章 6: A Knight's Hex
During Elish's life as a Primordial, such a thing as [Arts] never existed.
Humans relied solely on their wits and natural abilities. That was why they had so much faith in the divine beings since they used their supernatural powers to help humanity.
For [Arts] to exist, it meant that supernatural work was at play, and it was trite that the natural couldn't trump the supernatural.
But what was this Elish was hearing? The words the man just uttered sounded very familiar for some reason.
"How do you know Hex?" Elish asked the man with a conflicted expression. For the first time since he regained his memories, he felt bewildered.
"Heh, do you finally realize now? How outclassed you are." Leon Bertuli retorted confidently.
Somehow, the lack of composure of his adversary granted him more certainty in his victory. However, Leon currently had a fatal misconception of Elish's reaction to his words.
There was no fear or worry in Elish's thoughts. If anything, Elish was simply shocked—as one would be if they realized a new item they didn't know about had entered the market.
Leon, unfortunately, mistook this for trepidation.
'This is surprising. Did I hear wrong?' Elish slowly told himself that whatever the case was, he would soon find out.
This man named Leon now had his attention.
"[Hex #95: Elementalist <Model—Fire>]." Leon declared, his grin stretching all across his face to form an ugly representation of sheer confidence.
"95?" Elish grimaced. 'That's quite the versatile one.'
He remembered the function clearly, and if this man was competent in its use, he had to get away.
~VWUUSSHHH!~
Suddenly, a crimson ball of flames appeared in front of Leon. The heat radiated around him, causing the image of himself and everything around him to become distorted.
"Be burned to nothingness," he yelled arrogantly, launching the ball of crimson flames at Elish.
Elish was too stunned to react properly; however, in the split seconds before the flames reached him, he managed to dodge.
Although he dodged, the flames still grazed him, so he felt its heat.
~BOOOM!~
The flames cackled in explosion as they hit a tree behind him.
"Impressive. However, you're finished," Leon responded with nothing short of an amused cackle.
Another ball of red flames suddenly appeared from the behind Elish, connecting to his back in nearly the same instant it appeared.
The result was a fiery explosion that enveloped Elish and the area around him.
~BOOOOOOOMM!~
The heated pressure caused even Leon to cover his face, and he had to slide a few meters back in recoil. The smoke generated was also great enough to ascent to the heavens.
If steps weren't quickly taken, the situation could easily lead into a forest fire.
"That is why I told you not to get overly confident," Leon muttered with a confident smile, ignoring the remaining embers of flames that seemed to be dying out on their own.
In the end, all that would be left of his foe were ashes.
At least, that was what Leon had thought.
"I have to admit. You had me for a second there," Elish suddenly spoke, emerging from the dense cloud of smoke.
"E-eh…?" The soldier could only stutter in response to the man who was meant to be dead.
Elish's appearance was by no means a glorious one. Not only had the flames charred his outfit, but the smoke also surrounded his body, almost in an embrace.
Any human wouldn't have been able to breathe or see properly in such a space.
"H-how are you still—"
Before Leon could speak, Elish brandished his blade and swiftly dealt a smooth strike at the surrounding smoke surrounding him.
In an instant, everything around him was rendered clear, and even the embers of flames vanished completely.
"How did you survive that?!" Leon's expression was one of shock and sheer disbelief.
It was in sharp contrast to Elish's stoic—no, perhaps even disappointed—expression.
'If I have to guess, I'll say what he just used was a surefire attack, a one-shot move that always works against his opponents.'
However, that did nothing to quell the immense dissatisfaction Elish was now experiencing.
'This is it? Just that blast, and it qualifies as ultimate destruction?'
Elish had never been more confused in his life.
"You. I'll ask you again, how do you know Hex?" He asked, now mildly annoyed.
"M-My Hex. How can you survive it?" Leon murmired, still shaken by the sight of a civilian like this individual surviving something he deemed powerful.
He didn't even seem to use any [Art] to defend himself.
How was that even possible?.
However, the one who was truly more shaken by the current situation was Elish. Unlike Leon, however, he was experiencing more of annoyance than fear.
It wasn't even because of Leon's refusal to answer his question for the second time, or the fact that his outfit had been a bit marred.
What ticked him off the most was what he had just seen.
"You call that Hex?" In response to Elish's question, Leon moved two steps bakwards and whimpered.
The man's eyes seemed to radiate surprise, which further added to Elish's frustrations.
His brows were furrowed in anger, and bridled fury was still etched in his heart. Clearly, he wasn't pleased.
And why would he be?
'When he first mentioned Hex, I was a little apprehensive. Without appropriate precautions, the damage caused by Hex has the chance to damage my current body'
He had asked himself millions of questions at that point.
How did the humans get to know about it in the first place? Was it due to his absence? If that were the case, who was the one who found it, and how could his siblings allow the proliferation of such an Art?
Elish had even felt his heart race slightly at the prospect of having something like Hex in the hands of mere humans.
But now, all of that anticipation had turned into disgust.
Elish was disgusted at the awful and pitiful display the Imperial Knight had just shown him.
Why was he so agitated? He knew the answer too well!
"I'll show you my ultimate move. A more powerful one! The Highest Hex I have mastered!" Leon interrupted Elish's thoughts with more of his blabbering.
"Hm?"
"[Hex #87]!" Leon declared, his teeth grating and his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets as his voice reached a new crescendo.
Energy burst from within him, swirling around him as it ascended up high. It felt like he was bleeding out all of his remaining energy, but compared to the rewards he would reap from this enterprise… it was worth it!
'I'll destroy you… no matter what!'
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