Chapter 460: Private duel
Chapter 460: Private duel
Claudia nodded. “Alright. According to the rules of a duel, both of you will be led to a random, secret location for your arena—”
“Wait,” Kobra interrupted. He looked at Claudia with a sly smile on his face. “I’m not finished. I invoke our right for a Sanctum Duel.”
As soon as Kobra uttered those words, Claudia was shaken. She wasn’t expecting to hear that coming from him.
“How…how do you know that?!” she asked him, suspicious.
Kobra shrugged it off. “It doesn’t matter how I know. What matters is that you’ll fulfill my request. I’m sure that a Montgomery of your stature would be capable of creating a Sanctum, am I right?”
Michael was clueless. But he did know that something weird was going on. There was something going on with Kobra and the rest of the Serpent group.
“What is a Sanctum Duel?” he asked Claudia.
However, she still seemed unable to process the fact that Kobra knew what a Sanctum Duel was.
“I’ll explain it for her, boy. A Sanctum Duel is a kind of duel that takes place in a different place—a place that is completely cut off from reality. It’s kind of like a Pocket Dimension, if you’ve ever heard of it.
The only difference is that a Sanctum Duel is something that is not real. It’s a completely fabricated reality that is made by none other than this beautiful woman right here.
Montgomerys like her have the ability to create Sanctums completely from scratch.
If you want a duel that takes place in a forest full of trees, she can create that. If you want a duel that takes place on a small island in the middle of an ocean while a storm is raging, she can create that. If you want to fight floating in the middle of the clouds, that can be arranged.”
Michael looked at Claudia and the look on her face confirmed Kobra’s words.
“Montgomerys have been given the ability to create Sanctums that fit perfectly to the specifications of our duelists. A tundra, a desert, whatever our duelists feel they have the most advantage in. It’s one of the reasons why we are chosen as arbiters for all duels,” she confessed.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Claudia sighed. “I didn’t think you would hear about it so early. I certainly didn’t expect you to hear it from someone like Kobra.”
Kobra was supposed to be from a company that just recently obtained a permit in Metropolis. However, his knowledge of Sanctum Duels told her that there was more to his story than what was written on the paper.
She approached Michael. “You can decline,” she told him. “Sanctum Duels are only known about by a select group of people.”
Her tone only meant one thing. Sanctum Duels were only meant for duels regarding Maugnetics.
This meant that Kobra was probably a Maugnetic himself.
It would make sense why he was so overconfident during his battles in the tournament. If he had a Diva, his boasting would all be backed up since no kind of ordinary man that wasn’t at the top of their cultivation could contend with an Aubility.
That was why they didn’t care if Michael was an ultra genius that could wield four elements at the same time. They didn’t care. They didn’t have to.
Kobra looked at Micheal with a grin on his face, acting like he had already won. It was as if he was just waiting for Michael’s surrender at any moment.
“I accept the Sanctum Duel,” Michael said.
Claudia looked at him and he looked at her. He gave her a reassuring nod, telling her that he knows what he was doing.
After remembering what he was capable of, Claudia eased her worries.
“I must admit you’re pretty stupid to accept a Sanctum Duel. But I respect it,” said Kobra. “Now, let’s talk about the details.”
Since a Sanctum Duel was a completely fabricated world, they could add any feature they wanted into it. So, the most logical thing to do was to choose an environment that would specifically be beneficial to their own powers.
“I want a really large open area,” Kobra smiled. “Lots of rocky outcrops covering the plains like a maze.”
Kobra began describing his perfect and ideal hunting ground, down to the exact specifications of the stones that he wanted. He rattled on and on, taking almost ten minutes.
Claudia remained standing, listening to his every word. After he was done, she looked at Michael and asked for his ideal battleground.
“I’m fine with what he said.”
Immediately, Kobra started laughing out loud. “Come on! Don’t make it too easy on me,” he chuckled.
Michael was supposed to have a counter offer. He was supposed to give his own modifications to the environment so that it would benefit him, not Kobra. If he wanted to, he could even ask for a completely different environment, and Kobra would be the one to adjust.
The negotiations for Sanctum duels usually took hours, if not days because of how important an environment was during a fight. It could make or break a duel.
However, Michael didn’t even attempt to change anything, making Kobra have the complete advantage over the fight.
“Are you sure about this?” Claudia asked.
Michael smiled. “I’m sure.”
It was lucky that Kobra’s ’advantageous’ terrain also worked in favor for Michael. But even if it didn’t, he would still accept Kobra’s Sanctum without changing a single thing.
He wanted to beat the guy at his own game.
“Alright. Let’s get out of here first away from the public before I create the Sanctum.”
Claudia led the two of them out of the arena, with the spectators cheering Michael on and booing Kobra.
“You can do it, boy!”
“Don’t let him win!”
Michael held up his hand, acknowledging their requests. Kobra scoffed when he saw this.
They then entered a basement facility in the Association headquarters. They entered an underground bunker with no windows, no decorations, just a simple stone brick floor.
“I will now build the Sanctum Duel as you have requested,” Claudia muttered.
She put herself in the middle of the room, closing her eyes as she summoned a strength that was hidden inside her body.
Her eyes suddenly lit up with a white light. Her entire body began levitating an inch off the ground.
She began muttering unintelligible words until finally, the light in her body flashed so bright that it blinded everyone including Michael.
When he opened his eyes, he saw a swirling white portal that looked like the Milky Way galaxy turned to the side.
“The Sanctum has been made in accordance with your requests. The duel will commence once both parties have entered inside. All rules still apply.”
Kong didn’t hesitate and jumped inside the portal. “Don’t make me wait,” he warned Michael before he completely disappeared beyond the swirling white dust.
As Michael was about to go inside, Claudia grabbed his wrist. “Good luck out there. Don’t make my niece a widow,” she joked.
He quickly took his hand away from her, embarrassed. “Not you too! I would rather fight than deal with this.”
He jumped in, entering the Sanctum Duel.