NOVEL WEB Chapter 223: You're Still Standing?
One second, Victor was yards away... And the next... he was right in front of her.
She barely raised her blade in time, but the moment his sword clashed with hers, the momentum lifted her off the ground.
Elyra twisted in the air, recovering with incredible reflexes.
Mana surged as she activated a mobility skill.
[ Verdant Step Has Been Activated ]
The skill propelled her across the field like a bolt of green lightning.
Victor chased with Wind Dash and they both became streaks across the simulated ruins.
Clash after clash.
Strike after strike.
Their duel turned into an art form.
Elyra's brute strength and flawless technique versus Victor's flowing rhythm and pressure-based counterattacks.
Elyra gritted her teeth in frustration, she had never been pushed back by anyone ever.
Her blade glowed again, activating [ Verdant Rupture ].
The mana in the surroundings shaped itself into a colossal cleave aimed to split the battlefield.
Victor stepped forward instead of back.
With perfect timing, he swung his blade forward with a concentrated volume of qi surrounding his blade.
This wasn't even a sword technique... It was just pure qi.
A silent wave of force erupted, splitting Elyra's attack in half and blowing her backwards.
She coughed once.
Her cheek had a tiny nick.
Victor exhaled slowly.
"Looks like you're the only one who can handle my fully concentrated power..." Victor chuckled.
Except in game, he usually never had a chance to go all out like this.
He didn't realize it could be this fun.
The crowd was frozen.
Even instructors stood with widened eyes.
-"Did he just say fully concentrated power?"
-"Does that mean he has been holding back this whole time?"
Their energy flared one more time as they charged at each other.
As the battle continued, the spectators were utterly shocked at how Victor kept pushing Elyra back.
They couldn't believe their eyes...
This was Elyra Vorn, the unbeatable S-Ranked warrior, yet Victor's movements and strikes were forcing her into a defensive rhythm.
But the most jaw-dropping moment came when Victor suddenly activated Shadow Crescent Strike.
He slashed forward at Elyra who sensed the intensity of the attack and swerved towards the side to evade.
The moment his blade moved, a spiraling arc of shadow energy tore through the air and split the entire battlefield in half...
The crack continued up the stone stands and sliced through the lower seating rows.
Two spectators who had been sitting side by side stared in horror as a thin crack now divided the bench between them.
"Thank goodness we weren't too close," one muttered while gulping hard.
Instructor Elric narrowed his eyes and immediately reacted by conjuring a massive magical barrier.
A glowing sphere of pale blue mana instantly wrapped around the entire battlefield to protect the audience.
Inside the dome, Elyra pushed forward again, swinging with much more intensity than earlier.
She managed to land a few strikes on Victor but Victor used Wind Dash or smooth parries to evade the rest of them.
'So this is the power of an S ranked... Very good, I'm enjoying this,' Victor raised his sword to block an attack, only to get kicked in the gut the moment both blades collided.
He slid over twenty feet backwards and smiled.
'He's smiling? Is he even taking this seriously?' Elyra gritted her teeth in annoyance not knowing that Victor was just trying to savor every moment of this.
Before Elyra could charge towards him, he had already appeared before her once more with his sword descending upon her head.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Once again, they clashed repeatedly causing cracks to appear wherever they went.
Each time Elyra blocked one of Victor's attacks, her knees slightly buckled under the force, as though the impact echoed down to her bones.
Gritting her teeth, Elyra finally activated one of her most powerful magical warrior skills.
> [System Interface - Warrior Skill Activated]
> Star Cleave: Celestial Pulse Release
> Cooldown: 14 minutes
> Amplifies strength and reaction by 70% for one direct strike. Additional impact radius: 20 meters.
Her sword surged with brilliant mana as cosmic energy spiraled around her while she raised it like a divine blade.
A bright silver light descended upon the surroundings as she swung forward.
Despite the increase in power that radiated from her, Victor only breathed out calmly.
"Dragon Breathing Arts..." He muttered under his breathe.
Flames crawled from his fingertips to his blade, merging with it and turning it into a blazing sword.
Then he activated Shadow Crescent Strike once more which was now infused with blazing dragon flame.
Victor raised his sword and swung at Elyra who had just sent a strike at him a moment ago.
A long dragon-shaped arc, carved from fire and shadow, swept forward.
It collided mid-air with Elyra's Celestial Pulse.
A thunderous shockwave erupted, sending spiderweb cracks across a radius of one hundred feet that caused the ground to collapse.
For a brief second, both powers clashed equally then Victor's attack cleaved right through.
A burning howl echoed across the stadium.
Elyra's eyes widened as the attack hit her.
A magical barrier sprang to life in front of her at the last second, but it only absorbed a fraction of the force.
She was blasted backward like a missile and crashed through three reinforced pillars, then ricocheted across the stone platform until her body slammed into the barrier surrounding the battle arena.
Blood sprayed from her mouth and nostrils as her body slid down the dome.
A structure her body had just blasted through, collapsed ontop of her a moment later.
The crowd was dead silent.
Dust swirled beneath the magical dome shielding the spectators as silence reigned across the massive arena.
All eyes were fixed on the figure standing tall and calm amidst the swirling aftermath of devastation... Victor Revenant.
He stood with his blade lowered as the flames still licking the air around it, slowly faded.
His clothes were scuffed from the intense battle, but he barely looked winded.
His eyes which were brimming with restrained excitement and unwavering resolve, were already turning away.
Across the wreckage of the shattered arena floor, Elyra Vorn's body was buried in a pile of stone debris.
Cracks spread out like spiderwebs where she had landed. Her head was lowered and blood trickled from her mouth and nose, painting her cheek red against the contrast of her greenish skin.
For a moment, everyone thought it was over.
Then, as the silence threatened to shatter under the first roar of applause, a whisper pierced the silence.
"I cannot lose."
Elyra's eyes flew open, emitting a vibrant emerald hue that glowed with raw will.
Gasps broke out across the crowd.
"She's... still conscious?!"
"I don't think I would have survived that..."
"What the hell is she made of?"
"She isn't S ranked for nothing."
Some instructors stood from their seats. Even a few second-year elites frowned, whispering among themselves.
They could feel it... her mana was spiking again.
And this time, it was entirely different. Wild. Primal.
A scene unfolded in Elyra's mind.
Her body remained still, but her mind traveled to over a decade back... back to when she was just a child.
A huge hand ruffled her hair gently.
She looked up and saw her father: General Stormrend, the war titan whose sword had once split mountains and whose legend carried weight across continents.
He laughed deeply before speaking...
"One day, you'll be stronger than even me," he had said.
Beside him stood her mother... a green skinned delicate figure with glowing jade eyes and long leaf-like strands instead of hair. She had smiled with such warmth that made Elyra's heart ached just from remembering.
"I won't fail you," Elyra whispered.
Mana exploded outward.
The ground around her cracked as greenish energy roared from her body like an erupting storm.
She rose slowly from the rubble with her clothes tattered and one of her shoulder guards broken, but her sword gripped firmly in hand.
Victor paused mid-step.
"...You're still standing?"
Elyra's lips were cracked and her breathing heavy, but she still exuded that same serene yet intense pressure.
"I said I wouldn't lose."
She raised her sword.
The mana from her core was now visible... pure green threads spiraled around her arms, lacing her weapon like glowing vines. Her aura had doubled.
Spectators stood. Even other instructors leaned forward.
"She's... pushing past her limits?"
"No, she's awakening something!"
Back on the battlefield, Victor's brows rose slightly, but he didn't flinch.
"I guess it would've been a little boring if it ended just like that," he muttered while taking a slow breath.
His qi flared again, cracking the air.
'But this doesn't seem normal... An awakened usually can't just increase their level of strength unless they unlock a new skill during battle but this doesn't seem like a new skill... Oh well... No point in thinking about it too much.'
Victor slid his foot back and raised his sword in both hands.
This time, his expression grew serious.
They charged again.
Their swords clashed but this time, the boom was twice as loud.
The air burst from the collision, shaking the magical barrier holding back the devastation.
Elyra spun mid-air and attempted a reverse sweep. Victor bent backward, nearly kissing the cracked ground with his back as the blade passed overhead.
He retaliated with a rising slash infused with gale energy.
Elyra kicked off the flat of his blade and flipped backwards, avoiding the slice.
They clashed again.
And again...
And again...
"Are we sure these are first-years?" a third-year muttered from the stands with widened eyes.