Chapter 56: Clash of Blade and Hammer. ( 2 )

Aleksander Ryback’s POV

…

“You will lose your position as one of the Seven Strongest World Powerhouses to the one known as the War God.”

That was the prophecy that Aleksander Ryback had received in a dream. And his thoughts? Nonsense. He was a hero. How could a hero lose to someone so easily? And the War God? It was the guy who’s squirming and screaming right now. Losing to him? What a joke.

While the guy in question was surprisingly better at handling the effects of gravity than most of his opponents, he wasn’t that strong. Sure, in terms of skill, he was around a North Emperor or something. But he was just a weakling. Annoyed, Aleksander was going to kill the bastard.

“Die, annoying runt.”

Aleksander swung his great sword. However, at that moment, blinding light smashed into his eye. He was disoriented, and along with that, a jarring loud sound of a beast roaring came again, exploding his eardrums.

“Yooouuuaagh!”

Alec was about to shout when something was shoved into his mouth. It was water, filling him up to the point of bloating. Then his body shook violently, and every part of his body had ruptured. Desperately, Alec swung his sword, using gravity to deflect the electrical wave.

Alec tried locating the culprit right away; however, right then and there, the water inside of him rampaged and exploded into ice shards and damaged his innards. If not for his Battle Aura, he would have died from that combination by now.

The moment Aleksander opened his eyes, what he saw was a roaring man—no. It was a beast. It had climbed on him while roaring; its teeth had sunk into Aleksander’s neck, trying to tear it off. He tried to levitate it using gravity, but gravity wasn’t affecting that thing whatsoever.

Monster. It was a monster. It was a monster that broke common sense. For the first time in a long time, Aleksander had felt fear towards something. Death. He was going to die. He was going to be eaten alive by that thing.

Based on experience, Aleksander smashed the floor with full force. The earth, which had been dented by the constant battle, had given out, creating a crater big enough to get that thing off of him. The moment Laurel fell off, Kalman III had run away.

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Laurel’s POV

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And so the chase had begun, with pain and the fear of death dancing toe in toe with our every move. It had started as a high-speed clashing battle, but now it had become a war of attrition. If we just kept on fighting like we were, eventually, one of us would come apart.

Both endurance and magic became depleted the longer you used them. Who’d pushed themselves the hardest since the fight began? Who’d had the least left in the tank beforehand? As the fight went on, those things always became clear.

Aleksander was far stronger and more experienced in this level of combat than me. My aura was as sharp as a blade, while his was as heavy as a hammer, each blow smashing the ground. That King Dragon Blade Kajakut was something that could turn a normal person into a hero.

Alec had the advantage in battle. But I narrowed the gap with speed and skills far different from any other opponent he had faced. While he had a magical sword carved from a dragon’s bones, I had telekinesis. Accounting for those, we fought on the same footing.

We clashed, dodged, and slid off attacks while aiming for each other’s throats. Again and again, over and over and over all over again. Just like that, more than 500 blows had been exchanged between us during this hit-and-run battle. Wounds were piling up from both sides, and we were on equal footing. No. He was losing blood more than I was.

Maybe because he was panicking, or maybe it was because it was the first time death had inched this close to him—he was sloppy. Every move he made started to show roughness around the edges. And when there were gaps, I made sure to bite in more viciously.

For every move he made, I countered with three. With every mistake he made, he was open for three stun attacks and five more attacks. The battle was swinging in my favour. Or at least, that was what it had looked like on the surface. In truth, the opposite could be true.

I had lost an eye and an arm. While I kept the blood flowing in my veins without dropping, I had to go on blood highs as well in order to keep speed. It was both physically and mentally taxing. Perhaps Aleksander had already guessed it. He had probably waited for this situation to occur.

I couldn’t keep up the pace. Not to mention the blood, my lungs were burning, and my heart felt like it was going to pop at any minute by now. I was on my last foot. But I couldn’t stop. The moment I show signs of slowing down, he’ll kill me.

While I still constantly barrage him with ice flowers and whittle him down, my reserves are lowering at an alarming rate. Sooner or later he would notice my situation. I need a move big enough to take him down. And fast. If that is the case... It’s all or nothing now.

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Aleksander Ryback’s POV

…

Aleksander had wanted to become a hero. When he realised he had a talent, his dreams grew closer to reality. Alec had a knack for sword fighting. So strong was his grasp of sword fighting that he sensed his own great potential.

Alec put everything he had into it. He had more than enough potential. So why did it end up like this?

Alec had fought many opponents in his life. And even then, very few had managed to push him to his limits. The guy chasing him wasn’t as strong as him. He wasn’t as skilled. He was even wounded. So how is Alec on the losing end?

Just as things were getting ugly, his opponent had fallen down. Hah. So he couldn’t manage to kill Alec, after all. As expected. A hero always triumphs. Both the Witch and the Man-God were wrong after—

Alec had instinctively leapt up, but he wasn’t fast enough. He had lost an ankle. Staring at the three-legged beast, Aleksander had finally realised the truth. His opponent wasn’t trying to win him. He was trying to kill Alec at all costs.

“… Madmen.”

Without a left ankle, this high-level, precariously balanced conflict wouldn’t even be a fight anymore. With that word as the trigger, Alec ran. This time, Alec, covered in wounds, went running pathetically away for his life.