The two of them began swinging their swords at each other. Simon was going at Aditya with all his might, trying to land a hit. Aditya, on the other hand, was just calmly blocking every move, looking like he was taking a leisurely stroll in the park.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Every time their swords met, the sound echoed loudly. The force of each strike was really intense. Sparks flew as metal clashed against metal, again and again.
Suddenly, Simon unleashed a special move, swinging his sword in a broad arc and aiming for Aditya's neck. But Aditya was ready. He deftly parried the blow and responded with the exact same move, making Simon scramble to block in return.
Simon then tried a rapid succession of stabs, moving quickly to try and break through Aditya's defenses. But just as swiftly, Aditya mirrored those very moves, forcing Simon to use his own sword to fend off the same attacks he had just launched.
Simon's face showed his shock as he realized what was happening. Aditya had been studying him, learning every move Simon made, and was now turning them against him. Each swing, each stab, each feint Simon tried was sent right back at him by Aditya, like a reflection in a mirror.
As minutes passed, the tide turned. Simon, once the aggressor, was now on the defensive. He widened his eyes in disbelief. His own techniques, the ones he had perfected over the years, were being used against him. It was as if Aditya had copied his entire fighting style. Simon was not just fighting Aditya; he was fighting a mirror image of himself.
'How is this even possible?' Simon asked himself in deep shock while blocking Aditya's attacks. Aditya was attacking him using the very same moves that he previously used against him.
'I was never told that he could do something like this...' The organization had collected a lot of data on Aditya's powers. But on that date, it was never stated that Aditya could copy his opponent's attacks and use them back on his opponent.
Meanwhile, suddenly Aditya found an opening. Aditya's black sword moved past Simon's defense extremely quickly and was able to land a small 10-inch-long diagonal cut on Simon's left shoulder.
'I can't fight him using swords.' Simon thought. He had to admit that when it came to pure sword moves, Aditya was undoubtedly even better than him.
Both of them have been fighting for more than 4 minutes now. 4 minutes might be too little for regular cultivators, but for them, 4 minutes was like 40 minutes of fighting. Since they moved extremely fast. If others saw their fight they would see only sparks flying around them with metal clinging sounds.
In a moment of sheer desperation, Simon thrust out his foot, giving a strong kick to Aditya, hoping to create some space between them. As he did, Aditya was forced to move back, his feet skidding across the ground for several meters. But as Simon caught his breath, he watched in awe and fear as Aditya took a deep breath.
Suddenly, Aditya let out a massive wave of burning Scarlett Inferno from his mouth.
Swoooo...….!!!!!
The bright, fiery red flames seemed to almost touch the sky. It lit up the surroundings with its ferocious glow, making shadows dance wildly. The heat was so intense it felt like the whole world was burning.
Simon's eyes widened as he saw this enormous wave of flames racing towards him. In a split-second decision, he lifted his sword high above his head. The blade began to shine with a golden-yellow glow. Then, with all his might, Simon swung it downwards. As he did, a massive blade of wind surged forward from the sword.
Boom!
The wind blade met the oncoming wave of Scarlett Inferno, slicing right through its center. The impact was so strong that it caused a huge explosion, sending a shockwave in all directions. The flames split in two, diverted by the force of Simon's sword swing, leaving a trail of smoke and embers in its path. The ground shook, and the air was filled with the sound of crackling fire and the whistle of the wind.
Through the thick haze of smoke, Aditya suddenly stepped out, appearing right in front of a startled Simon. His sudden emergence made Simon's heart race. In a split-second reaction, Simon, eyes wide with panic, swung his sword fiercely, releasing another sharp blade of wind toward Aditya.
But to his shock, just as the wind blade was about to hit, Aditya vanished into thin air. Simon's eyes darted around frantically, trying to locate where Aditya had gone. Simon was increasingly growing anxious seeing this. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Aditya standing to his right.
Without wasting a moment, Simon quickly turned and swung his sword again, sending another wind blade towards Aditya. But just like before, Aditya disappeared just in time, reappearing on Simon's left. Every time Aditya teleported, Simon's breathing became more ragged, and his movements grew more frantic, betraying his growing panic.
In a desperate attempt, Simon swung his sword again, but Aditya once more evaded the attack, this time appearing directly behind Simon. The sudden realization that Aditya could now teleport made Simon's back go rigid with fear. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end, and his anxiety reached its peak as he realized that he was at a significant disadvantage against this ability.
'How is he able to teleport?' Simon thought as he turned around and faced Aditya.
"How are you able to do this?" Simon couldn't help but ask Aditya.
"When I am about to end your life, I will tell you..." Aditya responded back in a cold and emotionless tone.
In a desperate move to gain the upper hand, Simon channeled his Mana into one powerful technique. With a sharp motion of his hands, he summoned the Wind Prison. The air around Aditya started to stir, picking up speed and intensity. Before Aditya could react, a swirling, massive column of wind enveloped him, trapping him inside. The wind howled and roared, creating a mini tornado that raged around Aditya. The force of the gusts tossed and turned him, making it nearly impossible for him to gather his footing or cast any of his spells.
However, Simon's momentary victory was short-lived. Just when he thought he had Aditya cornered, in the blink of an eye, Aditya disappeared from the turbulent wind cage. Simon's eyes widened in surprise as he spotted Aditya reappearing to his left, free from the windy grasp of the Wind Prison. The suddenness of Aditya's escape left Simon momentarily stunned.
'This teleportation ability of his is really annoying.' But Simon hadn't completely lost all of his hope. He still believed that he could win this battle.
Aditya controlled a huge wave of Scarlett Inferno towards Simon. This time the crimson flame surrounded Simon from all sides. Simon did not move or even tried to block the attack. He let himself be engulfed in Scarlett's Inferno.
However, it was soon revealed to Aditya that Simon had created a powerful barrier of wind around him that protected him from Aditya's flames.
"I have been training to face you...." Simon had trained a lot after their previous confrontation. His rage and anger towards Aditya for losing his arm and his subordinates was the fuel that drove him to train harder than he had trained in his entire life.
With a determined expression, Simon declared, "I'm still working on mastering this move, but let's see how it does..." Holding his sword firmly, he lifted it high above his head. The blade began to glow, shimmering with a bright yellow light. Taking a deep breath, Simon then started to swing the sword in rhythmic motions, slicing through the air in front of him.
"Airblade Assault!" he shouted with conviction.
With every swing of his glowing sword, sharp, crescent-shaped blades made of compressed wind shot out, aiming directly at Aditya. It was like a flurry of invisible razors flying through the air. Aditya, noticing the incoming danger, braced himself and got ready to counter the windshades.
However, as Aditya observed closely, something strange was happening. As the wind blades neared him, their strength seemed to wane. They began to lose their form, slowly fading away, it was almost as if evaporating before they could even reach him. It was as if they were being pulled into the void before their attack could land, leaving Aditya both puzzled and confused at the same time.
Bang!!!
An invisible wind blade left a big vertical cut on his chest. Looking at the blood coming from the cut, Aditya understood that these wind blades hadn't faded away or lost their form but rather the wind blades had become invisible.
"I see...." Aditya widened his eyes in surprise.
Swoosh!
Aditya teleported away and reappeared in another location so that the invisible wind blades wouldn't annoy him. He had no idea where the invisible wind blades were.
Simon tried to keep up with Aditya but in the next microsecond, Aditya once again teleported. He appeared behind Simon. He then drove his sword forward to end Simon's life. Everything happened extremely fast pace. Even Simon was having a hard time keeping up with Aditya.
Meanwhile, Riya, Sasha, and Lilith had finally come. From the distance, they were able to instantly feel the presence of Peak 6th-order Simon. Realizing that Aditya was fighting Peak 6th-order cultivator, Riya, and Sasha became nervous. Both of them were about to rush to aid Aditya when Lilith held them back.
"Mom, what are you doing? Let me go." Sasha looked really stubborn. She was annoyed by the fact that Lilith was holding her and wasn't letting her go.
"Aunty, I greatly respect you but please move out of my way." Riya tried to remain polite but even she was frowning. Lilith insists on standing in her way, then she would have no choice but to fight her.
"Both of you calm down..." Lilith shut both Riya and Sasha. Her tone was extremely cold. Even Sasha had never seen her mother looking this serious.
"I know that you two are worried about Aditya but what are going to do you can go there. You two will only become his burdens and will only end up getting in his way. If you two had calmed down and analyzed the situation, then you two would have realized that Aditya was actually holding his own against the Peak 6th-order cultivator." Only then did Riya and Sasha calm down a little bit.
Lilith's eyes softened as she looked at her daughter and Riya. "Look, Aditya has reached beginner 4th order. You two have to realize that little Rascal is way stronger than all of us combined even before he reached 4th-order. And now that he has reached beginner 4th-order, he has also gotten extremely powerful."
"If you two went there to help him, then the enemy might use you two as hostages and this will put Aditya in a difficult situation." Lilith being a mature woman, was calmer than everyone. Having lived a long life, compared to everyone, she was much more calm and she was really good at observation.
Sasha, Lilith, and Riya were about a few kilometers or more distance away from Aditya and Simon. From this distance even though they were 5th-order cultivators, they couldn't follow their movements. To them, it appeared as if two rays of light were constantly moving around each other and hitting each other.
Whereas, in the eyes of lower-order cultivators, Aditya and Simon were almost invisible. They just moved too fast for their eyes to even see them.
Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!
I would really appreciate some Golden tickets. I hope you guys liked the chapter as much as I did while writing this chapter.
