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Gods & Mortals
#64: A Warrior's Elegance

#64: A Warrior's Elegance

The tension of the final bout was rising.

Lance had spawned his greatest weapon from his arsenal, showing all the witnesses that he was finally taking the battle seriously. The spectators watched silently as missing a second of the ongoing fight would be too much for them.

Lance took his striking pose, retaining his usual charismatic smile. The silence went by for a few seconds as both opponents stared at one another. And after the brief stare-down, Lance rushed at X, wielding Camelot in his hands.

Both fighters engaged in a heated battle against one another. Lance swung his weapon at X, with his opponent evading the attacks, keeping a more defensive approach. But this did not stop Lance from attacking with intensity and force.

Lance's moves were graceful and elegant, fitting his style of fighting. His movements were extremely difficult to read or keep up with as most of the demigods could barely track his movements. His skills were phenomenal, and some would say unmatched.

Lance continued his offensive assault for a few more seconds until X finally decided to switch his stance. Upon doing so, X evaded another attack before switching to offense and landing a punch on Lance. This continued for a while, with Lance managing to evade some of the blows, but it was evident that immediately X switched up, Lance began to get overwhelmed.

X continued to attack, gaining more opportunity to do so after every attempt, and Lance knew that he had to do something about it. With this, Lance lunged backward, away from his opponent for a brief moment, before assuming an attacking stance.

His stance was similar to his initial stance, but the tip of his weapon was lower than before by about thirty degrees. Lance's expression was not as bright as it was a few seconds before, but his smile remained as he stared at his opponent. And before a second could go by, Lance rushed back into the battle.

Lance's aggression and speed had increased significantly after the pose he struck. It was almost like he was a different person. His moves became even more unreadable by the spectators as they continued to witness the match. But as Lance's offensive power heightened, so did his opponent's defenses.

Lance's sequence of attacks was beyond impressive, but after the increase in power, he was still unable to land any fatal blow on his opponent.

It made no sense to the spectating demigods how one would increase their battle power and the other would do so with ease, especially when the spectators would assume that this was their climax. It was as if they kept using each other as a catalyst to amp their own power up, and it was working effectively.

But despite this idea, X still had the clear upper hand in the battle.

Upon his continuous evading, X managed to switch to offense once again after a long time before landing another his on Lance. Lance continued to swing despite the fatal blows that proceeded after, but he knew that he was not going to last long if he didn't increase his focus.

Once again, X managed to continuously evade the attacks sent his way before managing to switch to offense and delivering an uppercut straight to the jaw of his opponent.

Lance fell to the ground but did not waste a single second before getting back on his feet like nothing had happened. His tolerance for the pain he felt was immense, and it was clear since he did not show a single reaction to it.

Upon getting back on his feet, Lance assumed yet another position with Camelot, but his expression was straight. Lance's focus on the battle had increased significantly after realizing that holding back would cost him the match, considering that this was not just another adversary.

Lance's spear while taking his stance had lowered yet again, about thirty meters more from the previous, and he retained the pose for a very brief moment before rushing back into the battle yet again. Similar to before, Lance's aggression had increased yet again, but this time, it was like he had started to overwhelm his opponent.

X continued to stay on the defensive for the majority of the battle, but the openings he got on Lance had slimmed significantly to prior. It had even reached the point where he began to take damage from Lance after continuing to evade everything sent his way.

X knew that he was starting to lose ground so amid the fight, he placed both his hands in the pockets on the sides of his torso and pulled out two Japanese-style daggers. Holding their weapons, both fighters began to clash their attacks with each other with tremendous force and unfathomable speed.

Their fight was almost unable to be processed by the demigods that spectated. The speed of each attack felt like it was always faster than the previous, making the battle very hard to watch. But there was no denying that these two fighters were something else, both easily cut above the rest.

Their clashing continued for almost a minute, but despite all the attempts that Lance made to outclass his opponent, X still had the upper hand in the fight. It was almost like he was getting stronger with each strike he took and began to learn from his misses, landing more strikes than a few seconds before. Lance began to get overwhelmed yet again.

Upon evading another attack from Camelot once again, X managed to move his body downward, crouching slightly, before gripping the dagger in his left hand and thrusting it directly at Lance's chest. Due to the speed of the attack, Lance was unable to spawn a suit of armor so he decided to create a small shield between the attack and himself, allowing him to successfully block the incoming strike. But it seemed like this was his opponent's plan.

After blocking X's attack, Lance realized that his opponent's right hand had already reached the other side of his torso, and in an instant, X slammed his dagger directly into Lance, exactly where his previous wound was. With this action, X used the palm of his right hand to land a blow on Lance's chest, hitting his opponent a significant distance away.

Lance fell to the ground once more, but this time taking a lot longer than before to get back on his feet. He placed his left hand on the injury he had just received from X as his breathing became more audible. Lance took a second to get himself after the unfavorable sequence that had just occurred before finally taking another pose.

Lance placed his left hand at the front of the spear he wielded, with his right behind, as he leaned forward, but this time was different. This time, the tip of Camelot was directly on the floor ahead of him. Not just that but his expression revealing the pure focus on Lance's face showed the demigods that he was no longer going to toy around.

Lance's striking pose felt like it dropped a mass of weight on the spectators as they witnessed the scene. And after a second of focus and concentration, Lance rushed back into the fight once again without any delay. Both fighters engaged in a clash once again, but this time, the significant gap between them was no more.

X's expression accompanied by Lance's showed that both fighters were giving it their all, and the battle sequence showed this fact. Somehow, these two fighters were stronger and faster than they were just a few minutes before. Just when everyone spectating thought they were at their maximum power, Lance and X displayed an even stronger force as they clashed weapons with each other.

At this point, not a single demigod present could spectate the battle and keep up with either fighter. Their reaction time, accompanied by their speed and precision, was beyond comprehensible and all the spectators could do was watch the two behemoths brawl.

"These really are the strongest among us," Trent worded with his eyes remaining on the ongoing battle.

"Not like anyone can argue with that," Quinn replied.

Klaus' expression during the fight showed his disappointment with his last battle, realizing that he could have died if X had wanted it to be so, which made him wonder.

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Lance and X continued to clash for a few more seconds until Lance managed to disarm his opponent, hitting both blades that X had equipped to the sides. With this, Lance's aggression heightened, showing his determination to go for the kill.

Noticing his vulnerability, X pulled his sidearm from its holster and began firing at his opponent, but his actions meant nothing as Lance continued to deflect all the fired shots with Camelot, continuing his attacking sequence. The two fighters continued their barrage of attacks on one another, but X knew he had to get an opening eventually.

Lance held on to Camelot with his right hand and raised it over his left shoulder, attempting to strike his opponent. With this, he swung his weapon in a horizontal motion, directly across X's chest.

Noticing his opponent's attack, X bent his upper body backward with haste while remaining in the same spot, evading the attack. However, he knew that this was going to be an opening that he had desired, so he decided to act. While still in the same position after evading the attack, X stretched his right hand over his left shoulder, attempting to pull his sniper rifle out. In a fluid motion, he then pulled out the weapon from his back while rotating his body to the right and raising his upper body all at once. But Lance's guard was not completely down.

After attempting his attack, Lance immediately continued to move his body along with the momentum of his weapon. In doing so, Lance moved his body around to the right, causing him to spin in a fluid motion as well, retaining his initial attack as it spun with him. After turning back a hundred and eighty degrees, Lance then planted his feet to the ground before continuing the motion of his weapon at his opponent, with his back facing the opposite direction.

Everything happened almost instantly and simultaneously, and as both fighters attempted to strike, both their weapons came into a clash, revealing their position and attempts at one another.

Both fighters had the same stance. Their backs were away from each other, but their weapons pointed directly at the head of their target. X had Heart Halter, his sniper rifle, pointed at Lance while he glared over his shoulder at his opponent, with Lance in the same position, pointing Camelot at X as well.

The silent tension of the air spread to the spectators who watched in confusion after realizing that the speed of the battle instantly shut down. The fighters stared at one another and all that could be audible were the sounds of their slight breaths of exhaustion.

The silent staring continued for longer than anticipated, since both fighters were in the same position and were awaiting their opponent's slightest movement intending to counter.

After a few seconds, Lance instantly picked up X's slight motion of pulling his sniper closer. With this, Lance immediately reacted by using his spear to hit the weapon before it was pointed directly at him, smacking the sniper away from his opponent's grasp. Capitalizing on his opponent's expected surprise, Lance then positioned his body properly before gripping his weapon with both hands and attempting to thrust Camelot directly through X's chest.

However, countering his opponent's action, X evaded the attack by swaying to his right before grabbing the weapon with his left hand. Holding Camelot, X then used enough force to pull Lance closer to him before driving his right hand directly into Lance's gut, causing Lance to let go of his weapon. Lance leaned forward as he held on to his gut in pain for a brief moment, but before he could react, X stretched his right foot, using it to kick Lance a good distance away.

Lance held his gut as he lay on the floor witnessing his opponent slowly walk towards him. X continued to walk closer as he tossed Camelot to the side while proceeding.

"Are you entertained yet?" X asked Lance with a straight face, mocking his opponent's earlier bravado as he continued closer.

Hearing X's statement seemed to have caused Lance to get angry. Upon realizing the reason, Lance immediately picked himself off the ground while dematerializing Camelot before rushing at his opponent to engage in hand-to-hand combat.

Both fighters then began to swing punches at one another in anger, attempting to knock out their adversary. They continued to swing for a few seconds as the other demigods continued to spectate as well.

"They're almost even right now," Iris commented after taking her time to analyze the fight.

"Such a legendary fight," Trent proceeded to say as they all watched the fighters swing punches at each other.

A few more seconds of silence continued at the spectator's area before a statement was made.

"Interesting," Link began as he moved his head slightly forward, closer to the battle. "Their movements and fighting style are changing after every five seconds."

"What?" Shade exclaimed in confusion. "Are you sure?"

The screen on Link's mask displayed what seemed to be a camera lens that zoomed in for a brief moment before he responded.

"Yup," Link said. "Kung fu, to Jiu-Jitsu, to Karate, to MMA. Their fighting sequence is changing every time."

"I see it," Iris commented after taking the time to confirm Link's information.

"What the heck, man," Ace commented. "How does that even work?"

"Well..." Link started after realizing the thought process of the fighters. "One of them switches their fighting style to catch the other off guard, but before this becomes the case, their opponent instantly switches to the same fighting style, allowing them to understand the opponent's movements and counter. When this happens, the one that counters will decide to switch to a fighting style that can allow them to counter the previous, causing the other to switch as well. It's basically a loop of reacting and countering."

This statement sounded very confusing, despite its clarity. This meant that both Lance and X had specialized in multiple fighting styles over their years, giving them an even scarier appearance to the spectators. It felt unbelievable that any of the two fighters present at the finals could have been replaced, and it made the spectating demigods realize that there was never a chance.

The two fighters continued their close combat sequence for a few more minutes, countering one another in an almost endless loop and keeping the fighting in a stalemate. But there was something that was soon to break the endless battle. Lance began to get tired.

Lance continued to fight his opponent, realizing in his head that he had never been pushed into such a corner before in his life. The fight eventually seemed to have changed into a battle of endurance and energy. Unfortunately for Lance, X had the slight edge in that field due to his tolerance and mastery of True Accuracy and its drawbacks, allowing him to have enough energy to overpower his opponent after finally getting an opening.

X utilized the opening he had finally gotten by using it to pummel his opponent. He continued to send barrages of punches that connected with Lance after Lance began to lose his footing in combat. The brutality of the sight was very disturbing to watch as X continued to use the strength he had to overpower his opponent.

Lance's blood continued to spill from multiple parts of his body after receiving devastating blows from his opponent. X then finally connected a final blow on Lance before using his right foot to kick his opponent away once again.

Lance fell to the floor in pain as he barely managed to cling to consciousness. X's brutal attack sequence was possibly the determining factor for their fight and with his opponent's current state, the fight was over already.

"I'm guessing this is where it ends," Quinn stated at the sidelines.

"So it seems," Siren responded. "In the end, X is just way too powerful."

"I know, right?" Tyler exclaimed.

"And his action always remained the same in every battle," Quinn then elaborated after taking the time to recap everything. "Allowing his opponent to go all-out before ultimately countering and overpowering them."

"That's true," Riley commented after realizing this. "Almost like he was giving them false hope of a chance of winning before completely crushing it in the end."

"I guess that's what happens when you battle a professional hunter," Ace added.

The demigods continued to watch as Lance coughed blood from his mouth and remained on the floor while X continued to walk closer. Lance then placed his hands on the floor, attempting to raise himself while his opponent came closer.

"Is this all you have to offer?" X asked his opponent upon reaching him before saying a single word that shocked the entire arena.

"Pathetic."

The eyes of the demigods widened as they stared at the battlefield before staring at one another in utter shock. X's statement was so raw, that it felt like he was not even impressed. The demigods felt bad as their expressions gradually dimmed while staring at each other.

"You know what..."

The entire arena suddenly turned their attention towards Lance as he suddenly began to raise himself from the floor. A sudden force then began to envelop the entire arena, with the spectators feeling it from their seats.

"Forget pride..."

Lance continued as he began to rise. The demigods were all confused as to what was happening and they all decided not to speak to witness what exactly was going on as all their eyes were fixed on the two fighters.

"Forget honor..."

Lance was already halfway up at this point, and X knew that this was going to be a hindrance to him. With this, he attempted to strike the opponent that was directly in front of him but instead of doing so, X instantly jumped backward, almost like he was reacting to an attack.

X's action was similar to his fight with Klaus where his body seemed to have reacted to his opponent upon knowing that an attack would cost him more than benefit. The spectating demigods were also startled as they witnessed this, making them realize that Lance was definitely far from out.

"Forget elegance..."

After the last statement, Lance stretched out his left hand before gradually respawning Camelot and holding the weapon with a single hand. He then gripped the spear before slamming the base on the floor as the cloth that was attached to the tip continued to sway to the side.

The anger on Lance's face appeared for the first ever time Klaus had known him and Klaus stared in utter shock, watching Lance stand without taking a stance in battle for the first time. The ferocious appearance as blood covered Lance's left face while he stood ahead of his opponent in anger brought chills to the demigods.

After realizing X's expression of concern for the first time, accompanied by Arthur's surprised expression, Lance finally concluded his statement as Klaus returned his attention to the battlefield.

"I WILL NOT FALTER!"