Defeating the Death Guard, The Victor's Reward

Nero was about to fall prey to the sinister spikes scattered around the battle platform, his body falling in a backward manner due to the shocking blow from the previous exchange with the Death Guard.

'Darn! I-I have to do something!' Nero thought in a hurry as his senses were pushed to the peak.

In a moment, the area below him started to become imprinted in his mind, appearing as sharp objects of a red color. As if something shifted within him, Nero soon felt strange, as if he had experienced countless scenarios filled with similar kinds of danger.

Without even a slight moment of hesitancy, Nero's body began to twist instinctively, doing a skillful backflip as his foot kicked against the side of an upraised spike.

Using the force from this maneuver, he propelled himself into the air, bouncing towards the direction of the battle platform as the somewhat surprised Death Guard stared at him with an angry look in his eyes.

Bang! With a surge of power, the Death Gaurd once more prepared to unleashed its [Beheading Chop] skill. It's large eyes glowing in red lights as it hoisted the battle-ax, causing its edge to shimmer in a baleful ray.

Nero's face grew stern as he noticed its actions, but as if the strange feeling was still influencing him, his mind became sharper as even his fear faded by a large section, causing him to feel surprised.

'This... why do I feel like this? I feel as if I understand it even more than myself...' Nero thought to himself, as his eyes had an odd glint.

Still, despite his questioning thoughts he didn't dare to distract himself, he had a hunch it was related to Adult Nero, but now wasn't the time to press for answers.

Swoosh! In a flash, Nero had arrived at the edge of the battle platform, his arm firmly gripping the handle of the iron sword as he glared at the Death Guard awaiting his attack.

"Raaahhh!" The Death Gaurd made a savage roar, no longer using common language as he swung his ax fiercely towards Nero's neck.

Looking from his assaulting stance, and Nero who had yet to recover his posture after landing, one could tell that there was no way to avoid it. Its ax left a trailing arc of light as it cut through the void.

Yet, even within this kind of peril, Nero didn't seem to be phased. He made an odd smirk, a bit different from his usual character as he invoked his [Four Point Unity Steps], allowing himself to duck at high speeds.

With a whooshing sound, the ax cut across the void, slicing directly above Nero's head while his remnant shade was still visible.

The Death Guard was alarmed at this, but it didn't take long to react as it was fully experienced in combat. It looked down with its two red pupils, glaring at Nero that stood below him as it continued its previous attack, using the momentum of the swing to rotate its body for a stronger and faster assault.

Nero glanced up at the Death Guard as he was still in a crouched position, his red pupils having a sly look as his arm firmly gripped the iron sword's handle.

'Hmph! That won't work twice, especially now that I can see your weakness...' Nero thought with a cruel look as he stared at a glowing crest that appeared at the back of its head, which was now visible due it rotating at high speeds.

Nero's world was one of slow motion, as he pressed his feet against the floor and invoked his [Four Point Unity Steps] a second time. In less than a second, his body had moved like the wind, as he jumped towards the positioned of the Death Guard's head.

However, as if the Death Guard's twisting motion was simply too fast, by the time Nero had reached its head, the ax was once again only one step from cutting him into two halves.

"Che! As if I'd let you!" Nero shouted, using one hand to grasp the broad side of the ax, not even wasting a moment his arm pushed his body further upward as he narrowly avoided the second horizontal swing.

The Death Guard, realizing that its second swing had missed, showed a shocked look, but sadly, this was the last emotion it would have a chance to express.

Nero, now directly above its head, didn't even hesitate to strike with the iron sword that now glowed in dazzling silver lights; his arm swept out like a snake, blurring as it cut the sword towards the crest as it left a bright silver light trailing behind it.

In almost a flash, Nero's sword had lodged itself firmly into the head of the Death Guard, his cold looking red eyes watching it raised both arms in a struggle, its body trembling as even the ax had fallen from its grasp, crashing onto the platform.

"Arrghh!" With a painful cry, the Death Guard's body began to turn into black smoke that faded away into the surroundings. Soon, it had vanished entirely, leaving behind a single item that was shining brightly on the ground.

Nero heaved a sigh of relief as he landed on the platform and spoke inwardly, 'Whew, that was a tough one... I suppose you're not going to let me know how the hell I found its weakness now, aren't you?'

Unlike Nero's thought, however, Adult Nero gave him a direct reply, "It's simple, you merely accessed a few bits of memories relating to the creature from the first door. The more creatures you fight against that are of a certain scale, the more chances you will have to access more details, even if your brain can't process it all at once your body will instinctively remember its movements."

'So in the end, it all amounts to the level of intensity, and my efforts. It looks like I'll need to start challenging a variety of monsters once I reach a stronger enough scale,' Nero thought as his eyes shone with a determined look, his fist clenched as he stared at the scene ahead.

While Nero was in thought, however, it was at this moment that he heard a notification in his mind as text began appearing before his eyes.

____

Ding!

[You have defeated a Death Guard! You've gained 22 EXP!]

Ding!

[You have completed the Test of Strength, commencing the Final Test in ten seconds!]

[10... 9... 8...]

____

Nero looked at his EXP in surprise, as he thought, 'Ah... that's a lot more than even those Martial Apes, maybe its because its a Quasi-Greater Digital Monster. Hehe... I'm looking forward to defeating one and seeing just how many exp I can get...'

As Nero had such thoughts, he made a somewhat childish look which was more fitting for his age. Adult Nero looked at this in silence, his cold and ruthless look taking on a slight amount of warmness; it was many years ago that he saw himself made such an innocent smile.

The time was running out quickly, and it was then that Nero had noticed the shining object on the ground. He looked down and spoke in surprise, "Huh? I didn't even realize that an item had fallen, I wonder what it is?"

As Nero said this, he hurriedly picked up the object, which was revealed as one of the sinister-looking chain cuffs wrapped around the Death Guard's wrists.

____

Ding!

[You have received a Judgment Cuff!]

____

Nero's eyebrows raised as he heard the notification, he this wanted to inspect it, but sadly, it would seem that the timer had run out.

____

Ding!

[Countdown has ended, commencing transference!]

____

Following this notification, the sphere began to glow in bright lights soon after, enveloping Nero's body before it beamed him away towards a different location.

Yet, though the scene here ended in a climactic victory, another watched on in silence. The old grave keeper's pupils shone in an eerie light as he floated above like a ghost that blended into the surroundings.

"Fascinating, he's even a bit faster than that brat from the Grim Race. Though he isn't by any means a startling genius, for him to defeat this Death Guard when none of his core techniques are even at the Fifth Stage is enough to make him a peculiar brat amongst those human kids. Huhu... I wonder, what choice will he make in that last test... oh so exciting," The old grave keeper said as his eyes flickered, before vanishing into nothingness, as the scene here remained one of silence.

______

Author's Note:

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