Leo's body was primed. Akin to a coiled spring, every fiber was strained to the max. A deadly predator, ready to pounce. Mordred, on the other hand, was still in a relaxed position. However, his gaze was just as sharp as Leo's.
Without any further words, Leo attacked. Once again, the earth assisted him. He shot out like an arrow, closing in on his opponent. Midway through his launch, he released the [Flame Spear] in his left hand. The projectile was aimed right at Mordred's chest. Leo wasn't holding anything back, he was striking to kill.
Mordred avoided the attack by pivoting sideways. Despite the quick maneuver, his footwork was immaculate. He did not get unbalanced in the slightest, standing in a sideways fencer pose. With a flash of red light, a curved longsword emerged from his dominant hand. Zeke immediately recognized this as a different spell than the [Blood Armaments] the others used. This was more like his own [Blood Whip], a specialized spell.
This had to be the infamous [Blood Sword]. Of course, as a True Mage, there was no way Mordred would be able to bring the full might of this spell to bear. This didn't mean the spell could be taken lightly though. From what Zeke could tell, the edge was even sharper than his whip.
Leo arrived in front of his opponent. His body was low to the ground, both hands in front of his chest. With a wide, upward swing, he struck with his claw. Mordred did not try to dodge; instead, he met the blow head-on with his own sword. This time, the Blood spell did not manage to cut through Leo's weapon. With an ear-splitting collision, the obsidian claw collided with the blade's edge.
Both Leo and Mordred were driven a step back by the force of the impact. Zeke inspected both their weapons. Mordreds [Blood Sword] looked undamaged by the exchange. The same could not be said for Leo's obsidian claw, however. Even after this first exchange, visible cracks had already begun to form along the talons. Leo was also aware of this and was filling them in.
Mordred had a huge smile on his face. The even exchange had excited him further. He didn't wait for Leo and went on the offensive himself. His posture and grace while wielding his blade made it clear that he was a trained swordsman. It was not something he had picked up recently either. Most likely, he had been training in the art since he was a child.
Even though Leo had the advantage when it came to instinct and reflexes, Mordred easily made up for that with his superior training and mastery over the sword. A ceaseless torrent of blows rained down on Leo, leaving him scrambling to evade. Whatever strike he couldn't dodge, he had to parry, damaging his claw further. Even though his weapon held up much better than the earlier training sword, it still was no match for Mordred's sanguine blade.
An excited murmur swept through the crowd, as people began to cheer. After the two previous losses, they were excited for one of their own to finally dominate the fight. And indeed, even after Leo tried to switch things up by improvising with his Fire and Earth Magic, Mordred kept the upper hand. No matter if it was flame projectiles or earthen spikes, the [Blood Sword] cut through all in its way.
It was no wonder the Blood Mages of Valor were so problematic for the empire. Zeke could perfectly imagine them charging through dense spellfire to bisect an enemy in a single strike, uncaring of any damage they might suffer. No wonder Tristan Bloodsword had earned the Mage name 'Berserker'. The combination of an unmatched offense with self-healing capabilities lent itself to a do-or-die fighting style.
With all that said, Leo was in trouble. He had completely given up on using his Fire Magic offensively. Now, both of his hands were encased in obsidian claws, which he used almost exclusively for defense, while he looked for a chance to strike back. So far, there hadn't been a single such chance while he had already suffered several cuts all over his body.
Despite the dire situation, the smile on Leo's face was still in place. With every new injury, his expression became even more feral, his focus, deeper. However, Zeke could tell that Leo wouldn't be able to keep this up for much longer. It was not because of the wounds, those were superficial. It was the constant use of both his affinities to fix the damage done to his obsidian claws. If this continued, Leo's core would reach its limits in minutes. His two previous fights hadn't lasted long, but he had still expended a decent amount of effort, burdening his core.
Two of the talons on his right hand, and one on the left were already missing. The speed of regrowth was not enough to keep up with the high pace of the fight.
However, not all was bad. Leo was slowly adapting and his dodges looked a lot less frantic. It had initially seemed like he only barely managed to scramble out of the way of Mordred's attacks. Now, there was more grace and coordination in his every move. He was clearly getting used to Mordred's pace and style.
Eventually, Leo's patience paid off. After taking another cut to his ribs, he managed a counterattack. His fist managed to connect with his opponent's stomach, embedding the three remaining talons on his right hand into Mordred's flesh. The hit connected with full force, sending the older boy skidding backward.
Mordred managed to stop his momentum, but the deep furrows his feet left on the ground bore testament to the force behind that hit. His hand went to his stomach. The shirt was torn where the blow had connected, revealing the wound. Aside from the three puncture holes, the obsidian fist had left its mark. A large purple bruise was already forming. However, the color was already fading.
Even so, Mordred still had a frown on his face. "That was a smart way to cancel my healing."
Most of the crowd was confused by this statement, but a quick glance at Leo's hand revealed the truth. The moment his strike landed, Leo had disconnected the talons from his fist, leaving them inside his opponent's body. This made it impossible for Mordred to properly heal without removing them first.
"However," Mordred continued, "you were too late."
Zeke immediately knew what he was talking about. Despite the lull in the fight, Leo's claws were not regrowing. He had reached the limit of his core. Without the assistance of his obsidian weapons, he had lost his means of both attack and defense.
Leo looked down at his hands, his feral grin still in place. With a violent shake, the remaining stone crumbled away, revealing his bare hands once again. Without losing a beat, he adopted a fighting stance, his eyes never leaving his opponent. "We'll see."
There were appreciative whispers from all around. Leo's unyielding fighting spirit was something easy to admire. It was as if the word "surrender" did not exist in his vocabulary. Mordred seemed torn on how to proceed. On the one hand, it was clear how much he admired such courage and resolve. On the other hand, chances were that Leo would get seriously injured without the use of his Magic. Mordred cast a pleading gaze toward Zeke.
Zeke didn't disappoint. "No, we won't. You've done enough, Leo."
"What are you saying? I can still fight."
"I know you can," Zeke said. "But after watching you go all out, my hands are itching. Who am I going to fight if you defeat Mordred?"
Leo thought about it for a beat, before nodding. He couldn't argue with that logic. Zeke hadn't been lying either. Even though he didn't see any path to victory for Leo, if anybody could find one, it would be him.
The moment Leo relaxed, his body began to sway immediately. Now that the tension had left him, the extent of his wounds was starting to show. He had cuts all over, none life-threatening, but many deep enough to be considered serious injuries. Zeke wondered how Leo could fight after losing such an amount of blood.
Vanessa took one glance at his body before immediately calling for a healer. This was not something she could fix on her own. Moments later, a Grand Mage was at the scene, healing first Leo and then Mordred. Leo still looked pale as a result of his blood loss, but Mordred looked as good as new.
The use of [Blood Generation] had made up for his lost supply. Zeke had seen him cast the spell. Compared to James, the process had been far less efficient. He would not be able to do it during a fight. However, it was still a valuable tool to be used after each encounter.
Zeke had been shocked when Mordred had discarded his [Blood Sword] after the fight. For some reason, none of the Valorians seemed keen on recycling their Blood the way he did. Was there some unforeseen downside to the way he had designed the spell? In the absence of either [Blood Compression] or [Blood Generation], he had been forced to search for another way to conserve the blood used in his spells.
He had come up with a way to reinject the blood after each use, preventing the loss of any of the precious fluid. But now he became uncertain about this decision; he would have to get to the bottom of this. Not now, however. Now it was time to fight.
The moment Leo arrived in front of him, Zeke lifted Maya from her perch and sat her on his shoulders. The girl pouted at him. She must not have liked the way he had passed her off just like that. However, she still grabbed a handful of Leo's hair. Clearly, she didn't mind her new seat that much.
"Wish me luck, Maya," Zeke said.
"Good luck! You better not lose!"
Zeke turned, waving over his shoulder as he entered the dueling circle. "I'll try."
Mordred was already awaiting his arrival. His wounds had completely recovered and he even had a new shirt on. Vanessa looked between the two of them. "Are you two ready?"
They both nodded and Vanessa started the countdown. "3, 2, 1, FIGHT!"
Mordred didn't wait for Zeke to strike first. Instead, he charged right as the fight began, a new sword already materializing in his hand. Zeke raised both his hands. His palms were facing away from him as he drew a half circle with his outstretched arms. Nothing seemed to happen at first, but when Mordred arrived four steps in front of Zeke, he collided violently with an invisible wall.
Zeke smirked. He finally could use his [Spatial Barrier] properly. Against the long-range elemental mages, it had never been especially useful unless he wanted to turtle up. However, now that he was fighting knights, his Space affinity was a huge boon.
Mordred got back to his feet in an instant. His eyes were blazing with fury, it must have been quite humiliating to land on his ass after running headfirst into a wall. However, there simply wasn't enough time for him to react. Same as with his teleportation, Zeke could deploy his barrier almost instantly inside his sphere of awareness. There had only been the shortest of warnings before the wall had sprung into existence.
"Forgot you were a Space Mage for a second," Mordred grumbled. "Are you gonna continue hiding in that shell or can we get to the fight?"
Zeke was in no hurry to dispel his barrier. He very much wanted the fight to continue, but it would be on his term. Zeke lifted both of his palms once again. This time, to summon his weapons. While Mordred could only stand around and watch, Zeke summoned a [Blood Whip] to each of his hands. They were about the width of his thumb where they emerged from his palm, but considerably more narrow toward the tip.
Zeke didn't summon the sharp version of his weapon. For one, he didn't yet have the control to guarantee Mordred's safety. And for the other, the more durable, blunt type would probably have the advantage over a sword. Each of his whips extended about four steps, giving Zeke a significant advantage when it came to reach.
Mordred warily watched the two snake-like threads as they danced to Zeke's command. In the next moment, they both shot out like predators pouncing on prey. Despite being alert, Mordred was still caught off guard. He didn't realize that Zeke could dispel the frozen space between them with nothing more than a thought. Just as the whips were about to hit the barrier, it disappeared.
Even in his shock, Mordred reacted quickly. With a beautiful parry, he deflected both of the weapons, before launching his own charge. Zeke matched his movement in the opposite direction, keeping the distance between them almost even. While retreating, Zeke spun, releasing another torrent of strikes. Mordred managed to parry them once again. There was no way to get past his defenses with typical attacks. The older boy was far superior when it came to mastery over his weapon.
Zeke stopped abruptly, attacking with both of his whips at the same time. This time he attacked from both sides. It looked like Mordred was caught in the jaws of a hungry beast. Mordred took up his stance, his [Blood sword] poised to block the right whip. His other hand shot out to catch the remaining whip. Zeke noticed that Mordred had coated his left hand in a glove similar to what Leo had used against him.
Not a bad plan, but not good enough. Zeke disappeared from in front of Mordred and appeared in the air above him, his feet anchored in midair with his [Air Steps]. He took advantage of Mordred's momentary confusion by directing both of his whips to strike. Each of the threads wrapped around one of his opponent's armpits before Zeke lifted him off the ground. He tried to do the same thing he had done with Samuel, gathering momentum before smashing him into the ground.
However, before he could even finish his first rotation, a glowing red sword was flying toward him. Zeke's eyes widened. He couldn't teleport with his whips still attached and there wasn't enough time for a barrier either. He tried to obstruct the path of the [Blood Sword] with his whips while dodging at the same time. With a blinding flash of pain, he felt the blade pass by his ribcage. At least one of the bones had been sliced apart.
Zeke endured the pain as he continued with his original plan. After one more rotation, he changed direction, steering the unarmed Mordred toward the ground. He untangled his whips, leaving Mordred to shoot like an arrow toward the floor. The impact was so violent that a dust cloud rose, obstructing the view.
Meanwhile, Zeke used this time to check his injury. The cut in his side was deep. Without a healer, he would need hours to recover. That had been a foolish mistake. He should have realized that Mordred would be willing to throw his weapon. After all, he could summon another one whenever he wanted.
The dust settled, revealing a disheveled Mordred. The boy, despite the crater his impact had formed, was already back on his feet. One of his arms was bent at an unnatural angle. He had clearly used it to absorb most of the momentum. He was also putting more weight on his left leg, indicating some kind of injury there as well. Despite his terrible condition, the fighting spirit in Mordred's eyes remained unbroken. It was just Zeke's luck to run into another one of those madmen…
Zeke sighed, getting ready for another exchange, when somebody spoke up. "I think you two should stop here." It was a warm, bassy voice, and he had never heard it before. However, Mordred immediately sheathed his weapon, looking sheepish. "F-Father?"
Zeke followed his gaze. There he found a tall man with deep red hair and eyes. His hair was the same color as Zeke's own.
Mordred had called him father, leaving no doubt to the identity of the newcomer. He was Tristan Bloodsword, the Berserker, patriarch of the Bloodsword family, and holder of the number 1 spot on the empire's most wanted list.
Without anyone noticing, a living legend had appeared in their midst.