The World Is Mine For The Taking

Chapter 1503: Chapter 213 - Leon Vs. Pride (1)

Lucielle’s eyes narrowed.

Apparently, that wasn’t the answer she wanted.

Without another word, Lucielle charged at me again.

Dark mana immediately surged around her body.

The darkness wrapped around her like a cloak, making the air around her feel heavier. At the same time, I noticed mana gathering in her hand. It looked similar to the attack she’d used earlier, except this time she was compressing a much larger amount of power into it.

The sphere continued growing denser.

The mana inside it became so concentrated that even looking at it made me uneasy.

Then, while rushing toward me, she casually threw it.

I activated Guardian immediately.

The sphere exploded the moment it reached me.

Darkness burst outward in every direction.

Guardian blocked the attack, but the resulting explosion covered the area in thick dark mana. My vision was obscured almost instantly.

And then a hand shot out of the darkness.

I barely reacted in time.

Instinct screamed at me to move, and I listened.

Her attack missed me by a narrow margin.

The moment she overextended, I took advantage of the opening. I grabbed her arm and tried to pull her toward me.

Unfortunately, Lucielle wasn’t someone who left openings for long.

Before I could capitalize on it, she drove a kick into me and forced herself out of my grasp.

"You insolent bastard..." she growled.

Then the barrage began.

Dark spheres started flying toward me one after another.

At first glance, they looked almost harmless.

That impression disappeared the moment I remembered what those things actually did.

Each sphere contained enough destructive power to completely erase an ordinary person. Getting hit by one wasn’t a matter of being injured.

It was a matter of ceasing to exist.

Lucielle continued launching them while steadily closing the distance between us.

I responded by swinging Ayuru.

One sphere after another was cut apart.

Every time the blade sliced through one, the compressed mana exploded outward.

Darkness filled my vision.

The battlefield would briefly disappear from sight.

And every single time that happened, Lucielle used the opening to move closer.

It was honestly a solid strategy.

A really solid strategy.

Against most opponents, it probably would’ve worked perfectly.

Against me, though, it still wasn’t enough.

I continued blocking her attacks.

I continued intercepting her advances.

Every time she attempted to slip through my defenses, I stopped her before she could land a clean hit.

As things stood, she hadn’t managed to hit me directly even once.

Then her expression changed.

The look on her face hardened.

The dark aura around her body flared violently.

The pressure radiating from her immediately increased.

It wasn’t difficult to understand what that meant.

She’d finally run out of patience.

"Although I intended to be lenient because you’re using Lilith’s body, and I didn’t want to damage it too much..." Lucielle said coldly, "I’ve decided to stop worrying about that. From now on, I won’t be holding back."

"I appreciate the warning."

"I wasn’t warning you."

"That somehow makes it worse."

She ignored me completely.

Which was rude, honestly.

Then the darkness around her intensified again.

This time, there was no mistaking it.

Lucielle was done testing me.

The atmosphere changed immediately.

Until now, the fight had felt difficult.

Now it felt dangerous.

Dark mana erupted from her body like a storm finally breaking free.

The ground beneath her feet cracked apart.

The sand disappeared under the pressure pouring out of her.

Even the air around her seemed distorted.

I tightened my grip on Ayuru.

A warning bell rang in my head.

Not the usual kind.

The serious kind.

The kind that basically screamed, "If you mess this up, you’re going to regret it."

Lucielle slowly raised a hand.

The darkness gathering around her compressed itself into a tiny sphere.

It wasn’t even larger than an apple.

Compared to her previous attacks, it looked ridiculously small.

That was exactly what made it terrifying.

The amount of mana packed into it was absurd.

Without hesitation, she flicked it toward me.

I immediately jumped aside.

The sphere struck the ground.

Nothing exploded.

There was no shockwave.

There was no thunderous impact.

Instead, a section of the battlefield simply disappeared.

Several meters of earth vanished entirely.

As if they had never existed in the first place.

I stared at the empty space.

"...Seriously?"

Lucielle didn’t answer.

Mostly because she was already right in front of me.

Fast.

Way too fast.

Her fist shot toward my face.

I barely managed to raise Ayuru in time.

BOOM!

The impact rattled my entire body.

My feet carved trenches through the ground as I was pushed backward.

Before I could recover, her knee was already heading toward my stomach.

I twisted away.

The attack narrowly missed.

The shockwave alone shattered a section of rock behind me.

What was that physical strength?

Seriously, what was that?

Was she secretly training by punching mountains for fun?

I swung Ayuru horizontally.

Lucielle leaned backward.

The blade missed her by inches.

Then her palm struck my chest.

Guardian activated instantly.

A barrier appeared between us.

The barrier shattered.

I was sent flying backward.

I bounced across the battlefield before finally stopping myself.

Even though the attack hadn’t connected directly, my chest still hurt.

Lucielle slowly lowered her hand.

"You rely too heavily on your defensive abilities."

"Thanks for the feedback."

For some reason, this has becoming a little bit annoying.

Lucielle charged again.

This time, I moved first.

Mana surged through my body.

I dashed forward and met her head-on.

Ayuru flashed repeatedly.

One slash.

Then two slashes.

Then five.

Then ten.

A storm of attacks descended upon her.

Each strike carried enough power to cut through powerful monsters.

Each strike could split stone apart.

Yet Lucielle avoided most of them.

The attacks she couldn’t avoid were deflected with frightening precision.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

Sparks flew everywhere.

For a brief moment, neither of us managed to gain an advantage.

Then Lucielle smiled.

The instant I saw that smile, my stomach sank.

I’d been baited.

Darkness exploded beneath my feet.

I immediately jumped away.

A massive spike of dark mana erupted from the ground.

Then another.

Then another.

Then another.

The battlefield transformed into a nightmare.

Hundreds of dark spikes burst upward.

I leaped between safe spots while avoiding the attacks.

Unfortunately, Lucielle wasn’t interested in giving me breathing room.

She appeared above me.

Her leg came crashing down.

I raised Ayuru.

BOOM!

The impact slammed me into the ground.

The earth collapsed beneath me.

A crater formed instantly.

Pain shot through my arms.

For the first time since the battle began, I could feel my muscles straining.

Lucielle landed nearby.

Gracefully.

Effortlessly.

She wasn’t even breathing hard.

She wasn’t sweating.

Meanwhile, I was getting launched around the battlefield like an unpaid extra in somebody else’s fight scene.

That was concerning.

Really, and very concerning.

"Tired already?" she asked.

"Not even close."

"Good."

Darkness gathered around her once more.

"Because I’m only getting started."

The shadows around her began moving.

At first, I thought it was an illusion.

Then they started taking shape.

Humanoid figures emerged from the darkness.

One.

Five.

Ten.

Twenty.

Each carried a weapon formed from condensed mana.

I frowned.

"You can create soldiers too?"

"They aren’t soldiers."

The shadows raised their weapons.

"They’re executioners."

Then all of them rushed me simultaneously.

Wonderful.

Apparently fighting one terrifying monster wasn’t enough today.

I moved immediately.

Ayuru carved through the first shadow.

It exploded.

Another replaced it.

Then another.

Then another.

No matter how many I destroyed, more kept coming.

Meanwhile, Lucielle remained in the distance.

She was just watching and observing.

Or more like... analyzing.

Waiting.

She wasn’t using the shadows to defeat me.

She was using them to create opportunities.

Unfortunately, I realized that a second too late.

One shadow attacked from my blind spot.

I destroyed it instantly.

At that exact moment, Lucielle appeared in front of me.

Her fist slammed into my stomach.

The impact knocked the air from my lungs.

My body flew backward.

I crashed into the ground and rolled several times before finally stopping.

For a few moments, I remained kneeling.

Trying to figure out how bad things actually were.

My stomach hurt.

My arms hurt.

I didn’t think I would be damaged this bad, but I guess I was wrong.

Meanwhile, Lucielle stood in the distance looking completely composed.

Almost relaxed.

Like this entire fight was nothing more than another lesson to her.

Slowly, I pushed myself back to my feet.

Then I looked at her again.

The confidence I’d started this battle with was beginning to crack.

Not completely.

But enough.

Because at the start of the fight, I’d been convinced that if I pushed hard enough, I’d eventually overpower her.

Now I wasn’t so sure.

Lucielle wasn’t just powerful.

She wasn’t just skilled.

She wasn’t just experienced.

She was all three at the same time.

And that combination was turning into a very serious problem.

Lucielle might be a lot more than I’d bargained for.