175 - Dark counterpart's lament 2

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Was it shock? Jealousy? Envy? Hatred? Maybe it wasn't any of those. It was just pure selfishness. I wanted to ensure my own survival by hiding information from the enemy and ended up endangering everyone else instead. I was optimistic. Everyone kept their distances properly and we had an advantageous drawn out fight against the memory wiper. We shot long range attacks with our large group and continuously harassed her.

.... It couldn't be helped when she used a skill and got Kaori... It wasn't my fault... Yet it was... Otherwise Gerald wouldn't have been taken away from me...

I was full of regrets. I wasn't depressed over Gerald being taken away, but it was a convenient cover up. I was in anguish because I could have saved her but didn't. I assumed that things would go perfectly... Twice bad things had happened... The enemy wasn't something so fickle that I could overcome with a half-assed resolve... It can only be my fault... Because it was my own fear.

That's why, I must defeat Triney, save Gerald and apologise to Kaori. My first skill, my beloved primary skill that I used to always rely on. [Bountiful treasure trove]. It layed an invisible and nearly undetectable domain of magic over the surrounding vicinity, and it would creep into people's minds. What looked like a barrier that was blocking their magic attacks was actually their magically controlled subconscious stopping their own attacks dead in their tracks.

In other words, it was a type of mental attack that looked like a physical defense skill. A rather absurd and simple skill, but just by looking like something else it's able to hide its true nature from countless foes. People would rather cling to their first conception instead of admitting that they were wrong, or rather they had grown complacent in their magical combat to take observations at face value. In that case it couldn't be helped.

I wasn't exempt from having such a hubris either, rather it was my skill that was abnormal. But for the first time, I want to give something all the effort I can possible muster, and then more. I want to put out more than 100% than what I can normally do, I simply have this urge to go forward. To go beyond!

I trained with those from the Rising Knight Order, and carefully watched how Kaori and Myuu handled their weapons. Jumping forward with all my strength, I burnt through the furniture blocking my way with a single beam of light and summoned a blade out of light. A simple sword with a length slightly over a metre. I proceeded to copy what I've seen as an opening slash from Kaori, but it is easily dodged by Triney. I moved closer and take another swing which was also dodged with ease.

Triney smirks in response, a bewitching smile adorns her face nearly pulling me in closer in a trance. Under a different light, her pale cyan hair seemed to gleam like silver as it shook violently under her rapid movements. The droplets of sweat in my hair fall into the air as they are grasped by the whims of inertia, slowing down in my vision as I sped my up my slashes to go faster than the force of gravity. I channel my strength into each slash, tearing the surrounding wind apart like paper as sword waves fly about haphazardly.

After what seemed to be some toying, Triney finally stopped dodging my attacks only to parry my last attack-

It wasn't parried. While she did slash her own sword at mine... It went through my light blade cleanly. I had evaded it by the skin of my teeth but its edge managed to graze a large cut on the ridge of my nose. Tch, a tinge of pain shot into my conscious, an unfamiliar sensation of blood dripping down my skin took hold over my face. I've always held long ranged battles where I hid at a safe distance, plotted the enemy's route and prepared my own sniping spots for myself.

In other words... I wasn't used to pain... Even though I was already in a completely... Ugh... Disadvantageous spot here.... I still have to wince... From the pain... My fighting ability will be greatly hindered!

I leap back a large distance away, letting my B grade endurance do its job of regenerating my body. Despite continuous tempering through harsh training, my endurance and strength was only able to reach B grade. Compared to the monsters of A and S grade, it was pretty much nothing. As proof of that, her tiny graze had destroyed my face with its subsequent shockwave. My endurance stat couldn't handle it as it was not hard and durable enough, so even tiny hits can end up with the excess energy rampaging into fatal injuries.

I must incorporate my first skill more, I must use my second skill more proficiently. In many aspects I am incredibly lacking, despite nearly killing Kaori in the past, I can confidently say it now. I would lose to her, even the less experienced but more versatile amnesiac her. I reform my blade of light, without it I doubt anything I do could even leave a scratch... It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say this was a mere back scratcher for Triney...

So it seems I cannot let my guard down here. Full power from the start, Oblivion Magia.

"Star's wrath, an imitation of the big bang and the counterpart to Gerald's [Truth is despair]."

A blinding light fills the entire realm in an instant with no room for avoidance. The Oblivion Magia had activated in full effect, the control of energy and the seperation of light and darkness from a state of neutrality. This is the realisation of that theory, an actualisation of the birth of The God particle and The Anti-particle from the void. Direct opposites that had sparked into existence at the same time and gave birth to the universe through a reversible collision.

Though that won't happen for a very long time. Not until the end comes, perhaps something would trigger the reverse and reset everything into the void. Paridia's and Gerald's skill were somewhat similar to this theory, though different in their own ways. Gerald's was the rejection of light, while Paridia's was the extraction of the boundless light provided by the sun.

As the field now provided unlimited light, her magical particle consumption had decreased by an exponential amount. When the iris burning brilliance had died down, countless structures formed from searing light had been strewn across the realm. Arrows of light shot at Triney from all directions before being repelled by an invisible barrier, as the light from the arrows had exploded outwards a faint outline of the barrier could be seen by the light painted onto its surface.

Without any hesitation, I ran towards Triney with all my might. My body felt light like a feather, but sharp like a knife's edge. I hadn't done this before, but I began reinforcing my body and strength with the surrounding light. It is only in this environment of my Oblivion Magia whereby this was possible, as light was blatantly linked to the existence of this domain, sending some into my body made me stronger in this place.

I leaped forward with bent knees, my spine straight as a cane cooled my body and mind with the rushing wind. My hands grasped onto the conjured light blade with an uncharacteristic tightness never exerted before. I convince myself even if I have to lie to myself. You have to do this. You can not stop now. You must defeat Triney and help your friends out. After all, Triney is not even the strongest Arcmaiden. That would have to be Huo Li, the war maiden. Do it, even if you have to tear your soul apart.

I held my blade on my left side with born arms, I judge the distance between us and the reach of my blade, calculating when to swing... When I reach the required point, I put my whole body into the swing. Position my blade near my left shoulder, I twist my wrists, elbows and waist as I threw a horizontal slash at her torso...

With a single flick of her wooden sword, half of my blade had been severed off. Her right arm holding the blade had powerfully swiped towards the right with a loud roaring gale. Fortunately I had prepared for this, I jumped with bent knees to keep my feet in the air. So I landed my feet on the ground after, generating more force and going under her blade, thrusting the broken blade into her waist.

Shattering into residual glitter, it did minimal damage. On the other hand, this pathetic attempt to harm her... It had only given her a large opening to attack me with. I was going to die... The aura that she was releasing told me that, her power was clearly on a different league from mine. But moaning and whining would get me nowhere. I use my first skill, and prevented her from lopping off my head. Sure, I could probably regenerate my entire body from my head alone... But what were the chances that she would let that happen?

If she takes advantage of that momentary gap of time needed for regeneration, then there really was no point to being able to survive with just a head. Moreover I wasn't such a warrior like monster similar to Kaori, the most amount of times I could pull off regenerating with the head alone was a couple times. At least that was the estimate.

I jump backwards to create some distance. If I didn't want to fight a close range battle due to the disadvantage it brings, then I don't need to. Why should I confine myself defeating her with a light blade? If I keep my distance, I could possibly exhaust her first... With agile speed, I shot a barrage of light bullets at Triney. She raises her elbow to block the rain with her forearm.

Bellowing roars of wind made the air tremble, yet she was completely unscathed. With Oblivion Magia, I made a large area around her heat up into a blinding white, intending to finish her off. In turn, she responded by jumping towards me. Her blade in both hands, she gripped it close to her chest.

Even though she jumped up towards me, she was able to dodge the attacks I sent at her while she was in mid air. It seemed that she was able to change trajectory or create platforms to launch herself off of to gain such absurdly different directional energy. In a split moment, she had arrived next to me. Her left fist inching closer to my face while her right grips a wooden sword.

There was nothing much I could do, I was barely able to react to it visually, but it's speed was too fast for me. Even if I see it coming-

My entire body flew like a loose rag as it tumbled over the ground, spinning across like an uncontrolled top. GAGH!!!! It was followed by a hard kick to the waist right after I landed and broke momentum... I suppose this was my most glaring weakness. My first skill that seemed to be able to block all attacks... Only worked on attacks that I could see... Rather than being used as a main skill, it was more like a supplement... That's why there was a period of time where I had to use magic items to fight when I havent unlocked my second skill... Gerald was always there with me, so there weren't any problems...

But now... I'm alone. I stand back up, clutching condensed light in my fist. The light that I wield cannot hurt me, it's reinforced under a law like power called a passive. Usually that's what passives were, actual supplements to skills that we wield. Our primary skills weren't suppose to be like this... At most my first skill could deflect attacks and at best block them... But if it was a method like Kaori's, where she launches a second attack right after the first one is stopped, my defenses get breached quite easily... I'm quite weak huh... I was only suited for assassination, where my skills work best from a long distance where I can see incoming attacks...

Oblivion Magia, star's wrath again. Submerge Triney in a sea of heat. In this blinding light... I'll use it as a cover and disappear.

Second skill [Noble Vapour beam] technique, light screen + heat haze. Second skill refined technique, camouflage. Rather than using pure light that would shine like a blinding beacon, I can 'bend' the colours around me to hide. Maybe the real match starts now.