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22. Duel(Part 2)

22. Duel(Part 2)

As he pays closer attention to his own attack, Maken realizes something:

"I messed it up... My hand shook at the exact moment I attacked, and I ended up piercing one of his lungs instead of his heart. Even though this could result in death, it's not an immediate result. But at least, I think I can now say that I've completed my mission. His body shows no signs of life, which means I can finally leave..."

After removing the blade of his sword from his enemy's lung and slashing it clean through the air, Maken slowly walks away from the battlefield. Meanwhile, Vektor is trapped within the void, unsure of what to do, until he sees an intense light expanding on the horizon of his soul.

"What is that light...? Could it be... No, not that! Not now! I don't wanna die! Stay away from me!"

Vektor runs as fast as he can to escape the light, until he finds a kind of portal floating in the middle of his path.

"That is...!"

The portal is sealed by divine energy, but it is possible that on the other side is the World of Nightmares, where the atmosphere is what influences him to lose his control to the curse.

"There's only one thing I can do...!"

Upon reaching the portal, his arm passes through the seal, reaching the World of Nightmares. Through this, Vektor tries his best to absorb the dark energy that exudes from the place.

"Come on, hurry...!"

Maken suddenly stops in his tracks. He was about to descend from the Dawn Plateau to await Vak-Oh’s next order. However, something catches his attention. A dense, familiar presence emitting faintly from not too far away.

"Hm? Is that...?"

Looking at the supposed corpse of his enemy, he notices that the body is being lightly burned by purple flames, which gradually heal all of his wounds. The superficial cuts heal completely almost instantly. The deep cuts take a little longer, while the regeneration of his internal organs is slow in comparison.

"...Impossible. Even if he didn't die immediately, it doesn't make any sense for this to be happening! I didn't even reactivate the curse, and besides, if he decided to use the dark energy on his own, his legendary sword should have sealed the curse, so how?!"

After his arms, legs and ribcage are healed, Vektor's body slowly manages to get up. Still with his eyes closed and burning with purple flames, he lets out a long sigh, followed by a weak cough that makes him bleed a little from his mouth. After cleaning his blood, he opens his eyes and reveals his purple pupils, identical to his possessed form, with the difference that his gaze expresses no sign of loss of control. Watching this from afar makes Maken horrified:

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"It can't be... He's drawing that power directly from the seal...?!"

Outside the battlefield, Kder continues to wait attentively for the outcome of the duel. However, he notices that both Sych and Master Noogard are suddenly more restless, without understanding why. They both know that something is happening, something worrying...

Inside his own subconscious, Vektor strives to absorb dark energy as much as possible and thus avoid the fading light of death. Vektor's consciousness splits into two when his body is reanimated. One half controls the regenerating body, while the other half controls the soul to continue the energy absorption process.

As Vektor regenerates his internal organs, Maken desperately positions himself to attack.

"He still hasn't healed from the inside... I still have time. If I take advantage of this time gap to strike at his heart or brain, I'll be able to finish him off without needing to continue fighting. I'll hurry...!"

Using his super speed, Maken catches up to Vektor in a few seconds. Without stopping to think about techniques or strategies, he lunges forward with a thrust, once again intending to pierce the enemy's heart. However, Vektor manages to smoothly dodge with a single, precise movement, the result of yet another reading of Maken's movements. Before the enemy's eyes, Vektor runs away at a speed almost as high as that of Kder and Maken.

As Maken stops his own attack, Vektor quickly manages to retrieve the Slasher Platinum. From there, both sides of his consciousness begin to focus.

By establishing a more solid and uniform connection, body and soul become synchronized. Through this, Vektor is able to temporarily access his own power, albeit imperfectly. The soul uses as much energy as possible to produce flames internally and transfer them to the body.

However, since the synchronization is imperfect, the physical strain caused by the consumption of dark energy ends up becoming a kind of barrier. Furthermore, Maken's attacks continue, even if Vektor manages to defend himself better.

Simultaneously, body and soul strive to reach their limits. The body forces itself to release more power without interrupting regeneration, while the soul reaches its absolute limit. Vektor's voice echoes within his own mind and resounds across the battlefield.

"HaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH...!!!"

Instinctively, Maken ceases his attacks and retreats with a small leap backwards. The combined effort of Vektor's body and soul breaks his internal barrier, causing his natural flames to finally explode into the physical world.

The purple flames become an external aura, while continuing to heal the interior of Vektor's body. The natural flames represent a drastic increase in power, while serving as an internal aura. This false double awakening causes his pupils to disappear.

After the initial shock, Maken realizes that his own blood has stopped flowing down his face. When he runs his hand over the place where he was cut, he can't find any wound on his skin. The weak flaming waves exuded by the generation of Vektor's external aura were able to instantly heal his wound.

The dark presence that this explosion exudes extends all the way to the base of the Dawn Plateau. Sych and Master Noogard are once again the ones who sense this presence, while Kder only feels a slight pressure. Sych loses his cool:

"Wha... What was that?!"

Confused, Kder just asks Master Noogard:

"What's going on?! Did something happen?!"

"Yes... How can I explain...? Something quite problematic has just awakened. One of those two is taking an extreme method."

"W- Who?!"

With his eyes glued to the location of the fight, Sych responds:

"We don't know, it could be either of them. If it's Maken, this battle is already lost. If it's Vektor, it means he's betting everything."

Master Noogard finally concludes:

"No matter who's doing this, one thing I am sure of: This duel will not prolong for much longer. We are approaching the conclusion..."