"Septem Treina, Thrust."
Following a thunderous sound, my staff elongated and reached Ronald in a second.
"!"
By pure instincts, Ronald crossed his arms.
"Aaah!"
With a yelp of pain, he was flung away before crashing into a wall.
"......."
The spectators fell silent at this sight.
Until now, I didn't even inflict much damage after all.
"Y-You…"
Ronald wiped the blood from his lips and looked at his arms.
They were swollen and red.
Pretty sure he could feel the pain coursing strongly through his arms.
I wasn't even able to unleash such a weapon's full power, but even like that, it was doing quite the damage.
"Edward! You fucker!!!"
Ronald conjured a wave of boulders, hurling them towards me with a deafening roar. I leapt into the air, my body moving faster than I ever thought possible as I soared over the rocks and landed gracefully on the other side.
The Second Wing of the cheat Falkrona Bloodline for you.
"You are noisy, Ronald."
Ronald's eyes widened in surprise as I charged towards him, my staff whirling through the air as I delivered a series of quick strikes. He dodged most of them, his earth magic protecting him from the worst of the blows, but I could tell he was starting to tire.
"That damn earth magic!"
It was certainly not a good match. with someone fighting with a staff only.
I cursed and pushed forward, my staff flashing through the air as I closed in on Ronald. He raised his arms, a wall of earth rising up to shield him from my attacks. But I wasn't going to be stopped so easily.
I could fell myself getting stronger and stronger with every movement.
Yeah, that's amazing.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, focusing all my energy on my staff. Suddenly, a surge of power coursed through my body, and my staff began to glow with an otherworldly light. I opened my eyes, feeling a sense of excitement and trepidation as I realized what had just happened.
Ronald's eyes widened in shock as I raised my staff. He knew what was coming.
"Thrust!"
He tried to dodge, but I was too fast, and the staff's tip struck him full in the chest, sending him flying backwards with a cry of pain.
I didn't let up, charging towards Ronald as he struggled to regain his footing. He raised his arms in defense, his earth magic coalescing around him in a shimmering barrier. But I was determined to break through.
"You are slow, Ronald!" I laughed, and I unleashed a torrent of lightning speed strikes. The earth around Ronald shook and trembled as my staff struck home, shattering his defenses and sending him crashing to the ground once more.
I have to do it quickly.
I was fighting, ignoring all the pain assaulting my body. I'm sure I broke a few bones inside, but being used to pain and thanks to adrenaline, I could manage it.
"Aghh!"
Ronald groaned, his body battered and bruised from the onslaught. But he wasn't finished yet. With a snarl of rage, he rose to his feet, his eyes blazing with fury.
"B*tch! You'll pay for that!" he shouted, unleashing a barrage of earth spikes that shot towards me with deadly accuracy.
"Celeritas Second Wing," my speed raised.
I dodged and weaved, my speed and agility allowing me to avoid most of the spikes. But one caught me off guard, striking me in the shoulder and sending me sprawling to the ground.
"Ah…shit…ah…"
I gritted my teeth, pushing myself back to my feet as Ronald charged towards me. He raised his arms, a massive boulder forming in his hands as he prepared to strike the final blow.
I knew I had to act fast. I closed my eyes and focused all my energy on my staff, feeling the magic surging through my body. I opened my eyes, feeling a sense of calm and clarity as I raised my staff and aimed it toward the boulder.
"Septem Treina, lance!"
I threw the staff, and it flew at tremendous speed.
"!"
Ronald panicked and threw the boulder as well.
A loud explosion rang out, and a shockwave of sharp pieces of rocks flew everywhere.
Ronald protected himself with a wall, while I could just dodge.
My top was now ripped in several places, with blood flowing out of my body.
"Not bad Ronald."
I said in a tired tone.
Ronald glared at me. "You hid well your abilities until now, Edward. That staff and your strange fighting art."
"Well, I was just too lazy to fight until now." I shrugged my shoulders.
"Hm?"
Noticing the silence, I looked around and saw all the spectators speechless.
Our fight had nothing to do with a friendly match after all, but more than that, they were dumbfounded by my strength and new fighting style.
Alfred, Loid, Thomas, and David were looking at me utterly shocked.
Layla was with her impassive brother, smiling at me.
Aurora was with Simon and Elona frowning. My sister was beyond shocked. I mean, she didn't expect me to use the Falkrona bloodline abilities that smoothly with such a control.
I ignored Milleia, Jayden, and Tyler's cheers as they were embarrassing mainly because of Tyler shouting: 'He's my best buddy!'.
The ones catching my gaze was Louisa, who wasn't sitting calmly like before. She was standing and looking at her brother, Ronald. Despite her usual calm expression, I knew she was worried about Ronald. At first she probably thought it was going to be easy against me but after what I showed she might have understood the gravity of the match.
Miranda was with her group of friends, and she had that disbelief expression on her face.
Finally, Kleah was in an isolated corner looking at me, not really surprised.
"I'm too popular, damn…" I muttered.
Unfortunately, Ronald heard it, and a vein popped out on his forehead.
"Let's finish this, Edward."
"I agree, Ronny." I nodded and waved my hand. The staff flew back to my hands.
"Ahhhh!"
Ronald roared as he channeled his magic, causing the ground beneath him to shake violently. I leapt back, dodging the earth spikes that burst from the ground where I had stood moments before. I raised my staff and channeled my own magic into it, causing it to glow with a bright white light. With a yell, I charged at Ronald, twirling my staff in a blur of motion.
"Wall!"
Ronald summoned a wall of earth to block my path, but I was ready for him. I activated my Celeritas First Wing ability, and suddenly everything around me seemed to be clearer. I could see each individual pebble in the wall as I smashed through it with ease, leaving a cloud of dust in my wake.
"Dammit!"
Ronald was quick to retaliate, launching a barrage of rocks at me. I activated my Celeritas Second Wing ability, and suddenly I was moving so fast that I left afterimages in my wake. I dodged the rocks with ease, closing the distance between us in a split second. It was really tiring. To not waste mana, I had to activate the Wings and quickly deactivate them. Thanks to that I was saving mana, but my stamina was exhausted.
"Come!"
Ronald was ready for me, however. He had conjured a massive boulder that he was swinging at me like a giant club. I knew I couldn't dodge it, not at this speed. Instead, I focused all of my energy into a single strike.
"Septem Treina, Sweep!"
I swung my staff with all my might, channeling a big amount of my man into it. The impact was like a thunderclap, and the boulder shattered into a million pieces.
Ronald was sent flying backward, landing hard on the ground. He groaned as he struggled to get up, but I was already upon him. I swung my staff at him, but he rolled out of the way, narrowly avoiding the blow. He scrambled to his feet, and I could see the anger in his eyes. He raised his arms, and I knew he was preparing for something big.
Was he buying time for something?
"Ah…"
Suddenly, I fell on my knees. I was reaching my limits.
Some cracking sounds echoed, and I didn't even know if they were hallucinations or true.
"Not yet."
I activated my Celeritas First Wing ability once again analyzed. I saw every movement Ronald made, and I was ready for all of them. He threw a rock at me, but I deflected it with my staff. He tried to create a wall of earth, but I smashed through it like it was paper. He tried to summon a golem, but I shattered it with a single strike.
"H-How?!"
Well, I don't know either…
I felt more free in my movements and less burdened than I had always been before. I was too focused on using the Falkrona unique mana which I couldn't control well.
"Tch!"
Ronald's movements indicated that he was tired. He was panting heavily, his magic reserves running low. But he was still dangerous, and I couldn't afford to let my guard down. I was about to strike again when suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my leg.
"Arghhh!"
I looked down to see a large rock embedded in my thigh. Ronald had taken advantage of my distraction to strike. I gritted my teeth and pulled the rock out, throwing it aside. Ronald was grinning now, a look of triumph in his eyes.
I sighed in exhaustion.
How long had it been?
I and Ronald were really true monsters. Only freaks with rare bloodlines like us could fight that long at our age.
"You're finished, Edward," Ronald said, his voice laced with smugness.
"Hm?" I glanced again at him.
"You may have been able to hold me off for a while, but you can't beat me. Not with that staff of yours. I don't know why you chose the staff even though you are better with a sword, but I can see your limits." Ronald smirked with his ragged breath.
"You are yapping a lot, Ronny. Layla doesn't like guys like that."
"I will beat you up!"
"Well, let's get this over," I smiled and rushed to finish.