{T/N: Good news, everyone! It seems that during my year-long hiatus, a reader decided to take matters into their own hands (which I commend). They managed to translate the entirety of this fic...
If anyone is interested, do check it out, it's available here on Webnovel.
Title: The Hermit - Lord of Mysteries}
...
The venue for the new match was a vast expanse of artificial grass, dotted with numerous leafless, withered trees.
The absence of foliage was intentional, ensuring unobstructed views for the audience.
These trees were made of sturdy Sandalwood, which, though withered, remained sturdy enough that even revolver bullets couldn't pierce through their trunks. The trunks bore scars from blades and axes, evidence of the fierce battles that had taken place in this arena, with competitors leveraging these trees for cover.
The spectator stands here were higher than those in the previous venue. Once the match began, a Sealed Artifact would erect a protective barrier to shield the audience from stray projectiles...
Tonight, this arena was hosting a special match.
The standout contestant was Lelouch, who arrived carrying a massive bag of weapons and clutching a seemingly impractical small shield. The shield's limited size made it appear inadequate for blocking bullets fired by his opponent, Alva.
Yet, as soon as the two began their clash, the audience witnessed something astonishing. Despite the bulk of Lelouch's bag, he moved with remarkable agility. And though his shield was too small to even cover his face, it somehow managed to intercept every bullet fired from Alva's revolver.
Some Beyonders in the audience clearly noticed that it wasn't Lelouch's shield actively intercepting the bullets from Alva's revolver... rather, regardless of the angle of fire, the bullets were all attracted onto the shield instead!
To the untrained eye, however, it appeared as though Alva were aiming directly at Lelouch's shield.
Alva realized that his opponent was far from the reckless fighter he seemed... each piece of his equipment had its own purpose, making it difficult for the revolver to harm him.
Alva stopped advancing and quickly retreated instead. At this moment, his aura shifted drastically. His eyeballs turned completely white, devoid of any pupil color.
A sudden chill swept through the arena, causing Odis to shudder involuntarily. He recognized that his opponent had begun to harness his Beyonder abilities.
Alva was a 'Spirit Medium', capable of summoning spirits to fight on his behalf... {T/N: 'Spirit Medium' is Sequence 7 of the 'Death' Pathway...}
Odis halted his advance as well. He opened his bag and withdrew a long, bright golden metal rod. The rod was over a meter tall and gleamed vividly...
...
Seated in the stands, Audrey lacked sufficient knowledge of the mystical world and struggled to follow the duel's intricacies. Instead of asking questions, she listened intently to the conversations around her.
Sure enough, a moment later, she overheard someone behind her mid-explanation: "...that metal rod must be crafted from a significant amount of spiritual materials from the 'Sun' Pathway. That's why it looks so bright and gives off a warm feeling."
After a short breath, the voice continued, "Now look at Lelouch's opponent. The colors of the space around him seem to have dimmed. He's likely using some necromantic Beyonder ability. As everyone knows, spiritual materials from the 'Sun' Pathway are highly effective against the undead."
At this moment, someone else chimed in: "Their fight isn't very exciting. It looks like they're just swinging their weapons at the air, and the reason Alva's revolver couldn't even reach Lelouch earlier is because they were too far apart, right?"
This echoed Audrey's own earlier confusion...
Alva was pacing heavily, muttering what seemed like incantations, while Lelouch slashed his sword at the air.
The duel lacked the intensity of the previous match and seemed more like a comical dance on the arena floor.
After hearing the earlier explanation, Audrey realized that she would need to activate her Spirit Vision to perceive how the two were actually fighting.
Sure enough, the voice that had explained earlier laughed and said: "That's because you can't see it."
Audrey memorized this voice, as this person must also be a Beyonder. Then, using the method she learned from the Tarot Club, she activated her Spirit Vision.
Immediately after, she saw Lelouch wielding a longsword against several illusory figures. These specters appeared wary of the golden metal rod behind Lelouch and did not dare to attack him from behind, despite their numbers.
Moreover, the sword in Lelouch's hand frequently emitted crackling electric sparks, indicating it was no ordinary blade, causing the specters to refrain from approaching it.
At that moment, Lelouch waved his sword to drive the specters back, then suddenly pulled a red javelin over a meter long from his bag. He pointed it at Alva, then threw it.
*Zzzt!*
The javelin emitted a peculiar buzzing sound. Despite Lelouch's apparent lack of force, it flew a considerable distance towards Alva with pinpoint accuracy.
Recognizing the javelin's threat, Alva swiftly dodged. To everyone's astonishment, the javelin turned mid-air and exploded not far in front of him.
*BOOM!*
The resulting deafening explosion startled the audience. No one had anticipated that a javelin could unleash an explosion akin to a small-caliber artillery shell, leaving a large crater on the arena floor.
What was even more astonishing was that despite the javelin exploding right in front of him, Alva was not killed! He seemed barely injured, though he looked disheveled as he scurried behind a tree for cover.
At this point, even spectators without Spirit Vision realized that the match had transcended ordinary combat. The two contestants were engaged in a fierce battle beyond their comprehension!
Many spectators suddenly felt that such a match was somewhat terrifying...
...
Back on the arena...
Odis, using his Spirit Vision, observed that just as the javelin was about to strike Alva, he managed to summon a spirit to block it, thus avoiding the explosion and sustaining only minor injuries.
The principle behind these javelins was somewhat similar to Odis's red axe explosives, though their power was far less potent.
The difference lay in that the javelins possessed excellent armor-piercing capabilities and could lock onto a designated target. Odis merely needed to point at the target, and the javelin would fly toward it, capable of changing direction twice during its flight.
However, in terms of cost-effectiveness, the javelins were not as economical as the axes. But since 'Leader' had already used the explosive axes, 'Lelouch' naturally couldn't use them again...
Now, hiding behind a tree, Alva, having recovered from the recent explosion, continued to manipulate the specters he had summoned earlier to attack his opponent.
Odis took a yellow canister from his pouch and threw it at the specters not far away.
*Pop!*
Upon landing, the canister emitted a soft pop, and golden-yellow powder burst out, scattering everywhere.
This was Sun Powder, which Odis concocted himself. Without invoking the power of the Eternal Blazing Sun through prayer to enhance the powder's effectiveness, sprinkling it on the specters, which were undead creatures, still caused them excruciating pain, making them writhe on the ground in agony.
Seizing this opportunity, Odis quickly charged towards Alva.
Although 'Spirit Mediums' could summon Spirits, Undead, and Spirit World creatures to fight on their behalf and even inflict damage on a target's Spirit Body, making them relatively strong among Sequence 7s; their weaknesses were equally apparent. Abilities and mystical items from the 'Sun' Pathway strongly countered the creatures they summoned.
Therefore, the weapons Odis brought today were specially crafted by him to deal with these summons...
He threw another javelin towards Alva's direction.
*BOOM!*
The tree was split in two by the explosion. Alva hurriedly dodged the blast and drew his revolver from his waist, firing at Odis.
The explosion drew thunderous applause from the audience. The shockwaves it generated thrilled them, proving even more exhilarating than the earlier matches.
On the arena, Alva changed tactics, drawing his silver sword and charging at Lelouch.
His summons had been neutralized by his opponent, so fighting at a distance offered little advantage. He planned to engage Lelouch in close combat while using Spirit Channelling to launch surprise attacks.
However, Alva clearly underestimated Odis's intelligence and the preparations he had made for this battle.
Wielding shield in one hand and a sword in the other, Lelouch appeared ready to engage Alva in swordplay. But as the distance between them closed, the shield's casing suddenly fell off.
An intricate array was etched on the fallen casing.
Before Alva could even discern its structure, it spontaneously combusted, flames swiftly engulfing the array and obliterating all traces of it.
At that moment, the golden shield in Odis's hand transformed into a silver one.
Alva cautiously thrust his sword forward.
Odis, lacking skill in swordsmanship, clumsily parried the attack. At that moment, his shield suddenly launched like a projectile, flying toward Alva's shoulder.
The proximity between them and the unexpected nature of the attack left Alva no time to summon a spirit as a shield. Though the 'Corpse Collector' Pathway granted him a robust physique, he braced himself to withstand the impact.
To his surprise, the shield's impact wasn't very strong. Instead, it seemed to latch onto his shoulder, refusing to fall away.
Noticing Lelouch turning to flee, Alva realized something was amiss and quickly attempted to remove the shield. However, the shield's outer layer was inexplicably sticky, and he couldn't pry it off...
*Click*
Then, he heard a soft sound. Sensing danger, he discarded his sword and used both hands to try to remove the shield.
*Rip!*
His clothing tore, and the shield was finally removed, but it stuck to his hands instead!
At that moment, Odis threw himself to the ground–
*BOOOM!*
In the next instant, the shield detonated violently. Alva's entire body was charred black, and both his forearms were blown off! Yet, he wasn't dead, only unconscious.
Odis rushed forward, thrusting his sword to end Alva's life. He looted the silver sword, revolver, and dagger from the fallen 'Spirit Medium'.
He was well aware that the explosion alone wouldn't end a Sequence 7 Beyonder. If given the chance to recover, Alva, aided by his summons, would remain a formidable foe.
Odis didn't want to live such a glaring thorn by his side, so he chose to eliminate Alva permanently.
At this moment, the crowd let out two successive gasps of surprise. The first was for the unexpected explosion; the second was from Odis brazenly killing his opponent right before everyone's eyes.
*Clap!*
A solitary, resonant clap pierced the silence.
*Clap!* *Clap...*
The arena doors swung open as manager Bishop strode onto the field, applauding slowly as he strode towards Odis...