They both moved at unreal speeds.
Every hovering platform they landed on crumbled under the force of their movements, the arena quaking with each impact as they darted from one ruined platform to the next, leaving devastation in their wake.
However, Atticus soon felt it. He was getting overwhelmed. This was for one reason: Carius had abandoned all forms of defense.
His attacks became relentless, striking from every angle with a vicious intensity.
No matter how fast Atticus moved or how accurately his blade cut through the air, each strike simply phased through Carius's body, as if he were a ghost.
The pain came next. Carius's strikes rained down upon Atticus, tearing into his flesh, but his exosuit reacted instantly, siphoning mana from the air and healing his wounds at breakneck speed.
It fueled him, keeping him on his feet and moving, but it wasn't enough.
The overwhelming force of Carius's attacks was building, and his relentless aggression was pushing Atticus to the very edge. He couldn't continue like this.
'Dimensional phasing,'
His mind moved back to Magnus's training.
Lightning.
Lightning could disrupt dimensional phasing by interfering with the flow of energy that allowed Carius to slip between dimensions.
Electrifying the air would cause the charged particles to interfere with the dimensional fields, preventing Carius from phasing in and out.
He would need to direct the charge exactly where it needed to be, targeting the dimensional energy with pinpoint accuracy.
But this required precise control over the lightning element— control that Atticus had mastered.
Atticus's focus suddenly sharpened. Lightning crackled around his body, tendrils of white hot electricity snaking across his skin as his eyes ignited with an intense white.
The air crackled and instantly became charged with lightning, the entire space humming with energy.
With a sudden burst of speed, Atticus utilized lightning mimicry. His body blurred, moving faster than thought.
Carius's next attack swiped through empty air as Atticus evaded, a streak of lightning flashing to the side.
In that moment, Atticus closed the distance, his katana drawn back.
Carius's eyes widened in shock, his body attempting to move, but he was too slow. His gaze locked on Atticus as he tried to retreat, but it was too late.
The blade gleamed in the charged air as Atticus swung with blinding speed, slicing diagonally from Carius's chest down to his stomach. The sound of the strike echoed like thunder.
A spray of blood erupted into the air, crimson droplets scattering across the battlefield.
It felt like the entire human domain had been hit by a shockwave. Every single living human erupted in a roar that shook the air. People shouted, children screamed, and the sound of collective jubilation resounded like a wave of thunder.
They had seen it. Atticus had landed an attack. He had actually landed an attack!
Avalon shot up from his seat, his free hand clenching hard as his brightened eyes stayed glued to the screen.
"That's my boy!" he bellowed.
In the Ravenstein estate, the energy was electric. Fists clenched hard, and shouts rang out:
"Get him!"
"Yeah!!! Finish him!"
"Let's goooo!!!"
A Dimensari— one of the superior races, practically gods in the presence of humans— had been hurt by a human.
Pride surged through the entire human domain.
This moment would be immortalized. This was something they would boast about until their deaths and beyond!
Everyone's blood was pumping really hard. The battle wasn't over yet, and many locked hands together, clutching tightly, eyes glued to the screen in anticipation of what would happen next.
…
Carius stumbled back, his gaze trembling in disbelief as he looked down at his sliced body, blood gushing from the deep wound.
The wound was healing at a visible pace, but for the first time since the battle began, Carius's expression completely cracked.
Shock and disbelief filled his cold, calculating eyes.
He stared at the blood gushing from his body as though he had witnessed the most shocking thing in his life.
He knew exactly what had happened. He knew the reason for it. Yet, he struggled to comprehend the reality— had a human actually injured him?
While Carius was having an existential crisis, Atticus wasn't one to dawdle. His cold eyes remained unchanged, his body already on the move.
His katana descended in a lethal arc, its edge gleaming as it sought to slice Carius in two. But just as it was about to connect, Carius suddenly exhaled, muttering coldly,
"Fine, I'll put you in your place."
The atmosphere around them shifted violently. Carius's aura surged, exploding with the weight of a grandmaster+ rank.
The pressure was so intense, it felt like the air itself was about to collapse.
Then, without warning, the space in front of Carius imploded with a cacophony of deafening booms.
The sheer force sent shockwaves rippling outward, and Atticus instinctively leapt back, narrowly escaping the void that threatened to pull him in.
His eyes snapped back to where Carius had been, only to widen at the sight before him.
Not one, but five versions of Carius now stood, each one with identical attires, their cold, calculating gazes fixed on him.
The aura around them was suffocating, as if each carried the full weight of the original's overwhelming power.
'Dimensional Duplication,' Atticus thought calmly, his mind racing. Magnus had warned him about this during their training— it was the Dimensari's terrifying ability to pull alternate versions of themselves from countless other dimensions.
And now, Atticus was staring down not just one Carius, but five. Each with their own mind, their own intent.
Magnus's words echoed in his mind:
"Not all members of the Dimensari are capable of this, but should this occur… just survive."
The tension was palpable. The air itself seemed to tremble with danger as the five Carius slowly unsheathed their swords, the weapons humming with power.
Their gazes locked onto Atticus with an iciness that could freeze an ocean.
They each whispered in unison, their voices overlapping:
"First Art… Dimensional Shred."