Chapter 42: Aaron Vs Leon II

Aaron stepped in.

Neither Aaron nor the Python gave the Swordsman enough time to settle into a proper exchange.

If it focused on Aaron, the Python attacked, if it focused on the Python, Aaron moved in, and if he tried to keep both of them in sight, neither one gave him a clean target.

’They’re not trying to overpower him.’ Leon thought, narrowing his eyes.

It was more like they were controlling his choices. The Swordsman was strong enough to defend himself, but every defense forced him into another position the opponents wanted him at.

The Python moved around his right side, moving its huge body across the ground with unmatched speed for its size.

Aaron on the other side moved left, forcing the Swordsman to choose one target, it seemed.

The Swordsman immediately adjusted, jumping back several steps so he could keep his back away from both of them.

Aaron noticed, and so did Leon.

’He’s trying to keep them in front of him.’

That was the correct choice. Getting surrounded would make the fight even worse.

The Python suddenly rushed forward, causing the Swordsman to step back and raise its sword.

The Python stopped just outside the blade’s range, and for a fraction of a second, nothing happened... then Aaron attacked.

The Swordsman turned toward him. That was exactly what Aaron wanted.

The Python moved at the same time, giving the Swordsman no choice but to swing his sword toward Aaron while stepping away from the Python.

Aaron ducked beneath the blade, and at that same moment, the Python’s tail came down.

The Swordsman brought his free arm up and caught the attack before it reached his body, the impact, forcing him down onto one knee.

At that the audience erupted with different noises.

"He’s down!"

"No, he’s still moving!"

The Swordsman pushed the Python away and immediately rolled backward, somehow still alright.

Aaron didn’t give him time to stand properly before rushing forward.

The Swordsman planted one foot against the ground and rose, sword already moving.

Aaron stopped immediately, the blade passing directly in front of his face.

’Close.’ He said in his head.

He stepped back.

The Python attacked again.

The Swordsman blocked it, but this time he didn’t retreat. Instead, he stepped toward the Python.

His sword came up with blinding speed, a clean slash forcing the Python to pull its head back.

The Swordsman followed with another swing and then another, but the Python was too fast and moved away to avoid all strikes.

For the first time, the Swordsman had created space.

Leon watched carefully. ’He’s changing his approach.’

The Swordsman wasn’t going to keep reacting.

It was looking for a way to break their formation.

Aaron seemed to realize the same thing.

He moved forward again. The Swordsman immediately turned toward him, but Aaron didn’t attack, he simply kept walking.

The Python moved around from the other side too. The Swordsman glanced toward it, and back at Aaron.

Then, Aaron suddenly accelerated.

The Swordsman raised its sword, but surprisingly, Aaron didn’t try to get around it this time, or move back to avoid it. He grabbed the flat of the blade with one hand and shoved it aside.

The Swordsman resisted, and for that brief moment, the two were locked together.

That was when the Python struck.

The Swordsman had no choice but to release the sword with one hand and struck the Python’s incoming tail away.

Seeing the chance, Aaron used the opening to drive his shoulder into the Swordsman’s chest hard.

The Swordsman was thrown backward. It landed hard, but rolled immediately, before it could fully rise, Aaron was already there.

He had not been able to get the sword, so the Swordsman still had its blade, and with one hand, it swung at him in a wide horizontal arc.

Aaron jumped over the blade, twisting in the air, and at that same moment, as if choreographed, the Python came from behind.

The Swordsman turned, but it was too late this time.

The Python struck him and sent him stumbling forward.

Leon continued watching without moving. The Swordsman’s breathing didn’t exist, but Leon could almost imagine the rhythm of it at that moment.

For several seconds afterwards, the fight became nothing more than movement.

There were no flashy techniques or strange abilities, just three fighters trying to read each other’s movements faster than the others could react.

’So this is Aaron.’ Leon thought to himself, genuinely amused.

While Leon watched carefully, there was no panic in him.

To everyone paying close attention, that very fact alone was strange.

The Swordsman was being overwhelmed, yet Leon wasn’t shouting commands or trying to force it into a desperate counterattack or trying to position it well or offer better tactics.

He simply watched and allowed the summon figure things out for itself.

That certainly didn’t go unnoticed.

From the side of the arena, Darwit frowned.

He had arrived late enough that there was no room left in the upper seating areas, and that day being the finals, the VIP area was off limits, so he had been forced to watch from the sidelines at the outer area of the Arena below.

Luckily for him, he wasn’t alone.

Mason happened to arrive around the same time as he did, so they were together.

The two had recognized each other almost immediately, neither seemed particularly happy about it though.

"Didn’t expect to see you here," Mason said.

Darwit glanced at him. "Likewise."

There was nowhere else to stand, so they ended up watching the match from the same area.

Mason had been focused on Leon the entire time, almost as much as he had been paying attention to the battle.

"He’s not doing anything." He said.

Darwit didn’t answer immediately.

As they watched, once again the Swordsman was pushed backward again. Aaron’s Python struck from the front while Aaron himself moved around its side, yet, Leon continued watching without any sign of interfering.

"He’s waiting," Darwit finally said.

"For what?" Mason asked, glancing at Darwit, though the other’s face was as stoic as ever.

"I don’t know."

Mason narrowed his eyes for a brief moment, then returned his attention to the match.

Another exchange unfolded in the arena.

The Swordsman blocked the Python’s jaws before Aaron’s attack forced it to release its hold.

It was clearly struggling.

Darwit looked toward Leon. "Don’t you think he’s too calm?"

Mason’s expression hardened as he glanced at Leon again. "I was thinking the same thing."

...

Leon knew he was losing the exchange, that much was obvious.

The Python was powerful enough to keep the Swordsman occupied by itself, and Aaron was strong enough to exploit every opening it created.

Leon had no way to change that with his current summon alone.

Just then, the Swordsman blocked another attack, but the Python slammed into it from the side.

The undead summon staggered, while Aaron was already moving in for another strike.

The Swordsman raised its sword, but Aaron struck the flat of the blade and redirected it before driving his shoulder into the Swordsman’s chest, followed by a heavy dropkick to the midsection.

The undead giant was thrown backward, this time landing on its back.

Leon watched it slide across the ground, and yet he didn’t move.

’So I can’t beat him with one.’ He thought to himself.

That wasn’t a pleasant realization, but it wasn’t a problem he hadn’t anticipated already from the start.

The Swordsman had done exactly what Leon needed.

It had shown him enough.

He had spent most of the tournament fighting opponents who were stronger than his summons on paper, but he had always found some weakness he could exploit or just overpowered them all together.

He had wanted to really test the limit of his most powerful summon so far, and now he had.

At that time, the Swordsman slowly rose, supporting itself with its sword as it came to its feet.

Aaron and the Python didn’t immediately attack. For the first time since the match started, they gave it a few seconds.

Aaron watched Leon, while the audience remained strangely quiet all of a sudden, anticipating a climax of the battle.

Having stood, the Swordsman stood between them, sword lowered slightly.

Surprisingly, Aaron’s breathing had barely changed.

Leon looked at the undead Swordsman, then at the two opponents in front of him.

He could keep fighting like this, but now he had seen enough, and that was of his own summon.

As for Aaron, Leon had known from the beginning that he was holding something back.

Leon’s eyes shifted slightly. ’Time to change that.’

Aaron’s expression remained focused as he prepared to move again, but just as he lowered his stance, preparing to move, Leon raised both of his hands. For the first time since the match started, he had moved.

The audience couldn’t possibly know what he was about to do.

Then, the space beside Leon simply distorted, as a figure began to take shape...

Then another.

Out of nothing appeared dark, weathered wrappings, forming around two dried up humanoid bodies before solidifying into undead flesh, so dry it could easily be mistaken for bones. Their forms emerged from nothing, taking shape directly beside Leon as though they had always been there.

Both were lean with their skin literally gummed to their bones, built for speed rather than strength.

Their faces were partially covered in aged bandages, leaving only their hollow eyes visible.

Curved blades appeared in their hands... Twin weapons shaped like crescent moons, resembling a sickle.

The two undead stood silently beside Leon, and a cold pressure spread through the immediate area on their account.

..

Summon: Undead Desert Skirmisher

Description: An Undead Desert Skirmisher specializing in fast and precise attacks, scouting, and hit-and-run tactics.

Weapons: Dual Curved Blades

Grade: 2 (Peak)

Potential: 2 (Peak)

..

Two new undead had entered the battlefield.