Chapter 1029: Limits of the Gauntlet

Samira was the first to reach Strax. Her sword came forward in a diagonal slash, but he raised the gauntlet and took the blow directly in his palm. The force of the impact disappeared into the weapon, and Strax immediately closed his fingers, trying to return the energy before Samira could move away. She noticed the movement and twisted her body, letting his fist pass just a few centimeters from her waist. The black discharge tore through the clearing and struck a rock formation behind her, opening an enormous hole in its surface.

Samira landed beside Strax and tried to strike his leg. He stepped back just far enough to avoid the blade, but she had already changed the strike’s trajectory, directing the sword toward his shoulder. Strax intercepted the attack with a chain and tried to grab her arm with his left hand. Samira ducked, slipped beneath his arm, and appeared behind him, delivering a horizontal slash that struck his back before the chains could move.

Strax took two steps forward and turned around.

"You’re getting annoying."

Samira smiled.

"You’re getting slow."

"I was trying not to break your sword."

"Then stop trying."

Strax looked at the blade she was holding. The weapon was much smaller than Samira’s old sword, but it had withstood every impact so far. He knew the blade’s durability didn’t come from the material alone. Samira was distributing her energy throughout the sword’s entire structure, reinforcing it without allowing the pressure to accumulate at a single point.

"If it breaks, don’t come complaining to me."

"If it breaks, that means I still need a better one."

Strax smiled and charged again.

This time, he didn’t try to block the first strike. Samira attacked from the right, but Strax entered his own shadow and appeared in front of her before the sword could complete its movement. His right hand shot toward Samira’s chest, and she immediately raised her blade to intercept it.

His fist struck the sword.

A pressure wave exploded between them.

Samira was pushed several meters backward but managed to keep her feet on the ground. Strax, on the other hand, felt the gauntlet’s energy move differently. Part of the force from his own strike had returned to the weapon when the sword resisted the impact.

He looked at his hand.

"Ah..."

Samira noticed his expression.

"Something else?"

"Maybe."

"Are you doing this on purpose?"

"Doing what?"

"Discovering a new ability every time I try to hit you."

Strax laughed.

"It’s not my fault you’re such a good test subject."

Samira narrowed her eyes.

"I’ll show you who’s the test subject."

She charged again, but Strax didn’t move. Instead, he opened his right hand and focused his perception on the energy stored inside the gauntlet. There was a clear difference between the force he had received from Samira’s attacks and the energy he normally used. Demonic energy could be controlled freely, but the absorbed impacts seemed to remain inside a separate structure, waiting for him to decide how to release them.

Samira appeared in front of him.

Her sword came down.

Strax blocked.

The impact was absorbed.

Before she could deliver a second strike, he opened his hand and released only a small portion of the accumulated force.

A black explosion erupted directly from the gauntlet’s palm.

Samira crossed her sword in front of her body and took the attack, which launched her backward. She crashed through two trees before regaining her balance and landing on a large rock.

Strax examined his hand.

"So I don’t have to return it all at once."

Samira looked at her sword.

The blade was still intact.

"You can control how much you release?"

"Seems like it."

Strax closed his hand again.

"That’s better than simply returning a blow."

Samira jumped down from the rock and approached him again.

"Why?"

"Because I can save the force."

She stopped.

"For how long?"

"I don’t know."

Samira stared at him.

Strax smiled.

"Want to find out?"

She raised her sword.

"Let’s go."

For the next several minutes, Samira attacked without stopping.

Strax remained practically in the same spot, using the gauntlet to receive her strikes while trying to control the energy accumulating inside it. Each impact produced a small vibration in the black chains, but the weapon showed no signs of wear. The amount of stored force gradually increased, and Strax realized he could distinguish the energy of the most recent strikes from what he had received earlier.

However, there was a limitation.

After absorbing a considerable amount of force, the gauntlet began releasing small black particles between the plates covering his hand. Strax felt growing pressure in his forearm, as though the weapon were trying to discharge the excess.

"Stop."

Samira immediately halted her next attack.

"What is it?"

Strax raised his right hand.

The chains were moving on their own.

"I think I’ve found a limit."

Samira approached.

"Is it going to explode?"

"Doesn’t seem like it."

"You said that last time."

"And it didn’t explode."

"Yet."

Strax ignored the comment and focused his perception on the gauntlet. The stored energy was pressing against the weapon’s internal structure, but it didn’t seem capable of damaging it. The problem was different. The more force he accumulated, the harder it became to keep everything contained without allowing some of it to escape.

He pointed his hand toward a distant mountain.

"Let’s find out."

Samira looked in the same direction.

"Are you going to discharge everything?"

"Yes."

"At that mountain?"

"It won’t complain."

Strax closed his hand.

The accumulated energy began concentrating around his fist, forming a black layer that seemed to compress space itself. The chains wrapped tightly around his forearm, and a heavy pressure spread through the clearing.

Samira took a few steps back.

Strax stepped forward and threw a punch toward the mountain.

The discharge was immediate.

An enormous mass of black energy tore through the air and struck the rock formation. The impact produced an explosion that shook the entire area, while a considerable portion of the mountain disappeared into a cloud of dust and fragments.

Strax lowered his arm.

The pressure inside the gauntlet had completely disappeared.

Samira continued staring at the destroyed mountain.

Then she looked at him.

"You just used my strikes to destroy a mountain."

"Basically."

"And you didn’t spend any of your own energy?"

"A little to control the gauntlet. But most of it came from your attacks."

Samira grew thoughtful.

"So the stronger your enemy is, the more dangerous you become."

"If I can block their attacks."

"And if you can’t?"

Strax shrugged.

"I’m still me."

Samira let out a small laugh.

"Fair enough."

She looked at the mountain again.

"But that means you don’t have to return the force immediately. You can keep accumulating it until you find an opportunity."

"Exactly."

Strax opened and closed his hand a few times.

"I can also distribute the energy across several smaller attacks. That’s useful against someone who can dodge big ones."

Samira nodded.

"And against someone who can’t?"

"I use the big one."

She shook her head.

"You really solve everything in the simplest way possible."

"It works."

Strax decided to test another possibility before continuing the fight.

He extended his right hand and ordered the chains to spread across the ground. They slid through the grass, reached the shadows of the nearby trees, and disappeared into them. Samira followed the movement with her eyes, keeping her sword raised.

"Are you trying to trap me again?"

"No."

"Then what?"

"I want to find out whether I can receive a blow without being near it."

Samira frowned.

Strax pointed toward an enormous rock several dozen meters away.

"Hit that rock."

She looked at the rock.

Then at him.

"With the sword?"

"Yes."

Samira raised her blade and delivered a horizontal slash.

The energy crossed the ground and struck the rock, splitting it in half.

At the same instant, Strax felt a small amount of force enter the gauntlet.

He smiled.

Samira noticed.

"Did it work?"

"A little."

Strax looked at the chains spread across the ground.

They had connected to the rock’s shadow before the impact. When the sword struck the target, part of the force transmitted through its structure had been conducted along the chains to the gauntlet.

"So I can absorb energy through them."

Samira examined the ground.

"That means you can turn the entire battlefield into an extension of the weapon."

"If there are enough shadows."

"Or if you create your own shadows."

Strax looked at her.

Samira smiled.

"You’re not the only one who can think."

"I’m starting to notice."

He raised his hand.

A considerable amount of black energy began spreading across the clearing. The shadows of the trees stretched and connected, forming an extensive dark surface over the ground. The chains disappeared into it, but Strax could still feel each of their ends.

Samira watched the change.

"That looks troublesome."

"For you."

She smiled.

"Let’s find out."

Samira charged.

Strax remained motionless.

The instant she stepped onto the dark surface, a chain emerged from the ground and tried to grab her ankle. Samira jumped, but another chain appeared in front of her. She swung her sword and deflected the attack, landing on a rock that hadn’t yet been covered by the shadows.

Strax raised his hand.

The rock’s shadow distorted.

A third chain emerged directly behind Samira.

She noticed the movement and threw herself forward, escaping by only a few centimeters.

"That’s cheating!"

Strax started laughing.

"You told me to use the gauntlet."

"I told you to fight!"

"I am fighting."

Samira charged again, but this time she didn’t try to avoid the chains. She concentrated energy in her sword and delivered a vertical slash against the ground.

The blade struck the dark surface.

An enormous fissure opened in the ground, and Samira’s energy spread through the shadows, destroying several chains before they could move.

Strax felt the impact travel through the structure.

Part of the force was absorbed by the gauntlet.

The rest dispersed.

He raised his eyebrows.

"You managed to damage the shadow."

Samira raised her sword.

"It’s still energy."

"Yes."

"Then it can be cut."

Strax smiled.

That was important.

The gauntlet could directly withstand Samira’s attacks, but the shadows it created didn’t possess the same durability. If an enemy managed to destroy the structure before the force could be absorbed, the connection would be severed.

He recalled the chains.

The dark surface gradually disappeared, returning the clearing to its original appearance, although the ground was much more damaged than before.

Samira rested her sword on her shoulder.

"Anything else?"

Strax looked at the gauntlet.

"One last thing."

She sighed.

"You said that half an hour ago."

"This time I’m serious."

"You said that too."

Strax smiled.

This time, however, he didn’t try to absorb energy or manipulate the chains.

He simply closed his eyes.

The Gauntlet of Darkness responded immediately.

An enormous presence began moving inside it.

Samira noticed the change.

"What are you doing?"

Strax opened his eyes.

"Calling in reinforcements."

The shadow behind him began to grow.

First came an enormous head, followed by a long neck and two black wings. The Wyvern that Strax had previously absorbed emerged completely from the darkness, spreading its wings as its violet eyes glowed.

Samira stared at the creature.

Then at Strax.

"You’re kidding."

"No."

"You’re bringing a Wyvern into the middle of our fight?"

"I want to test whether I can fight while controlling a shadow."

Samira pointed her sword at him.

"You really are afraid of losing."

Strax started laughing.

"I’m starting to think you really want to win."

"I do."

"Then come on."

The Wyvern spread its wings.

Samira smiled.

And for the first time since they’d begun training, Strax had to divide his attention between controlling the Gauntlet of Darkness, commanding a shadow creature, and following the movements of a swordswoman who was becoming more dangerous by the moment.

The fight was only beginning.