Standing at the center of the Arena, my heart slammed wildly against my chest like a caged beast as the sun dived down the horizon, making way for the moon to take its place.
The fervent glow of the moonlight ignited the Arena, illuminating the countless stars that adorned the vast expanse of black skies, resembling white rivers coursing through an ashen land.
All the spotlights switched on, focusing solely on me, contenting my narcissistic self as I became the focus of everyone's attention.
Nero, as usual, was running late.
As a result, the crowd's reactions, whether positive or negative, were directed mainly at me, again giving me a sense of satisfaction.
Some booed, still not over how easily I advanced to the finals by defeating Kai, which obviously was the result of blatant match-fixing, depriving everyone of a good match.
However, I didn't care.
Maintaining a calm gaze, I looked at the entrance cave in front of me, through which Nero was supposed to walk out any minute now.
The night had already arrived, and the moon was high. Soon, the creatures of the night would emerge from the shadows, ready to wreak havoc.
I needed to complete all my tasks at hand to execute my already flawless plan to utter perfection.
"Haaa~"
Letting out a soft sigh, I summoned the Bringer Of Lost Flames and rested its shaft on my right shoulder. Its crimson blade glistened under the moonlight, ready to draw blood.
After a bit of thought, I also summoned the metallic Yumi bow and slung it across my shoulder, wearing it tightly on my back.
I harbored absolutely no delusions of defeating Nero without having to go all out. I didn't even entertain such thoughts.
In fact, even after using everything in my arsenal, I was sure that our match would be a very, very close call. I just knew it.
That was especially going to be the case after I made him use his gift. Oh, and I was absolutely going to need him to use it.
I know it will put him and everything related to him in danger since that would confirm the vampires' suspicion about him, but that's exactly why I needed to do that.
To be honest, I didn't even know how I was going to win if I made him use his Gift. However, as I said, making him use his Gift was necessary too.
It's a paradox of sorts.
There was a chance if I had been able to use Phoenix's Embrace. But unfortunately, the tournament doesn't allow armor-type Gifts to be used by contestants.
"It's fine," letting out another sigh, I shrugged my shoulders. "I will think of something on the fly."
Yeah, I will come up with something. I mean, my main objective was to make Nero use his Gift against me. Winning was only going to be the cherry on top.
With that thought in mind, I raised my head and cast a look at the entrance leading to the arena, its gate shrouded in darkness.
In the next moment, as if waiting for that cue, a silhouette of a young man became visible as his figure stepped out into the spotlight.
The young man walked toward me with slow, menacing steps, his slightly long raven-black hair swaying gently from being caressed by the wind.
His deep abyssal-like eyes stared at me with a hollow expression as the young man stood a few steps away from me.
Ahh, how could a person with an affinity to light possess such darkness in his eyes?
I've mentioned this once before, but I, just like every other person in this world, could experience a slightly uncomfortable feeling after coming near to a person with an affinity opposite to them.
I could feel that feeling from Kai, Quinn, Amelia, and Aster for example since the first three possess an affinity for darkness and the last girl possesses an affinity for water– both of which goes against my affinities for Light and Fire.
So how could Nero emit such an aura, one might ask? I know how. The darkness in his eyes was not that of an element but the things he had seen in his life.
How could I possibly defeat a person like him? A boy who had been living on the razor's edge since he was young.
A boy who had been training until the brink of death when Lucas was fooling around.
A boy who is not only talented but has also honed the skills to wield that talent.
How… How could I possibly defeat him who had been pursuing one goal for practically all his life– to win and to get stronger?
Casting a defiant look at him, I steeled my resolve. It doesn't matter. I will have to do it and thinking will only make me nervous.
With that last thought in mind, I cleared my head and watched as the world all around me disappeared.
In my mind, there was no future and no past. There was no peace and no compassion.
The world ceased to exist and all that remained was technique… technique that was drilled into every fiber of my being my Master.
I only came back to reality when the match bell rang to life. The judge was done going over the rules and announced the start of the match.
I could hear the distant voices of the commentators coming out of the speakers throughout the arena and the deafening cheer of the crowd. Yet the ring of the bell drowned it all.
Ding, Ding, Ding—!!
A net of cracks appeared on the ground beneath Nero's boots as he lunged forward at me at the first ring of the bell.
"Fast!" I muttered under my breath with a bit of surprise.
He was indeed fast, but not fast enough to not give me enough time to react. He shot at me like an arrow. I returned his gesture by doing the same.
Raising the incandescent crimson blade of the spear which was engulfed in bright orange flames, I used it to block Nero's furious assault.
Clang—!!
"Tsk!"
However, I couldn't help and click my tongue as soon as my spear collided with his sword.
My body involuntarily shuddered as the force of the impact behind his attacks sent horrid tremors coursing through my body.
It felt as though instead of hitting a blade of a sword, I was trying to cut a mountain.
The blades of our weapons entangled for a moment, and then separated as the both of us quickly jumped back a few meters.
Nero enveloped his sword in a thick layer of a semi-solid state of mana, unleashing his True Sword Qi.
As the austere blade of his bastard sword shimmered under a protective layer of azure mana that enhanced its sharpness and resilience, the flames around my own spear started growing brighter and brighter until the glow around the Bringer Of Lost Flames turned yellow.
With that, we both lunged forward again and swung our weapons at each other. In the middle of his attack, however, Nero swiftly changed the trajectory of his horizontal slash.
In the next moment, the glowing azure bastard sword lashed out at me from below instead of appearing on my side.
Clang—!!
I parried his attack but Nero quickly retracted his sword before unleashing it on me.
In the midst of the attack, he suddenly changed the trajectory of his attack again… and then again, and again, and again.
Clang, Clang, Clang—!!
Goddamnit!
I couldn't help but curse in my mind as my spear moved to feverishly defend against his unrelenting assault.
But instead of backing down, I continued to chain my blocks and deflections into one uninterrupted sequence of swift moves.
However, despite my best efforts, I reeled slightly after each strike I blocked or deflected.
It was as if I was being hit by a hurricane of adamantine sledgehammers, each hit making my bone tremble and groan.
What insanity is this?!
How…? I couldn't comprehend how he was so strong?!
Sure, I knew that we had a slight difference in mana core ranks and that his swordsmanship was going to pose some troubles, but right now he was outright overpowering me!
Was it his usage of mana? Was he using it differently, or more efficiently and fluently than me?
I did not know what was the source of his crushing strength, and I did not care. I am a simple man. If I see a strong opponent, I run. If I can't run, then I avoid facing them head-on in their own game.
Nero was overpowering me, sure. So that means, fighting him with strength was just simply put in question.
I would fight him with speed and agility instead.
With that thought in mind, I backed a few steps and lunged forward, this time I changed my entire battle style.
