|Arthur|
As I soared through the air, the whistling wind was the only sound accompanying me, drowning out Regis's not-so-majestic ramblings in my mind. I was focused on calculating all possible outcomes of the upcoming battle.
'Sylphiette said that the asura I'm about to face is from the same race as Taci, but more mature and stronger,' I mused to myself. 'Jude struggled against Taci in their fight, so I should expect this to be a challenging opponent.'
"Princess, I think you're rushing into things," Regis chimed in.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Your progress has been impressive, but you're constantly comparing yourself to Jude, making you feel inferior," Regis explained.
"Maybe you're right," I admitted with a smile. "But I want to surpass Jude just once, by defeating an asura more powerful than any he's ever faced."
"Ultimately, it's your choice," Regis sighed.
As I arrived at the destroyed city, my gaze fell upon the asura, who was sitting atop the rubble, as if it were his throne. A crushing aura emanated from his body, surpassing even that of Sylphiette and Jude, but falling short of Windsom and Aldir.
'Her prediction was spot-on,' I thought to myself, bracing myself for the coming battle.
The asura turned to me with fiery eyes, his gaze burning with anger. "What is a lesser doing here?" he barked, his tone laced with hostility. He bore a striking resemblance to Taci, and his aura confirmed that he was from the same race as him, as Sylphiette had predicted.
"I am here to subjugate you," I responded, my voice tense. I unsheathed my new silver sword, feeling the power of both aether and mana surging through my body.
The asura let out a hearty laugh, his eyes locking onto mine once more. "Ha! Are you Jude, the one who killed Taci?" he taunted. "You don't look like him, and you certainly don't have his height or features. I haven't heard of a lesser with golden eyes and asuran features like yours. Who are you?"
His mana pressure grew stronger, suffocating the very atmosphere around us. I widened my eyes, gritting my teeth and summoning all my strength to counter his overwhelming presence.
Drawing more aether from my core, I directed it towards the Realmheart Godrune on my back. The world around us became a kaleidoscope of colorful mana and purple aetheric particles, swirling in the air.
With my back straightened, I ignored the asura's pressure, channeling the newfound strength pulsing through my body.
The man's question hung in the air before he shot towards me with lightning speed. I quickly gathered spatium at my feet, connecting the motes of aether to teleport away just as his foot grazed my hair.
Lightning coiled around me as I dug my feet into the ground and fired off spells, but the asura easily deflected them with a wave of his hand. His strength was immense, and I struggled to keep up.
My mind raced as I tried to come up with a plan, and then it hit me: I could copy Jude's movements. Taking a deep breath, I jumped towards the asura and began to mimic Jude's fighting style.
The asura seemed taken aback for a moment before he regained his composure and attacked me once again. But now, I was able to keep up with his movements, countering his attacks with ease.
[Absolute Zero]
[Infernal Blaze]
I conjured conflicting elements and channeled them through aether, sending them hurtling towards the pantheon. The asura grunted as he dodged the attack, but I didn't let up.
My sword cut through the air as I lunged towards him, almost striking his throat. But before I could make contact, he punched me in the stomach, nearly knocking the air out of me.
"Regis!" I called out, and my ally and weapon rose from the shadows, flames rising up to block the asura's mana storm.
Using all my strength, I activated Static Void to pause time, creating a blade of destruction to strike the asura's heart. He spluttered blood before moving rapidly using the Mirage Walk technique to attack me.
I countered his movements with my own Mirage Walk enhanced with aether, but he managed to break my shoulder and almost shatter my ribs with his powerful kicks.
'I can't beat him in power,' I thought, 'but I can beat him in skill.'
Summoning my second sword, I copied Jude's movements once again and began to counter the asura's attacks with increasing skill.
Regis roared and charged straight at the asura, but he easily dodged the shadow wolf's attacks and struck him down. Regis faded away, his aether exhausted.
With a burst of determination, I teleported behind the asura and punched him with my fist. He caught it easily and landed a kick on my body, sending me flying.
Despite the pain, I refused to give up. I would continue to copy Jude's movements, improve my skill, and fight until the bitter end.
(A/N: My Christmas was very busy, to the point I couldn't find time to write more than 300 words. Regardless, here is the chapter. It is shorter than what I wanted it to be, but I hope all of you guys still enjoy it. Merry Christmas and see you guys tomorrow!)