Beyond the Bloodline-Chapter 280: Azure Void Paragon (Replica) vs Amber Sword II
By the time Replica Jamie’s slash was tearing through the dome, John had already charged forward again, weaving through the serpents that formed another net around him.
His body bent at impossible angles to avoid the attacks, then closed the distance once more.
Just as he was about to attack, he vanished from sight for a moment and reappeared directly behind Replica Jamie. His sword’s edge was aimed at Replica Jamie’s back, but before he could bring the blade down, Replica Jamie raised a hand, forming a finger gun.
Without looking back, he pointed it over his shoulder and fired a concentrated bullet of spatial energy.
The bullet tore through the air at light speed, forcing John to bend backwards in mid-air. The bullet passed just above his nose, the heat and pressure from its passage tickling him a bit.
Before John could recover his stance, Replica Jamie’s body slid forward in space. Raising his leg, he delivered a sharp kick to John’s torso.
The impact sent shockwaves rippling through the arena, knocking John back dozens of meters.
John flipped mid-air, landing on his feet with a skidding halt. He looked up to see Replica Jamie casually returning his hands to his pockets, his expression calm as ever.
The ground beneath Replica Jamie rippled again, and another swarm of space snakes emerged, their numbers doubling. They shot toward John in every direction, their speed and precision far surpassing the previous wave.
John moved at light speed, his blade slashing through the snakes as he navigated the ever-tightening net.
The arena became a chaotic display of destruction and motion, with fragments of space and serpentine constructs scattering like shards of glass.
Replica Jamie continued his attacks, one hand in his pocket while the other waved around, releasing spatial slashes or compressed energy bullets.
But despite the barrage of attacks, John closed the gap once more, his blade a blur as it aimed for Replica Jamie’s throat.
Replica Jamie tilted his head slightly, the blade missing by a hair’s breadth. Without missing a beat, he raised his hand again, summoning a series of spatial spheres that hovered around him.
Snapping his fingers, the spheres shot toward John, their gravitational pull distorting the space around them.
John ducked, twisted, and deflected the spheres with his blade, but the sheer number of them forced him to retreat momentarily. The arena floor was littered with the aftermath of their clash—cracks in space, fading energy remnants, and shimmering distortions that the Amphitheatre struggled to repair.
Still, neither fighter showed signs of exhaustion.
John smirked, gripping his sword tighter as he prepared to charge again.
Replica Jamie, hands still in his pockets, tilted his head slightly, and then his lips curled up into a grin that promised trouble.
It was the same mischievous one that mirrored the real Jamie’s signature expression.
It was the grin of someone about to toy with their opponent.
John was called the ’Amber Sword’. He had other powers and was skilled with other weapons, but primarily, he was a Swordsman.
Recalling this fact, Replica Jamie slowly pulled his right hand from his pocket. He clenched both fists and pressed them together, side by side.
Then, he drew his left fist away, and as he did, spatial power coalesced between his hands.
The energy bent and shimmered as though the very fabric of the universe was being repurposed. Bit by bit, the construct took shape—a blade forged entirely from spatial energy.
Its surface refracted light in impossible ways, and once the sword was complete, Replica Jamie gripped it firmly with his right hand.
[Aspect of the Space Sword: Dáinsleif.]
He levelled the blade at John, who sighed faintly and spoke.
"Well, if we’re doing this..."
He held his standard-issue sword aloft, a weapon plain in appearance but reliable in John’s hands. With two fingers, he drew a line down the blade, and instantly, it was enveloped in a thin but potent layer of amber light—his aura, the mark of his title.
Without another word, the two charged at each other. At light speed, they collided in the centre of the arena, their swords clashing with such force that shockwaves rippled outwards, causing cracks to form on the arena floor.
The audience barely had time to register the flashes of movement, their eyes straining to follow the chaotic, high-speed battle.
Replica Jamie’s sword rent space as it danced in the air. Each strike was accompanied by bursts of spatial distortions, the edges of his blade tearing at the very fabric of reality.
John met each attack head-on, his amber-coated sword cutting cleanly through the distortions and holding his own against the spatial construct.
Not letting up, Replica Jamie sent space snakes erupting from the ground, weaving through the battlefield like sentient missiles. They coordinated perfectly with his sword strikes, forcing John to defend against multiple angles at once.
John’s movements were a blur. His sword flashed as he sliced through the serpents, pivoting and twisting to dodge incoming strikes.
Their swords clashed and sparked as they moved through the arena. Replica Jamie added to the spectacle by releasing spatial bullets with his left hand, but John deflected them with precise swings of his sword, the amber aura leaving faint trails in the air.
Replica Jamie conjured several spatial spheres and sent them hurtling towards John, but the other Hybrid dodged, leaping and flipping in mid-air to avoid the volatile projectiles.
One sphere got close, but John spun his sword and batted it away like a baseball, sending it careening harmlessly into the distance.
The arena’s terrain shifted beneath their feet, the Amphitheatre’s repair systems struggling to keep up with the sheer destruction. Craters and jagged tears marred the once pristine surface, but neither combatant slowed.
Then, Replica Jamie raised the stakes. Holding his sword steady, he summoned a dense sphere of compressed energy that bent light around it—a mini black hole.
Its gravitational pull warped the battlefield, dragging debris and fragments of space toward its core.
Without hesitation, Replica Jamie hurled the black hole toward John and the High Tier Deities in the crowd who could follow their speed gasped in disbelief, many expecting this to be the end of the fight.
But John didn’t so much as flinch. He swung his sword like always and to the astonishment of everyone watching, the black hole split cleanly in two. Its halves dissipated into harmless energy, leaving the audience in stunned silence.
One Hybrid had created a black hole casually.
The other had cut it apart as if it were nothing.
Ridiculous feats performed with nonchalance, as though such things were routine.
The battle raged on, the two fighters moving at light speed, their clashes leaving shockwaves that rocked the entire Amphitheatre.
As the fight neared a fever pitch, John decided it was time to end this.
’I’ve done enough testing.’
The amber glow surrounding his sword grew brighter and more oppressive. It pressed down on every spectator within the Amphitheatre like an invisible weight, as though warning them that any movements would result in them being cut by it.
John raised his sword, the energy tearing rifts in the space around him and slipping into dimensions the spectators couldn’t see.
Without hesitation, he blitzed forward, his speed blinding. He closed the distance between himself and Replica Jamie in an instant and swung his blade down with crushing force.
Replica Jamie leapt backwards just in time to avoid John’s sword crashing down onto the arena floor.
The impact ripped a massive hole straight through it, the force so great that it burst out from the bottom of the Amphitheatre.
Landing dozens of metres away, Replica Jamie tried to attack, but before he could even rouse his energy, John was already in front of him, his sword arcing downward once more.
Suddenly, the space between John and Replica Jamie stretched, creating an extra distance that John needed to cross to reach Replica Jamie.
This should have been enough to buy Replica Jamie some time, but John’s sword easily cut through the expanded space, ignoring distance constraints and reaching its target in an instant.
This forced Replica Jamie to erect a series of spatial barriers in desperation. Each one shimmered and bent light around them, but they were no match for the power of John’s swing.
With a slight adjustment of force, John’s sword shattered them one by one, each crack of energy resounding like thunder.
The final barrier broke, and the sword bore down on Replica Jamie. The audience collectively held their breath, convinced they were witnessing the end.
And then—
**BOOM!!
A blinding explosion of power erupted, cosmic energy surging outward in all directions, throwing dust and debris high into the air.
For a moment, the arena was obscured by a thick cloud, the scene hidden from view.
As the dust settled, the crowd beheld a figure standing in front of Replica Jamie, holding up John’s descending sword with his bare hand.
The crowd’s collective gasp was deafening.
He was dressed in a simple ensemble: a crisp white t-shirt paired with tailored black trousers. A black tie hung perfectly knotted, complemented by a black waistcoat.
Not a single drop of blood marred his left hand holding John’s sword, despite the destructive aura radiating from the blade. His expression was one of thinly veiled displeasure, as though annoyed at having to intervene.
A murmur rippled through the crowd, and then Flynn, one of the commentators, blurted out.
[Huh? Doesn’t that guy look like the recorded entity?]
Kalari, seated beside him, gave Flynn a withering look.
[What do you mean he looks like the recorded entity? The recorded entity looks like him!
That’s the real Hybrid!]
Flynn blinked, confused. It was as if his brain comprehended what his eyes were seeing, yet refused to accept it.
[...that’s Jamie Westley? Like, the real Jamie Westley?]
Kalari jabbed a finger toward the arena, his tone incredulous.
[Of course, that’s the real one! Do you think a replica could stop that attack with its bare hand?!]
