ACT V
THE GLORY WARS

CHAPTER 168  
KNIGHT IN DISTRESS

A violent smoke rose from the progressing cracks in her skin, her beautiful appearance turning of a demon. “You should've surrendered.” She said, her voice echoing, “I'm far more vengeful than our idiotic captain.” Declaring, she unsheathed her rapier, now pointing at Guernier. Her voice turned deep as she added with a hint of mockery. 

“I’ve heard there is nothing more shameful for a knight to lose a swordfight to a mage. I hope you are prepared. Swoosh!”

Surprising Guernier and every spectator, the mage girl who was under the black cloud of her own, disappeared. “Behind you.” Her voice alerted Guernier, prompting him to raise his sword to defend his back. However, instead form his back, the attack came from the front. “Wow, you are stupider than a coward. Who trusts enemies’s words on the battlefield.” Her attack did not dig deep but gave a superficial long wound to Guernier.

“Agh,” Groaning, he revolted, the thundering aura, trying to send Delimira flying, but even lightning, the second fastest attribute after the light element was slow in catching Delimira. 

She dodged, the fine lightning cracks like a fish traversing torrential waves. Her using some weird method, rivaling aura was enough of a surprise already, but her speed was another thing entirely for others to witness. It was so fast that tracing her with naked eyes was near impossible.

Her quick speed was something that startled Guernier, but it was not enough to penetrate his defence that he built with hard training from childhood. Resulting in him only receiving some minor cuts. Apart from the prickly sensation, it was something that he could resist with his towering will. He was still feeling some recoils whenever he used his lighting aura, but it was far lower than previous shocks he received, and he was recovering with each passing moment. “I just need to defend well,” he thought, but Delimira was not just doing some minor damage, unaware, each time she slashed, even a minor cut, the dead mana she carried got transferred inside Guernier.

“Finally!” Guernier shouted in joy, regaining his previous speed completely, but only saw Delimra grinning in her smokey appearance. “Krosh art: First move Mirage” she called out and disappeared. 

Unlike before, she was not moving fast enough to disappear from eyes, she was literally invisible, and sadly Guernier was not trained to fight invisible enemies. Which resulted in inevitable, Delimira suppressing him, cornering him to only defend. 

She could have won easily, but she found the joy in playing with her food. Poisoning him with dead mana, little by little. It was something that damaged the very foundation, meaning that what dead mana was doing inside Guernier’s body was permanent. The knight was unaware of changes going on in his own body, but the knight association people were experienced and Norwin, whose wife’s technique Delimira used was not oblivious to it either. He urged the Association to pursue the boy to surrender. 

Seeing the seriousness on the Alliance head’s face. The Knight association member hurried, screaming for Guernier to surrender. However, Guernier, just grasping how to tackle Delimira was not convinced. He just blocked her every major attack and was confident about turning the tables. He was so gifted that he learned Delimira’s attack pattern just facing once. And Delimira also understood that the mirage won’t work longer. She glanced at the Association’s people still trying to shout some sense into Guernier.

“That won’t do. I'm not done yet.” She bounced back, giving Guernier some breathing room. Instilling some false hope that he forced her back. Boosted by sudden confidence, Guernier ignored his fellow members. “I’ll win, trust me.” He shouted back to them.

“How cute.” Delimra quipped, calling on, “Krosh art third move - HeptaPose” dividing herself into seven shadows. Lunging at Guernier with terrific speed.

Skill: Descending Strom

Guernier countered, not knowing what might come at him, He deployed his ace skill for Glory Wars. A full offence and defence at the same time, summoning a thunderstorm around him. Mastered to attack his foes and defend him from the attack

Both skills collide, and Descending Storm destroyed one of the charging shadows. But the sacrifice provided an entrance for the remaining six. Baffled by the sudden hole in his skill, Guernier looked contorted. There was no one there to explain to him that Krosh art was the polar opposite of the mana or aura, and certain modification in it was capable of negating each other, and that is what exactly Delimira did. Sacrificing one shadow so the rest could enter the storm.

There was six vs one and mana posioning finally started showing the effect. Eating up Guernier from inside. He shot a blood geyser from his mouth, his stomach churned and his throat gave a burning sensation. He realised what was happening, but as the wise had said, intelligence comes far too late. He looked above, six shadows all pointing the thin rapier at his Thorat. “You lose.” All said in unison.

While the winning announcement was ringing all over the arena, Hans nudged Chris, “You ready…” But his words fell on deaf ears, as Chris moved down to the arena. 

“What is wrong with him?” Hans prompted, but Walter had no answers for him. The first one to cross returning Delimira was Chris so she whispered as their path crossed, “Don’t think much…he is your friend—”

“And I’m his enemy…Deli. This is inevitable. Our paths were always set to clash. Even if we do not want it.” Chris paced up saying his piece and Hans followed.

Suddenly gripping his hand Delimira stopped him. Prompting him to ask “What?” But she just remained silent. The awkwardness was increasing and she broke the silence by sighing and added, “I don’t think, I can get my revenge. You better see me in finals, Prince Hans.”

“Hey, I told you to not call me that.” Hans shook off her hand, freeing himself from her grasp and added, “ And I won’t lose Winters. I still have an ace saved for you—”

“You better use it now, Chris is…different now. He won’t be…friendly in this fight.”

“Of course, he has to be serious,” Hans responded swiftly.

Sighing, thinking her words were not grasped, she marched back. Leaving both Concordia students in the arena. The top three were already decided and all of them belonged to Concordia. Setting it the winner of junior leagues. Now all were waiting to see the top two candidates to enter Treasures of Alliance as winners.

The Examiner asked to introduce themselves as a formality, and unlike all other times, Hans followed his words, “Hans Richardson, wood mage Concordia.”

“Richardson..” Chris mumbled, saying aloud, “Use your real name.”

“What?”

“I’m Christopher Bernard Holger, grade 30 knight, Concordia.”

“So you were asking for the full name?” Hans doubted, oblivious to what Chris was asking him. Ignoring his words, Chris unsheathed his sword, covering himself in the ever-moving aura. The tactic taught to him by his father for fighting a VoidZone user. Although it was useful to keep the aura moving, it taxed the user in a long fight, draining their aura reserve with twice the speed.

Hans caught on, “If he kept moving his aura around, inectio, the third form in VoidZone would be useless. I never thought he could find a way this fast.”  He breathed in thinking, his most powerful tool against the knight rendered useless but, Hans knew it very well. If Chris keeps using this method, his aura will be drained sooner or later. “Let's just bide our time—”

Pointing his sword at Hans, Chris interrupted his train of thought, “Use your best spell. This is your last chance.”

“Make me.” Hans taunted, still in a playful mood as his grin stretched to his ears.

“Agh..” Chris grunted in response “You think this is a game, don’t you? You can do whatever, fearing no consequences for your actions. Guess what, that is what led to your family’s downfall. So, show me that violent blood of yours who thinks everyone is inferior to you.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you.. are you on something…”

“I should have known when you kept showing the lust for others lives. How could I’ve been so blind.”

“Oh!” Hans's playful grin disappeared, “So you found out.”

“I’d be a fool, your blood is cancer to society…why did you have to be a—”

“Shut the fuck up” Hans revolted. “While I believed our predecessors' actions wouldn't define our future, it appears you think differently. Fine, you wanted to face me at my best. I’ll make sure you understand, that I do not have a superiority complex, I am just born superior.”

~ElderForm~

His skin pores woke up, making tiny green sprouts appear, like new buds in the spring. These little shoots started a fascinating process of cell regrowth, creating new vines that spread like tiny veins. These green vessels are filled with a special green substance, like plant sap or blood.

With each passing moment, everyone watched in awe, as those live veins coiled around Hans, bounding themselves to form muscles. Once small hands were now huge, all covered in green. His physique swelled as layers of fauna started covering him, his chest broadening and shoulders squaring, providing the sturdy foundation for his arboreal stature. And when the transformation reached its zenith, Hans stood as an imposing monstrosity—an incomplete giant, lacking legs and a lower jaw, yet gazing down with an eerie intensity at Chris's bewildered face.

A deep, resonant voice emanated from the hollow throat of the tree-like behemoth. "You brought this upon yourself," it intoned, far deeper than Hans's human voice. He extended his massive hand, poised for a direct punch, and called out, "Come here, Zzzzz." 

An invisible force, exponentially stronger than Chris's resistance, seized him, yanking him upward, toward the colossal tree monster. He flew like a caught fish and met with Hans’s monstrous fist. With the force of a towering body that spanned tens of meters, Hans sent Chris flying back with twice the speed and bellowed in his reverberated voice, “KNOW YOUR PLACE, HUMAN.”

***

Announcement

NEXT : THE IMPERIAL BLOODLINE (1)