As Khyaal’s massive sword came crashing down toward Leo, he was convinced the fight was over.
And by all logical means, it should have been.
Leo was battered, bleeding, and barely holding himself together. There was no possible way he could mount a defense strong enough to stop the sheer force of the attack, as victory felt all but assured.
However, that’s where Khyaal made his mistake of underestimating Leo Skyshard.
From the very beginning, Leo knew that if there was one move Khyaal hadn’t accounted for—one trick that had remained completely hidden from his spying—it was [Full Counter].
And it wasn’t a baseless assumption.
Unlike his other skills, [Full Counter] wasn’t something he could practice out in the open, as to use it, he needed to be attacked first—and during all his solo training, that never happened.
Which meant…
Khyaal had no way of knowing it existed.
It was Leo’s hidden ace. His trump card.
And he had been waiting for this moment to play it.
Sure, he could have used it earlier. When Khyaal unleashed [Tsunami Slash], to avoid getting hit.
But if he had done that, the element of surprise would have been lost, and hidden cards such as these could only be played once.
Hence instead of countering [Tsunami Slash] he chose to endure the pain and to take the hit head-on, all so that at this exact moment, when Khyaal believed he had already won— he could strike back twice as hard.
And so, as he saw Khyaal’s blade finally descend upon him—
A bloodied smirk curled onto his lips.
"My turn, bitch." He declared, as with every ounce of strength left in his body, he fought back—activating [Full Counter.]
BOOM—
A violent pulse of mana surged through his veins.
As at the very last second, Leo raised his dagger, not to block—but to reverse.
CHING—
Sparks erupted as the two blades connected.
Khyaal, expecting his raw strength to overwhelm Leo effortlessly, pushed down with all his might— Only for his attack to rebound violently.
"WHAT—?!"
His eyes went wide in pure, unfiltered shock.
A massive shockwave exploded outward from Leo’s body, a force so intense it pushed back against Khyaal’s overwhelming strength, as for the first time in the fight—Khyaal felt like he was losing ground.
"Arghhhh–" he screamed, as he tried to force his attack through.
Every muscle in his massive body was strained to its limits, however, the harder he pushed— the more his attack was turned against him.
"Impossible—!"
Khyaal’s pupils dilated in disbelief, as no matter how much force he exerted, he felt himself being overpowered by someone half his size.
BOOM—
The next moment—he was launched off his feet.
His seven-foot-six frame twisted violently mid-air, flung back like a ragdoll as the sheer force of his own attack threw him across the battlefield.
But the humiliation didn’t stop there.
As his body was sent hurtling backward—
His sword—his colossal two-handed weapon—was ripped from his grasp as the shockwave seemed to have completely disarmed him, causing his blade to spiral wildly out of bounds, flipping end over end before—
CRASH!
It embedded itself deep into the ground, far outside the arena’s fighting zone.
Khyaal’s most powerful weapon was now out of reach.
He was weaponless.
And before he could even process that reality—
THUD—!
His body slammed into the arena floor, the sheer impact sending spiderweb cracks splintering through the stone, as he skidded backward, tumbling uncontrollably and kicking up dust and debris around him which obscured him from the audience’s view momentarily.
*....*
For a moment, there was nothing but silence, as a stunned, breathless shockwave swept across the arena.
The spectators were frozen, unable to comprehend what had just happened, as just moments ago—Leo was the one struggling and barely surviving.
But now?
He was still standing.
While Khyaal— the massive giant, and the favorite to win this fight, lay sprawled on the battlefield, disarmed and dazed, in what had to be the biggest turning point of the match so far.
—-----
Yu Shen’s fingers twitched slightly as he saw Leo counter Khyaal’s finishing move.
’He actually pulled it off.’ Yu Shen thought, as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, as he silently appreciated Leo’s genius.
’That move he used there was undoubtedly ’Full Counter’.
In itself, it’s a pretty basic move.
However, the way he used it is commendable.
He let himself get pushed to the absolute limit before deploying it, just so it would have maximum impact.’ Yu Shen analysed, as he could not help but feel excited watching a talent like Leo in action.
Yu Shen had expected Leo to try something clever.
But this?
This was gambling with death.
The decision to take Tsunami Slash head-on, to endure it rather than counter it immediately, was something only a madman or a genius would do.
And Leo?
He was both.
’He waited for Khyaal to get greedy. To go all-in on the finishing blow. And when he did—’
Yu Shen’s smirk widened.
’He flipped the damn script.’ Find your next read on .Côm
But that wasn’t even the most brilliant part.
The shockwave from the counterattack had disarmed Khyaal completely.
The brute’s sword was now outside the arena, making it impossible for him to retrieve, as the fight had just gotten a lot more interesting because of it.
—--------
"AGHHH—"
A groan echoed through the silence of the arena, as Khyaal, battered and dazed, pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, his massive frame trembling from the impact.
He had clearly not expected to be tossed backwards like a rag-doll, as was evident from his ragged breathing and his shaky arms.
"Did I get pushed back?" He wondered out-loud, as when his eyes snapped open, his gaze immediately darted towards the edge of the arena—where his sword lay out of reach, as for the first time in the match, a flicker of uncertainty flashed across his face.
The crowd still hadn’t fully processed what had just happened.
One moment, Leo was losing.
The next?
He had turned the entire battle on its head.
And then—
The first wave of cheers erupted.
"LEO! LEO! LEO!"
It started as a murmur.
Then it grew, like a storm gathering momentum, spreading through the audience like a wildfire.
"Holy shit! That was amazing—"
"Holy shit! Khyaal is in real trouble now, and he doesn’t even have his weapon on him!"
"Leo can do this… he can actually win this fight!"
The spectators roared as they realized that the underdog had just dropped a titan.
In what seemed to be an impossible fight at the start, Leo had now managed to knock Khyaal off his pedestal, forcing him into a dogfight without his weapon at hand.
"If this was a sparring match, losing his weapon would have meant that Khyaal lost this round, as professor Hen would declare the fight to be concluded, however, since we are fighting under circuit rules, Khyaal can still carry on, as in a circuit rules fight, the can only end via incapacitation or surrender!" a spectator noted, as he clutched his head in disbelief.
If this was a friendly spar, Leo would already have won this bout, however, only because it was an official duel, he still had to carry on and forcefully incapacitate his opponent to get the win.
"What happened? Little Bunny? Too scared to fight me without your tiny sword in hand?" Leo said at this moment, as after holding his words for the entire fight, he finally chose this moment to hit back at Khyaal.