Fifth Arena

Armed with his old armaments. Larian excelled in the arena battles now. Every day, he would finish each fight with fewer wounds from the last.

His illusions became clearer and more distinct when all he does is practice them in bloody combat at every waking moment.

If Larian struggled to get through three stages in the past, now he found himself constantly making it to the final stage.

But every fight here was hard. He would face the devil the majority of the time, but rarely he had to fight with the strongest of the remaining contestants.

These people whom Larian had to face were people who had defeated the Devil once before or cleared all five stages.

Today Larian's enemy of the fifth stage was someone familiar.

The platter of the sticky liquid flowed beneath the grilled floor. In front of Larian, a luminous blade lit up the entire arena.

Star. He wore leather vambraces that fitted his small body. It seemed Star had gotten his gear back as well, on his dominant hand a black shortsword glowed in a bright white vibrance. 

Together it produced a cool effect in the already cold dungeon.

"Star… I can't imagine I would meet you again under such circumstances."

Star gripped his blade and brought it up to his face. From the lighting Larian could see Star's face that looked like it had matured. It was not a face he expected to see from someone so young.

But he knew he couldn't judge Star by his age since he had excelled and triumphed over every other contestant.

"You can't give me the win could you?"

A hollow attempt at negotiation. Once someone is part of the monthly battle, they would have to win every match else they would brought to a torture chamber. 

Remembering the tools he saw from the metal bench Larian wouldn't want Star to go through that.

Larian's head churned, trying to come up with a way to gain an advantage over the little powerhouse. A natural swordmaster who has a lightning and light attribute affinity. Surviving through every fight and overcoming the devil before Larian, it was obvious Larian was outclassed.

If the time in Selarian Academy had been slow and depressing, watching Star who was once by his side quickly excel beyond the reach of everyone present put him in an envy.

It was how he imagined the start of a main character in a story. Laced with potential and put in a place where he could exponentially grow.

'Why can't I be like that?'

A few steps away, Star straightened, from the bright shortsword Larian's eyes reflected calmly, and then both contestants prepared their blades.

What felt like months of constant bloodshed in the dungeons has given Larian plenty of experience. More than what he had learned in his entire life outside.

Completing Shinki Style while watching others fight was the greatest display of Larian's talent even if he wasn't blessed by it.

Larian breathed in, expelling all doubt and hesitation from his mind. Sending his magic essence into his sheath, his blade shot forward with such speed that few contestants could even react to. 

Without wasting time looking at Star's reaction, Larian pushed forward and shot waves of sword strikes in a blur.

*Ting

Somewhere ahead, the dark blade shone and blinded everything within the arena but Larian had already expected it from watching Star fight. In radiating blindness, he stuck outward from below, hidden in the light.

It slithered like a serpent and bit into Star's shoulder.

But if Larian was familiar with this Luminescent sword, Star was a master in his turf.

When Larian's blade bit into the leather shoulder guards Star flipped and for a short moment, the radiant light disappeared into nothingness, it brought absolute darkness with it.

Instinctively Larian shifted his arm guards to his neck and braced while falling back. Instead, a blade slithered through his red armour and stabbed into his thigh.

Confused and blinded, Larian kicked outwards and used the rebounding force to create distance.

His eyes squinted as they slowly adept into the darkness, but Star's blade lit up once again showing it to be in vain. 

In one confrontation Star showed that he was in control of the battle. At any moment he could blind Larian or rob him of his vision. How could Larian fight an enemy he could barely see?

'But the confusing part was how did his blade slipped through my armor so easily?'

In a short moment, Larian understood the familiarity he felt. It was Shinki Style. The Serpent which he used to hit multiple parts of an enemy had come from Star's blade.

Larain was not the only one who learned from their partner during their short time together.

'He learnt Shinki Style in one day? What frightening talent is this? It took me an entire year to get to where I am!'

When the anger settled, Larian could only accept this unbelievable outcome. He looked up to Star's versatile sword style which took in every aspect from its surrounding enemies.

In fact, he mimicked it and that was how he managed to embed his life experiences into his completed Shinki Style.

So it made complete sense that Larian was also a part of Star's sword style.

Larian glanced down at his blade, there was so much more he still hadn't shown to Star. If he used all eight blades for the slim chance to win, would everything be stolen so simply?

Shaking his head, Larian gripped his blade even tighter.

This was no place to hesitate, the enemy could easily learn his sword style but there was one thing he could not take away.

The hardship he endured to get here.

Larian's blade glowed blue and shot out like an arrow stuck on the bowstring.

Every step forward he continued to shoot over and over, each blue crescent blade sharper and more precise than the one before. 

With a luminous blade as a marker, Larian watched Star dodge every strike with intense focus.

Eventually, it came close to Star and he was forced to block the blow with his blade.

As it shattered into tiny sparks Larian swung an aimless blade. Silently a doppelganger slipped through and entered the shadows of the arena.

Larian released his doppelganger made up of paper talismans. It was imperfect and looked nothing alike to Larian. But there was no point in deceiving Star.

It had to lay in ambush for the perfect moment to strike.

Larian closed the distance to Star to keep his attention, their metal blades clashed.

Welling the strength from within, Larian crushed down with all his weight. From beneath, the grills which were steady started to bend downwards. But surprisingly Star endured the full force. 

Staring past the glowing blade, Larian met his eyes.

In them was a resilience that was unlike anything he had seen from the little kid.

Star had always been swift and agile, he would always shift to divert or dodge big attacks.

'...Are you looking down on me?'

Inwardly Larian grew angry, even though their blades were in contact Larian knew that if Star really wanted to dodge his attacks he could easily do so.

Star enduring it was like a sign that proved Larian's Sword Art was weak.

It was an insult to the hardship that he went through to get this far.

Larian lifted his blade and his eyes focused on Star, if Star wanted to challenge his strength he would not back down. Strength wasn't never his strong suit anyways.

*Bang! *Bang! *Bang! 

Smashing down over and over, the grills creaked from the continuous pressure.

A man nearer two heads bigger than his opponent smashing down with such ruthlessness was overbearing. But Star was no ordinary kid. With each slash he endured from Larian, he was continuously getting better.

But Larian understood better, growth had its limits and Larian was going to push Star's limit beyond what he could handle.

With more force, Larian gripped his blade with both hands and swung down.

Finally, the small body of Star could not stand the pressure and was forced to dodge.

But Larian continued to slash down maniacally. If only his clear eyes didn't betray the wrath he displayed.

From the Lessons of the past, he understood that openly expressing your anger in a fight was asking to lose. If he blindly charged in he would only be read and taken advantage of.

So despite the sense of inferiority, Larian never gave himself up to anger.

Star was in a better condition than he thought, he swiftly dodged to the side and poked towards Larian's head with a flash of blinding light.

Biting his lips in annoyance, Larian ducked but got hit by the slippery blade anyway.

Unwilling to take the loss, Larian slashed while he was blind to the last known position he had seen Star in. When his eyes adapted to the bright light, Star was already on his flank.

The black shortsword pierced right into his right shoulder and Larian had to punch out with his prosthetic arm to get Star off his back.

*huff *huff

Larian was looking worse for wear from the fight but this was not the worst he had gone through. Far from it. He wouldn't stop until he was entirely battered.

Flexing his arm, he grit his teeth and endured the pain. While he was injured, he had to maintain his focus.

Larian initiated a draw again. It flew closer to Star but he dodged it nonetheless, and Larian chased like he had done so from the start.

With every swing, every attack, Larian pushed himself to go as fast as he could. But no matter how much faster he got, just as his blade was about to reach Star, the little kid would inch out from the strike.

'Almost!'

Under the influence of Star's versatile improvements, Larian was getting inspired by his every move.

Whenever Larian adjusted his sword style, Star's blade would also take a qualitative change.

It was becoming bolder and heavier at each passing minute.

And whenever Larian felt like he was on the brink of his limit, his blade would almost graze Star.

In this trance, Larian could only keep pushing.

Like an invisible hand guiding Larian, Larian kept swinging, his blade forever getting faster and closer.