Descent of a God

Limits

The bandit leader did not seem to agree, though, and shouted, "Hah! Yeah right, as if that is possible!" 

The swordsman seemed to get angry as he turned towards them and said, "This will be over in a bit," before charging and killing three of the bandits in one slash. The remaining bandits charged at him. It was war.

Or so I thought. It ended up just as a one-sided massacre. In just five minutes, the swordsman killed the three orange core mages and 10 warriors.  

"Let's begin now," he said as he smiled once again. His smile reminded me of the maniac First Sword, the one became a demon follower to pursue the sword forever.

I opened the second door once again, bringing out my wooden sword as I charged towards him with full power. I couldn't let my guard down for a second, or I'll die. 

My orange core seemed to shine brightly inside my body as I siphoned more mana out of it, flowing it through my body to my sword. A brilliant green hue enveloped the edge of my blade, sparkling dangerously like verdant electricity.

The adrenaline rush from the rush of power caused my mana to flare out, releasing wind around me.

The man raised his brows before cladding his own katana in red, hot flames. I used the wind around me to dissipate the heat. 

Placing my right foot behind, I shot towards him as fast as possible. My sword dangerously cut through the air, whistling as it headed for his head.

The man smirked as his katana clashed with my wooden sword, his hot red mana clashing against my Wind. 

The red flames sprang out from his flame, furiously trying to devour my green flames.

Even with the temporary power boost, I couldn't compete with him in raw strength.

But I didn't have to.

It was true that his mana was overwhelming. However, his sword technique looked poor in my eyes, the eyes of the one who stood at the pinnacle of all sword techniques to ever exist.

He swung his sword brashly, attempting to hit me with his flames. I internally scoffed before using Twenty-four gale steps to duck under his attack.

I turned back and smirked at him. The man's smile evaporated from his face as he touched the blood dripping from his cut chest.

He charged forward his incredible power, causing the ground itself to melt from the heat of his flames. I silently gulped before bringing my blade to meet his.

Our mana clashed again, however, my superior technique even with my inferior body allowed me to rain attacks on him whilst dodging all of his.

Shallow cuts drizzled across his body while he patiently waited to end me with that one well-placed attack.

Slowly but surely, I was beating him. His left foot faltered when he put force into it, almost causing him to stumble to the ground. 

Taking full advantage of the opening, I charged forward but my sword wasn't able to cut through his flames.

Feeling danger, I instantly retreated. Why did my sword not cut through his defensive mana coat?

Even though my mana is much inferior to his, it wasn't to the point I couldn't injure him.

That was when I realised. I was starting to hit my limit too. I clutched my core, finally feeling the strain on it after the adrenaline rush washed away.

Did the forceful injection of mana adding onto the forceful breakthrough to the second door overwhelm it?

I must end this in a single attack. Both of us were getting tired, but he would outlast me at this rate.

The Wind and Lightning Flurry Strikes.

Powerful sword slashes which need lightning alongside wind to be similar to that of a calm storm.

 Lightning is the deviant of fire, so could I even use it? 

I shook my head to clear my doubts. I willed the fire mana to me and pushed it further, to break through and become lightning. I could feel the lightning and wind mana mixing together as they swirled around my sword.

I took another deep breath before charging at him.

I decided to use the Thirty-Six World steps. The starting point of all footwork I used. This time, I was going to evade while standing still, like how I had done before in my previous life. 

And we clashed.

I evaded his attacks partially while barely moving my fight, counter-attacking with my flurry attacks with full power. 

The twelve flurry attacks did some damage, however, I took a lot of cuts as well. 

Now, time for the last slash. He was ready to face me as he did on the cliff, with a burning sun to overpower my final attack. 

However, who said this was going to be a direct clash? 

I used Twenty-Four gale steps to get behind him, dodging his attack and struck. His eyes opened in pure shock as my blade cut through his armour, killing him.

My sword left my hand as I collapsed on the ground, panting. 

I tried to get up. I heard my name being shouted. I turned my head only to see a bleary image of Arthur and mom rushing towards me. The last thing I remember before collapsing is the intense pain I felt in my mana core.

Arthur POV:

Incredible! The way that Jude fought was nothing short of impressive. I thought I had been surprised enough by him, but, I was wrong. Especially that footwork. What was that? 

It seemed like he teleported! He was able to overwhelm a far stronger opponent with skill and techniques. I can't believe I am saying this, but he is someone I look up to. 

However, I had a bad feeling. I felt something wrong when I was transferring mana to him so that he could break through to the orange core level. And my premonition was proven right as Jude fell unconscious. 

Mom and I rushed over to him, and she muttered after examining him, "His mana core seems to be unstable!" 

I was pondering over what my mom had said before I sensed another hostile presence. Turning around, I saw the orange core bandit leader getting up. 

He sighed in anger, "I should've known better than to trust him." He then looked at us, licking his lips after seeing Jude unconscious, "Now that all the fighters are out, it's time for some fun!"

I gritted my teeth in anger as I charged towards him. He chuckled, "I look like a weakling now?" as he parried by the wooden sword with his axe. He then raised his axe, augmenting it and hoping to defeat me in one blow. I used the feint step to get away and hit him. 

His expression changed into one of surprise as he dropped his axe. He seemed exhausted. 

However, I wasn't doing much better. I could barely stand up as all my mana was exhausted. My back was also facing down the cliff, meaning I was in danger of falling down. Even exhausted, his strength was far greater than mine. After giving up on ending this quickly, he kept on slowly pushing me back. Just when I reached the edge, he smiled.

He struck me down with all his strength, breaking my wooden sword and even the earth below me. I hurriedly put a mana string on him, hoping to take him down with me. We both fell down. The bandit leader seemed confused as to why he was also falling down. Suddenly, something came out of this pocket. I couldn't exactly see what it was, however, it blew up, throwing us far away from here. I just hoped that my family was fine as I blacked out. 

[Author's Notes: I decided to make the bandit group much stronger and more threatening because Jude was simply too strong. Now, Arthur will end up with Sylvie and later Elenoir while Jude will stay with his parents while they settle down in their friend's house. 

Changed the fight now, enjoy!

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