Chapter 312 Northern Vs Caladhel [Part 1]
Northern's breath fogged in the cold air as he squared off with Cal.
The tension between them was almost palpable, crackling like the very lightning that surged through Cal's sword as he pulled it a little bit out of its sheath.
The eerie silence of the rift seemed to amplify the anticipation, each heartbeat echoing like a drum in the frozen expanse.
Cal's eyes narrowed, his hand resting lightly on the hilt of Stainless behind his back. Northern tightened his grip on his own blade, his knuckles whitening with resolve.
The Mortal Blade gleamed with an ominous dark aura; this was, after all, the best sword for this occasion.
And Northern silently had looked forward to one like it. His muscles tensed and his senses heightened.
He could feel the raw power emanating from Cal's blade even without it being pulled out yet; he could tell by all his senses that this guy was no ordinary opponent.
Without warning, Cal moved. His draw was blindingly fast, Stainless cutting through the air with a sizzling hiss.
Northern barely had time to react.
He shifted his weight to his back foot, his movements dictated by the principles of Chaos. His body twisted in an unpredictable, almost serpentine motion, dodging the initial strike by a hair's breadth.
Cal's follow-up was immediate.
He pivoted, bringing Stainless down in a powerful arc aimed at Northern's shoulder.
The air hummed with electricity as the blade descended.
Northern's reflexes kicked in, and he brought his own sword up to parry.
The clash was deafening, the force of Cal's blow sending a jarring vibration through Northern's arm.
Northern gritted his teeth, absorbing the shock and letting it fuel his resolve.
He deflected Cal's blade to the side and pushed forward, the Mortal Blade darkly flashing in a counterattack aimed at Cal's midsection.
Cal was quick, far quicker than Northern had anticipated. He sidestepped with fluid grace, Stainless weaving a path of lightning as he parried Northern's strike effortlessly.
The two swordsmen danced across the snow, their blades a blur of black and yellow light. Each movement was precise, calculated, and deadly.
Cal's strikes were powerful and deliberate, each one carrying the weight of his experience and skill in a perfect and unhindered mix with unstoppable speed.
Northern's style, by contrast, was fluid and unpredictable, the essence of Chaos guiding his steps and swings in a manner that defied conventional technique.
Cal pressed the attack, his eyes cold and focused. Stainless slashed in a series of rapid cuts, each one aimed to break through Northern's swift and strong defense.
But Northern met the onslaught with a mixture of deflections and evasive maneuvers, his footwork carrying him in a swirling pattern that kept Cal guessing.
The rhythm of the battle was frenetic, each man searching for an opening.
"Velocity Dash"
In a sudden burst of speed, Cal lunged forward, aiming a thrust at Northern's chest.
Northern's eyes widened at the sheer velocity of the attack; he thought he had a good grasp on the speed ability but after seeing the sudden burst of speed that Cal had exhibited, his thoughts were placed on a platform of crucial review.
However, in the nick of that moment, he twisted his body to the side, narrowly avoiding the lethal point of Stainless.
As he moved, he felt the Chaos within him surge; it was a sublime and unexplainable feeling, something he could feel in that instance and could vividly tell its difference from Void.
It was as if it was responding to his desperate need for agility and speed in order to match up to the level Cal was taking him to.
"Velocity Dash"
Northern's footwork became even more erratic, his movements almost a blur.
Cal, immediately noticing the change in the air the moment Northern muttered, blinked out of reality to appear before Northern; however, following him, Northern too blinked out of reality and appeared afar from him.
In the next moment, he became a blur again, this time faster than the initial moment, such that Cal didn't see his leg move.
It was like Shunpo but was not; Northern was just simply too fast with the Velocity Dash that Cal's eyes could not follow.
That one moment show caused Cal to be greatly horrified.
Of course, he had gotten a wild guess that Northern's ability was more of a copy thing. Which made sense seeing that he could even copy his own self.
Cal in the midst of the battle had even gone as far as deducing that Northern could be able to copy him too.
Which was why he had deemed Northern's ability to be a very dangerous one and aimed to finish this as far as possible without revealing all his cards.
If he got the chance, he didn't even want to use any of his abilities. After using Shunpo, he only grew more vexed and uncomfortable.
However, not even he knew that Northern had not only copied his ability long ago, but had permanently added it to his repertoire of talents.
Because the concept of completely copying one's talent is non-existent as is the concept of a coreless drifter.
The Mortal Blade sang through the air as it arched towards Cal. Belatedly, Cal managed to parry but not without losing his balance.
However, he was quick to collect himself, pushing his entire weight on one side and quickly maneuvering Northern's incoming crude thrust attack with an impossible twist to the side.
But Northern had already removed one hand from his sword and as Cal twisted to the side, he was met with a blow that arched towards him, crunching into his face.
With an explosion of force, Cal was sent reeling away from the fist attack; he somersaulted and tumbled through the snow ground before managing to use the friction of his knees against the frozen ground to come to a halt.
He stared at Northern furiously; his frustration was beginning to grow.
'What was that back there?'
He was sure he had bypassed Northern right there; except he could see the future, how in the hell did he know he was going to go for that movement, even Cal himself had not predicted so.
It was something that just happened in that moment, and yet Northern was able to respond to it like he saw it coming.
Cal gritted his teeth in frustration. Despite his superior skill, he found it difficult to predict Northern's movements.