Chapter 127 - Duel (III)
Vern swallowed the blood that rose from his insides as he blocked another hit. This was tough. A bit too much for him, really, who barely had a week of training under his belt.
How the fuck was he supposed to nullify such an absurd amount of force with just his body and swords reinforced by indirect visions? Maybe I over-estimated myself. I should have prepared better.
Even Lucian wore armor instead of those horrible clothes to the battle, but Vern had chosen to come with bare minimum gear—even forgoing the vapor blaster. It was coming to bite him back now.
He had clear reasons for doing so, but Lucian's combined advantage of gear, weapon, strength, and this disgusting vision turned out to be too much to handle. His mind was perfectly fine. But his body? Ughh!
He still had more than two-thirds of his representation, but what did it matter if his hands went limp long before he could use any of it?
In a real battle, he might just say Fuck it, and collapse the whole building or something, but even that wasn't an option right now. There were people in there, and it felt a bit too much like flipping the table because he couldn't win.
Swishh
He ducked, barely avoiding the swing that crossed overhead, and sent another flare of instability around him, hoping to wrest the ownership from Lucian.
Sizzle…
Yet, all that obeyed his command were the tiny snowflakes that evaporated in an instant. Yet they were so sparse they couldn't do much to the man nor help him wrench ownership of subjectivity indirectly.
He slashed, but Lucian faded into nothingness once again. Tch. He gnashed his teeth.
This was bullshit. His visions worked, but they didn't do anything useful.
Hah. Let's calm down.
Seems like I can't control the surrounding air that well. Hmm, or maybe Lucian's doing it better than me?
That latter conjecture seemed more and more plausible by the second as he dodged and performed some devastating blocks.
That's when an idea crossed his mind, and he had to force his body not to jerk to a halt, and get chopped as he thought, Yes! It might just work.
He focused within his perception once again, but instead of trying to mess with his immediate surroundings that were covered by a haze due to interference from Lucian, he zeroed in on the area above it.
Stability, he thought, imagining a white dome right above them, beyond the demarcation of the haze Lucian had a hold of.
"Wait, what's that?" someone shouted.
"You're seeing that, too, right?"
"Huh? Why is the snow gathering in the air?"
"Hmph. It must be another one of Lucian's tricks. Seems like he's got more to show us."
Nope, it's me, and it's working as well as I'd imagined; thank you very much.
However, these off-handed comments seemed to spark something in Lucian. Right in the next moment, a clearly noticeable ripple spread behind Vern, and he avoided it with a simple dash to the side.
Bam!
Good. Fear it. Lucian might not understand what Vern was going for with this roof made of air, but just like anyone with common sense, he probably feared the unknown, wishing to end things before this inexplicable guillotine executed him.
Vern continued to prop up the heaven of stability above their heads as holes began to appear in the dome. Air's structure was not an optimal choice for stabilization.
It inherently didn't have the bonds needed to hold much weight. At least not when spread around like this.
The white ring in his black pupils continued to shine as more and more snowflakes accumulated above them, and Lucian hurled one attack after another at a pace that quickly became deadly for Vern.
Clangg
Sweat dripped down Vern's forehead while blood flowed out of his midsection as he continued to somehow hold on, almost getting impaled a couple of times.
However, while doing all this, he recalled the second last day of his training. He'd spent the whole morning perfecting one move and that move alone.
It wasn't the most devastating attack, but it was definitely close to the top. With the snow overhead almost done piling, he focused on the edge of his left blade.
Stability Inducement.
Stability Inducement.
Stability Inducement.
One after another, he unleashed the vision around the edge, and the air surrounding it condensed into a visible mass. That's when—
Thump
The flat of that massive blade caught him right in the hips, and he bit down a scream, trying to flow in the direction of the attack to minimize its impact.
He barely managed his footing, but his instincts screamed at him, and he leaped away once more.
With a thump, the ethereal blade emerged out of nothingness another time and shattered the ground where he stood a moment ago.
Shit. He's getting restless.
Vern looked up at the snow accumulated and came to a decision. Fuck it. This is good enough.
With his mind made up, his eyes flared, and the roof that kept the snow eroded to an extent. This made sure the snow didn't just plop down in large chunks. That would mess with the subsequent part of his plan.
When the fake heaven rained, the sight turned reminiscent of a snowstorm, and a copious amount of flakes filled his perception. And Vern repeated to himself, Stability before Instability. Inverse of his usual tenet.
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Sizzle
Whirr
Almost all the snowflakes around him instantly turned into water and then steam. Except, that wasn't all; something weird happened in parallel, and he quickly noticed an odd disturbance in his mind at six o'clock.
It was clear even for his eyes as the air flickered, showing glimpses of black-scaled armor, and the veil of invisibility became a torn mess.
This had gone far better than he hoped. A smile bloomed on Vern's face, and he mouthed, "Found you."
With a precise aim, he whipped his left blade in that figure's direction, syncing his hand's motion with a tiny bit of instability on the surface of the edge to release the condensed air.
Whoosh!
A white blade of air shaped like the crescent of his right singularity blitzed through the space and struck true. "Agh! Fucc—" came a panicked cry, and a vertical slash tore through the armor, even drawing blood before it fizzled away.
Wahhhh the crowd erupted into collective gasps as Lucian stumbled, his body jerked out of the invisible state one flicker at a time.
This sent the haze covering Vern's perception into disarray and he didn't miss this opportunity and pressed his advantage.
Instability.
The ground sunk underneath Lucian's already tumbling figure, and Vern rushed forward, his singularities poised on either side.
Clang
Tang
"Bloody hell, man. How did you do that?" groaned Lucian, parrying almost all his attacks even with that horrible posture. And the ones that did hit were far from being fatal.
"Heh," Vern smirked back in response, but his heart was filled with worry. Damn it! What should I do? All his attacks failed to bring the fight closer to an end. Just what would it take to finish this for good?
He had another final card in his arsenal, but there was no way he would be able to pull it off amidst this hectic back-and-forth.
This time, when singularities hit the massive blade with a clang, Lucian suddenly disappeared, and Vern released the deluge of snow that had yet to be dumped down in kind—hoping to counter his invisibility as soon as possible.
He still hacked at the spots where Lucian might have rolled over, but it was as if the man's vision made him detached from reality, not invisible.
Ughh… Vern groaned as one of his right arm's tendons threatened to snap. He backed away, and when snow filled their vicinity once again, he repeated Instability.
Crackle. Zzzt and myriad sharp noises boomed out from behind Vern, and he dodged easily as Lucian was thrown out of that realm once again.
Vern turned around and caved the ground beneath Lucian's feet for the umpteenth time, but the man seemed to anticipate it and only lost his balance a bit.
However, something far more interesting happened to Lucian. He gripped the side of his head with one hand, and his sword wobbled in the other. A bloody trail ran down his eyes, and the veins were swollen to an unnatural degree.
Vern didn't know what to do for a second, but the excited look behind those eyes helped him make the decision.
He pulled both his arms back and slashed. The right one made a clean cut, but Lucian still somehow managed to dodge the other one.
Is this even doing anything to this monster? It was hard to figure out because of that armor. Yet, he gritted his teeth and continued his relentless assault.
And completely out of his expectations, it became a slog of a battle as both sides repeated their tricks, only to be countered in the same fashion.
Vern breathed in large mouthfuls of air, trying to douse the fire that burned in his lungs. But it was for naught as the battle of attrition continued, with both sides countering the other somehow.
Then suddenly, Lucian slammed his sword down on the empty ground, and Vern backed away with a frown. Lucian bellowed before he could enter the fray again, "Wait a second!"
The adrenaline and the losing vigor of Vern's body suggested he ignore this remark and push the guy until the end—surely he was on his last legs, too. However, the brain still prevailed, and he halted, taking this opportunity to regulate his terrible breathing.
"This is stupid, man. We're getting fucking nowhere. We did this to get some real combat experience and test out the practicality of our kits. Not this stupid cycle of back and forth."
Before Vern could say anything, the people watching from balconies and windows above them shouted—their words suddenly scathing.
"Hey, what's going on? Was that the end?"
"Ahh, noo. Who won, then? What happens to the bets? Are they nullified?"
"I know, right? Looks like they're done."
Lucian turned back and snarled, "Shut up! I am not fucking done. Just you wait."
He turned back to Vern and asked, "Do you feel the same?"
Hmm, This is indeed getting nowhere. If we kept on like this, both of us would drop down from exhaustion sooner or later.
Vern physically and Lucian because of his eyes.
After a quick thought, Vern sighed and nodded, "What do you suggest?"
A smile formed on Lucian's bloody face framed by that matted blonde hair as his words boomed, "A final exchange. One attack to settle it all."
Yeaaaaa. Wahhhh!! the crowd erupted at those words, their mood as unpredictable as the weather of this city.
Vern pondered this for a while, and his eyes involuntarily turned towards Mistress Amelia, who was standing high above them.
And as if noticing the question in his gaze, she nodded.
Does that mean she wants me to agree? What if we go too hard? Can they really stop such an attack in time? And if they'll stop it anyway, what's the point?
.
.
.
"Ah, fuck this." Vern grunted and stared back into Lucian's bloody eyes. "Let's do it." He wouldn't have many chances to go all out like this. It'd be a pity to waste it.
"That's my man!" Lucian cheered, stabbing his sword into the ground with excitement. "On ten?"
Vern nodded in understanding, "On ten." That would be enough time for Vern to prepare his best move. The one he’d only practiced a couple of times because of how destructive it was to his body.
Lucian's eyes suddenly became inert, and his veins calmed down, but a more primal aura surged out of him the next instant, and his demeanor changed entirely.
However, Vern ignored this transformation and focused on himself. Time to use everything. He sheathed the singularities on his back as they settled into their housing with a click.
This was the first step. His palms were still holding onto the individual hilts of singularities, and he took a deep breath and focused.
Bending one knee forward, he slid the other one back. His posture turned leaner, and he dipped low, priming himself to launch forward.
Indistinct grays gave way to stress lines, and he focused on the ones within his body as well as on the sheath.
His hands pulled the two swords in opposite directions, but he kept them locked in there, forcefully stabilizing the latches, denying exit to his blades.
The stress in there accumulated with every breath that passed, and when the count fell to six, the springs groaned furiously.
Taking this as a cue, he moved on to the next part of his preparation. Instability, and a purple glow flashed on the edges. That was just the start, though.
Instability inducement.
Instability inducement.
Instability inducement.
It worked the same way as that stability wind slash but for Instability. Not to anyone’s surprise, this move was relatively harder to prepare because of what it fundamentally entailed to destabilize things.
An odd air differential formed within the sheath as the reality became more and more unstable around the edge of his blades. It was as if they were voids that consumed that air, but he knew better.
It was still condensing air around the blades, just with a different underlying assumption.
His sheathe continued to work as a cauldron, where multiple aspects of his visions combined, and his eyes fell on Lucian, who was busy with his own preparations.
The blonde ran his palm over the edge of his blade, and it sliced through it without any inhibitions. Blood dripped on the length of that metal hunk, and the moment it came in contact with air, it seemed to ignite.
In a couple of seconds, the blade gleamed red, and in the next, it shone hotter than lava—sending chills down Vern's spine.
"Hngaahhhh!!" Lucian yelled, and a red aura exploded out of him, sending his hair and cape flying from the momentum alone. But the man ignored it all and leaned into a pouncing position.
Three. Vern focused on the stress lines of his arm and destabilized them, allowing him to store a terrifying amount of tension within his muscles.
Two. Even the casing made of cranksteel which wasn't in direct contact with the blades, sheared and lost its shape, a wengg sound emanating from his back.
One. His heart raced with a maddening fervor, and his hands shook from the sheer force they were holding back. Giving his legs the same treatment of tension, he zeroed in on the enemy.
The excited crowd suddenly lost their voice as if they had counted alongside Vern and knew what was coming.
In this oppressive silence, both men shouted at the same time.
"Zero."