(Omni POV)
A sparring competition, instigated by Adam, was taking place in the very stadium where Nava and Lan had completed their final test. The reward for the competition: the winner would be granted early access to one of the artifacts Adam created.
The first match saw Mammon Abraham lose to Flores Evangelion. Mammon's defeat was due to Flores' surprising speed, even while wielding a heavy claymore. Next, Shane Mistosa was defeated by Pandora Paragon. The match didn't even last ten minutes; though Shane was physically stronger, Pandora proved far too tricky to fight. Finally, Flores Evangelion lost to Dino Zazel in the third match. Dino's superior speed was decisive, and he was able to create new variations of their teacher's techniques on the spot.
The final match was underway: Dino Zazel versus Pandora Paragon. They stood opposite each other, Dino gripping his dual swords while Pandora calmly caressed her dagger.
"Start!" Adam shouted.
Dino vanished mid-stride, instantly reappearing behind Pandora. His swords flashed in a swift attempt to slice her in half, which Pandora only barely managed to dodge, a thin crimson line appearing across her shoulder. Vanishing in turn, Pandora instantly teleported into Dino's shadow and lunged, her dagger aimed for his back.
Dino blocked the blow and, at the same moment, activated his Stigmata, inducing the urge to sleep and dream into Pandora. The effect was immediate: Pandora's movements became heavy and sluggish, as if she were wading through thick water. In response, Pandora activated her own Stigmata, channeling raw fear into Dino. A visceral, paralyzing dread struck him, but his training kicked in. He became anxious and hyper-aware, using the sharp edge of the fear to fuel his focus instead of being consumed by it.
"Is that all you can do, Pandora?" Dino challenged, his voice strained but firm. He used his speed to execute a complex series of blocks, parrying her slowed dagger attacks while running backward. He leveraged his position to deliver a sweeping low slash with one sword toward her legs, forcing her to halt her chase.
Pandora gritted her teeth, annoyed by the persistent drowsiness. She barely cleared the low cut, but as she did, the dagger in her hand, the lesser artifact Envy, pulsed with a dim, dark energy. She slammed the dagger's pommel down, catching the flat of Dino's second sword just as it was aimed for her wrist, and focused her will on the point of contact. A dense, cold shadow energy instantly wrapped around the blade, slowing its withdrawal and attempting to twist the weapon from Dino's grip.
Dino felt the unexpected, physical weight of the dark energy. Recognizing the artifact's influence, he didn't fight the pull. Instead, he released the captured sword, using the momentum of the pull to spin his body entirely, kicking out and forcing Pandora to lean away to avoid the strike.
Separated by ten feet, Pandora knew she couldn't rely on speed or pure strength against his frenzy of dual blades. She extended her hand, and from the ground, three semi-sentient shadow clones of herself rose up, each armed with a dagger woven from pure darkness. These clones moved immediately, flanking Dino from three angles simultaneously.
Dino smirked, a dangerous glint in his eye. He channeled his Stigmata again, not for sleep this time, but for the inherent creative speed within him. He also activated the lesser artifact Equinox. A subtle golden aura enveloped his remaining sword and his body, causing his movements to blur. He met the three clones in an explosive flurry. He didn't waste time on defense; he relied on sheer velocity. The first clone dissolved into mist as his blade passed through its head. The second dissolved from a strike to the chest. The third, attempting a low sweep, was obliterated by a downward slash.
The three attacks took less than three seconds. With the clones gone, Dino didn't pause. He used the momentum of his final strike to launch himself forward, imitating the ground-breaking, spiraling jump his senior Nava had used. He executed the technique flawlessly: he pointed both his swords—the one he kept and the one he quickly retrieved mid-leap—forward, and spun faster than the eye could follow. He looked like a streaking, shadowy-golden bullet, circling the whole arena and confusing Pandora as to his final target.
Suddenly, he changed direction, the spiraling projectile screaming directly toward Pandora. She readied herself, summoning all her remaining fear-energy to coat her dagger in an obsidian sheath, ready to face the near-unstoppable speed that was coming.
A blinding, golden light erupted from the collision, forcing Mammon, Flores, and Shane to shield their eyes completely. Adam, however, watched directly into the light, smiling as he muttered: "Dino's potential is truly crazy. If I myself hadn't investigated his origin, I would have considered him as a transmigrator."
The blinding light subsided. Mammon, Flores, and Shane looked back at the arena where the clash had ended. They saw an unconscious Pandora lying where she had stood, while Dino stood upright, both of his golden-sheened swords stuck point-down in the stadium floor, completely unconscious.
"Dino is the winner," Adam shouted, his naturally innocent face and tone unwavering. Looking at the unconscious forms of both Pandora and Dino, the others agreed that Dino was the rightful winner.
Elsewhere, in St. Freya High, Nava watched the match recording on the phone her teacher had given her. "Dino is talented, maybe more than the others," she mused. "But his Stigmata is weaker than Pandora's, which is why they can be evenly matched." Nava rewatched the final clash once more, then pulled the blanket closer, falling asleep soundly as she used the memories of her and Lan's travels to relax her mind.
Meanwhile, at the main base of Schicksal, Lan watched the match while eating his food, muttering: "He's fast, but I'm faster." Lan praised himself, then tucked his phone back into his pocket. He returned to training his archery, even though it was past midnight. Thinking of Nava, his motivation to keep walking forward, he smiled and trained more fiercely.
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I'm practicing my writing on fight scenes using this chapter and my god was I trash, I was quite literally carried by Gemini ai when writing this one
I also watched the new Minecraft arg of wifies and holy was it goated
What fascinates me when watching it is the stacked cipher that d3rlord3 deciphered this is what I got when I deciphered it
Untranslated:
OMCTSTJBHTHHAHUBWLVQCVYOM
LPCUIGVITUHQADUSSJHEWWAFABD
CVDAVOGHPHAFHHUIGHGHGOOTHI
UCCHNEPBGJLHCTAOHTHIJH
Translated:
THE KING MUST KNOW ABOUT THE MAN WHO IS FOLLOWING YOU HE IS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK DO YOU HEAR THE FOOTSTEPS
Who do you guys think is the king 🤔
Ask some questions maybe I will answer it maybe not
[Questions]