章 451: Sword Of The Hero
{Sword of the Hero}, Akiol's pinnacle fighting style! One carefully formed over centuries, granted only to those who carried the title of Hero. It was incredibly powerful, said to be at the peak of swordsmanship in his past world. However since it was so powerful the requirements to wield it was ridiculous.
It was well worth the price, when Akiol had finally mastered it he only needed to use it three times. Each time the fight ended extremely quickly, excluding the third time against the Demon Lord. Now would be a different story however, for the moment the somewhat unconscious Akiol began to utilize such a style. . . the consequences would follow.
He was nowhere near to meet the basic requirements to properly utilize it, the moment he swung his sword he could not stop. Once his body stopped moving for a fraction of a second the backlash would strike like lightning and render him completely useless in a fight. This one moment, it was truly spending every last thing he could.
Humive crossed his arms, "This pressure, to think its stance could release such a feeling. As I thought these people from the South are far from simple! This level of fighting they can produce, it's almost as if they're living a second life! This much experience cannot come from their journey as mere Second Stages!"
Merin lifted her sword into a stance, "You had such an opportunity, why have you wasted it so?"
With a slight adjustment with her palm she released a pressure even greater than Akiol's. Those watching felt a chill travel down their spine, but could not bring themselves to look away. Every movement the Sword Saint made could provide insight to those who struggled. An opportunity which was this rare could not be missed no matter what!
The pressure releasing from their stances clashed against each other, with Akiol having a clear disadvantage. Merin braced herself, "Let's see it! This sword style!"
Bang-!
The two took off, the pressure dwindling only slightly. Then it began, a fight of the pinnacle.
~ ~ ~
Akiol pictured it in his mind, each and every style. The words of his mentors, the movement of every fiber of his muscle. The way mana reacted. The way the sword cut through air.
{Sword of the Hero}, although the word sword would change depending on whatever weapon suited the Hero best at the time. The sword in his hand hummed in response and Akiol began the first of the movements.
'With a single swing you can clear a forest.'
~ ~ ~
Clang~!
The two swords collided, their impact was powerful enough to send scattered blasts of sharp wind. Various gashes formed around them on the Arena floor. Merin no longer had the casual look about on her face, rather it was one of mild amusement, "This might be fun!"
Cr-Twang~
Merin blocked two swift blows and dodged a third. Moving quickly she swung towards Akiol's heart. Stars seemed to vibrate and split, a ghostly arm moving a flickering sword and blocking Merin's attack. Flicking his wrist he swung with an increasing amount of speed.
Guiding a palm Merin pushed against the flat part of his sword to knock it aside. Her sword moved at a blinding speed towards him.
~ ~ ~
He exhaled, the focus he was displaying was making him mentally tired but still he forged on. Everything had to go, for the more he sacrificed the better the results would be. He could not hold onto any of these styles any longer.
'With speed to make your enemies think you have a hundred arms. . .'
~ ~ ~
Dang~!
Akiol deflected the blow, each of his movements leaving behind an afterimage. It was like hundreds of copies of him existed frozen in time. It would be disorienting to ordinary fighters, but it didn't faze Merin.
{Sword of the Hero: Eons of Experience}!
[Rapid Slashes].
Their swords repeatedly clashed, sparks showering the Arena floor. Each blow caused a blast of sharp wind to carve into the Arena. Neither side focuses on blocking, instead they aimed their own attacks to intervene with the other's!
Di-di-di-di-di-di-
Their speed continued to rise, but Akiol was quickly losing the edge! The ground cracked as he launched backwards. Mana swirled as he swung in a strange pattern!
~ ~ ~
How much time had passed? Akiol had already lost count, although he kept a mental clock it was hard to focus on it. As far as he could remember, it had already been five months. No matter, he had to continue.
'With a force enough to shatter mountains. . .'
~ ~ ~
{Sword of the Hero: Whirling Flux}!
A cyclone of mana shot forward, anything that came into contact would find tons of tiny cuts forming. Though the direct target of the skill would face a far more devastating outcome. Merin raised her sword and swung down, space being cut through its path.
[Downward Slash].
The cyclone was split cleanly in half and destroyed. Merin bent her knees and inhaled sharply. A thin crack spread across the arena, it rapidly branched out like a plant's roots. Then the next second Merin vanished!
Akiol could not stop to find out what she did, the backlash would prevent him from fighting further! Which meant he could not use {Absolute Territory}! Still he fought, for a reason he couldn't quite remember.
~ ~ ~
His body felt no fatigue. Which made him believe this space was what he thought. A space inside his soul, or perhaps his soul itself. He was merely a projection of consciousness. The time he had spent had already locked away the memory of the story, but the process remained.
. . . Process of what? What exactly was the name of the technique he was doing? Had that already disappeared too?
He couldn't think of it, if his mind continued to dwell on the matter he would forget why he was doing this too. Meaning he would have to leave this entirely up to his subconscious to continue. He had to busy his mind with other thoughts, complete the technique no matter what.
'With precision sharp enough to pass through objects. . .'
~ ~ ~
Tilia frowned, "If he continues using that isn't the backlash only going to become greater?"
Yielya nodded, "Yeah, I don't know what it's going to become."
"Then why doesn't he stop?"
"He's operating on a pure survival instinct now. Akiol's not with us right now."
Horrow crossed his arms, "You keep speaking of a backlash, what is it specifically?"
Yielya answered, "An attack on your mind. It temporarily shuts down everything, and the longer you continue to use it the longer you'll be immobile. Also the harder it becomes to release yourself from the trance."
"If that's the case why use it at all?"
"You can avoid the backlash if you fulfill the requirements. However Akiol doesn't meet them right now."
"Should I call off the match?"
"We can only watch, interrupting this forcefully might be even more harmful."
{Sword of the Hero: Legacy}!
Trang~
"Oh you managed to catch me despite my footwork! Good stuff!"
He had to keep moving! Akiol couldn't remain locked in a struggle with Merin! Creating distance wasn't going to keep working, especially not with this level of speed! Since that was a case, push forward!
{Sword of the Hero: Antecedent Vortex}!
Mana swirled to a fine point as Akiol thrust his sword forward. Space began to warp from the strike, like being dragged with the sword. Merin swiftly swung and directed the sword towards the ground, the force behind her swing also corrected the space before it could violently return. Yet despite the move she frowned. The styles she could glimpse, the constant foundations. . . They were gone. Not hidden, not even avoiding her sight. As if they never existed in the first place.
In fact, she couldn't even see some of the moves Akiol had recently executed. As if he was spending them like a consumable. It baffled her, nothing like this had ever existed. It was like he was tearing apart the path he had followed thus far! It should be impossible!
Even if you removed your memory of the techniques the muscle memory would remain. Even if you replaced your body the subconscious movements would appear. It was impossible to fully forget a technique you studied to perfection. At least it should be! If anyone could start over, what was the point of carefully planning your future path?
Akiol used the force to rotate into a stance. He was slowing, the extreme stress the technique was putting on his body was becoming too much to handle. Even his slime was struggling to remain in place. Therefor he should end it with a single remaining strike!
The pressure he released from his stance tripled! Its existence managed to draw the audience's attention away from the Sword Saint. A feat very few had ever accomplished!
Even Merin could feel a hint of danger, it made her incredibly surprised, "This is. . ."
'This move. . .' -Peerless Edge
Mana remained still, as if it didn't dare to intervene. As if the world wanted to watch what exactly was about to happen. . .
Merin narrowed her eyes, "That's a shame."
The pressure vanished and Akiol didn't move. His stance remained, but there was no signs of anything. Merin walked up to him and raised her sword. It seemed like Akiol stopped moving for one reason and one reason alone.
There was simply nothing else he could do. He had no muscle memory of any of the styles, there was no subconscious movements he could make. He no longer knew how to swing the sword properly, and because of it he stopped moving.
"I wonder what plan you had. But this is-"
She lowered her arm and looked upward, "Honorable Leader?"
Xo lowered into the Arena, "Pardon my interruption. But I have come here to take this one."
"What for?"
"He has entered a state I have not seen in a millennium. If anything were to interrupt it that would be a great shame. I shall place him into seclusion, this match shall be your victory."
Merin sheathed her sword, "For you to say you haven't seen it in so long it must be special. But I've never seen something like this before."
"A state of insight, reflection, and inspiration. There have been moments where someone has locked themselves away due to a gift of enlightenment. However what this one has entered is something far greater. . . more deep."
"What will become of him?"
"When he awakes. . . if he awakes that is. It will not be false to say he may become someone entirely different. What you saw here may no longer even exist. Those who enter this state will arise into something entirely new."
Merin laughed, "I'll look forward to it! I haven't seen such good swordsmanship in so long."
"Prepare yourself for the next match, I will manipulate the Arena."
"Ah yes, I still have one more."
She looked up towards the spectator box, "The one I was looking forward to the most."
With a faint smile she said, "Martial Lord candidate, Wrock."
-<>-
"I can't guarantee this will work, but hear me out. . ."
Akiol turned to face everyone, "How much confidence do you have in us winning against Nine and Heave?"
Horrow answered honestly, "I believe you have about a twenty percent chance. With the advantage of us reducing them to Second Stage our chances are not impossible."
"Then I have an idea. Kan'na, I need you to take out the first two Aces."
Aaron looked at Akiol with a dumbfounded expression, "Are you insane? One person taking down two Aces? That's not your average run of the mill fighter you know!"
Kan'na shook her head while chuckling, "Gonna make me work aren't you? Alright I can try."
Akiol nodded, "Even if you can't I believe you can make the second Ace weak enough to not cause too many issues."
Horrow interjected, "Even if Kan'na is capable of taking down two Aces, what purpose does it serve?"
"It buys us time. They will undoubtedly put the Sword Saint last, it just makes sense. Therefor once Kan'na beats the first two our remaining fighters will be in top condition to tackle the Sword Saint."
"I see, so you plan to have someone wear Merin down as much as possible and then tackle it with our strongest fighter?"
"Just about, and I nominate myself to take the second place. I'm the only one here who has fought her before. Using my trump cards should be enough to delay my loss long enough."
Aaron shook his head, "Merin isn't someone who will be worn just from fighting. We're talking about someone who's dedicated their lives to perfecting the sword. If the strategy to wear her down worked she wouldn't be at the pinnacle of The Gated Arena."
"I'm not trying to wear her down, I'm simply trying to have her use her swordsmanship. Which leaves us with our anchor. . ."
Wrock laughed, "So you want me to study your fight?"
"If you can reveal any flaws to exploit."
"Making yourself the sacrificial lamb is it? Are you sure you're okay with this?"
"Of course, why wouldn't I?"
"It would be a good opportunity to improve."
"Let's not worry about that for now. More importantly what do you think of this Horrow?"
The East Head drummed his fingers, "Interesting, you place a lot of faith with Wrock here. What are our chances with this strategy?"
"I'd say around five percent."
"Very generous. Alright we'll go with this plan."
Aaron objected, "Are you serious? The whole plan is insane!"
"Do you have a better idea?", Horrow asked calmly.
"Well I had one, but it's clear that there's no point in saying it."
"Then let us proceed."
-><-
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