The two wind-element hand manifestations were all that it took for her to nullify Eren's flying slashes. She had shown Rodrick this move, making him desperate for a win by using his transcendent-grade weapon on her. And even that wasn't enough to stop her from dominating him.
Eren canceled his time-element spells and landed at a distance from Altashia. He smiled mirthlessly at his captain before looking at his swords.
Eren shook his head and sighed before sending his weapons back into his storage space. Altashia was going to ask if he wanted to fight with bare hands. But she didn't have to after she saw the butcher drawing another weapon set."
"Back to basics!"
Eren wielded his katars once again when he saw his flying slashes wouldn't have any effect on Altashia. He had already confirmed the same when he had watched her fight with Rodrick. We were just testing that assumption.
Diceros Left and Diceros Right!
Although Eren had received these Ace Ranks variants during his Purgatory exploration, he was still fond of his Novice ranked katars even though he couldn't use them. So he gave their names to these variants as well. The names were a way to pay homage to the first set of weapons that he had used extensively when he was in the Novice rank in the second timeline.
Eren didn't directly approach Altashia. She too straightened her stance and looked at him keenly, awaiting his move with a mild smile on her face.
'I… I'll run out of mana earlier than her if this keeps up, even though it's her that is using such lavish attacks. How high is her attainment in her elements for this lass to pull such a feat off?'
Eren thought to himself for a moment before shaking his head. He then punched himself in the face while gripping the weapon by its hilt. The butcher then made cracking sounds from his neck with his knuckles before rotating his wrists. Another series of cracking of bones followed.
'This feeling… I hope we don't kill each other by getting so addicted to fighting each other.'
Eren thought and chuckled before narrowing his eyes on Altashia. He felt like he needed to give his absolute best and attack Altashia without any limiters placed on him for him to have a chance at beating her.
The next moment, he disappeared from his place.
**************
"She… she can use animated spells too?"
Arjun mumbled to himself as he watched Altashia manifesting three golden jackdaws in the battle. This was the first time he had seen her using an animated spell. What was even more frustrating for him was the fact that she didn't use it when he had challenged her multiple times. It meant that she didn't consider Arjun a threat enough for her to cast this spell.
But then he saw Eren's animated spells and understood why Altashia treated him more seriously than him. The hatchlings of the flames that he had seen before were nothing compared to what Eren had cast in his fight with their captain.
'He progressed so much in such a short time?'
"Don't get jealous over others' achievements and cough up the money. You lost another bet of "Who casts a previously unknown spell first?"
The dwarf Lyon's words made Arjun snap out of his line of thoughts and looked at him. He was demanding he gives his share of the money in his palm that the dwarf had raised in front of him. Arjun sighed and took out a bunch of Extols from his storage before giving it to Lyon. he was facing too many shocks at this point. He wasn't in a mood to argue that he wasn't involved in instance-wise bets that the dwarf had come up with.
"Don't worry, Arjun. You are doing well. It's just that keeping up with a prodigy is no easy matter."
Dianna said while patting the elf's shoulder in support. The latter couldn't help but think to himself.
'But Eren seems to be doing pretty well in that department.'
Just when Arjun thought Altashia was done revealing her trump cards, he saw her execute her giant crescent-moon scythe slash. He had goosebumps all over his body when he felt the signature of that attack with his mana sense.
This time, Arjun was glad that Altashia hadn't used it on him instead of feeling demotivated. That's because he knew such an attack had a higher chance of harming him fatally. The attack's reach, speed, and intensity were so overwhelming that it nullified all the advantages he had as a ranger.
"I… I'm a frog in the well. You guys, if you ever see me wanting to challenge our captain again, then…. Beat the hell out of me. I give you my consent."
Arjun laughed heartily after he said that. The elf blood in him didn't let him suffer the mental burden of his self-realization. He had decided that instead of challenging his captain, he would challenge Eren instead from now on.
"What… What is our deputy vice-captain doing now?"
This time, it was one of the squad members that said out aloud. Arjun and the rest turned their attention away from Altashia to Eren and saw that he had removed his weapons and stored them.
They were all confused at first before it finally dawned on them.
Then Eren's squad mates saw him drawing his katars out. They remembered Eren had first taken part in mock battles using his katars. Only now did they realize that Eren was wielding his swords with mastery that he had gained in such a short time.
"That showoff… he is a prodigy himself for keeping up with our captain like that."
Lyon commented while he was busy counting the Extols he had gained. He regretted the fact that he didn't know much about Eren's progress. Had he known, he would have come up with more betting deals to make even more profit.
"Things are about to get serious. I think it's wise if we call in a healer from the army and tell them to stay on standby."
Dianna spoke with a stoic expression on her face. She was connected with the butcher through his brand. She could feel what he was feeling at the time. Arjun nodded while looking ahead before getting up from his seat.
'This bloodlust... the side of Eren that he has not shown to anyone here.'
Dianna thought to herself as she watched the butcher disappear from his position. She couldn't help but shiver when she felt the killer instinct that he had masked so well.
Weirdly enough, that made her even more attracted to Eren than she already was. Only now did she realize what the butcher meant when he had highlighted the importance of money, status, and power.
