Senon quickly abandoned her offensive idea. She was, in a way, rather simple. Her style was heavily rooted in the drawing sword style, focusing on a swift, unexpected offense -- however, from a predictable side -- and on tyrannical counterattacks which were the main strength of the style.
This type of combat style was the most dangerous to the user, and it was seldom used for that reason. On the best days, one could only count on being able to defend from one side of the body and leaving the other completely exposed. This forced the user to adopt fluid footwork, and dodge attacks while remaining in close range. But for those geniuses who could use the style, it developed something rarely anyone else possesses: combat sense.
In simple terms, combat sense was the ability to read the flow of battle, and quickly develop ideas for attacking and counterattacking. Half-spirit, Senon's senses were honed beyond human or demon natural ability, and her combat sense was truly outstanding.
That is why it was so simple for her to quickly adapt to the situation, and strike the pommel of Rale's sword with her palm, sending the half-drawn sword back into it's scabbard. Senon stepped into Rale's defensive space, and in doing so, the only one who was now unarmed in this situation was Rale.
Senon pierced Rale's wrist and shoulder Circuit node with the tip of her finger, striking twice in quick succession, and then struck with the flat of her palm against Rale's sternum, pouring her magical power into the strike and sending it into Rale's body.
Rale's Circuits attempted to cope with the spike of magical pressure as they usually would, but the blocked nodes in his shoulder and wrist caused a devastating backlash, causing the magical power to reverse through his higher and lower soul. The veins on his arm popped out, and the noise of his bones starting to grind themselves into dust filled the space.
Rale's experience as a soldier of many battles shone through and he quickly stabilized his Circuits. Half-closing his eyes, he released his breath, and in doing so managed to avoid devastating damage.
Senon stepped back, reflexively, abandoning her offense. Perhaps it was because of post traumatic stress that she did so. The last time she faced an opponent who used the Breath Methods, it was against Ain and she was obliterated in less than a second. This type of mental trauma does not heal quickly or easily.
The second reason was because she felt an odd aura and saw Rale's left arm suddenly become shrouded by a mist of purple-black energy which she had never seen before.
At this time, the rest of the banquet hall had enough time to react to the sudden aggression. This was not a duel; attacking an unarmed opponent like that was an execution. Many of the soldiers and nobles present were too confused to spring into action, but there were some that reacted quickly and with opposing ideas. Some saw it as an unjust act and wanted to stop the fight, others saw it as an opportunity to finally slay the demons and they went for their swords.
Ain looked at Rale and the mist of energy around his arm, his eyebrows furrowing.
One of the soldiers, standing behind Senon, went for his sword, but the half-spirit, half-demon, reacted with incredible quickness and lashed out with a palm strike against the soldier's throat, snapping his neck with one blow. As the soldier fell, Senon grabbed his sword and in one fluid motion drew it and slashed at Rale, the tip of the sword leaving a trail of black, electrified miasma.
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Rale did not even have time to react, and Senon's sword -- glowing orange from its electric aura -- struck Rale's right shoulder with fatal power. Unfortunately, the sword could not withstand the cataclysmic power shrouding it, nor the hardness of Rale's skin, and it both melted and shattered upon impact, sending glowing fragments flying across the room like falling stars.
Rale and Senon exchanged a moment of shocked surprise. Rale was surprised because he had never seen someone react so quickly, fluidly and precisely, nor did he expect such unbelievable power within Senon's sword. He realized that he was lucky to be alive.
Senon was surprised because this was the first time something like this happened to her. Having physical phenomena manifest like that, and ruin her sword, was completely new to her. This was an effect of further comprehending the Desolation Sword, and in its initial stages the Method did not provide any new techniques, but instead enhanced existing ones with an element of Desolation -- the Principle itself sought to make the world as it itself was: desolate, empty and ruined.
This turn of events put Senon in a very disadvantageous position. She was open to counterattack, and had already shown her unarmed combat skills, so a surprise attack would not work anymore.
She briefly considered asking Ain for help, but she knew in her heart that she would have no assistance from him. Ain would let her die; she had no questions about that. Her Master would not protect her life. Maybe she was right, maybe she was wrong, but she knew that even if she did die, he would bring her back to life and consider that she learned a valuable lesson she could not otherwise learn.
In a way, this rallied her morale. She could not count on Ain's help, but she could count on Ain erasing her mistakes and allowing her to find her own path towards the pinnacle. In other words, this was the time to take risky actions.
With an almost demented smile, Senon relaxed her posture, widening her stance. Her hand settled at her left side, half open as if ready to draw a sword that wasn't there. Senon, who had Atatreia in her source and tremendous potential with a sword, did not need a physical object to cut. The path of the Sword was to align oneself with the ideals of it, and in a way, become the sword.
It was said that a master swordsman could use a leaf to such deadly effect, as if it was a sword. But a truly transcended swordsman did not even need a leaf.
The sky outside the banquet hall darkened and lightning flashed.
This kind of belief was the essence of Source Magic and conceptualization. The Pattern rearranged around the idea that Senon held a sword in her hand, even though there was nothing there, and a shimmer of broken reality surrounded the nonexistent metaphysical object she was holding. The shimmering unraveled slightly, revealing a black lightning bolt, frozen in time, before shrouding it again, making the blade nearly invisible.
Senon could not have known that Ain, in fact, would not allow her to get slaughtered here. There was no lesson to be learned here -- in Ain's mind, this was the kind of thing he came here to eliminate. Rale's aggression was a clear sign of Humanity's warlust and the danger they posed towards the peace he wanted to create.
However, when Ain saw Senon use Source Magic for the first time -- and in its truest form no less -- whatever thought he had of assisting her evaporated. On one hand, this was a valuable lesson. On the other hand, if Senon died, it would be extremely difficult to revive her; likely impossible. To Ain, this turned out to be a test to see if Senon was truly worthy of receiving Ain's Core teachings. Giving her Emperor and beyond level Methods was nothing. Even implanting the Pillar of Equilibrium in her Source was only a tiny bit of a blind investment, but still not a big deal -- even though he miscalculated the Radix's retaliation and nearly died.
If Senon could wield Source Magic and the Desolation Sword, then she would prove to be worthy of becoming Ain's successor, and under his guidance, she would not take the wrong path in life, and ruin an entire era for her own people.
A disquieting atmosphere settled in the room as Senon's Conceptualized Weapon manifested, and any ideas of attacking Senon or her companions disappeared. All eyes were on the two combatants, and some were filled with hope, and others with desolation.