My Devourer System: Rise of the Bastard Son

The gentle rush of rain continued. There wasn't much thunder, just the ceaseless crash of water and the penetrating cold.

Lucen blew some water from his mouth. He was more used to the cold now, but the water inside his shoes made him want to rip them off.

"I'll only duel five more," he announced. "I'm human, too. I can't fight forever."

Set was squinting at him through the water in his eyes. He rubbed his hand over the wooden blade in his hand. He clicked his tongue. "I'm not going to be able to fight my best in this match. Should I let someone else go?"

"They won't be any better. But if we set up some rules and limitations, we can make this fun."

"What do you have in mind?"

"We'll each only be able to move three steps before stopping for five seconds," he explained. "We'll both close our eyes and only use mana sense in those five seconds when we stop, and any hit is a win."

Set furrowed his brow. "So, it's basically who can find the other first?"

"Yes, but our attacks will happen in those three steps, and our mana sense will be off. So you may know where I am, but you have to predict my moves once we're both blind."

Set raised an eyebrow, smiling. "That sounds interesting, and it could be quick. No Veils, too."

By setting the rules in a seemingly equal way, one could create their path to victory. Lucen learnt this the hard way.

They clarified the rules a little and swore oaths not to cheat intentionally. Lucen's soul couldn't be bound by the Pillar of Eternity, but he wasn't planning to cheat… at least not with mana sense.

They both walked backwards three steps and faced away from each other. Ymir raised a hand and shouted over the rain. "Start on one. Three… two… one!"

Set's skin began to glow brightly over the darkened field. Lucen held his breath.

They both spun on their heels and bounded three steps forward. Mana sense flicked on as both stopped moving, and Ymir started counting to five.

Lucen had charged straight for him, but Set had sidestepped. He was planning to get Lucen in a wide horizontal slash.

But this was where Lucen began to cheat. He used [Targeting] to lock onto Set, and now he would be able to attack accurately despite not seeing.

So this fight would end in the next three steps. Set seemed to have finally found him through the heavy rain.

Ymir's count quickly reached the end. "—two… one!"

Lucen's first step stretched far, and Set swung his sword in a wide arc that made it hard to dodge and then attack in three steps.

The people watching gasped. Set had won. Someone would be beating Lucen today.

Lucen drilled his foot into the ground and flung himself up into the air and over Set's streaking blow.

Set hit nothing but felt the break in the constant sheet of rain falling over him. His reactions, enhanced greatly by his spell, put together the possibility that Lucen jumped over him.

Lucen twisted his body and struck while he was still in the air. His spear came down on Set's shoulder lightly.

They both opened their eyes.

"I almost had you there," Set complained. "I should have taken two steps to the side and one to turn towards you."

Lucen merely nodded, smiling lightly. Two down, only three more to go.

■——■

Ymir walked forward slowly. She drew a short dagger, her hair dripping water.

Lucen raised an eyebrow. "How is this going to work?"

She couldn't beat him with a dagger in good weather. She was good with it, but Lucen would suggest she try a short sword.

"How about you let me use Light needles?" She replied, "They won't trigger automatically, and they won't hurt you, but if they touch you, I win."

"Same thing with my spear then?"

She nodded. Lucen would like to add more terms to the match, but Ymir didn't seem like she wanted a quick match.

He made her swear that the needle wouldn't hurt him, getting multiple holes punched through him did not appeal to him. He sighed and raised his spear.

The sound of something cracking filled the air. Golden light broke into reality over Ymir, three needles of light formed. They sizzled against the rain and cracked each time they grew longer.

The noise and light shattering the darkness of the clouds above drew everyone's attention immediately.

The needles of light began to drift through the air slowly towards Lucen. But he suddenly shot forward past the three needles and straight to Ymir.

She would try to surround him first and then waste time till she could cast more of the needles.

His body tore through the rain, but he noticed something at the last second. A slight glow was hidden behind her. He stopped and jumped aside as she revealed a fourth needle behind her and flung it towards him.

The needle almost reached him, but it didn't turn into the porcupine-line ball of spikes that he thought it would. Ymir didn't activate it, she simply wanted to buy time.

She could cast four now? Her mastery of the spell had improved, it seemed. Some spells could cast multiple projectiles, the better you got at using them, while others simply increased in strength.

Ymir was controlling the golden needles to surround him, albeit slowly. Lucen launched himself towards her.

His spear lashed out, and Ymir ducked under it. He slammed against her, hoping to throw her over, but she braced herself.

Then she let herself drop to the ground and rolled away when Lucen's spear jabbed hard at her head.

She kept low to the ground and reacted well to counters for someone not using an enhancement technique. But she seemed to also know when not to block his attack with her body. When he let out a sharp breath.

So she understands how [Surging Flames] works.

Ymir had a Minor Divine channelling technique. She could only use enhancement for allies and armament magic.

She fought well even at that, never moving far enough for his spear to gain momentum and still moving her needles around, forcing him to duck and constantly move.

But with all this pressure, she couldn't cast her spell again. The four golden needles were annoying, but he could manage them with his speed. Ymir, on the other hand, would tire out soon.

Ymir vaulted over his spear, but now he had space. He let go of his breath, and his body blurred under the rain.

Before he could hit her, though, he saw a bright smile light up her face ominously and jumped away. Four more golden needles blazed into existence with sharp cracks.

He almost ran straight into them, but what he found more shocking was the activation speed. The long display of the needles slowly forming before was a trick; even at their training with the Shapeless Wolf, it wasn't this fast.

Ymir's eyes widened. "No, no, no, you couldn't have detected that!"

Lucen smiled at her distraught voice. He didn't sense the mana spike till it surged. He dodged because of that creepy smile.

Ymir had probably been struggling to summon the runes in her mind this whole time, only for Lucen to avoid them.

"It was impressive, though; I didn't know they could activate that quickly."

Ymir pouted. "There's a simplified form of the spell that someone taught Father years ago. It won't expand like the others or be packed with spikes, but it's easier and faster to cast."

"The more you learn," said Lucen, nodding. "So, you give up?"

The dark glare she gave him reminded Lucen how competitive Ymir could be at times. She gripped the dagger tightly. "I still have one more trick."

All the needles swirled around her, following her closely. Lucen raised an eyebrow. The needles wouldn't hurt allies, but he was sure they could hurt her.

"Hey, that's a bad idea," he said.

Ymir pursed her lips. "I'm okay, I'm not afraid of being cut a little. I won't be, though."

Lucen stared at her evenly for a few moments, then sighed, "I give up."

The field was almost too quiet for a moment despite the pounding rain. Ymir's eyes were as wide as saucers, and the crowd's jaws dropped.

"You—you can't," Ymir murmured.

He could. Especially if Ymir was behaving like a dumb child. He almost forgot she was just fifteen.

"Even with my mana sense, I couldn't predict where the spikes from your needles will appear," he explained. "I won't join you to play with your life."

Ymir looked between the crowd and Lucen in utter disbelief. "What are you even saying? I said I'm okay. Worry about yourself, I can—"

"Ymir… let's respect his decision," Set pleaded carefully. "If he feels it's too dangerous—"

"Shut up, are you guys even hearing yourselves?" Ymir roared, "I said I'm okay, I can handle myself. The needles can't even hurt him."

Lucen sighed, she wouldn't be hearing anyone out—at least they could avoid hypothermia. Ymir could get competitive at the strangest time. Lucen had to remind himself that these guys were still kids. They took duels too seriously and thought a lot about little things.

"I haven't won in a year," she explained to her brother, "and now I'm close to winning, and he's lying about being worried about me? That bullshit!"

He couldn't tell through the rain, but she seemed to have gotten angry enough to cry. Set hadn't beaten him in anything for three years now. At least, she had Highcraft. You don't see Set crying about never winning, but Lucen was smart enough to know that if he said that, the twins would probably both attack him.

Another advantage Ymir's rage brought was that the duels ended early. She wouldn't let Lucen duel anyone for what he did. So they all retreated down the winding steps and back into the Grey Keep, laughing.

Ymir stomped up the stairs without saying anything, and Set ran after her, sending Lucen conflicted looks. He wanted to be angry at him, but he knew how angry Ymir could get at times.

Lucen wondered who she got it from. Heimar didn't seem like one to openly get angry, but Kurenna was always so calm and…

Yeah, it's definitely from Kurenna. He shivered from both his wet clothes and fear.