Strike!

Strike!

Pirouette!

Arabesque!

At this level, high-speed battles between high-tiered aether warriors were not uncommon, but the speed at which they were moving was unprecedented.

Every time Rondo attempted to strike at Razorstella’s torso or head, the only parts of her body that weren’t razor sharp and radiated an aura of pure deadliness, the sword-limbed dancer would perform an unexpected move that would redirect the blow to one of her sharp limbs.

If one were to ask Razorstella about this observation, she would declare that both parts were correct.

Once they had, Razorstella deliberately forced a situation where she and Rondo were now locked in against one another. Namely, she finally swung out her claws and forced Rondo to use his rapier to block the attack aimed at his face.

"You dare to mock me, monster?" Rondo asked through gritted teeth as he kept doing his best to try and push back against Razorstella’s deceptively dainty claws. "Once I land a proper blow against you, you’re as good as dead!"

Rondo didn’t dare to give an actual response to Razorstella’s inquiry, but it had to do with his title amongst his fellow Penance Burners and his own [Astra].

If one were to put numbers to this, instead of simply doing ten points of damage per hit, his attacks would be ten, then eleven, 12.1, etc. As such, his attacks go from feeling like simple stings to viciously powerful strikes that could tear a hole through an iron shell and then some.

Rondo had actually been able to land a couple of hits against Razorstella’s person multiple times, due to the carelessness of the latter, but the usual lingering effect that would enhance his blows simply fizzled out like a embers falling into a large pool of water. Or in this case, an ember entering the vacuum of space.

[Well, I guess it doesn’t matter,] Razorstella shrugged. [What do you say we stop throwing around these practice swings and start making use of some actual, techniques? For example!]

This, in turn, left the man wide open to a follow-up attack from Razorstella.

[Nebula Cutter!]

Halina’s [Astra], the [Scrying Glass of Reversing Tides], had been made with two important abilities baked in.

There were many factors that determined the exact arts she could use her [Astra] on, but the shared rule between them is that they had to be attacks that she could reasonably defend against without the use of her [Astra]. In other words, she could defend and absorb attacks from other Aether Lords with relative ease, as long as they weren’t using intermediate World-class aether arts or above.

A majority of aether warriors cultivated a single affinity; as such, they were naturally weak against affinities that were in direct opposition to their own.

[Lifegiver’s Cry!]

Screamira released a terrifying wail that carried the sound of a mournful death, while Halina’s [Astra] released a cry that carried hints of the joyful cries of life.

Now, this particular exchange of attacks had happened about a half dozen times or so, to the point where Halina assumed that Screamira was a one-trick pony. Over and over again, Screamira released a powerful scream that Halina would then immediately counter.

"Is screaming all you can do?!" the Penance Burner roared out of frustration. In past fights, her foes would eventually pivot or err due to their repetitive failures. However, Screamira continued to scream, as if she were the embodiment of insanity.

[Lifegiver’s Cry!] 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

With her presence shrouded by the collision of energy, Screamira closed the gap between herself and Halina while Halina was still recovering from firing off her previous attack.

[You know, I once read that warriors like you tend to have a flaw in your counter attacks. Something about timing or not being as strong as the original blow, it’s always one or the other. Yours seem to be the former.]

[That means I can do this! Death Straight!]

"Stand still!"

Springerdermain had meant it when he said he learned how to dodge, and was showing Boldra that being bulky didn’t always mean victory.

However, the tricky magician of a kaijin had several tricks up his sleeves for such moments and always managed to escape by the scale of his skin.

"If you want to know what my [Meteor Pauldrons] can do, why don’t you stop disappearing like a ghost and take these hits like a man?!" Boldra roared before opting to do a double-fisted hammer swing that landed on the ground.

Springerdermain, however, was nowhere near the impact point. He had managed to leap into the air in time and saw that that crater wasn’t just Boldra’s brute strength.

[Ah, so that’s the trick.]

Once Boldra deemed it necessary, he would release all the pent-up energy in one giant burst.

Snakes often hide their fangs until it is time to strike, and large brutes hide their tricks until it is time to smash.

[You know, I feel bad that you haven’t been able to land a hit on me this entire time, so I’m going to make it up to you. Here’s a whole bunch of me for you to try and hit! Magician’s Army!]

And all twelve were now flying towards Boldra to land a kick into his face.