Just as Hal was preparing to counterattack against the wave of dark energy Valyr had sent to fight against his golden light, the latter had found a way to sneak up behind the former through the use of [Serpentine Sprint], his steps remaining silent all throughout.
Then, seeing that Hal was wholly focused on accumulating strength for another attack, Valyr took the opportunity to catch the young man unaware, taking in a deep breath before pooling all of his remaining mana into his mouth, a faint heat starting to emanate from him.
With Hal placing all of his focus on preparing his counterattack, the young man was able to take his sweet time into charging his attack to its fullest, allowing an orb of flames the size of his head to manifest before him as his mouth to swing wide open.
Coincidentally, it was only at this moment did Hal finally take notice of Valyr's presence, the surprise of the latter's appearance being behind him all this time disrupting the concentration he had towards the attack he had yet to unleash.
"[Breath of the Nascent Wyvern]!" Knowing that he was vulnerable to Hal's counterattack as long as he gave the young man a chance to swing his sword down, Valyr blew into the orb of flames without hesitation, causing a wave of scalding flames to spread throughout the vicinity of the two as Hal was forced to release his attack.
"[Golden Asura Cleave]!" Tightly gripping onto the handle of the sword he wielded, Hal brought the entirety of his blade downward, prompting the energy he had put into the blade to release through its tip and create a blade of energy far larger than the one he had unleashed before.
Swoosh!
Unsurprisingly, with him imbuing the power of his Intent Seed into the attack, it was no surprise that the blade of golden energy was able to cleave through the wave of flames with relative ease, making its way to where Valyr remained standing.
"No… no…!" Realizing that his opponent had remained where he stood previously rather than move out of the way, Hal's pupils shrunk in fear as he only planned to unleash the attack in a way where his opponent would be able to feel its might. Never in his mind did the thought of having the attack make contact with Valyr ever cross his mind.
"Disperse!" Making use of his Intent Seed being active, as well as his control over the blade of golden energy, Hal consciously forced the blade of gold energy to dispel itself before even making contact with Valyr.
However, even though the strength behind the attack had significantly decreased from the action, it was still on a path headed straight towards his opponent, its might more than enough to land a severe injury.
Fortunately…
"Just so you know, I wasn't frozen with fear." Faintly grinning at the concern written all over Hal's face, Valyr took in a deep breath before stabbing his blood-red spear into the ground, tapping into the Shadow Energy that was stored within him.
"I was just waiting for the right opportunity."
"[Dark Serpentine Repulsion]!"
Combining the Shadow Energy he had summoned with his mana, a magic circle swiftly formed beneath Valyr's feet before forming a translucent dark gray barrier around him, only to reinforce itself with the tendrils of Shadow Energy that originated from the young man.
Bang!
With how Valyr had timed the activation of his defensive skill, the blade Hal inadvertently sent out in his direction had collided with the barrier at the very moment it had finished stabilizing itself, causing all of the energy and strength contained within the blade of energy to bounce back towards Hal…
But not without any cost.
Crack… crack…
"If I had access to the ultimate move, things would've probably played out differently during this fight…" Bitterly smiling as he watched the barrier he had just cast crumble into nothingness, Valyr soon shifted his attention towards the blade of energy he had reflected, which was hastily making its way back to where Hal stood.
"Hah!" Though, with how Hal was the original owner of the blade of energy, the young man did not have any difficulty dispelling the attack before it could even hit him. In fact, the only reason why he could only decrease the power within the attack he had sent out when it made its way towards Valyr was due to how it was already far away from him.
"Huu…" Letting out a long and drawn-out sigh, the glow surrounding Hal's blade gradually disappeared, only for the glow around his body to follow suit and disperse as well. Then, letting out a low sigh, he stored the blade he wielded into his spatial bracelet before looking at Valyr with a wry smile.
"Well then," said Hal as he looked at the man before him. "With how you still remained standing in place even when such a ferocious attack was heading your way… I don't know if I should call you foolish or courageous."
"Call me both, then." Hearing Hal's words, Valyr let out a chuckle as he placed the spear behind his back one last time, scratching the back of his head once he was done. "So, are we going to continue our fight?"
"There's no need." Hal let out laughter as he shook his head. "You win."
"Huh? But we haven't even figured out who the victor is among us." At those words, a look of confusion appeared on Valyr's face. After all, never once had he landed a hit on Hal.
Then again, his opponent had never landed a hit on him either.
"Of course, we have." Maintaining a faint smile as he responded to Valyr's query, Hal pointed at the young man. "If I were in your situation, I would have run away from the attack I sent out, especially if I knew that the attack heading my way would undoubtedly leave me an inch away from death."
"On the other hand, you remained where you were and even used such a deadly attack as a form of retaliation. If I were unaware of the position of the attack I sent out, it would have definitely left me with quite the grievous injury." Saying these words, Hal let out a bitter chuckle. "Though it could be said that we're more or less on the same level of combat strength with how we've fought so far, in terms of tactics, I have a long way to go to reach your level."
"Especially with how you've even considered your life as a necessary sacrifice for victory."
"…well, if you put it that way, then I guess I have no choice but to oblige." Scratching the back of his head as he took Hal's words as a sort of compliment, Valyr let out a slightly awkward chuckle. "Since I'm the winner of this fight... shall we move onto the next fight of this tournament, then?"
"Let us indeed." Nodding in agreement to Valyr's suggestion, Hal and Valyr soon made their way back to the edge of the crater before signaling the beginning of yet another fight that only a few would come to know.
