"Demon-Hunting Arts... First Layer!"Lars" voice rang out softly, such that only those paying keen attention and in the front rows could hear him. Of course, those with higher cultivations or power levels could hear him clearly speak those words, and their brows were raised in curiosity - just what kinds of arts were these...?
As our golden-haired hero spoke those words, he triggered the inherited memories received from the Myth-level Demon Hunter Marzinus and began to a.s.similate with the arts flowing into him. He felt an invisible, nearly imperceptible fluctuation of energy around him, but one that he realised he was not sensing with his mana sense, physical perception or even his spirit sense.
The energies roiled about and Lars could feel the immense force hidden within the void, nearly undetectable but mighty in power. He felt as if though the something that was moving lay between the laws of the universe and the corporeal state of the cosmos, almost like it were the aether or the glue that held together everything...
And he could touch it!
"Wait, why isn"t anyone reacting...? Is it just me that...?"
He looked up at Darius and confirmed his thoughts - the boy who was bursting with power and ready to fight was still looking at him wondering just what would happen next. Clearly he couldn"t feel the same fluctuations and the effects that Lars was experiencing...
"Boy! Were you just play-acting? Or was the inheritance he gave you a farce?"
Lars spared a moment to blink; was it that even demons couldn"t sense the esoteric force that was stirring...? Was that why the Demon-Hunting Arts were so powerful and feared...? Or was Kizorik in his sealed state just too weakened to notice?
Then Lars shook his head, coming back to the present with a smile on his face.
Regardless of all that, he had a battle in front of him and a youthful "rival" he had to make sure he satisfied sufficiently!
...And such a potent ability as the Demon-Hunting Arts... Now that it was primed and ready, he would have to use it at the perfect moment and not waste it! The element of surprise was key....!
Lars raised up his sword and began to layer countless buff spells on his body, albeit only those at level 1 and 2 as befitting his apparent peak Adept level.
Bull"s Strength, s.h.i.+eld, Minor Protection from Physical Damage, Minor Protection from Elements, Minor Protection from Magic... An entire gamut of defensive, strengthening and buff spells were laid onto himself, causing his body to literally glow with a rainbow of multi-coloured light.
Then Lars smiled confidently and nodded at Darius.
"Thank you; you"ve been waiting long enough... Let"s not let our audience wait anymore." Lars hefted his blade, balancing it in his two hands as he stimulated his mana and blood energy to their peak.
"Shall we...?"
Darius smiled in return, and though he tried to hide it behind a stern frown and tightened lips, the excitement in his expression could not be hidden. He found himself breaking into a grin as he spoke.
"Come on...!!!" They both shouted in unison as they shot off towards each other, closing the distance between them in a split second. Then two boys clashed in a dazzling display of skills and power!
This time round Darius had an increase in both agility, speed and power. He dashed in and out of Lars" sword range with ease, flicking out sharp punches and kicks and avoiding the cleaving sword.
However, Lars was still not to be outdone; every time he swung his sword and Darius dodged, Lars would make sure he forced Darius into a certain position or footing. Then he would instcast simple offensive spells to counter-attack, effectively neutralising Darius" overall advantage!
"Combined Magic Missile x3!" Lars exclaimed just as Darius slipped under his horizontal slash and tried to attack Lars with a rising uppercut, the azure mana crackling like lightning across his forearm. But before Darius could land his blow, 15 bolts of glowing pink mana combined into one watermelon sized fusion of mana and slammed into his arm, knocking him backwards.
Darius stumbled back 3 steps and then furrowed his brows. He shook his arms slightly to relieve the numbness but was otherwise unscathed; the only effect of Lars small tactical move was to knock him away through the impact of the magic missiles.
"Evenly matched, huh... How annoying..." Darius spoke to himself in his thoughts. But despite his negative sounding inner voice, he found himself smiling and hyped up as he rushed forward once more.
"Again?! Haven"t you had enough? It"s not going to work!" Lars too had a grin plastered on his face as he fought. Even if facing a mere peak-Elite opponent was just childs" play for the Legendary realm fighter, he realised that there *WAS* a reason people enjoyed fighting.
It was d.a.m.n fun!
The same moves began to play out once more; Darius stepped in aggressively and was met with a flas.h.i.+ng blade sweeping horizontally at chest height. Instead of dodging it this time though, he launched a fierce fist straight at the blade, intending to knock the flimsy piece of metal flying and press in to pummel Lars to oblivion.
Lars blinked and recalculated, then immediately shot out a multi-coloured Level 1: Chromatic Orb at Darius" face while continuing his swing. He gritted his teeth and prepared for the heavy impact but did not shrink back.
"Useless! That"s just fireworks!!" Darius roared as he slammed his fist into Lars" sword and knocked it aside, while taking the feeble orb of bright light to his face. He did not fear it at all as just the layer of azure mana coating his head was enough to easily break through the weak spell!
Darius then stepped forward the last step to close the distance into striking range - and immediately stumbled as he heard a bang from below him and missed his step!
"H-how is that possib--" He couldn"t complete his thoughts as he felt his foot descend too far and nearly pitched head over heels from the inertia of his heavy striking-step.
Then to his shock, the orb of s.h.i.+ning light exploded onto his face uselessly with literally no damage... But within it was a lump of disgusting mud that splattered over his face and eyes!
And along with the mud, he also sputtered in disgust as he felt an oily substance splash outwards from within the Chromatic Orb and coat his whole upper body.
"Gotcha!! Aganzar"s Scorcher!!"
Darius heard Lars yell and pivoted as quickly as he could. He slammed his other foot against the ground to try to avoid - but found his right foot swinging through thin air as well!!!
"What the h.e.l.l??!!"
Those were his last thoughts before he was engulfed in flames that were weak enough for him to scoff at normally, but in this situation where it ignited the oil on his body and with his clouded vision and lost balance, it was enough to make his heart race!
"The finis.h.i.+ng blow!! Blotting out the Stars!!!!" Lars shot forward as he lowered his body and unsheathed his sword in one long, smooth motion; releasing a world-severing cut to blast Darius away and out of the ring!
Then he felt his scalp grow numb as he saw Darius smile grimly and suddenly turn deathly still, unnaturally calm.
And even though it only took less than a quarter of a second for Lars to dash forward with a sword-drawing Battojutsu and sweep forth his s.p.a.ce-imbued strike, time seemed to slow down as Darius" figure and voice suddenly filled his entire vision and senses.
Then he heard an almost illusory, dreamy-like voice speaking "G.o.d"s Blood: Incarnation of Light"s Descent..."
Lars" vision was engulfed with a burning, blinding, drowning deluge of azure light as he felt blood fill his mouth and his sword bend backwards at an impossible angle before snapping.
And he felt as if though he too were being bent impossibly and about to snap as he was blown away, spinning through the air like a kite with its strings cut!