Book 6: Chapter 52 – Linley Vs. Ace (1)

  Ace wasn’t in the habit of introdug his on before a fight, but since his oppo had already done so, he felt it would be rude of him not to.

  With a gentle flick of his wrist, a navy-cive with a crimson hue appeared in Ace’s hand.

  As the crowd looked at it, they could only sigh in amazement as they could see that in terms of quality, this give was no inferior to Linley’s “Twin Union”.

  Unlike Linley’s, Ace’s give was made up of only two ores. The first was Blue Nightmare Ore – A material that could be found everywhere in the Infernal Realm, which was equal to adamantine in terms of toughness, but in terms of esticity, it was a level superior, making it perfect for polearms.

  As for the other material, it was crimson volite. Ahat was known for its incredible sharpness as well as its ability to transform all forms of energy into heat. For an expert who focused solely on the ws of fire, it was the perfect supplementary Ore.

  Just looking at the bde atop the give, everyone could see how profoundly sharp it was. It was almost as though it wao pierce the eyes of any who dared stare at it.

  “This give is called God-Syer,” Ace said calmly. “This will be the on I use to cim O’Brien’s life.”

  Though his tone was calm, to those listening, it sounded no less sharp than the polearm in his hand.

  Even if he didn’t say anything, everyone present would’ve uood the meaning behind his naming his on “God-Syer”, but for him to e out and say it so publicly…

  The word that should’ve e to mind was “Arrogance”, but the legend of Gol D. Ace didn’t allow others to think like that.

  Still, Ace didn’t care about what others were thinking; he simply stood across from his oppo, waiting for him to make his move.

  Seeing the expression on Ace’s face, Linley uood that the time for talking was over. Taking a deep breath, all his pent-up excitement seemed to vanish as he became extremely focused.

  “[Earthguard],” Litered calmly, insta-casting the eighth-rank version of a fifth-rank spell to summon a thin but extremely sturdy yer of crystal jade to cover his already, almost imperable, azure scales.

  ‘Seems like he really hasn’t wasted his time these st few years,’ Aodded to himself.

  Seeing that, even the crowd had to admit Linley really was araordinary mage. Still, that was only the beginning. If they were impressed before, they were dht shocked when they heard what he said .

  “[Wind shadow],” Linley said, allowing the wind to carry his voito the ears of all those present.

  “Impressive,” Dylin uttered.

  “Mmh,” Arianna nodded. “He’s not bad at all.”

  The [Windshadow] Spell wasn’t an ordinairy spell of the ninth rank; it was ohat bihe best parts of the spells [Supersonid [Airwings], making it the most powerful Speed-Enhang Spell known to date, as well as arguably the most difficult mortal spell of any element.

  The fact that Linley was able to insta-cast it as a mage of the eighth rank spoke volumes of his talent.

  When transformed, Linley had the body of a mid-staged saint; when yering that with the [Windshadow] Spell, Linley’s speed was able to match that of a peak saint.

  Even so, Ace merely smiled calmly as his body and on turned jet-b colour, and he willed his pressed fmes to cover his body. As he did, “God-Syer” began to hum as though it was excited. Its already sharp bde being even sharper.

  “You ready?” Ace asked, his excitement seemingly mirr his ons.

  Beirut’s eyes flickered slightly, a trace of astonishment fshing across his beady bck eyes. Still, he didn’t say anything.

  Linley didn’t respond; instead, his azure wings merely fpped once as he finally moved. That fp was so ge should have dohing but allow him to stay in mid-air, but the speed he took off at was mind-blowing.

  Still, as incredible as it was, the sho Dylin’s face came from watg Ace.

  Ace had merely taken a step as though he repared to stroll through his back garden, but he left nothing but a flickering afterimage in his inal position as he seemed to teleport in front of Linley.

  “Has he already begun fusing mysteries?” Dylin asked incredulously.

  “His fusion of the mysteries of Explosion and Essence has reached the requirement of a deity,” Beirut sighed in amazement. “As long as he doesn’t die early, that boy’s future is limitless.”

  As he didn’t hide his voice, all the other spectators had heard him. Unfortunately, other than those of the Pavilion, there wasn’t anyone who uood what he was saying. Still, even though they didn’t quite uand, they could still admire the profundities of Ace’s movement.

  Like when he usually used Soru, Ace had kicked off multiple times in an instant, but even though he had only kicked off three times, each kick had created a small explosioh his feet, allowing him to move with explosive speed that gave him speed no worse than Linley’s.

  Still, Arianna’s surprise didn’t e from that but from the accuracy of Beirut’s vision.

  Although it was easy to see when someone had begun to fuse mysteries, it was harder to see which mysteries were fused, and harder still to see the degree of the fusion, even more so when you didn’t train in the same ws as that individual.

  Acc to her Family’s records, Beirut trained in the ws of wind and darkness, yet he was able to make such a precise estimation after seeing Ace move only once.

  ‘He really is an old monster with unfathomable strength,’ Arianna sighed.

  Looking back at the fight, Arianna saw her husband’s disciple charging forward with aed and passion-filled grin, his give cutting through the air, leaving a fiery trail.

  In response, Linley gracefully rose higher, his magnifit wings unfurling like a majestivas as he soared into the sky, dodging Ace’s assault with the ease of a true aerial master.

  Ace’s fighting style was wild, explosive, and filled with passion. His attacks were fuelled by sheer determination and passionate ferocity.

  Each swing of his give left those who watched mesmerised by its undeniable charm. Every strike was an artful dance of power and grace. The tapered edge of his bde left behind a trail of crimson light that seemed able to captivate even his oppo.

  Linley’s fighting style, oher hand, was gentle, graceful, and elegant. Like a body of water, he seemed to disperse the impact of Ace’s strikes, flowing around them with an almost hypnotic fluidity.

  He moved with such elegand fihat it was as if he were dang on air, his movements mirr the ebb and flow of the tides.

  Other than Aiden, everyone – includi, Arianna, and Dylin – watg was left in a state of awe as they watched the two youngsters. It looked less like they were fighting and more like they were dang.

  Still, shockwaves travelled through the battlefield each time they cshed, rocks shattering and dust billowing into the air.

  Ace’s give met Linley’s sword, only for half of its power to disappear instantly, allowing the young Baruch Patriarch to deflect what was left of the strike so it missed him entirely.

  At the same time, his other sword arced beautifully through the air with a ge deadly grace, aiming to slice through Ace’s neck.

  Those who were still able to follow the two young men watched with bated breaths as Linley’s sword neared Ace’s neck.

  Still, with his [Observation], Ace had long since seen through Linley’s iions. He calmly kicked off against the air three times, a giant explosion going off beh his feet as he appeared by his oppo’s back.

  Ace’s eyes bzed with iy aement as he unleashed a torrent of strikes, eae faster and more ferocious tha.

  Linley’s wings rippled as he gracefully attempted to dodge and parry Ace’s attacks, his azure scales shimmering uhe light of the sun as he moved. Still, this time, it wasn’t enough.

  Ace’s give had finally found a way through Linley’s seemingly imperable swordsmanship, easily tearing through the crystal-jade armour, only to meet Linley’s shoulder, the etal and scales creating a symphony of sparks.

  The battle raged on, a mesmerising dispy of trasting styles and power. Ace’s wild and fiery onsught cshed with Linley’s flowing and graceful defence, causing the very earth to tremble beh their feet and the clouds to part in the skies above, making it look as though the world was mirr the iy of their duel.

  Though slight at first, the lohe duel went on, the mring the gap became.

  Whereas at first, Linley was able to easily aifully transitioween defend offeo hold his own. After over an hour, beads of sweat were starting to fall down the side of Linley’s azure-scaled face.

  As the fight went on, his movements began to slow, allowing Ace’s attacks to nd more and more frequently.

  Thankfully, Linley’s defences were unmatched at the same level. Unfortunately, Ace’s givesmanship actually seemed to be improving as the battle went on. The might of his strikes slowly increased, allowing him to slowly start to pierce those seemingly imperable scales with more and more ease.

  With a bang, Ace had once again found his way through Linley’s defehe tip of his give pierg the base of his oppo’s sternum before sending him crashing into the ground below.

  “LINLEY!” The Baruch Patriarch’s friends and family screamed in worry.

  Looking down, waiting for the dust to clear as he stood in the air, Ace began to steady his breathing.

  Though he was definitely dominating, if he said fighting so intensely for so long wasn’t tiring, he would be lying. Still, the excitement in his eyes burned just as brightly as it had at the beginning.

  “Those scales of yours are really freakishly strong!” Ace sighed as he sensed Linley floating out of the crater he created.

  “You’re oo talk about freaks,” Linley sighed, accepting his inferiority as he slowly floated out of the dust, allowing everyoo see the deep stab wound on his chest.

  Still, sidering his impressive vitality, everyone knew a wound like that was nothing.

  It was only when they could see Linley was okay that all his family were able to sigh with relief.

  Lihough, was fog on something else. He khat had it not been for his abnormal defence, Linley knew he would’ve lost a long time ago. Still, even though he was defihe weaker of the two, the fact that he had e this far was a testament to how far he had e.

  Thinking back to the way in which he had beeated during their first fight, the grin on his faly widened.

  “Your swordsmanship is impressive,” Ace admitted. “It’s a perfect blend of offend defence.”

  “The [Rippling Tide Stany [Serenity Sword Art] Is still very mu its embryonic stages,” Linley sighed.

  “As is my [Bzing Give Art],” Aodded. “Still, we’ve got nothing if not time to hone and perfect our styles.”

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