Chapter 415 - Clashing Skills (2/2)

As Zeldrion wondered where Aurus would appear next, Aurus caught the former off guard as he appeared just a few meters above him, conjuring three more decoys that augmented the power of his blade. With that, he put all of his weight behind the blade he wielded as he shouted, ”[Penta-Fragarach]!”

”[Meteor Tempest]!”

Bang!

With the speed behind Aurus's attack increasing all of a sudden, Zeldrion hastily imbued mana into his body as he gave it his all to dodge the attack that seemed to have reached a level beyond the strongest person he had fought against so far.

Fortunately, with his reaction speed, the blade was only able to cut along the skin of his upper torso, making for a grievous-looking wound, but was something that did not affect his combat ability whatsoever. Nevertheless, it was still a gruesome sight for others as they looked at the fight from beyond the barrier.

Seeing as his attack did not kill his opponent, Aurus went ahead and increased the ferocity behind his attacks, imbuing his blade with the element of wind and void as he sent a barrage of attacks towards the injured Zeldrion. At first, Zeldrion was finding it quite easy to deflect the attacks, recalling how this situation had occurred just some time ago, but now the sides have been switched.

However, as time passed, Zeldrion noticed that the attacks Aurus employed seemed to gradually remind him more and more of a certain person. Once the attacks seemed to have reached their peak, it was only then that he realized…that Aurus's attacks were emulating his!

”What?!” With great surprise, Zeldrion increased his defenses to the maximum as he finally treated his opponent as something that even the entire world of Erudinia would have to fear. Not knowing what to do next, he hastily sent a strand to a certain person as he asked in his mind, ”Dalton, why didn't you tell me he had the ability to quickly learn from other people?”

”To be honest, even I didn't know that,” Dalton quickly replied, appearing in less than an instant just a few meters outside the barrier where Zeldrion could see him. ”In fact, I haven't seen him use the skill in our fight at all.”

”Do you know of any skill that allows one to do something like this?” Zeldrion asked, taking note of the fact that Aurus was charging up his final attack, an attack that looked similar to his final attack after the massive barrage. While Zeldrion was putting defenses on top of defenses, Dalton replied, ”Even with the massive amount of knowledge in my head, I can only think of my innate skill [Hyperthymesia] that would allow one to do this. But even I would take a day at the very least to learn what you've done.”

”What kind of monstrous human did this continent give birth to?” Hearing that even Dalton did not know the answer to the question, this was the only thing Zeldrion could mutter out. Surprisingly, Dalton replied to this question, prompting Zeldrion to look at the former with shock in his eyes.

”Who says you're fighting against a human?”

”Huh?” Naturally, Zeldrion was caught off guard by that. Coincidentally, it was at this moment that Aurus sent out his attack, crumpling all of Zeldrion's defenses in one go. With that, Zeldrion used his trusty blade to deflect the attack, albeit with a lot of effort.

Fortunately, after that attack, it seemed that Aurus was gearing up for another hard-hitting attack as he conjured a few more decoys of himself, stacking them on top of his blades. With some leeway to process the information he had obtained and work from there, Zeldrion then asked Dalton, ”So, am I fighting against a Pseudo-Animate? Perhaps, one of the various inheritance holders in the continent?”

”Nope,” Dalton quickly replied.

”Then, what…?” Just as Zeldrion was about to ask Dalton yet another question, it was as if everything had clicked at that very moment. The ability to heal from grievous wounds, the ability to learn his fighting style, the ability to fight those beyond his level, and the fact that he wasn't a Pseudo-Animate only meant one thing to Zeldrion.

”It seems you've found the answer to your question,” Dalton could not help but say, to which Zeldrion lightly nodded. ”Although he's a part of that organization, he's still an Inanimate. I think I now know what to do from here on out.”

”To think I would fight against someone from an organization that spans the entirety of Erudinia,” he could not help but mutter. After that, he sent a strand to another being that only a select number of people in the kingdom know of. Once the connection was completed, the person on the other side asked Zeldrion, ”What made you contact me at this hour, child?”

”Grandfathe—” Recalling that he was calling him for official matters, Zeldrion quickly corrected himself as he said, ”Sir Wilhelm, the kingdom needs your assistance as we're facing off an opponent that's of a similar level to yours.”

”What do you want me to do? Should I eradicate it from the face of this world?” the man named Wilhelm asked in response.

”It would be preferable if you defeated and captured it, sir. With it, we would be able to make something that would benefit the entire kingdom,” Zeldrion replied, prompting the man to ask in a tone with a hint of interest, ”Is that so? Well, just tell me when I should take over.”

”As you wish, Sir Wilhelm.” Ending their conversation there, King Zeldrion then looked at Aurus, who seemed to be accumulating energy behind his next attack. In any case, now that he truly knew who he was fighting against, he did not have to hold back anymore, pointing his blade at the air as he shouted, ”Ignite!”

”Valtyrisk!”

Swoosh!

In an instant, the blade named Valtyrisk, which Zeldrion wielded, radiated a faint orange light as it gave off the feeling that a dragon was slumbering inside it. After that, Zeldrion swung Valtyrisk downward, instantly cutting off both of Aurus's arms.

”[Cutthroat Blade Arts].”

”Rend.”