’Fuck the Kingdom and the rewards. My life comes first.’ Lith darted back and hid behind the Odi machine in the middle of the room to catch his breath.
Just as he had predicted, Dawn still needed the device for her own research. Being the one who had helped the Odi in their experiments, she knew all too well that there was only one built.
"Smart, but not enough." The Bright Day ceased her attacks and moved behind the machine as well.
’Okay, she’s exactly where we want her.’ Solus nodded.
’Really?’ Lith didn’t even get a full breath of Invigoration that Dawn was already looming over them.
’Really. Let’s be real. She is as strong as I would be in my tower form if I was at my full power, if not even stronger. Fighting her with magic is suicidal since she outclasses us in experience and number of spells.
’Our only choice is to force her to fight us in close quarters. Her body is still based on Acala’s which makes her way weaker than you.’ She explained.
’You forget that she outclasses me in swordplay and hand-to-hand combat as well. Even with the boost from your pseudo tower form, we were on equal footing.’ Lith darted forward, closing the distance between them before Dawn could cast a single spell.
’We don’t have time for a full tutorial. Do you trust me?’ Solus asked.
’Why do you think I threw myself into the tiger’s mouth? I trust you with my life. Always.’ Lith gave Solus free reins and activated Full Guard. The blue aura that now surrounded him brought his perception on par with Dawn’s.
The spell bestowed upon him a full awareness of his surroundings, leaving no blind spots in Lith’s guard.
"A crutch for the weak." Dawn recognized the spell and clicked her tongue in disgust.
"I dare you to repeat that after giving up both your immortality and your centuries of experience. We’re not weak." Solus replied.
"We? Really?" The Bright Day chuckled, her voice both old and young at the same time. "Are you young, naïve, or both?" She lunged her crystal sword in a feint, waiting for Lith to sidestep the attack before changing her stance with a flick of her wrist.
Dawn dodged Lith’s counter stab, throwing him off guard, and aimed for his heart. Lith was in no position to defend himself, so he turned the lunge into a roll without trying to stop his motion.
The crystal sword pierced through his armor and gut, cauterizing the wound on its passage to make it harder to heal. Lith didn’t feel anything thanks to darkness fusion sealing off his pain receptors, but his situation was still dire.
During their previous fight, Dawn had been controlling Acala’s body, a tool she barely had a few months to get accustomed to. Now she was using her own, and the difference was like heaven and earth.
All of her attacks were seamless, with no wasted movements nor openings. She had reached such expertise that she would predict even moves that Lith had learned back on Earth.
’Guess my sensei was right. All disciplines become similar at very high levels. Here goes everything.’ Lith still couldn’t understand Solus’s plan, but wound or not he trusted her judgment.
"You and I are both born from Forgemastery, but you’ve forgotten the basics of the basics." Solus couldn’t stop talking, the teachings of Menadion were becoming clearer again in her head as she fought.
"You don’t just place the most powerful mana crystal above the mightiest of metals. That’s something even a child can do. The real magic starts when the two become one." Solus passed Ruin to Lith, using her arms to conjure and compress all the world energy she could muster from the geyser.
Lith understood her intentions and breathed a jet stream of Origin Flames that set ablaze Solus’s world energy as well, turning the jet into a pillar of fire the size of a road tunnel.
The blast pinned Dawn to the wall and its force prevented her from moving while the stone around her melted and boiled.
"Not bad for a Wyrmling." Dawn laughed. Origin Flames of that magnitude blocked all forms of magic and the soggy stone didn’t offer her any hold, but she didn’t care.
"It’s as large as the breath of a Dragon. Too bad that it lacks the punch of the real thing. I’ve fought ancient Dragons and Phoenixes, yet I’m still here. What makes you think you’re any better?" Dawn asked.
"Gods, Lith is right. You guys always talk too much." Solus added a spark of her own life force to Lith’s and the blue Origin Flames became a searing white ocean. fгeewebnovёl.com
The crystal armor blackened and cracked. The crystal sword lost all the mana it held and then crumbled along with her four limbs. Dawn’s head, the only part of her body that the armor didn’t cover, burned to ashes, leaving behind only the chest holding her crystal.
Yet once the Flames were gone, Dawn’s armor self-repaired and her limbs grew back again, whereas Lith could feel that Solus’s light had become dimmer. Like a candle about to burn out.
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