The gods marveled at what they were watching on stage, they are on par with everything, be it speed, strength, and skill. Even their magic is similar as both use enchantment type magic to boost their overall stats way above the level 5 threshold.
Everything they threw against one another was received and thrown back. There was an unending exchange of offense and defense that flows in every move they make.
The gods can only speculate how much they would grow in the future. The two of them are only 16 summers old. Incredibly young yet their talent seems to have no limit.
They can see it in plain sight... Ais and August are improving at every exchange they have. The two fighters refused to be outdone by their opponent, if Ais improved in their fight, August would catch up to her and pass her, and Ais would do the same.
Athena, Freya, and Ares, the three war gods grimaced at the terrifying sight of two mortals adopting and improving their skills at a pace that is plain to see for everyone. The war gods knew that with the pace that they were going, the two of them would sooner or later stand on top of every mortal.
Buddha for the first time since in who knows how long was silent, his whole undivided attention is on the match, he watched as sparks flew every time their weapons collide. Their mana mixing and mashing with one another, a beautiful radiant glow of red and green intertwine at every blow they throw. Both battling for dominance, trying to devour each other.
Their styles both complement and counter one another, as Ais could out-speed and out-maneuver August due to her weapon of choice and blitzing style of fighting. Yet August could control the space and out-flank Ais due to the superior reach and unrelenting style.
Neither one was giving an inch against the other, they are both prioritizing their offense as the two of them excel in the art. A slash here, a counter there, their weapons cut through the air as a violent clang echoes all over the arena, again and again and again.
Wounds started to appear in both fighters as the small cuts line crimson in their bodies. This made Heracles feel uneasy. 'What is happening?' he thought to himself.
'How could he keep up with August? His skill should be overwhelming her by now.' Heracles couldn't comprehend how the sword princess could exchange blow for blow against August. 'With all the wounds the Ais is receiving, Lethal tempo should be activating by now and she would literally be left in the dust... How is she keeping up?'
He wondered if the skill wasn't activating. But it was, Lethal tempo was in full bloom, with every drop of Ais's blood, August became faster, stronger, more precise and lethal... Yet Ais could still keep up, surprising both August and Heracles.
It was because she was improving on an exponentially fast pace as well, not because of a skill, she was growing the old fashion way, for the first time, Ais had found an opponent where she could let loose, where there is no fear of accidentally killing her challenger, that is capable of defeating her even with her going all out. This made Ais unconsciously let go of her hesitation, and with it, made the block she had cast on herself to unravel.
For the first time in her life, fighting was fun... The trill of it was fun, there was no guarantee that she was gonna win, she didn't have to hold herself back because she will undoubtedly lose if she did. The wounds he received hurts, but at the same time it filled her with joy. 'This is...' "FUN!!!" she smiled as a chuckle escaped her lips. Her eyes glowed, her mana was running wild inside her body, she could feel her muscle straining with every blow she threw and blocked.
No more was the stoic stone-like statue impression that Ais wore exclusively on her face. Right now, her face was filled with emotions, emotions that are previously unknown to the young female adventurer.
"Hahahahahah!" the chuckle evolved into laughter as her attack became even more sharper, faster, stronger. New wounds started to appear on her body, but she didn't care, with every wound she received, August became more and more stronger which in turn made her crave the challenge even more.
For the first time, even those in Loki familia, even Loki herself, witnessed the true power of the one blessed by the sword, a child out of time, a child of prophecy, they witnessed the true power of the sword princess, Ais Wallenstein.
August saw the expression on Ais face, a smile crept up to his own. "I like the way you look princess!" August spoke in a jovial tone as she blocked the incoming barrage. "This suits you so much more!" pushing his spear up he unleashed a barrage of his own.
Ais felt shiver and excitement ran up her spine, her smile deepened as she moved to intercept the cluster of spear with one of her own. "As I thought... You really are the best!"
Blood splattered as the two received wounds all over their bodies, but that didn't stop them at all. In fact, quite the opposite happened.
With their battle crazed at an all time high, the two of them ignored defense completely, opting for a "the best defense is a good offense" approach, the two moved at an incredibly alarming speed, leaving after image at their wake.
The ground cratered every time the two met, as they ran all around the stage, lines of red and green chasing one another, making the barrier crumble and crack at every second they exchanged attacks.
Even the air became their domain as both had the same idea of jumping mid-air, meeting head on in a violent collision. Sparks of red and green mesh in the air as a radiant white light covered the vision of everyone watching.
The crowd couldn't breathe as their jaws hit the floor, some level 5 adventurers felt small compared to the two monsters that were fighting in front of their eyes.
Some of the level 5 in the city complained that they didn't get a chance to fight in the tournament, but that all died down when the main tournament started, and right now, they were even thankful that they didn't have to face these monsters head to head.
Their blood and sweat mixed as the fight went on, the stinging pain was ignored, right now, all they could think of is how to beat the person standing in front of them.
The two of them didn't know who would come out on top, and frankly they didn't care, the smile on their faces told the whole story of how the fight was going... All they could think of right now is how much fun they are having facing each other right now.
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Hidden in the stands, 3 hooded figures gulped as they watched the match with their eyes wide open.
"T-this is what we are going against?!" The playful man lost his playful tone as he stutters in disbelief at what he was seeing.
"What's this? I thought your plan was foolproof?" Anna asked with a mocking tone. "You were quite confident about it earlier..."
"Listen here you little bitch! I wi-" he bit angrily but was cut off by the other hooded figure.
"Knock it off you two!" He spoke stoically as he eyed his two comrades. "Though unprecedented, we did expect him to possess strength way above our own. Lord Erebus expects results from us, and we will deliver on his expectations or die trying." he stepped closer, standing toweringly above his two comrades. "Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal." Anna answered begrudgingly.
"Lucius?" The stoic man asked the other one as he didn't get a reply from him.
"Yeah yeah. Whatever you say boss." No respect can be heard from his voice as he answered. 'I really want to slit all of their throats.' he thought to himself as he turned around and walked away. An evil smile plastered on his face as his tongue licked his lips.
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August and Ais slammed their weapons against each other, they could feel their muscles groan every time they received each other's blow.
Their weapons locked as their eyes met each other's gaze, their face filled with excitement and fire, a crazed smile both on their lips.
Their breathing became labored as the strain of their prolonged fight starts to show in their body that was filled with bruises and wounds that would make any mortal or god winced in pain at seeing it.
Still the two were fighting like it was nothing. August pushed his spear making Ais take a step back. He then slashed upwards, delivering a cleaving blow straight for Ais's abdomen.
Ais, although unbalanced, was still able to move her rapier to intercept August's blow. But August saw it coming, his spear bent and curved, changing direction and dodging Ais's blade. The sparrow.
Ais, instead of defending, opted to match August's blow, making her rapier curved straight to the spearman launching a sparrow of her own. Trusting her reflexes to be enough to dodge August's blow while attacking.
Both instinctively moved their bodies out of the way, but both received a wound at their abdomen, their only respite is that the cut was shallow but damaging nonetheless.
August was the first to recover, twisting his body to the right, he slammed his spear towards Ais's side. Using his weight along with his physical strength in his strike.
Ais tried to block it but was delayed due to being off balance with her lunge earlier. The shaft hit her cleanly, sending her flying, spitting blood and saliva as she felt her ribs crack tempest armor in all.
August had landed the first clean hit of the fight, making the crowd explode in cheers. And he was not done, he gave chase, not giving time for Ais to recover.
Ais crashed on the wall of the stage as her body bounced off of it, her eyes widened as he saw a spearhead enter her vision, heading straight for her face.
She hurriedly moved out of the way, dodging the blade by mear inches, too close for her comfort. Rolling sideways, she quickly got up to her feet only to be met with an overhead strike from August which she had no choice but to block.
Her knees buckled behind the force, and August took advantage of Ais unstable stance. Pressing the tempo of his attack, he sent a barrage of strike which pushed Ais to fight defensively.
August had gained the momentum and tempo of the fight.
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Ottar watched as August took the tempo away from Ais, his eyes following every movement the two did.
Unlike the others who were watching the fight, Ottar could see the two move very clearly, for him, it was as if the two were standing in place. Such is the strength of a level 7.
Still, he couldn't deny that the two of them are impressive, being that strong, that young, is something he can respect for the two fighters.
Given time, the two of them might even catch up to him, but he knows that won't be happening anytime soon.
His eyes were particularly drawn towards August, he remembered him as the child they saved 9 years ago. The one who declared that he'll surpass him. He acknowledged his resolved and determination, and sufficed to say he wasn't disappointed for doing it. "He sure has grown well." He mutters with a small smile parting on his lips.
He then looked at Ais, there was a slight hint of disappointment on his face as he views the female adventurer. 'Her weakness is showing.' he thought as he remembers her analysis on Ais.
He recognized Ais as a mighty fighter, considered one of the strongest first class adventurers. Ottar acknowledged her prowess as remarkable among her generation, however, he also noted that she isn't as skilled against other people as she is against monsters, losing to those who fought the Zeus and Hera Familias, such as him and her Familia's top executives.
Ais is not very good against other people and specializes in fighting monsters due to her skill. She would be able to hold the edge against skilled Level 5s like her fellow Loki Familia young executives in a pure duel, though could still lose to them sometimes if they managed to make a reversal against her.
There is no doubt in Ottars mind that Ais has the potential to be one of the strongest mortals in the world, he firmly believes that if Ais is against a monster, she is by fact the strongest adventurer here, maybe even surpassing him in killing monsters. But that doesn't erase her weakness.
A glaring weakness in the views of Ottar, and right now that weakness is showing. As the fight continued, August had become used to Ais's speed and technique, it shows the differences in experience the two have in fighting against other people.
Ottar could see where this match would go, but he wasn't sure, the look on Ais's face still screams that she still has a fight left in her.
And from his experience, that determination and will to win may lead to a miracle happening. This is still anyone's game.
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Chapter 73 is done now, how do you guys like the story so far?
Please leave a comment, a review and feedback so I can improve on writing this fanfic. every little thing helps as it allows me to see your preference on things and would help me write a better fanfic for you all to enjoy.
thanks for picking up this fanfic. hope you guys like it.
good day, love y'all.