Chapter 81: Duel Under The Raining Skies (III) 

Chapter 81: Duel Under The Raining Skies (III)

Beneath the sea of clouds, the spectators were once again rendered into a position of unsight. While they could raise their heads to the sky this time, they still could not view the battle in all its glory.

The shield of clouds was impenetrable, so much so that it even blocked out magical perception and divination abilities. Gayle's owl vision and the crystal daughter's emerald eyes of sight, were no exception.

Though, while the shield hid the grand battle from view, the waves and fluctuations of the two colliding storms could still be felt. Like a stone crashing into a still pond, ripples of power vibrated through the air for the spectators to endure. In this case however, it was more like two fishes splashing and splattering the calm pond into a chaotic mess.

WHOOSH!

Air and rain were sliced apart from the downcleave of a long, dark blue katana. Sweeping winds assaulted, and a red haired fellow clad in all black, sidestepped the strike effortlessly.

Two figures stood in opposition, separated by hundreds of meters of soft, but solid white clouds. Although the swordsman swung from at a distance, the wave of sharp sword power reached the boy almost instantaneously.

WHOOSH!

Another strike came. Then another. And then another. For each strike that could have bisected tens, if not hundreds of warriors that were beneath the clouds, Zan dodged them with effortless grace.

In a span of five seconds a hundred slashes of surging sword power were thrown at him, but the boy sidestepped the strikes with monstrous efficiency. No more than a millimeter separated his body from being struck, but he continued confidently, using as minimum movement as possible to move forward.

From the armada of flying ships, and unlike those below, Lara and the remaining Everrain fleet enjoyed a pleasant aerial view.

Watching the battle from up above, one could more keenly observe the dynamics at play. Fleet Commander Lloyd was unmoving from his position, while the stranger recklessly but dauntlessly moved forward. One advanced like it was all he knew, while another stayed in the same place.

BANG!

A dull but explosive sound rang out through the air. It was similar to sharp metal meeting the hardness of rock, but much louder. A few thousand eyes focused on the stranger to find a shallow wound, like a paper cut, on his gray skinned fist.

Not even half a second later, the wound was stitched closed by gushing black blood. If one had blinked— and a few did— they would wonder if there had been any wound at all.

"Hah."

Zan scoffed, sending a condescending look at the swordsman.

As another sword strike came instantaneously, he swung out, extending his opposite fist to meet the strike.

BANG!

Another shallow wound appeared on that fist, and it was similarly healed in an instant.

Zan continued to walk forth. Every step echoed a thud as he placed his deceptive weight on the sea of clouds, lest the powerful strikes of the swordsman push him back.

Of course Lloyd would not let him easily continue. A continuous rain of sword strikes came forth, but they were equalized through destructive efficiency. In short, Zan madly sent out fist after fist of incredible might.

The air rippled and exploded as the sword energy cut through the rain, and met Zan's punches that were equally raising a storm of wind and water.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Eventually Zan lowered his fists. Not because he was tired— no— it was because his reckless and prideful nature deemed the sword strikes unworthy of his punches.

A thousand cuts appeared on his arms, legs, and sometimes his human torso, but they vanished in the blink of an eye thanks to his tenacious black blood. His pride and recklessness went so far, that he spread his arms wide to let the cutting sword energy eviscerate his human flesh.

The elegant black silk covering his muscular body was obviously torn by the sharp pervading energy, revealing both his human and eldritch flesh. Though, under Zan's recklessness and the swordsman's eviscerating strikes, that same human flesh started to undergo the black blood's terrible transformation.

Still, the young man remained negligent, and continued to advance forward.

A bored look crossed his face as found himself already halfway closer to the swordsman from whence he began.

The young man opened his lips, advancing forward leisurely under the assault of the ceaseless sword strikes.

"Hey."

BANG!

A sword strike came towards Zan's face, that he swatted away easily like an annoying fly.

"You should know by now you're not doing shit."

"Too nervous to talk? Huh?"

BANG!

From atop an Everrain ship, Lara looked at her brother with a worried look. Although his strikes were powerful enough to lock down and defeat most foes, his opponent was unfortunately an outlier among outliers. He needed to use a stronger power. The one that crossed the boundary and sliced the ship she was standing on into two. Yet…since five years ago he had not used that power until today.

"I know this isn't all you've got, swordsman."

BANG!

"Why don't you use that same strike as earli—"

BANG!

An impatient, angered expression appeared on the stranger's face.

"If you don't want to use all your strength!"

"Then I'll force you!"

Spiraling energy was sent down through a thin pathway in Zan's legs. Although the energy reinforcement was shallow, combined with the naturally monstrous strength of his alien flesh it resulted in a terrible combination. Two booms sounded out as his feet hit the floor of the shield of clouds.

Like a missile, Zan sped forth right into the swordsman. Hundreds of meters were crossed in the span of three short seconds, and the two found each other looming dangerously closer.

Two seconds. At the insane rate of speed that Zan was approaching he was going to collide his fist towards the swordsman's head within two short seconds.

Raindrops assaulted his vision. At the incredible speed he was going it seemed as if the rain was coming towards him, when really he was just going so fast that he was colliding with the falling raindrops at an alarming speed.

Yet in the next moment, a strange phenomenon transpired. The raindrops that were previously assaulting his face like a storm…began to slow. No. That was not totally correct. He himself…had also slowed down considerably.

Gazes met within that area of influence, and Zan observed the swordsman, whose mellow and easygoing face was now twisted in an expression of absolute sorrow and grief.

A yellow tassel on the hilt of his sword danced, but the raindrops froze, stuck in time. And just like the rain that stopped in place…so did Zan.

He was not literally frozen in time— that power was far away from the two mortals that were currently at battle. Instead, it was similar to the pain of tragedy, that left one unable to move forward.

In the next moment, Zan sensed a fatal blow. This one was unlike all the others. If this slash struck him it would cut right through even his eldritch flesh and bone.

Yet while his divine intuition alerted his spirit, his body would not move.

Where his mind and body resided were not under the raining skies, but the burning ones.

Metaphysical power. It was able to influence not only reality, but that which was intangible. And so, both Zan's mind, then his body, were fatally affected.

If nothing were to happen, then the hot blooded youth would die here.

Yet the fates invisible to most…did not shift.

Zan's power of will, which was similarly shaken by the swordsman's metaphysical power…miraculously ended up preserving his life.

In a last ditch effort the black blood rushed forth, his red eye glowing with sinister, but desperate intent. The light of that eye reached the swordsman's, and his eyes that were unconscious in another world, was taken to the burning one, while Zan found himself in the same crying sky that Lloyd was in.

Zan's death was not fated here.

As the two came back to reality, the swordsman's arm that was unconsciously falling had faltered. Likewise, Zan's body and mind melded back with his spirit, and he did all he could to get out of the way.

The man's arm fell and so did his sword. The rain was still stuck in place but now the two were not. Whence the rain fell again however, all that destruction, pain, and grief was let loose. A wave of annihilating sword essence ushered forth from the blade like a broken dam.

It was fortunate that Zan preemptively moved, for had he not, he would have been vertically bisected from the head down. Instead however…half of his chest, his left arm, and left shoulder, were cut off.

The gruesome sight left many to avert their heads, but some were unfortunate like Lara, who was so stunned by the scene that she could not tell herself to turn her eyes away.

It was good that they did not. For the next scene shocked everyone.

Zan's cut off flesh had yet to be subjected to gravity, and before they could fall to the ground, black blood spluttered out in gracefully sinister patterns that connected the flesh together.

The seemingly devastating strike that cleaved a part of the stranger's body seemed to have been a figment of everyone's imagination. The wound, the scar, there was nothing!

Lloyd's mellow eyes went fully wide for in the next moment, the half eldritch monster was attacking him with that same limb that he had just cut off.

The swordsman struggled to reach that sorrowful state of power again, for he desperately needed it to force this beast away from him. He had only managed to pull some of that power before Zan's left fist came towards his head, and he hastily moved his sword to block him.

Luckily it was enough, and luckily Zan did not put any essence within that strike, for the impact caused by his fist was enough to send the swordsman flying hundreds of meters back, rolling violently on the sea of clouds.

The swordsman was able to eventually catch himself, stopping his body from gracelessly ragdolling over his father's illustrious shield of clouds.

Lloyd checked his body, sighing out a breath of relief. He thanked his lucky stars that his father forced him to also cultivate his body. Although his sword took most if not all of the impact, it was still enough to break all the bones in his left shoulder and arm.

Thinking about his blade, the swordsman raised his sword to his eyes, and he wished now that Zan's punch shattered all the bones in his body instead. The long, dark blue katana…bore a crack in its metal.