Chapter 291: Single Strike Blows the Minds (Part 1)
Two black swords crossed on his back, Adyr unfolded his pristine white wings and glided from Collossith’s massive head down to the arena. He descended without hurry, under every watchful gaze, and landed before the Umbraen’s five-man team, the low thud of his boots echoing across the marble floor.
"You look far too confident for someone about to fight 5 opponents alone." The man at the front spoke first, the tank of the team, a Rank 2 Practitioner, as his voice carried the hard edge of someone used to being the wall others hid behind.
His skin was paper-white, his eyes a solid black without iris or white to soften them. The bulk of his frame, the heavy round shield braced on one forearm, and the blunt pressure of his presence made him look built to endure. As a Nether Path Practitioner with [Resilience], he was the kind of shield that promises a grinding, punishing fight, more fortress than man.
Adyr gave a light, almost friendly chuckle at the attempt to bait him. "And you look far too tense for someone about to fight 5 against 1."
The sneer on the tank’s face flattened into a frown. It was not the tone that bit. It was the truth in the words. Unease tightened his jaw in a way he could not hide.
Before the match, their Elders had drilled a simple warning into them. Do not be fooled by the fact that the opponent stands alone. Do not relax, not even for a breath. Guard up at all times.
Normally, these Umbraen youths looked down on everyone. Arrogance had been their habit for as long as they could remember. Now a thin thread of tension ran through them, stubborn and cold. Their Elders did not waste words, much less issue baseless alarms. That left only one conclusion. Adyr’s strength might very well rival Kharom, the strongest of the Umbraen’s young generation.
While the two sides sized each other up, Caprion bounded into the middle with unforced grace. Hooves met marble with a light, quick thud. He lifted his chin to sweep a calm look across both teams.
"You all know the rules. To keep it professional, I will remind you." His eyes moved left, then right, making sure each face met his. "The match continues until a team’s captain surrenders or every member is unable to fight. That is all."
He sprang back to the perimeter. One word followed him, clear and final, reverberating through the arena.
"Begin."
The instant that word left Caprion’s lips, the Umbraen team moved as one. It resembled a single body snapping awake. Every role fell into place without a shout, without hesitation.
The frontline Rank 2 did not charge forward. He sank into what he did best.
He lifted the broad, round shield and triggered his most trusted defensive Spark Skill. Black light flared outward, then tightened, the glow thinning into a glass-smooth film that sealed around the entire team. It clung to armor and skin like a second hide. The air wavered around them with a close, humming pressure that promised to turn sharp force aside.
To his left and right, the 2 attackers—built purely for offense—lit their own Spark Skills. Power climbed their forearms in layered pulses and threaded into the heads of their weapons. The charge rose in steady, controlled beats so they could strike instantly from behind the barrier the moment their skills were ready.
At the center, the remaining 2 supports planted their feet and began to weave. Their power fed forward along clean channels into the attackers. Output rose like pressure in a sealed chamber. Threads of force drew taut, each strand tied to its target, each target linked to the shield’s cover, the whole formation tightening into a coherent shape.
Under Adyr’s calm gaze, the 5 locked into a tanklike profile—a loaded barrel brought level, primed to fire the moment the trigger was touched.
He did not wait for them to pull that trigger. He was already moving himself.
His left hand drew the slightly longer of the 2 black swords already, the blade forged for attack. The shorter sword remained on his back, still crossed at an angle.
At the tip of the drawn blade, power gathered with crisp clarity. Sonic Burst condensed into a transparent sapphire bead no wider than a fist.
The bead quivered once. It dissolved into a soft, traveling ripple that ran down the length of the blade. Where it passed, the edge took on a tight sheath of compressed vibration. The air around the weapon trembled in a faint, unwavering buzz. The marble beneath his boots picked up a low hum and carried it outward in rings too subtle to see and too steady to ignore.
"Hey, hey, is he trying to use the same attack he used to cut that shockwave a while ago?" Mirela’s words slipped out before thought could catch them. Her eyes locked on the building tone as if her vision had found a rope and refused to let go.
Not long ago, Adyr had watched Lucen employ this attack. From a single look, he had mapped the lines of it and then used it to split a shockwave Collossith created. Seeing him prepare it again now, in a real fight instead of a demonstration, sent a sharp excitement through Mirela. It narrowed her focus until the world beyond the blade turned dim at the edges.
"His learning speed is astonishing," Lucen said. His face remained composed, his gaze even, but there was weight behind the words. "His adaptability is even more so."
The Velari were not alone in their surprise. In every section of the stands, other races leaned forward with the same concentrated silence.
They tracked the approach of power with hungry attention, watching a neat sphere of sapphire form at the blade’s tip and unwind into a fine ripple that sheathed the edge. Steel began to read as sound. The line of the weapon shimmered with a faint heat-haze, yet in the air the sensation felt cold and clean, like the first edge of winter skating over water.