and critically analysing any object, attack or individual came naturally.
It was his unique ability that he had honed over countless battles and it was the one trait that nobody in the universe could replicate.
Nonetheless, it gave Max a taste of the ever-changing battle at the peak and how he could not rely on a single ability as his Trump card.
Against the best fighters he needed to have several ace cards stacked to counter their several ace cards for having the best odds for clinching victory.
Unfortunately this realisation came very late for him as using dimensional walk was the last time he got to use proper offence against Rudra, as the moment he got back to his feet and tried to build another offensive rally around the skill [ Primal Domain ]
Rudra showed his true power and absolutely crippled Max's chances to fight back.
He completely shattered Max's domain using the power of the seed of darkness and chaos and used the move [Elite Blast] to send a terrain trembling attack towards Max.
In panic, Max used [ Void Neutralisation ] to cancel-out Rudra's attack and while he was successful in blocking the attack as a whole, simultaneously as he was blocking the elite blast he had two sharp swords pointing towards his neck from his rear.
" Good fight, but I win " Rudra said as Max realised his mistake which made him lose this fight.
Against Rudra, the long activation time for his newly activated moves proved to be his bane.
Although Void Neutralisation was a great skill, he only had basic mastery of it and against Rudra those extra moments wasted in using it proved to be the opportunity he needed to come at his neck.
This was an eye-opening experience for Max as in the end all he could do against his brother was that one flurry of attacks before suffering a crushing defeat.
Filled with regret Max felt reluctant to accept his defeat as there was still much left in him that he wanted to show his brother as he knew he was capable of a much better fight than this one, but in life there were no excuses or re-do's.
He had lost this spar and now he needed to accept his defeat like a man.
" Strong as always…. " Max said with a sigh as Rudra patted his head.
" You've grown strong too, much stronger than I could have imagined " he acknowledged with a kind smile as he felt truly proud of how far Max had come on his own.
If he was this strong on his own, then with a bit of mentoring from Rudra's end he could become even better.
Although Rudra knew that Max had many great teachers in his life, he somehow felt that he was still the best mentor his brother could ever ask for.
There were things he could not teach the kids because it was too advanced for them. There were things he wanted to explain to someone worthy that were groundbreaking in his opinion but uptil now he found nobody who had the necessary background to grasp it, however, after today's spar he felt like Max had finally attained the level where Rudra could teach him all his secrets.
Rudra noticed the disappointment in his brother's eyes at being defeated, but he found it to be funny and childish.
The Rajput brothers were never meant to compete.
If the elder brother became the strongest, then it was only natural for the younger one to surpass him and become even stronger.
However, for now he was still number one.
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/// A/N - This bonus chapter is sponsored by patron Allcat_Gaming, please thank him for this one ///
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