"I have to defeat you?" Zayn blurted out, pretty sure that he had misheard things.
However, Merlin's gleaming eyes and his head that nodded in affirmation were more than enough of an answer.
"Of course. If you cannot defeat me in my current state, how will you fare against the Chimera? It crippled me but that was only possible because I was still able to wield the powers granted by my God," Merlin clarified with burning passion in his voice. "If you want to defeat the Chimera, you have to fight and defeat me first!"
If Zayn didn't know better, he would have actually believed that Merlin was excited and impatiently challenging him to a duel to figure out how much of an improvement his student had acquired in a period of four months.
Merlin had only one arm right now, but he was still a capable B-rank Adventurer. Furthermore, he had two completed Soulrings and the soulframe of his Soulring was already completed.
It was only missing less than 20% of its capacity to be filled completely. Meanwhile, Zayn was just about to finish his second Soulring. He wasn't missing lots of soul particles anymore but he was not given enough to finish the creation of the second Soulring. He had been forced to challenge the Colosseum like this in order to be eligible to fight the Chimera with some effort and irk the Colosseum's managers.
"Alright. Let's fight then. It's not like I can do anything to convince you to leave without a final battle against me, right?" Zayn enquired, which was once again reaffirmed by Merlin.
"That's true. So just follow me and give your all!" Merlin said. They were already in the training space of the dojo as Zayn had been training a little bit earlier. This meant that their battle would start immediately, which Merlin made quite clear.
He materialized his saber, the Longdua Saber, in his empty hand, and circulated soul particles through his entire body to enhance his physical strength. With a smooth motion, he changed his position, turned around, and rushed in Zayn's direction with rapid acceleration.
'So fast!' Zayn thought the instant he witnessed the blinding speed of Merlin when going all out.
That was right, Merlin was actually going all out right now! Zayn was stunned for a quarter of a second before he changed his stance as well. Soul particles circulated through his entire body with the focus on his lower body to prepare for the moment of impact.
When Merlin was in his range of attack, Zayn changed his stance once again. It was a subtle change but exactly what he needed to block the first attack.
It was a heavy, yet rapid cleave that descended down upon him. He crossed the Dragontale Twin Sabers to block the heavy attack. However, the force that traveled through the Longdua Saber was much higher than expected. A loud thud rang through Zayn's ears as he noted that Merlin's physical strength was much higher than he had initially expected.
But there was not much he could do against this, other than endure and overcome. The force of the Longdua Saber seemed to recede a little but that didn't mean Zayn could relax. Merlin kicked at the side of his rib cage with tremendous force and speed.
Zayn detected this early enough but his rattling mind had problems finding a solution to the apparent problem. His instincts and the hellish training of four months kicked in. He manifested his Soulblade around both Dragontale Twin Sabers, thereby activating the Saber Artifacts' special effect.
By being nearby and soul injected through the same source, they began to release a chilling air. At the same time, their sharpness and endurance increased drastically. To Zayn, it felt like his ability to control the Dragontale Twin Sabers increased drastically upon inserting soul particles inside them. They felt more like extensions of his arms rather than weapons after being infused by his soul particles, allowing him to wield them with much more ease.
Twisting the Dragontale Twin Saber in his right hand while twisting his body and retracting the Dragontale Twin Saber in his left, Zayn changed the trajectory of Merlin's heavy, yet rapid cleave. The Longdua Saber continued to cut down. Simultaneously, Merlin's kick was about to impact when the aftereffect of the altered trajectory of his attack came into place.
Zayn skidded to the side while slashing out with the left Dragontale Twin Saber. Merlin had yet to regain complete balance when Zayn's attack impacted. The fabric of Merlin's shirt was cut and droplets of blood blossomed on his beautiful white shirt, staining it red. However, Merlin didn't pay any heed to that. He had stepped aside to avoid sustaining a shallow injury that would stop bleeding in a few minutes. It was not worth paying attention to.
However, what followed suit was definitely worth mentioning.
Soul particles were inserted into the Longdua Saber and the high-velocity movements Merlin made use of. The tempo of his attacks had changed in an instant, from one heavy attack to restrict Zayn's movement and a follow-up attack with the intention to inflict more heavy attacks to a fighting style that was focused on a movement sequence with tens of slashes being issued in a matter of seconds.
Zayn had to grit his teeth when the heavy, yet rapid attacks impacted. He blocked each attack, but only with one of the Dragontale Twin Sabers at a time, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to keep up with Merlin's speed.
There was a very good reason why someone with two Soulrings was considered stronger than someone with one Soulring. The difference in strength, speed, perception, and other factors such as the difference in the amount of soul particles the body could hold was simply too overwhelming.
Yet, while Zayn was faring decently well against Merlin, he was clearly at a disadvantage.
How was he supposed to defeat the very person who taught him how to fight?!
Was that even possible?
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