There was something strange going on in the assassin’s body. Talos could not quite place a finger on it, but he knew danger when he saw it.

When he carved the assassin in two with Celeste, the glowing man slipped underneath his sword. His palm drove in his gut. The blow made Talos fold. He could feel heat precipitate within him, expanding slowly.

Talos retaliated slicing the assassin in two, but again it was the same sensation as the last time. He was sure he sliced him, but it felt like he had thrown a stone at the reflection of the moon, expecting it to hit the moon. The assassin glided around him, his palm about to ram into Talos once more.

The hero plunged the blade in the ground, exploding the area around him.

When the dust cloud settled, he saw the assassin had retreated.

The pain still prickled in his gut where he had been struck.

“What a strange ability.” Talos touched his stomach, feeling the pain resurge. “But I already have figured how to defeat you.”

“Is that so?” The assassin smiled. “I would be interested to see you try.”

The assassin dashed towards him. It was strange. To Talos, he could see the full motion of his spring. From how his legs bounced up each time it landed on the ground, to how his chest rose and fell as he breathed in heavily.

Something was incredibly wrong here.

When Talos moved his sword with the intent of a feint, the assassin didn’t dodge he kept on running. When, he changed his intention, the man moved his head to the side, dodging his blade. He was sliding, his hand aimed at nothing.

But the floor cracked all of a sudden, and he moved into where the palm would land. The blow struck him in the heart, it felt like a spear went through him and then exploded. His heart stopped for a moment, and he could see an afterimage of himself falling onto the ground and rolling away.

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And that happened.

Talos looked down at his shaking hand, and then at the assassin.

“Did I die yet?” The assassin asked.

“I see. So that potion allows you to read intention.” Talos jumped on his feet. Pain from the blows vibrated deep into his organs and bones. “Boy, do I wish the current iteration of me trained as hard as I did. His body is truly fragile. He feels like me when I was five.”

The assassin chuckled. “He was a rich pampered boy that never trained. If anything, you should thank the Witch of the Crimson Moon for salvaging him.”

“Ingrid trained this boy?” That perked him up. “I see. So, she’s still alive today.” His attention went up, and he could feel Maya, Ingrid, and Yome’s energy. They were here as well. It was a rare incident to have three Star Witches. “I can’t wait to see here after I’m done killing you. I’m sure she has a lot of stories to tell me.”

He laughed. “You don’t think you will die?”

“No. I don’t. I think you will die.” His grip on Celeste tightened. “I already told you. I have figured a way to kill you.”

“You’re bluffing. I think it’s cute though.”

He moved again.

Talos sighed, scratching the back of his head. He didn’t want to do this because of the burden it would place on this body. Probably tear the muscles and break most of the bones in the body. But he didn’t really have a choice.

“Limit Breaker: Code Seven-Eight-Seven.” Celeste hissed in acknowledgment, and the blade dropped on the ground revealing another blade underneath it. The first blade was a sheath after all, the second blade was Celeste’s true form.

The blade looked like the reflection of a sparsely cloudy sky with patches of an azure blue. Then the sun broke through the clouds.

Talos disappeared in a blink of light. He rammed his sword through the assassin. It took a few seconds for the assassin to realize what had just occurred. He looked down at the blade, and then up at Talos. Blood dribbled from the man’s mouth.

Instead of shock though, his eyes sparkled. “Fantastic.”

Talos cut the man into five pieces, and then as his body fell, Talos rose the blade and gathered mana. He slapped the sword down upon the assassin as if he were using a bug swatter. A pillar of light exploded where it had impacted.

When it was done, there was only a giant hole.

“It doesn’t matter if you can see it, if you can’t react to it.” Talos rested the blade on his shoulder.