Ace and Silas stood on the ground facing each other. Their breathing was ragged, and their bodies were covered in gaping cuts and burns, but their eyes filled with fight and resolve.
This had by far been Ace’s most challenging fight since coming to this world, so difficult in fact that despite rapidly approaching its climax, it was still too close to call.
Both warriors understood that the winner would be decided by this final exchange, but from the looks in both of their eyes, neither believed they would or could lose.
It was at that moment that a pleasantly surprised smile suffused Silas’ cracked, dry lips. “Haha, I really need to thank you!”
Judging by the surprise flickering in Ace’s jet-black eyes, it appeared he didn’t need his opponent to explain.
It was obvious from the third clone that had suddenly materialised out of thin air that Silas’ comprehension had taken another step forward.
Ordinarily, it was Ace’s opponents who had to suffer because of his suddenly gaining insights mid-fight. This was the first time Ace had been on the receiving end, and he had to admit, he wasn’t a fan.
A frown took shape on Ace’s lips as he watched all three of Silas’ bodies surround him to keep him boxed in.
Keeping up with two bodies was already a bit too much for Ace. If it weren’t for his willingness to exchange injury for injury, he would’ve long since lost this battle.
‘I only have two hands; I can’t keep up with three of them,’ Ace thought to himself as he considered all his options. ‘Unless…’
“ACE”
“ROARR!”
“Don’t intervene,” Ace commanded upon sensing the intentions of Kil and Leo, who appeared with Alissa and a man he didn’t recognise.
None of them, not even Killian, had ever seen Ace this beat up before, but instead of a look of despair, worry, or fear, all they saw was an excited grin on his youthful face.
“What kind of technique is that?!” The armless man asked, almost unable to believe what he was witnessing.
He wasn’t the only one shocked at that moment; Alissa turned to Killian as if to ask if what she was witnessing was real.
The last time she saw Ace, he still had his affinities sealed and now…
His comprehension of the profound mystery of the essence of fire was only half a step away from completion, meaning he could control his fire to make virtually any shape he wanted.
Upon realising his distinct disadvantage, Ace decided to level the playing fields somewhat by creating four more arms made of pure fire.
And if that wasn’t shocking enough, with a flick of his wrist, each of his new hands was holding a weapon of a fallen foe. Two hands held sabers, another a katana, and another an axe, each of which was coated with haki to stop them from burning prematurely.
It was an odd sight, to say the least, but as Ace shot toward the still-stunned Silas, he was filled with confidence.
As surprised as he was, Silas was still an experienced assassin. The moment he saw his opponent speeding towards him, he suppressed his shock, and all three of his bodies moved to intercept the dark-haired boy.
As this was Ace’s first time fighting in such a way, his control was far from perfect, but with his [Observation], he could barely keep up.
The only unfortunate thing was that, although he was able to use basic [Armament Haki] to coat the four new weapons, not only was his skill with each of the weapons lacking, but he also couldn’t use [Internal Destruction], a point Silas had noticed immediately, filling the young man with confidence.
Still, Ace wasn’t the slightest bit discouraged; in fact, judging by the excited grin on his face, he was happy with the way things were going.
Ace’s perception in his last life was nothing special, but in this life, because of the power of his soul, his perception was beyond amazing. As such, those watching were able to see Ace’s control increasing with each attack.
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It was as though each swing of an ‘arm’ allowed him to test and adjust so that the next attack was that little bit more fluid and controlled.
Although he had no intention of making this ‘six-armed’ fighting style permanent, it did have its benefits.
For one, he had originally believed that his control over fire was near perfect, and to some extent, it was. If his comprehension had made another breakthrough, it would mean complete comprehension of his first profound mystery, but what he hadn’t realised was that he could still improve his subtle control.
These subtle improvements he was making wouldn’t do anything to directly increase his power output, but what it would do was improve his foundation.
For example, he would be able to form spells and attacks that little bit faster, which could mean the difference between life and death at battles of his level.
The second benefit it brought was concerning his control over his [Armament Haki]. By imbuing four more weapons with haki through his flames instead of his own hands, was a lot more challenging than he initially believed. Still, as his control improved, he could feel that he was getting closer to comprehending [Conqueror Infusion].
The third, final, and arguably most satisfying benefit for Ace was his weapon handling. To most mortals, Ace’s glaivesmanship was already perfect, but he knew of three mortals who surpassed him.
His master, Aiden. The man he saw as something of an older brother, Wukong. And the woman who was head of the Pavilion’s warrior department, Kimika.
Excluding bloodline abilities and the difference in realm, each of them was able to dominate him if it were a pure battle of skill.
Unfortunately, Ace’s improvements in that regard had come to a grinding halt for a while, but now, although slow, Ace could feel himself improving.
The longer the fight went on, the more Silas began to feel agitated. This was his first fight since losing to Wukong all those years ago. His first fight since coming out of seclusion, and yet, despite making a significant breakthrough mid-fight, he still couldn’t find a way to beat a mere teen. And to add insult to injury, he could also see Ace improving at a visible speed.
He, Silas, the leading genius of the Pavilion, the grand disciple of one of the most powerful humans on the continent, had been reduced to a mere whetstone!
Ordinarily, he was a very calm and calculating warrior, but the pressure of this fight was beginning to become too much for him. He was becoming more and more reckless with his attacks, desperately searching for a win.
If he had been able to keep his calm, he would’ve been able to sense that Ace’s mageforce was circling the drain. It would be at most another minute before Ace was completely out, at which point it wouldn’t be difficult to defeat him. Unfortunately, his frustration had got the better of him.
Sensing his opponent’s shift in mood, Ace decided to go for broke.
Silas felt a familiar energy threatening to crush his consciousness. Ironically, Ace’s [Conqueror’s Haki] threatening to knock him out had the effect of waking him from his agitated state. Unfortunately, it was too late…
He tried to migrate his consciousness into one of his clones, only to find that they’d both already been dealt with.
In the end, all he could do was leap back as quickly as possible, hoping to put some distance between himself and his opponent, but before he could escape Ace’s range, he felt the bottom of a small but powerful foot drive into his gut launching him backwards through the air coughing a mouthful of blood.
Ace was officially out of mageforce, but he had just enough strength left in his body to put an end to this fight once and for all.
Alissa and her formerly fellow prisoner watched in awe as Ace, a warrior and mage of the fifth rank, chased after a rank nine warrior in an attempt to kill him.
Forget the armless man, even Alissa, who was used to Ace’s incredible feats, was left speechless by what she was witnessing.
Only Killian and Leo were able to remain calm with a hint of relief as they watched the battle come to an end, but their relief quickly turned into shock, fear, and worry as an unassuming middle-aged man suddenly appeared between Ace and Silas.
“Who are…
UGH!” Ace grunted in pain as he, too, was sent flying in the opposite direction.
The man’s cold black eyes scanned the battlefield with complete indifference, stopping briefly on Ace with a hint of shock flashing through his abyss-like iris’ as he watched the teen stumble back to his feet before turning towards Alissa, a helpless sigh escaping his lips.
Whether it was Ace, Killian, Leo, or Alissa, none of them was able to recognise the man. What they did know was that, since he was wearing the same black robes as all the other members of Saber, he too was a member of the organisation, and more importantly, seeing as he was able to hover a few inches off the ground, he was a saint.
They may not have recognised him, but the armless man was clearly more informed than the three teens.
As he stared at the handsome blonde-haired man casually hovering in the centre of the battlefield without so much as a care in the world, he couldn’t help but laugh helplessly.
“Curse my luck,” he said self-mockingly. “I actually escaped my prison only to run into you, Ragnor!”
That’s right; the middle-aged man is the only living disciple of Cesar – the king of killers. A peak saint whose name inspires fear in just about every nation throughout the continent.
Ragnor glanced lightly at the man causing his heart to literally skip a beat in pure fear, before looking back at Alissa as though the man’s presence meant nothing to him.
But before he could say a word or move a muscle, Killian and Leo had both stepped in front of Alissa, with Ace appearing like a flash in front of them.
His body was riddled with deep cuts from Silas’ blade, and four of his ribs had shattered from Ragnor’s last attack, an attack so fast, not even Ace’s [Observation] had been able to follow it.
He had shards of his broken ribs lodged in his lungs, making him feel like his lungs were burning from the inside out with each breath.
He was out of mageforce, and his body was almost completely out of stamina. Ace knew he was running on fumes at this point, but as he looked at Ragnor, not an ounce of hesitation could be seen.
“Alissa is coming with us!”