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<10/24/1962 – 14:00 | Route 96, Junon, Sprawn Valley>
When the morning sun lifted into the sky above the grassy gravel road of Route 96, Trujima's entire team set off to the east in search of their next target. The plan was simple, and this time, Kite would not interfere with the battle to be, or the plans for Trujima afterwards. His personal goal has finally been called to destiny. Danton wants to become the strongest Leray wielder in the world, but Kite knew that this would mean an absolute rivalry between Danton and himself. Kite also knew he needed to be the strongest of the group, which can't be done with him in the way. The rest of them, Gleeon, Mainne, and Vanoss, they're all getting stronger too just by getting involved.
The windblasts hitting their faces were warmer than yesterday, just nice enough not to cause a chill or the discomfort of summer. Winter is finally backing off in the clear skies. That's the signal of today's weather, but Danton only focused his thoughts on one thing, the next challenge.
"I can't wait to see this next battle unfold. I hope you're ready for it Danton."
Acknowledging Mainne's expected concern, Danton pulled out his short saber early, holding the grip firmly in preparation. "Of course I am. Trying to overcome such a challenge isn't easy, but I'm glad that I'm going for it. Kite? You better toughen up the next time you and I battle."
Kite crossed his hands behind his head while he marched forward. "I think you should actually defeat Belzer before you dare make such a bold statement."
Heading in the same direction to the same location as last time, it didn't take that long to find Belzer, standing in the center of the path with intent to block anybody unworthy of the strength to match the average around Lennith City. Once again was Belzer by himself, an obvious sign that he danced everybody else to sleep. But when Danton and Belzer's eyes met again, something new was ignited.
"Well, well..." Belzer greeted. It's that weird gang again, and their new recruit. "I didn't think you would be back for a rematch so soon."
Danton showed off his blade in front, almost allowing his weapon to be the negotiator. "I am Brash Danton, and I am ready this time to defeat you in a gradyent battle."
"It has barely been twenty-four hours, my dear lad. And you want to have another go already?" Belzer's question caused Danton to immediately change his stance, as he swung the blade in circles around his wrists without harming himself, just like some advanced samurai.
"I think you're going to find my battle skills to be completely different than last time."
Belzer let himself grin with anticipation. The fire in Danton's eyes are more apparent than before. He must really want to win on behalf of Trujima. Or maybe there is something more. "I will allow one battle with you again Danton, but I have one question that needs answering before we can begin."
"What's that," Danton requested.
"I need to know," Belzer paraphrased, "what it is that you are fighting for. Why do you need to defeat me so badly? Is it that important that you make it to Lennith City?"
Danton let out a micro-laugh to reply. "Is that question rhetorical? You know why I want to battle you again Belzer. My dream is to become a Leray master, and in order to do that, I'll have to become the next champion of Leray magic. I'll start by defeating you."
"The next Leray champion?" Belzer repeated. He's actually serious about this claim? "Several thousand people want the same thing, and rarely do they ever pull it off. Why, the current champion has been in seats for three entire years. You think by wanting this badly enough, you'll find the strength to beat everyone in your way?"
"Are you kidding me?" When will he just let the battle get on already? Danton has been waiting for this rematch to take place forever now. And willpower? Come on! Both Belzer and Kite know better than this by now. "Willpower in Leray magic isn't enough. There is training involved, skills that need to be learned, observations that need to be made."
Belzer nodded while taking it all in. It wasn't easy to remember what kind of person Danton was like yesterday or the first time they battled, other than his physical skills and styles, but what he says now is all true. "Then you have learned just enough to be able to take on such challenges, but your training will still have to be adequate to defeat me and others along the way."
"I'm not finished." Danton felt the right to interrupt. Belzer must not have reminded himself about the very importance of the concept. "It's also essential to remember what Leray magic is all about; the reason that people have such intricate battles for ranks and money. The whole reason Leray magic was invented in the first place, it's all about having fun learning and mastering these skills."
"What the hell is he talking about?" Kite didn't talk too loud to interrupt their battle preparation, but he never recalled hearing this from Danton before. Still, Leray magic just for fun? How naïve can one get?
How interesting. So Danton battles to have fun and get stronger at the same time. He isn't wrong, but Belzer was beside himself momentarily for forgetting about this lesson. "Very well," Belzer announced. "If you think yourself worthy and ready to challenge the Route 96 gradyent again, I will let you have another battle, Brash Danton."
"Finally," Danton replied. "I thought you'd never ask." Danton went ahead and enabled his energy scope early, just to demonstrate how impatient he was becoming.
image [https://ia800302.us.archive.org/27/items/lw-allenergyscopes/{S4}_Danton-N-000.png]
"The last two times we faced each other, you had much to learn, and now you stand before me again, looking much more composed and prepared. I hope you don't disappoint me again." Belzer also enabled his energy scope before officially beginning the battle. First thing is first. "I want all spectators to a safe distance. Danton? I accept your challenge. If you defeat me, you and your friends will have access to Lennith City, and you won't have to defeat me ever again from that moment on."
image [https://ia800302.us.archive.org/27/items/lw-allenergyscopes/{S4}_Belzer-N-000.png]
After everything was in order, Belzer and Danton prepared themselves for another gradyent match, triggering the holographic text from the automatic spoil system, and the Siriean dome that spanned a distance to cover the two contestants. With the battle now underway, both Danton and Belzer prepared themselves to fight like before.
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Chapter Theme Shift: Futile Futility ~ Deep East Music
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The moment the holographic text faded, the total atmosphere inside the Siriean dome changed. Danton and Belzer were both prepared to make the first move, but Danton decided to hold back and try to remember everything from yesterday.
"I don't mind who goes first," Belzer announced. "And that's only because it won't make a difference. I can tell I'll have to go all out for this one. I'll show you my real strength."
Danton gasped to himself, realizing that Belzer was talking about powering up. Talk wasn't even the half of his story. Belzer's hands were both glowing with an aura from this distance, and the MP counter on his energy scope dropped by massive levels. By the time he realized this, Danton was sure that a full area attack was on its way.
"Now!" Belzer called. "Legend of our summons, keeper of our hearts. To the master of fire and flames, I beseech thee! Massife!" On his call, Belzer summoned a gigantic yellow glyphring high above the both of them, rotating on a vertical axis and becoming less transparent with its intensity.
"What?!" Kite and the others winced from the surprise and shock. He had fought Belzer once before, and watched Danton try it too, but this move was totally new to his knowledge on this gradyent. "That guy can summon?! This wasn't part of the deal!"
Out from the large yellow glyphring, the dragon-like creature about fifty times the size of an ordinary human flew into reality with its wings brushing and flapping towards the ground. The so-called Flare Drake associated with the summon powered up and began to learn about the environment for which it was called, which included the newly attached energy scope.
image [https://ia800302.us.archive.org/27/items/lw-allenergyscopes/{S4}_Massife-N-000.png]
Danton remained calm. Having to fight Belzer and a separate summon at the same time isn't a good thing, but every single ability and action has its downside or opening. Due to Belzer's decision, his MP has just taken a massive dive, so unless he has a method to regenerate that lost energy quickly in the same battle, he will have that one disadvantage. Danton held his blade firm, quickly assessing what to do. The only thing that would make sense is to attack them both as quickly as possible, focusing on both targets instead of one. If this is how Belzer wants to do things, so be it. Danton knew he has trained for just about everything yesterday. Just because covering the possibility of summons wasn't on the list doesn't mean the battle is impossible now. No, Belzer must be defeated here and now!
After putting his blade back on his rear holster, Danton charged the necessary MP energy into both hands, while trying to incite two different spells at two different times and charge rates, one for each hand. With Belzer prepared, Danton unleashed his first long range attack spell. "Crush Wave!" Using the second tier of Shadow Wave to combine earth elemental magic with the advancing wave heading for Belzer from Danton's right wrist, Danton soon shifted his concentration to the second spell, now changing targets and focusing his aim while the multi-colored glyphring took form around his left wrist. "Prism!"
Belzer's first instincts were to hold his sword out and shove it into the ground in front for the attempt to block Danton's incoming Crush Wave spell. Though the wave had more power than before given the spell type being a higher power level than ordinary Shadow Wave, Belzer soon learned how late he was to realize Danton's quickened strategy, as several multi-elemental bolts of energy fired from a Prism glyphring, aimed for his own summon flying in the air without a current attack instruction.
Danton made sure that every single bolt of energy slammed into the Flare Drake, watching the HP counter decrease harshly for every single hit. Against most summons, elemental magic seems to have a high effectiveness for damage, making Prism the best choice of attack. Since each bolt homes in on the target regardless of distance and speed in the air, the Flare Drake couldn't really avoid most of the hits it was taking. Just as Prism's sequence ended, the newly updated energy scope for the summon was a shock to see, for Belzer anyway.
image [https://ia800302.us.archive.org/27/items/lw-allenergyscopes/{S4}_Massife-N-001.png]
Danton felt more confident now. It makes total sense how a single Prism blast could do so much damage to a summon so strong. In fact, it's so easy to guess. Belzer must rarely fight like this at all, and that means he must rarely use this summon for battle. Whether this is a new skill or not, this is the other drawback about using summons in battle. If you haven't used your summon to absorb damage over the entire time you've learned the spell, then the distinct level and HP endurance for that particular summon will be relatively low in comparison. Belzer should have never hid this from all of those people before, pretending as if this was his best pride.
"Heh," Belzer exhaled. "As if we're gonna be worm food that easily. It's time Massife!" Belzer focused further, enabling him to synchronize his thoughts with the summon flying around in the dome shield. This concentration cause his eyes to momentarily glow with a bright yellow color, followed by his next command. "Use Thunderbolt! Right there!" He could see it from here, the sudden fear on Danton's expression. He wasn't ready to take an attack from the Flare Drake, let alone a spell always unavoidable to block or dodge. But Belzer knew he had to help out his own summon, and he switched his focus to another spell of his own. "Target locked. Creshendo!"
Danton's body stuttered in confusion while Belzer turned the battlefield into a chaotic scene. Despite knowing what was coming, Danton didn't come up with any countermeasure in time to evade the imminent damage. From above, the Flare Drake roared just before unleashing an overpowered Lightning Strike spell crashing down on Danton, immediately zapping him with high voltage in a jolt hold that would last for a few seconds more. Just as the jolt hold ended, Danton was already surrounded with seven phased pillars of light, now moving towards him at a catapulted speed, all to collide into the center of the target. Danton put his arms up and braced himself for the painful slam from all sides that wrecked his balance and mental clarity. When the pillars faded, their absence revealed Danton, drained and cringing from the multitude of pain.
image [https://ia800302.us.archive.org/27/items/lw-allenergyscopes/{S4}_Danton-N-026.png]
Belzer is too fast! Danton knew he would have to slow the man down if he were to ever obtain any opening at all, and nothing stuns people more than electrical energy. "Thunder Flare!" Aiming only at Belzer this time due to the natural spawning nature of the spell, Danton soon unleashed a powerful Thunder Flare sphere spawned around Belzer, zapping him less than a second later. Thunder Flare has a much higher power level for damage and even electrical pain, so it was a good choice. However, despite Belzer taking that damage, he didn't seem all that bothered by the attack the moment the sphere faded.
image [https://ia800302.us.archive.org/27/items/lw-allenergyscopes/{S4}_Belzer-N-001.png]
"You call that your best work?" Belzer taunted. "I guess you never learn then. Massife!"
Here it comes. Danton hunched down slightly and prepared himself. Even without knowing what Massife might try and do, there were more ways than one to deal with Belzer's monstrosity.
"Unleash your Fire Beam!" Danton would be destroyed by this attack. Much like the skill Ice Beam, Fire Beam, the kind used by the summon of Massife launches a steady narrow beam of pure flames that have almost the same heat as artificial lava. Even if Danton survives the impact, he'll suffer from second-degree burns despite the protective veil, and forfeit the match from the pain scale alone. On top of this, Belzer was unleashing a second skill of his own against Danton, another combination what would ensure that Fire Beam hits the target. "Whirlwind!"
Danton couldn't hear Belzer shout Whirlwind over the constant roar of the Flare Drake flying above. Danton could see its mouth glowing with a raging fire building up, but at the same time, he noticed a sudden opaque vortex of wind surrounded him; leaving him standing in the eye of a large tornado. The dragon was still aiming, flying directly above him. With his energy already charged however, Danton unleashed his power, realizing what the obvious strategy here was. Belzer used Whirlwind and spawned it on top of Danton to trap and surround him into the center of the soon to be blasted crater, but that Flare Drake is too slow. "Dualcasting!" Danton's Dualcast aura shrouded him in its light immediately since he was ready for it the whole time, and with less than one second remaining, he charged up his next spell with record speed, the aura quickening his invocation rate for all magical spells.
By now, Danton was trapped in this large Whirlwind vortex of dark grey air, while the Flare Drake was less than a second away from shooting a solid beam of liquid fire from its tongue, but Danton was faster to think of a way out of here. Without chanting the name of the easy spell, he aimed his arm out towards the ground at a sixty-three degree angle, and unleashed his magic. Out came the gravity-defying energy from the spell Push Wave, forcing Danton off the ground with his legs ready to ascend into the air. The blast from his Push Wave was intense on purpose, catapulting him away from the center of the Whirlwind at such a velocity that he easily burst through the edge of the Whirlwind spell, narrowly avoiding a sudden fiery blast visible through the thick haze of air shortly after. Danton finally landed on his feet again, attempting not to fall by sliding his shoes through the thin pavement of this area.
Surely Belzer would be surprised by that dodge, but Danton wasn't going to wait around to see that expression anymore. Instead, he used what left of his Dualcasting spell was available to initiate his counterattack, Bullet Blitz. This created two small yellow glyphrings right in his hands, forming one small sub-machine gun in each, fully loaded with magazines of bullets. Without a further hesitation, Danton fired the right gun towards Belzer, damaging him with a low power level piercing attack just enough to prevent him from regaining his nerve. Just as the Whirlwind spell faded, Danton shifted his aim and focus to empty the rest of his mags on both guns towards the floating Flare Drake in the air. The summon was bombarded with magical bullets at a rapid-fire rate, all until its HP was unexpectedly drained to zero percent.
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image [https://ia800302.us.archive.org/27/items/lw-allenergyscopes/{S4}_Massife-N-002.png]
With everyone in utter surprise except for Danton, all they could do was watch while the giant yellow summon glyphring returned into the sky, now attempting to suck in all of the Flare Drake's molecules back to the dimension from where it came. Danton had immediately just defeated the Flare Drake, putting an end to that summon which Belzer started, and due to the nature and properties of that specific Leray skill, Massife cannot be invoked again by Belzer for at least two hours. Technically, it's possible to run out the invisible timer on the Massife summon, according to most guidebooks. But with his awesome power level of magical attacks, defeating his HP is often more efficient. What will you do now Belzer?
Belzer, including all of Danton's friends on the outside of the shield were stunned and confused, except for Belzer since he was the only one capable of witnessing what just happened before Massife was wasted. Somehow, Danton launched himself out from that Whirlwind to avoid the attack, but there aren't many spells powerful enough to do that, unless he was smart enough to invoke Push Wave with the overcharge needed to exceed the wind velocity.
Noticing that his Dualcasting aura was still active, Danton decided to use it for one more spell, drawing out his short blade before casting it. "Blazing Sword." Without needing to shout his plans to Belzer, Danton covered all of the metal of his saber in a coat of magical fire, easily visible from any distance. With this, he now provoked Belzer to try the same thing, assuming he can fight with a blade.
"Well that was something different," Belzer admitted. "You used Push Wave to escape from the center of Whirlwind, and from the looks of that aura, you invoked Dualcast just before in order to increase your invocation speed to accomplish this evasion. I guess you have learned something."
"You gonna stop blabbing and fight me blade to blade?"
Belzer impatiently drew out his sword, which was a long bladed Dark Lance mark 3. Danton is not the same as yesterday. His entire battling style has changed, surprising to say the least given such a small amount of time. Yet Danton has already proven his long-range superiority. To see him willing to shift tactics to close range now was also baffling. Why change what works in the middle of battle? He must not understand the speed of a well-trained gradyent. "Well come at me then. Rush Assault!" Hoping to catch Danton off guard with a new tactic, Belzer shrouded himself in a bright white aura, maximizing the effects of Rush Assault. Though the spell is designed to maximize user speed for a close range combination attack of punches and kicks infused with magical elements, the aura can also be adapted to work the same way with a blade. Let's see Danton match this impossible speed!
Danton watched Belzer take off, fast as a speeding bullet towards his location, but despite Belzer's speed, Danton's own Blazing Sword would grant him additional hit power. With enough assurance, Danton flung his sword from down up, anticipating the very first attack vector Belzer would use despite his incredible speed. Rush Assault doesn't increase the user's reflexes; another downside to the skill he would have to deal with. Danton's first attempt to block the blade from Belzer was a successful clash of metal with enough force to create a sonic shockwave of metal noise in the air around them. With that, Danton quickly shifted his stance to try and counterattack Belzer where he now stood.
Upon doing so, the both of them exchanged blades from one side to the other. As the exchange of slashing, dodging, and blocking lived on for twenty long seconds, neither side was giving an inch or taking any damage. Belzer was just as fast as Danton was at making sure to block each sword strike while delivering another, and the duel went nowhere for that amount of time; that was until Belzer decided to break it up with a well-aimed Push Wave in front of Danton. The Push Wave was potent enough to shove himself and Danton apart while sliding in the broken dirt, a decision made the moment his Rush Assault aura disappeared from existence.
Danton is impressive with that blade, so the battle tactics will have to change. Belzer wasted no time in switching from his primary weapon to a magically spawned twelve-gauge shotgun. As expected, the time to prepare the attack skill gave Danton just enough time to brace himself, holding the wide side of his sword to his chest in hopes of blocking out the bullets, but it wouldn't work this time. "Shotgun Blast!" Using bullets that don't require magic to damage or fire, Belzer's gun unloaded a scattering of high-speed rounds drilling into Danton's skin in various locations, with only a couple rounds deflecting off the metal side of the sword. Belzer however increased his magical usage by a factor of two while invoking this skill, allowing him to fire the gun once more, which usually wouldn't be possible without the extra magic. Danton was hit again with several bullets, from which he noticeably cringed at from the pain level. Belzer then threw the gun to the ground, forcing it to fade away to nothingness while he stood still with his left palm open for another charging Leray spell. "Mize!"
Danton could see what was happening the whole time too however, and upon predicting Belzer switching to yet another attack after the Shotgun Blast, he immediately unleashed the magical energy he so covertly kept to himself with his own spell. "Pillar Build!" Just like that, a skinny yet incredibly tall stone pillar shot upwards from the ground just in front of where Danton was standing. Before the pillar effectively grew to its top height, he could see a bright scary flash of light from a beam smash into the front of the pillar, where it would have hit Danton instead if not for his quick decision.
Belzer felt the low growl in his teeth while Danton continued to adapt against his own powers so unexpectedly. Mize would have done so much damage too, an incredibly effective spell if only it hits the target. But against even stone objects, Mize has no power to break through any amount of concrete or armor.
Danton wasn't actually expecting the third spell from Belzer to be Mize; a high-power-level beam of magic capable of causing great pain with the damage included, but it worked just as well in his favor, using Pillar Build to block an attack. On top of that, Danton would now use the next skill Pillar Smash to destroy his own creation by design, sending chunks of stone flying in Belzer's direction. This is exactly what he did, using a magically assisted aura to improve the power of his kick, straight to the center of the stone.
As expected, stone chunks were sent flying towards Belzer, and all he could do was protect his face from any impacts with his arms and hands. Though as all of the heavy rocks fell to the ground and rolled by him, none of the stones hit Belzer. They have a random scattering pattern of travel as they break from the pillar, thus they have a random chance to hit Belzer if any do at all. Even so, Danton is not to be underestimated. His processing speed and intelligence for countermeasures was totally absent in the last two battles, but this time, it may actually be enough to win him a gradyent match. "Well then, I can see that you're all fired up today to win. But I won't just let you claim a victory over me. Prism!" Unleashing most of his remaining MP energy, Belzer created a colorful glyphring of his own, prompting Danton to change his stance in an attempt to block all of the hits, but Belzer threw in his own surprise twist.
As soon as the bolts of magic began launching from the palm of his hand, Belzer twirled his arm around in almost random circular patterns, causing the initial spawn trajectory to change. At first, it seemed to cause most of the elemental bolts to un-lock from Danton as the target. Instead, they all began to spiral in strange circles traveling through the air, and after the first and second hit to Danton's shoulder, it soon became clear that each bolt still had a perfect lock to his position. Danton put up his best stance to try and block out the damage, since Prism is not all that avoidable. Belzer made that more challenging by making it less possible to predict where each bolt of magic would strike him. As unexpected as it was, Danton was able to block about half of the entire barrage of attacks, while the other half including electric spheres broke his defense enough to total up damage against him.
image [https://ia800302.us.archive.org/27/items/lw-allenergyscopes/{S4}_Danton-N-027.png]
The pain was intense, but Danton held through it all, aiming his blade still shrouded in fire and charging up the magic he would need. "You're wrong Belzer. I'm going to defeat the champion, and there's nothing that you can do to stop me!"
"Then prove it!"
"Quake!" Danton shifted his magic into the ground below him, causing an earthquake that could deal a good amount of damage towards the gradyent. Given that Belzer heard the word Quake in the nick of time to prepare a countermeasure, all he did was use little magic to simply jump high into the air, avoiding the damage or effect from the Quake spell.
In this moment however, Danton grinned while he executed his next move, holding the hilt of his blazing sword firmly while releasing the rest of his magic into a white aura. "Flashpoint!" No way would Belzer counter-react in time. Danton's sudden invocation of Flashpoint enabled him to leap into the air towards Belzer's airborne location at the speed of light. While Danton flew through the wind, he held his sword outward, aimed at Belzer's body. During his quick movement, he allowed for his current momentum to do the work and carry the strength of the single sword slash through Belzer's chest, twisting himself afterwards to face his direction again while watching Belzer plummet into the ground.
Danton wasn't finished just yet. Even now could he see Belzer holding his chest tightly from the intense burning sensation from that unexpected critical hit. Now that he was more so immobilized than before, Danton could release the rest of his magic while the timing was just right. "Air Strike!" Causing a swarm of small photonic spheres of light to explode into high intensity blasts on the ground, Belzer was bombarded from above, just as he was having trouble getting over the intense pain from Danton's sword. Having been blasted several times with these explosions, the damage level further increased against him, draining Belzer of his energy and ability to block the blasts of light.
By now, the explosions shifted a lot of the dust and dirt into the air, blocking everyone's view of Belzer's current condition including his energy scope, but Kite and everyone else watching the battle were glued to every detail of the match, mouths open with their teeth clenched in the shared anticipation of the battle's intensity. Nobody here has ever seen Danton fight like this. Kite wasn't around for the training practice yesterday either, so he was even more bewildered at what sort of training they gave Danton for him to become this good. After that blast, Belzer should be out of it now.
Danton huffed for the air he needed, as his stamina was draining quickly from how much he was moving around, on top of losing more of his MP energy to the barrage of magical attack usage in the field. It was still a good strategy. Belzer thought he could avoid Quake by jumping, but in doing so, he can't maneuver around in the air while falling back down to the ground; a huge vulnerability and a large opening, just like Vanoss spoke of. On top of that, a spell like Flashpoint can also be manipulated just for its incredible speed, combining a different weapon instead of the signature punch Flashpoint is associated with. Air Strike is just the bonus. When the dust cleared up, Danton and the others got to read the energy scope belonging to Belzer.
image [https://ia800302.us.archive.org/27/items/lw-allenergyscopes/{S4}_Belzer-N-002.png]
Danton suddenly panicked, not just upon seeing that Belzer was still combat capable using the energy scope, but rather from the sudden surge of bright light piercing through the thick dirt cloud and revealing his location. Any amount of magical light usually means an imminent attack.
"Sereing Blast!" Belzer fired a wide area beam of pure light towards his target, coming from the over-powered glyphring rotating in front of him at a rapid pace. It was clearly easy to see afterwards that Danton was getting slammed by the heavy beam, and pushed into the ground with a massive amount of damage afterwards.
image [https://ia800302.us.archive.org/27/items/lw-allenergyscopes/{S4}_Danton-N-028.png]
Faintly aware of his own surroundings, Danton tried to snap out of the wave of dizziness and confusion the low HP level put him through. If he took one more hit now, it would surely be over. How did Belzer survive that?
"You should have quit when you had the chance, but at least you put up a better fight today than yesterday." Belzer equipped his sword again, preparing to charge at Danton since his own MP levels were totally drained for magical spells. Danton will move much more slowly now due to his newfound fatigue.
It didn't take Danton long to find his nerve however. Seeing Belzer rush up to him with a sword only prompted him to use his blade as well to deflect Belzer back in close combat again. Having less energy isn't the same as losing his nerve. Belzer must not understand that. "What did I just tell you?" Danton lunged his blade upwards again to stop Belzer's sword just before impact, and then blocked straight downward to protect himself again from Belzer's quick spiral slash. The two of them held that position, pushing back with pure strength matching perfectly. "I am not giving up any fights!" Danton fought back again by swinging his blade in style to strike Belzer's right side, but was again blocked by his quick reflexes and long metal blade. "You're not stopping me this time!"
Belzer was mentally stunned by how much passion Danton placed into his current fighting skills, despite being a bit slower than before. Surprising and admirable to say the least. However, "Getting loud won't save you." Belzer unleashed his barrage of sword slashes and counterattacks, while Danton just barely managed to dodge and block every one of them, until his speed was too slow for a moment. Belzer only managed to stab him in the lower leg. Without any magical infusion, the damage level would be incredibly low, reducing Danton's current HP by only two percent. Despite this stab, he wasn't giving a hint of forfeit. However, just after Belzer scored a hit on him, Danton changed his tactics yet again.
Shrouding himself in the same white aura as before, Danton invoked Flashpoint, using it only to increase his jumping speed. He leaped backwards to obtain a distance from Belzer, realizing that his strategy wasn't working with his low energy and HP levels. While using Flashpoint to jump backwards wasn't all that unusual, Danton invoked it again just after the first aura disappeared. Since Belzer couldn't predict what he was about to do, Danton unleashed his new technique, mastered yesterday as a potential game changer against those who have never seen it before. While the Flashpoint aura activated once more, Danton put the rest of his remaining MP energy into another silent spell, lighting up his sword with vibrant radiance as he slashed the blade through the air, aiming perfectly at Belzer.
The slash revealed the spell to be native to Splice, a powerful and extremely painful two-dimensional line of magic sent form a user's sword. Of course, with one-handed swords, you can only send one line through the field, unless you use Splice two times successively and slash the sword twice. Danton however played at a different trick, using his Flashpoint aura just after sending his Splice line towards Belzer. Danton jumped forward with all his might, landing just behind Belzer in a single blink of an eye. Using that speed again disrupted Danton's Flashpoint aura afterwards, leaving Belzer to figure out what he was up to while simultaneously preparing to avoid the hit from that frontal Splice.
Normally, Belzer would have enough time to dodge the attack, but before Splice was even in range to drill through Belzer's body, Danton used his new position and remaining energy to slash another bright white line in the air again, this time from behind Belzer. Now having his opponent face two Splice lines both coming from opposite directions at once, Belzer would have no way to dodge, except for jumping straight up again, which Danton was also prepared for.
Belzer's sudden confusion in figuring out how to evade two separate Splice lines at once was enough as a distraction to freeze up his mind instead. Belzer was thus hit by both Splice lines, drilling through his skin, and creating the sensation of deep cuts like no other. Belzer was thus sent to the ground on his knees from the sudden burst of pain which nobody is immune to, leaving Danton to avoid the initial Splice coming at his direction that he created. Afterwards, Belzer was left with an HP amount much lower than Danton's, but he soon tried to tough out the intense pain while standing up to face Danton, blade in front for the formation used to dodge any range of physical attacks.
image [https://ia800302.us.archive.org/27/items/lw-allenergyscopes/{S4}_Belzer-N-003.png]
"Ugh! You fight bravely, but I'm not forfeiting either."
It figures Belzer would fight to the end, but Danton was feeling much better in comparison to Belzer, despite the heavy exhaustion. Danton also had at least the same amount of MP remaining as Belzer currently had. That's more than enough to end this. Belzer might block any low level attack, but there are other ways to increase the normal parameters of physical attacks other than official spells. Thinking outside of the box is what others would call this, and Gleeon managed to teach him this yesterday, unofficially that is.
"Have it your way." Danton held up his short sword in his left hand, while charging the last of his energy on the right. It's all Danton knew he would need. Belzer backed up one pace and prepared his sword as if it were a shield. Danton thus tossed his short blade high into the air above him, waiting for the blade to spin downwards. Preparing the release of his magic, Danton made a fist with his glowing hand, and matched up his timing with the falling blade becoming eye level to his face. With one final punch, Danton released a Push Wave from his fist, used to change the force and direction of his saber. The results were catastrophic.
The blast from Danton's Push Wave, while only affecting his falling sword shot the blade forward like a speeding bullet. Even though Belzer was ready to block the impact, the force of the sword carried an extra amount of the velocity from Push Wave on impact, causing Belzer's body to unhinge from the ground and to be launched backwards, the impact creating another shockwave in the air. When Belzer hit the ground before Danton's sword spun wildly on the ground, his HP fell all the way down to empty, forcing the results to display themselves automatically.
image [https://ia800302.us.archive.org/27/items/lw-allenergyscopes/{S4}_Belzer-N-004.png]
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Chapter Theme Shift: Calm ~ Aleksander Randjelovic (Genesis Rising OST)
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With the dispersion of the Siriean dome, the results were made final, with Danton successfully defeating the Route 96 gradyent. As tired as he was, Danton allowed himself to fall back on his legs and take a rest sitting on the ground. There was a long pause among the other Trujima members before moving or saying anything. They must have been expecting a less intense match, or perhaps they were just shocked that Danton pulled it off. But without kidding himself, Danton already knew in his mind that this was all possible, if only he tried his absolute best, all the time in every situation.
"He... he won!" Vanoss claimed. "He actually won."
"I guess I misjudged him," Kite added.
Misjudged? Gleeon knew Kite better than that. Surely, he would have to know how much better Danton would perform today compared to any previous moment of battle. "Uh, you might want to be prepared for the day where he decides to retry your skills."
"And don't you misjudge me," Kite retorted. "Don't forget that I plan to defeat the champion as well. There can only be one."
"Since when were you including yourself in that tournament?" Gleeon felt he already knew the answer. Until now, Kite was usually opposed to taking on anybody who might be stronger than him or his team.
"Since I now have competition that stands right before you. I'll be capable of defeating the next gradyent. Don't forget that J-H road should have one, once we get there anyway."
"Still..." Mainne wasn't able to blink from all of that action. It was even more intense than the battle Danton had against Kite. "That was so amazing! Both of them knew what they were doing, but Danton really has become much faster. To think you can use Push Wave and Flashpoint like that."
Kite was observing the same thing, and logically it was starting to make sense. "Yes, Danton does seem to have a knack for using spells in ways they were never intended to be used. It's like he's creating his own magical skills. No, maybe it's a new style he's created?"
"Well whatever it is," Vanoss challenged, "I'd like to battle Danton again someday, when I get stronger. And Kite? If you really do beat Danton to that task of becoming champion, I'll be challenging you as well."
No need to be so patronizing. It's clear as day to Kite that his entire team sees Danton as the better fighter between himself and the new recruit. And perhaps he is right now, but that won't last forever. One day, Danton will fall under again, farther away than ever before.
Danton finally recovered enough to use a healing orb on himself. The others were talking quietly among themselves, leaving Danton to wonder if he overdid it... No, there is no holding back when aiming for the championships. If Danton can fight that well against a Leray elite, surely can he train hard enough to win against the Eldora chain, in less than a few months if he needed to. But first, Belzer has to wake up so that he can update his license card with accepted access to Route 96.
By now, everyone else was walking down towards Danton, congratulating him on his victory and everything. "To think we actually beat Belzer, well, you did anyway."
"Don't forget about the deal we made," Danton reminded. "I defeated him in an official gradyent battle. This means that all of us are allowed to use this route whenever we please."
"So we can travel together," Mainne summarized. "But then what happens now?"
Danton stood up, his strength restored while stretching his arms and shoulders. "Simple. We head for Eldora City at first light tomorrow."
"Wait a minute!" Kite stopped. "You can't just think you're already strong enough for the champion." Though Kite's words were similar before, the others that glanced at him were in agreement this time as they shifted back to Danton's confident face.
"Not yet," he admitted. "But we all will be by the time we make it to Eldora Tower. Don't forget that we still need to upgrade our equipment and gear once we make it to Lennith City. We can do that by challenging more people on Route 96 with higher steaks. After we make it to Lennith, we can do some more special training in the fields of the Outback up north. Then when we're ready for the tougher guys hiding in the neighboring town to the south, we defeat all of them to test how ready we are for the finals. Then we should be ready to hit Eldora Tower and take out the champion."
What Danton is talking about would actually take months, maybe an entire year. Does he not realize this? Mainne felt shifty about whether this was a good or bad idea, but Danton's heart is surely set on this. "That sounds like a long term plan, but..."
"It's fine." Everyone glanced at Kite with mild surprise. "What? It makes logical sense anyway. If you map out exactly how you're going to train, you'll be able to test yourself as you go. At least this is better than rushing the Eldora elites like you're some big shot before you're the big shot. We'll do things this way."
"Glad we decided on that." Danton coaxed Kite and the others to wait for gradyent Belzer to wake up. After he did, Belzer had no choice but to digitally update the license cards on all of the Trujima members, showing their official victory against the Route 96 gradyent. This digital stamp allows all of them to permanently pass this road anytime they want without having to challenge the gradyent again.
"Brash Danton. You proved me wrong tonight."
It was only now while Danton was realizing that their long battle passed time enough to turn dawn into dusk, with the sun setting on the horizon, but Belzer's complement was well placed. "Thanks. It's because of your strength that I was able to train harder and get even stronger. I can't help but feel like I've raised the bar for everyone else though."
Realizing the truth to that, Belzer laughed while thinking about it. It is true now that Belzer would become stronger too as a result of the battle, and that means any more challengers will have to try even harder to defeat him. Losing this battle really isn't a bad thing, and Danton is able to realize this. "I feel like you've all really excelled beyond your normal potential today. If you fight like that, you may actually become Leray masters at some point. So as a reward, I'll also hand out some seed money, evenly distributed among your group."
"Are you serious?"
Danton's surprise was with expectation. It's true that gradyents don't normally reward their victors with any amount of credits, but betting credits is totally optional and up to the challenger either way. "It's not much, but you've all earned it showing off those skills tonight. Five thousand credits."
Wow. Kite couldn't even lift a single eyebrow. It really isn't much, as he said. Five thousand credits is a nice reward for somebody winning a match in a single battle, but since that amount is being split among all of Trujima members evenly, that means it's only a one thousand credit boost per person. That alone isn't even enough money for the basic restock for food and orb supplies.
"Thanks are in order. I guess you should watch for me after several weeks, on the channel for champion battles."
"I guess I shall."
"Let's head east for a while before setting up camp for the night." Though it was Danton's idea, everyone thought the same way for how they should go about the rest of the night. From here on out, it will be intense training, all the way to Lennith City.