432 Chapter 432: Last Stand (2/2)
Rigel wasn't just a projectile. It was practically a mini-nuke.
Boom!
A mushroom cloud expanded across the coliseum, obscuring the view of the yelling and shrieking spectators. Colossal flames licked the ceiling and walls, and a molten crater had been blasted into existence from the sheer destructive power of my arrow. Flaming debris rained downward, crumbling into blackened pieces as they struck the ground.
Then a golden beacon of light flared up once more. Charles struggled to his feet, his sword glowing, and he unleashed another Excalibur at me. It took me a second to dismiss Orion and conjure Snow Aegis, but I was able to nullify the majority of the blast, especially since it was still in its restricted form. Even so, it was more than enough to shatter my greatest defense.
Through the falling frost fragments of my broken snowflake shield, Charles came flying. I drew both swords in time to parry his strike, but was almost blown away by his incredible strength. Gritting my teeth, I stood my ground, refusing to yield. We traded a few more blows, each one sending a shot of chill up Charles's body and clogging up his mana circulation. He paused to withdraw a couple of times, his limbs locked in ice, but he shattered them with his holy magic before resuming the fight. It was only because of these little hindrances and my disruption of his mana circulation that I was able to fight on par with his superlative swordsmanship, or he would have cut me apart eons ago. However, on the same token, his holy magic was offering him great resistance against my icy disruption debuffs, and he was able to slog on despite my passive spells causing him problems.
I couldn't afford to withdraw – if I continue to engage him in close range, I could prevent him from firing off one of those dreaded Excalibur spells of his. Without a choice, I needed to keep him close, or I would be obliterated sooner or later.
”!!”
However, the longer we fought, the more I realized that I had been outmatched from the very start. My movements were becoming more sluggish and my arms numb. To my horror, I realized that the holy lightning that continued to crackle around Charles's body was having similar debilitating effects to mine. The electricity was gradually seeping into my body as well, hindering my mana circulation, numbing my msucles and cutting off the neural connections between my brain and my arms. Blood splattered the ground as Charles's attacks began hitting closer to home. I was unable to block and parry all of them, and I slowly gave ground.
”Ugh…!”
Another cut opened a new wound on my neck, and I staggered. A follow-up riposte slashed across my chest before I could block it, and I felt blood dripping from my left arm, a fresh injury that came when Charles almost casually flicked his sword. It was almost as if he was toying with me, but I knew he was suffering the same disruption as I was.
Lightning versus ice. Who would prevail?
I couldn't allow this battle to drag on any longer. I knew I couldn't hold on for much longer, given the mounting loss of blood, and my increasing lack of mana circulation. Charles was succeeding more and more with every stroke, with each strike coming closer to a vital point. At some point, he was going to break through my defenses and deliver a decisive blow. In contrast, it was all I could do to defend and keep up with his moments.
Clearly, I was never going to best the King of Knights himself in a sword duel. However, if we were talking about magic…
”Absolute Zero!”
I unleashed all of my mana in a single surge, enveloping the entire space in ice. Bringing the temperature down to zero Kelvin, or -273 degrees Celsius, I plunged everything into a suspended state of motionless. Even mana itself couldn't possibly move under such extreme conditions…
However, Charles's body continued to move. The golden aura that wreathed him continued to flare brightly, as did his Sword of Promised Victory. To my horror, I understood why. Absolute Zero, while extremely powerful, was not invincible. Of course there would be magic spells or enchantments that could resist it, otherwise ice mages would just dominate everyone else. It wasn't as if we could defeat everyone just because we had an ultimate spell of our own.
Charles had his holy magic – holy buffs and blessings that increased his resistance. It was the only reason why he was still able to move under absolute zero conditions. His Excalibur streaked toward me, and I weakly deflected it to the side, only for him to reverse the trajectory of his sword and plunged it into my chest.
I looked down dumbly for a moment, my consciousness fading away.
Like hell I would fall here!
Gritting my teeth, I lunged forward and slashed at Charles, but both of my swords missed because he pulled back at that very moment. Those cursed combat instincts of his…a natural gift he was born with, something he didn't have to work hard to attain, unlike my mind's eye.
This was why I hated talented geniuses…
Trying to endure the pain, I forced myself to take a step forward, but for some reason my body refused to listen to me…
*
Even as Charles Lacroix yanked his sword out, he realized that the opponent in front of him was still standing. He prepared for another strike, only to hesitate and pull back.
”What is he doing?”
”The match isn't over yet.”
”Is he showing mercy?”
The spectators were confused, watching the two boys stand on the arena. Both of them continued to face off, but neither made a single move.
”Oi! Resume the match!”
”It's not over yet!”
”Hurry and finish him off!”
”There's no need for that.” wiping blood from his mouth, Charles Lacroix turned to the commentator. ”I think the result is clear enough.”
The commentator watched the bespectacled figure of the other guy for a few moments, and then nodded.
”Match over. Winner…Charles Lacroix!”
”Huh?!”
”What's going on?!”
The members of Jing Tian Academy jumped to their feet in the technical area in an uproar, but Harrison gestured for them to sit back down, shaking his head.
”It's over,” he told them sadly. ”The referee is correct.”
”But how?!” Craig demanded fiercely. ”Richard is still standing…”
”Yeah, but he has lost consciousness.”
At Harrison's words, the rest of the team looked at the boy on the stage, his silhouette stationary and motionless. His eyes were still open, but there was no light in them. He was staring blankly at nothingness. They could not detect a hint of consciousness in his gaze at all.
”Richard…” Pearl whispered, aghast.
They could do nothing but watch as the medics rushed up the stage to handle the unconscious guy, who – even until the very end – was determined not to fall.