126 Sylph VS Aquarina
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Aquarina requested a match with me. I tried to reject it but... she was serious about it.
How could I even reject that with such conviction in her eyes?
I understand how she felt. I’ve also felt powerless and useless countless times.
Perhaps way more in my previous life... when everything was taken away from me... I felt lost.
Until I realized that the only strength I could really rely on was my own.
Perhaps she also came to this same realization.
She really wanted to protect me, so the only thing she could do was grow stronger than me.
Let’s see how good Shade’s trainings are, which I’ve been wanting to take as well...
.....
Aquarina brandished her knife as she suddenly coated it in mana. Then, her eyebrows furrowed while looking at me.
“I’m Aquarina Darkage Grandstone! Here I come!” she exclaimed.
“I am Sylph Naturia Bravo! Come at me!” Naturally, I returned the favor.
After that, I coated my bronze blade with mana and looked at Aquarina in the eyes.
We were no longer friends now.
We were rivals.
I saw how Aquarina masterfully manipulated mana around her body and enhanced her entire body’s muscles and bones. In an instant, her power suddenly increased by tenfold.
FLASH!
She rushed at me while a river of crystalline water appeared behind her. It was as if she had become a river flowing incredibly fast across a mountain.
CLASH!
Her knife clashed against my blade, something I had intercepted long ago. After all, I could see two seconds into the future. I could predict each of her movements!
CLASH! CLAH! CLASH!
Aquarina’s movements, however, were incredibly fast. Even predicting them was not enough. Even though I enhanced my body with a variety of spells, I was gritting my teeth, making me recognize the might of this girl.
She moved incredibly swiftly, more swiftly than me. She jumped around and tried to attack my weak spots every second. From how she moved, it was obvious that it wasn’t the way a knight fought.
It was the way an assassin did.
I could clearly see it, the phantom of Shade emerging behind her as if he had imparted his arts on his daughter. Her eyes flashed with bright aquamarine light. There was a certain eeriness, a certain ruthlessness and coldness that assassins always had within their eyes as they fight.
I see. So, you’ve taken that path, Aquarina.
CLASH!
Crack... crack!
Her blade clashed against my blade once more as the two blades clashing against one another generated sparks all around us. I noticed Aquarina was sweating, her breaths becoming bated.
“Come on, we’re just getting started. Don’t get tired that easily!” I said, quickly utilizing techniques that my own father taught to me.
If you’re using the techniques of your father, then allow me to use those of my father.
Blazing Blade Arts: Imposing Flame Sword.
FLASH!
I coated my blade in flames as the fire unleashed a strong wave of heat, pushing Aquarina away with a strong force.
BOOM!
“Unngh...!”
Aquarina barely kept herself standing as she unleashed her own powers.
“Moist Mist.”
FLASH!
A moist mist quickly coated her entire body as the burning sensation of my heat dissipated easily.
Water against fire, huh?
I could see it in Aquarina’s eyes. She noticed that I was like her.
“Can you see it?” I asked her.
“I can see it... the might of your father... you’ve inherited his techniques as well!” she said excitedly as a smile like I’ve never seen before emerged on her face. A smile filled with the excitement and thrill of battle.
“That’s right,” I said while nodding.
“I’m going to get serious as well... so make sure to not take me lightly... or you’ll regret it!” she said after that.
“Alright! Come at me with everything you’ve got... I will also go all out,” I replied with a grin.
“That’s good!” She grinned as well.
FLASH!
Suddenly, Aquarina disappeared from my sight.
What? How?!
CLASH!
I saw two seconds in the future as Aquarina hit me in the back, while I dropped half dead on the ground...
She’s going attacking me from behind with incredible speed! What’s this technique?!
In any case, I swiftly turned to my back and intercepted her in time!
CLASH!
“Y-You saw through it?!” she asked in surprise.
“That’s a pretty tricky technique! But nothing escapes my eyes,” I told her.
Aquarina smiled as she continued to fight against me. Her knife continued to move incredibly swiftly as her slim and small body jumped around, trying to attack me from many different directions consecutively.
CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!
Each time I intercepted right on time, barely!
Then again, it was time for me to also put some more effort. I told her I was going all out, right?
“Ember...” I murmured.
I conjured Ember a hundred times over my blade until it was completely covered in flames and then, I swung it right before her.
“Blazing Blade Arts: Slashing Blaze.”
FLAAAAAASHH!!!
The fire unleashed a powerful flame that sliced and burned everything it touched.
Aquarina clashed against it, but its strength was too great.
“Aggh...! Ocean Knife Arts: Ocean God’s Trident!”
Then, something wondrous happened before my eyes. I could barely believe it.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Aquarina’s movements became so sharp, precise, and fast that her knife suddenly seemed to have shaped itself into a trident, clashing against my flames three times before making them dissipate in an instant...!
FLAAAASH!
After that, she headed straight towards me...!
“Ocean Knife Arts...! Oceanus Harpoon!!!”
TRUUUMMM...!
Her knife once more was encompassed by large quantities of mana as her knife seemed to move so strongly and sharply it resembled a harpoon coming to take me down!
“Amusing! If that’s the case, let me introduce you to my very own technique... Flashing Blade Art: One Hundred Mirage Blades!”
This was a technique I’ve been training in secret.
Combining the Light Magic my mother taught me, alongside my Ember, and then using my Heavenly Eyes to predict the future, adding in the swift movements and techniques I learned in my previous life, as well as the swift and strong movements of my father’s arts.
The Flashing Blade Arts were born.
.....
The name was quite exaggerated, though. There were not a hundred mirages, but there was still a dozen. And that was enough.
“W-What...!” muttered Aquarina in surprise as she saw my body suddenly divide itself into a dozen as I spread a domain of light, reflecting light and making it seem as if I had become many.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
And by enhancing my body to my limits and my blade with the power of light and fire...!
Aquarina missed every attack as she attacked my mirage clones. Then, I reached up to her, using the incredibly fast movement of my blade...!
CLAAAASH!
“Guhh...!” Aquarina vomited a mouthful of blood as I hit her stomach with blunt part of my blade, sending her to the air as she soon fell to the ground.
BOOM!!!
...
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