Chapter 77: Rythm

Magnus's eyes widened at the sight of the Command Console appearing before him. It felt like déjà vu, this unexpected interruption during a fight prompting Basker to voice his concern.

[Master, are you okay?]

The memory of freezing up during his previous encounter with Isen and Bif was what prompted Bakser to speak. If not for his quick intervention back then, Magnus likely would have been knocked out cold, and then who knows what. But, despite Basker's worry, Magnus responded almost immediately and eased Basker's worries.

I'm fine, Basker; no need to worry.

Closing the Command Console, which had obscured his vision, Magnus took a slow, deep breath, carefully scanning through the lingering smoke. He was surprised by the glitch appearing at such a critical moment, which only heightened his caution. The distant music he'd noticed was slowly growing louder as he thought to himself—not to an overpowering degree, but definitely becoming more audible.

Various thoughts raced through his mind. Why was the music playing in the first place? Was it a glitch or something caused by his opponent? If the latter, did it mean his opponent had a glitch? Did they understand its nature or view it as some form of magical artifice? Countless questions swirled unanswered, adding to his anxiety. If a glitch that looked like a simple brick could knock out anyone and anything, then who knew what the music that was playing right now could do?

It's weird, though. Why does this music sound sort of familiar?

It was while he was puzzled over the strange familiarity of the music that suddenly, it intensified—not just in volume but in presence. Initially, it seemed to emanate from all directions, but it had abruptly sharpened now, seeming to surge from directly behind him. Magnus spun around instinctively, trying to see where it was coming from, but in that split-second turn, a bolt whizzed through the smoke, narrowly missing him by a hair's breadth. Had he hesitated even a moment longer, it would have struck him in the abdomen without a doubt and left him completely vulnerable to any more attacks.

Outside the dense smoke, Reimun, observing with sharp eyes, muttered in disbelief, "He dodged it?"

The smoke bomb he had thrown at Magnus contained fairly dense smoke, so much so that once it was released into the air, it hardly moved much on its own. The only thing that could cause major displacement in it is the movement of a living creature, and in this case, that creature was Magnus. That meant, even from outside of the smoke, with his sharp eyes, Reimun could clearly tell where Magnus was and where to fire his shots.

That smoke is dense enough to obscure even an Adept-level knight's vision and senses. And the bolts I'm firing right now don't even make a sound as they travel... How did he dodge my shot? Are his reflexes just that good? But then, why did he get hit so many times before?

As Reimun pondered to himself, the smoke suddenly began to twist inward, revealing that Magnus had suddenly begun to move.

He's heading straight this way.

Reimun swiftly adjusted his position, conjuring four more bolts as Magnus darted through the thick smoke. As confused as Magnus was, he had no intention of simply sitting in the smoke and letting Reimun shoot at him like a fish in a barrel. So after observing from where the initial bolt had flown at him, he immediately rushed in that very same direction. As Magnus ran, the music shifted again, its volume increasing and marking out four distinct beats directly ahead. Reacting instantly, Magnus leaped into the air, narrowly evading the four bolts aimed to restrict his lateral movement, but leaving an opening for him to jump vertically.

"Gotcha..." As Magnus emerged from the smoke, launching into the air, Reimun had already prepared another bolt, anticipating Magnus's evasion. Unexpectedly though, Magnus didn't seem surprised at all. Instead, when he burst from the smoke, he didn't even seem to be looking in Reimun's direction, having already conjured six floating mana blades around himself ahead of time.

Each blade was fairly large, nearly the size of an adult man, their forms were reminiscent of yin and yang with the way the black and white mana were intertwined. All six were trained directly at Reimun, and as he shot his bolt, all six blades retaliated with pinpoint accuracy, slicing through the air. Reimun's bolt met one of the mana blades' mid-flight, resulting in it being sliced cleanly in half.

What? How did he instantly know where I was!?

A look of shock appeared on Reimun's face as he quickly dodged. The six blades moved with incredible speed, striking the ground where had just been standing mere moments after he moved, exploding and sending shockwaves across the terrain, tearing through everything in their path, leaving perfectly cut craters. Something was off; Reimun could feel it, and it was that feeling that made him instantly move to retreat. But, in terms of raw speed, his couldn't compare to Magnus's. In a single burst, Magnus rocketed himself towards Reimun while forming a sword made entirely of mana in his hand.

Seeing this, Reimun darted through the hoodoos and rocky terrain, attempting to break his line of sight, but Magnus shadowed his every move, steadily closing the distance.

"Dammit!" Realizing escape was futile, Reimun reversed mid-air, raising his bow defensively. As Magnus closed in, he slashed down with his mana blade, causing them to crash to the ground. Reimun landed first, the impact cracking the ground beneath his feet as Magnus bore down on him.

I can't... I can't push back against him at all!

It was as if he was pushing up against the world; no matter how much he utilized his aura to boost his physical strength, Magnus's mana blade wouldn't budge. The burn on Reimun's arm flared with increased pain under the strain. At the same time, Magnus scanned Reimun closely, searching for anything new on him. But, after a second, he realized there was nothing. There were no strange objects in his hand or on his body, which caused him to frown behind his mask and ask.

"Are you responsible for the music?" It was an odd question that drew a confused look from Reimun, who replied in a struggling voice.

"I- I don't know what... you're talking about..." After saying that, Reimun used his ring to summon something. This time, it wasn't some kind of bolt or smoke bomb, but a simple dagger. With his hands occupied holding up his bow against Magnus's assault, the dagger fell the moment it fully materialized, allowing Reimun to use one of his legs to kick it as it did so. The kick propelled the dagger up towards Magnus's chest, forcing him to jump back to avoid it.

Throughout the ordeal, Magnus had been keenly listening to the music. Just as in the previous cases, before Reimun had even attempted to kick the dagger at him, the music intensified, which confirmed Magnus's suspicion.

I see, so he isn't the source of the glitch. and that's why the music sounded so familiar.

Initially, he thought Reimun had done something to cause the music, either intentionally or unknowingly, by using a glitch. But as their fight continued, he started to realize that the music wasn't actually working in Reimun's favor. If anything, it was working against him, with the tones of the music pretty much choreographing every single one of his attacks. Add that to the fact that Reimun seemed not to be able to hear the music for some reason, and Magnus realized where the familiarity came from.

It's the type of music you would hear in a rhythm game, like Necrodancer.

However, unlike in those types of games where mobs and their attacks are made to follow the beat of the music, in this case, it was more like the beat of the music was predicting Reimun's moves ahead of time and sounding them out. But even after realizing that Reimun wasn't the source of this glitch, it only led Magnus to an even bigger question. What had triggered this glitch, and why was it affecting him specifically?

Well, whatever the case is, I won't be able to look into it while I'm in the middle of a match. I need to end this first.

Reimun, visibly fatigued and breathing heavily, watched as Magnus turned towards him and began to approach. Their battle had spanned twenty grueling minutes up to this point, pushing Reimun to his limits. His right arm, already injured and worsening from burns, trembled with pain. It was the same arm he used to draw his bow, which of course had only made things worse.

I think that clash just now was the last straw. As it stands, let alone drawing my bow, I don't think my right arm could even stay steady enough to aim.

Reimun let out a deep sigh upon realizing this, the bow, which he'd been wielding throughout the fight abruptly turning into light and vanishing. A reversal of the summoning process he had been doing up to this point for his bolts. Seeing this, Magnus was a bit puzzled, which then turned into a raised brow as he saw Reimun hold out his hands, and two daggers appeared in his palms.

"Planning to fight me directly now? Do you think you can win?" Magnus quipped as he closed in on Reimun.

"Probably not," Reimun admitted, shrugging.

"But, like I said. I was never taught to give up." His gaze sharpened, and without hesitation, Reimun charged at Magnus with both daggers in hand. Outside Alternate Space, students watched with a mix of resignation and admiration. They knew this was the end of the match; now it was just a matter of seeing exactly how it would end.

"I have to admit, he put up a better fight than I thought he would," Fardeir remarked respectfully. Beside him, Gozif nodded silently. He had believed Reimun had a chance of winning, and in truth, he did. As long as he kept his distance and dealt damage to Magnus from afar, he would have won when the timer ran out, and the total damage they had dealt to one another was calculated. But that plan was disrupted the moment Magnus tossed those pillars and forced Reimun out into the open, and winning became impossible once his arm had been burned.

After that point, the match became nothing more than a clock ticking down.

Now, a trail of sand was left in Reimun's wake as he got within range of Magnu and spun the dagger in his left hand before thrusting forward at his chest. In response, Magnus took a brief step back before deflecting the strike with his mana blade and relating with a clean slash downwards without a hint of hesitation. Reimun shifted his weight, narrowly evading the blade as it cleaved through the ground, and a wave of mana erupted from its edge.

Still, even in the face of that kind of power, Reimun pushed on. Using his momentum, he spun around, adjusting his grip on his right-hand dagger, aiming for Magnus's back. The edge of the dagger just barely tore its way into the flesh of Magnus's back as he quickly leaned forward, barely avoiding getting stabbed.

It's clear he doesn't have any swordsman training; his form's all over the place. But whether it be his attacks or how he dodges, all of it's extremely precise and refined. Was he self-taught?

As Reimun observed Magnus's movements, Magnus did the same. The wound Reimun had inflicted on him healed right away, but he could tell his movements were being slightly imprinted now, likely from some kind of paralyzing agent applied to the dagger's edge. Yet, despite that, at this very moment, Magnus was no longer relying on any senses outside of his eyes and ears. Everything else, even the pain from having his back sliced open, seemed to dissipate into the melody.

It was akin to a game—or more accurately, a dance. Each strike from Reimun corresponded to a rise and fall in the melody, while Magnus's responses filled the gaps of silence.

Their exchanges synchronized with the rhythm of the music in Magnus's mind. Each time he felt Reimun's blade cut through his defenses, he knew his timing had faltered. Conversely, Reimun's dodges and blocks were a testament to his own mistimed strikes. The music dictated their movements, predicting each action before it unfolded; their bodies were mere instruments in its orchestration. Reimun, though unable to hear the music, could sense something uncanny. Magnus seemed to be anticipating his every move, the window for his retaliation shrinking with each passing moment, while Magnus's attacks grew closer to landing.

Slowly, the battle's balance began to tilt until, finally, Magnus whispered something barely audible, meant only for Reimun's ears.

"I see, so that's your pattern," Magnus remarked quietly. The moment he spoke those words, he closed his eyes, shutting out the world around him. All that remained was the cacophony of their movements, the clash of weapons and bodies, and the haunting strains of the music. In the darkness behind his eyelids, the battle reached its climax.

With a decisive step forward, Magnus evaded Reimun's attack effortlessly, his mana blade arcing around him in a fluid motion. Reimun's eyes widened in disbelief as his daggers were knocked from his grasp, and the edge of Magnus's blade stopped mere centimeters from his neck. For a moment, Reimun stood frozen, struggling to comprehend what had just transpired, before his arms dropped limply to his sides.

"Well, I guess that settles it," Reimun sighed in resignation. The moment he surrendered, Magnus heard the melody begin to fade along with the mana blade in his hand as he exhaled deeply. He opened his eyes and glanced up at the skyward projection, where the timer had halted and Reimun's name now appeared in gray, his own name highlighted.

The match between Cain and Reimun had lasted twenty-three minutes. Yet, those final three minutes—etched in the memories of Magnus, Reimun, and the onlookers—seemed to have lasted an eternity.