The overall situation was dire for both sides.
Lancer was facing a barrage of gunfire and explosions from all sides.
Assassin, controlling the weapons around him, was laying siege to Lancer at a catastrophic level. Rifles flew around in a hail of bullets, attacks were launched from a distance, grenades appeared at any moment, and planes fired both bullets and missiles. It was all continuous and relentless.
But Lancer didn't fall; using her shield, armor, and spear, she pressed on, convinced that she only had to defeat Assassin to resolve the situation. And that was only half true, because if she managed to defeat Assassin, the reality marble would disappear, freeing all the prisoners in this place.
"I won't give up," she told herself, running forward, absorbing all the damage as blood spurted from her armor from the sheer volume of attacks Assassin was throwing at her, which didn't have infinite damage absorption.
"Everyone falls and breaks in war; you will too," he declared, a mixture of frantic panic and worry creeping in, revealing his true self: a maniac who destroys everything in his path. "It's only a matter of time, haha."
With that, he threw several grenades at Lancer; he used his shield to protect himself, causing Lancer to stagger.
She glanced sideways at Assassin, who wore a calm smile, but she sensed something more beneath the surface.
...
Several consecutive explosions could be seen reshaping the terrain as if it were nothing; amidst all these explosions, Saber emerged, firmly planted her feet, and leaped upwards to where Avenger stood in midair.
Bow and sword clashed simultaneously, and the sacred sword was filled with light and red lightning, but this time, a black essence appeared alongside it, as if something hidden, or rather, harmful, amidst all that power.
This sent Avenger reeling backward without harming her, only for her to draw her bow and fire again.
Saber used her sword to destroy all the projectiles, propelling herself forward with astonishing speed.
Avenger dropped her bow and, using the bracelets, tried to stop Saber, but she deflected the two that her opponent threw at her.
The dark-haired woman, wielding them as weapons, coated him in Haki and Concho against Saber's sword; in doing so, she made a sweeping motion with her hand, causing the other two bracelets to return to her.
The former king realized the two bracelets were hurtling toward him, so he had to jump.
Using the momentum of the two arms that were coming toward him, he sent them flying back at twice the speed, forcing Saber to block only one. The other struck his helmet, sending both him and the bracelet flying in different directions.
"Heh, I see the borrowed power is taking its toll," Avenger remarked, observing Saber's head. From below her neck to her eye were several lines of red and black that varied like veins.
This was the corruption of the red dragon's power.
During his reign, to confront his brother, the wielder of the white dragon, he had to usurp a power he was never meant to use: the power of the red dragon.
Thanks to Merlin, he was able to possess that power, but since he wasn't born to wield it, it took its toll, enough to leave him nearly paraplegic and force him to ask Merlin to create a formula that would allow him to possess that power and defeat the white dragon. There was a moment when his body was so corrupted and destroyed by the power that even he struggled to breathe.
He was Uther Pendragon, the former king of Camelot, a would-be savior of Britain, and a failed attempt at becoming the red dragon of his country.
Saber didn't react to Avenger's words; he simply drew his sword into an attack position and, activating his power, lunged forward. The corrupted veins of power continued to grow larger and larger, for the more power he used from the dragon's core, the faster his body would be corrupted.
...
Within the barrier created by the martial Zelretch, several ether cannons could be seen moving and constantly shifting positions, while Caster used Soru, Geppo, and Kemi-e to dodge not only those cannons but also the spells her opponent was launching at her.
Amidst all this chaos, Caster glanced at her forearm and saw that she only had three spell pre-casts remaining. She had to be careful not to use them recklessly, as casting another spell required time and concentration, something she lacked.
"Kiss-shot, get ready, because I have a plan," she mentally communicated to the vampire hidden in her shadow.
"Tell me what you have in mind," she replied telepathically.
Meanwhile, Zelretch didn't want to give Caster a moment to think, because if he did, he only needed one small mistake to potentially lose his entire advantage. So, while shielding Caster from multiple shots, he was preparing a contingency plan to avoid the worst.
Caster dropped to the ground, plunging his hand into his shadow and drawing out a normal sword, but one made entirely of shadow.
Zelretch raised an eyebrow at this, as he expected Caster to draw a real weapon, not a shadow sword.
There was no time to argue; Caster, using his swordsmanship skills, destroyed one of the ether cannons headed his way. The sword was partially destroyed, but since it was made of shadow, it regenerated instantly.
With that done, Caster charged at full speed toward Zelretch, who immediately guessed what Caster intended: to fight in close combat so he could cut off his head.
Both knew that, in terms of spellcasting, Zelretch was superior, possessing a larger repertoire and far more experience wielding the sorceress than Caster. Therefore, Caster had to narrow the battle to an area where he could defeat Zelretch with his sword.
Zelretch quickly used several gems that unleashed a mix of fire and air attacks, but Caster, wielding his sword, executed a slash that created an energy blast, intercepting the spell.
At the same time, Caster spun his sword to destroy two ether cannons, one using the blade itself and the other using his hand, which was reinforced with sorcery and Haki.
Ignoring the damage he sustained, Caster charged forward, landing directly in front of Zelretch.
Zelretch attempted to slice through space to create another ether cannon, but Caster intercepted the slash, halting the marshal's movement.
The marshal quickly stepped back, releasing several gems that created a crystal barrier, protecting himself and simultaneously attacking Caster.
The blond frowned at this, for no matter how much he could regenerate, he couldn't withstand that much damage. So, stomping his feet, he created a current of darkness that began to absorb the crystals while using the shadow sword to block the ether cannon that was coming toward him.
The user of the second magic checked the number of gems he had left, 80% of them, but for what he wanted to do, he would have to use 60% of his total, leaving him using only 20% of what he already had.
His thoughts were interrupted when he had to pat the air to create a reflective wall that stopped Caster's slashing attack.
The marshal watched as the sword, now transformed into a spear, was launched at him from above, traveling in an arc that bypassed the barrier he had created.
Suspecting this attack, he launched a gem near her position, which was imbued with a restraining spell. But the moment they collided, the gem transformed out of thin air into a blonde woman with golden eyes.
The moment Zelretch saw this, he tensed up, immediately thinking of Helena. This gave Kiss-shot time to leap into the air, easily breaking the restraining spell as she plummeted toward the old man, intending to strike him with the heel of her leg.
Zelretch managed to react in time and created another barrier, palming the air to block the attack from the enemy he momentarily mistook for Helena, only to watch in horror as she shattered it with a single blow, proving herself far stronger than the current Caster.
Kiss-shot continued her attack; She attempted to destroy her opponent with a single blow, but he managed to react, taking a step back and sustaining a nasty cut on his chest. However, being a true ancestor, this damage would regenerate quickly.
But the vampire didn't stop there. Spinning her body with her supernatural strength and using Haki, she unleashed a devastating blow.
Due to time constraints and the distance between them, the marshal could only pat the space to create a barrier, hoping to halt the enemy's attack.
Kiss-shot's blow easily shattered Zelretch's defenses, striking him in the chest and sending him flying to the edge of the confined space he himself had created, vomiting a large amount of blood.
Caster was further back, watching all of this, only to shroud his arm in darkness as he extracted a piece of gem, which managed to stop the ether cannon heading toward his position.
I look at the gem, which has withstood the damage, since it redirected it rather than stopped it, and in the process, it overheated a little.
Another thing she noticed was that the ether cannons were shifting their position to where she was, and Zelretch was now focused on Kiss-Shot. This could only mean two things: either it was automatic, or…
"Kiss," Caster communicated mentally.
"What's wrong?" asked the aforementioned woman.
"I'm going to do something crazy, so I need you to distract him for a few moments," Caster explained as she threw the gem to intercept the ether cannon while using her darkness to absorb another one.
"Understood," she replied, smiling at Zelretch, who was already getting up as if nothing had happened.
With this, Caster redirected some of the ether cannon's energy toward another one that was coming toward her, creating an explosion in the air, eliminating all the ether cannons in the area.
With the area clear, the blond-haired man sat on the ground and concentrated as much as he could on what he was about to do.
Returning to the two vampires, Kiss-shot launched herself forward at full speed with a flaming fist, but to her surprise, Zelretch managed to dodge it by moving his head to the side and using his sword to create a large ether cannon that destroyed the upper half of her body.
Kiss-shot's lower half quickly locked the marshal's feet in a leg lock, causing both of them to fall to the ground.
In less than a second, Kiss-shot's upper half regenerated, ready to twist her hip and attempt to destroy Zelretch's skull, but Zelretch, using a gem, created a shockwave and air blast that separated them, damaging him in the process but achieving his objective.
The marshal got up, adjusting his dislocated shoulder, and looked at his opponent, who simply stood up without any problem and began brushing the dust off the ground.
"That level of regeneration is abysmal, beyond that of a true ancestor, but luckily she fights like Helena, so I can analyze her fighting style and predict her moves," the user of the second true magic thought to himself.
Kiss-shot ignored Zelretch's hand reaching for his pocket and focused on the jeweled sword.
"I need to take that sword from him or break it," he concluded.
"That sword is just a catalyst for using the second magic more precisely, but if you do, you can stop her from firing ether cannons wildly. " Kiss-shot heard Caster's voice.
Zelretch watched as Kiss-shot positioned herself to attack; meanwhile, in his pocket, he took 60% of his gems and began fusing them into 5 spatial gems and started chanting.
"Beyond reality, there are more like me," he began to chant, which caused the vampire to speed toward him.
Using the jeweled sword, she fired an ether cannon that was dodged, but thanks to the delimited field, it changed direction toward her. Kiss-shot spun her body, kicking the ether cannon and sending it flying toward the marshal.
Zelretch's eyes widened when he saw this, forcing him to jump to avoid the damage and interrupt her magic.
"Through all realities you exist; there is no afterlife, no end," he said, intercepting Kiss-Shot's blow that sent him flying to the ground.
But the force of the blow caused the marshal to drop his sword, using his free hand to palm the space, creating a barrier that allowed him to step back and dodge Kiss-Shot's kick aimed straight for his head, intended to decapitate him.
Instead of following through, Kiss-Shot stomped hard on the jeweled sword, shattering the hilt. The jewels themselves weren't destroyed, but they cracked.
"I see beyond the human mind; I see beyond reality itself," he continued chanting, taking several steps back. But the vampire ignored the weapon and sped toward her opponent.
Without removing her hand from her pocket and using only one hand, she barely managed to deflect Kiss-Shot's blow.
Kiss-shot couldn't help but click her tongue at this.
"I am the gateway that brings mystery and the afterlife to the earthly realm," Zelrecht continued, deflecting two more blows, but it was all for naught. Kiss-shot severed her hand and hurled it at him, striking him in the face, sending him flying backward, and knocking him to the ground.
The marshal continued spinning on the ground, dodging Kiss-shot's stomps to his feet and twisting space, creating a portal as if space were shattered glass before his opponent.
The vampire nearly fell through the portal, which opened into an infinite void. Zelrecht tried to push her, but she managed a backflip, avoiding the abyss.
The user of the second magic wasn't bothered, as he had successfully completed his spell. Pulling his hand from his pocket, he revealed the five special gems and tossed them into the air.
"I am the gateway to myself and infinite possibilities; manifest, dimensional alter ego," Zelretch chanted as the gems began to warp in midair.
Kiss-shot witnessed this and tried to quickly move to destroy at least one of them. The Marshal launched several gems, which created a fiery attack, but unlike Caster, she simply ignored it.
The gem, which was increasingly resembling a humanoid form, was destroyed in a single blow.
The vampire stared at the gem fragments as her body was already regenerating completely, then looked at the marshal, who was surrounded by four Zelretches made of self-moving gems.
"I see you're in trouble, partner," said one of these gems, who resembled the user of the second magic but dressed in more Western-style clothing, as if he'd come from the Wild West.
"Hmm, this looks like an interesting battle," said another who resembled Zelretch but was much younger.
"You need to see beyond what meets the eye," complained one of the humanoid gems who looked like a female version of Zelretch.
While the last Zelretch was covered by something like a hood and remained silent,
the real Zelretch walked over to where the jeweled sword lay, examining the cracks in it, and grimaced.
"It'll be annoying to hold, but it's still usable," he commented, glancing at Kiss-Shot. "The situation isn't very favorable, but we're not lost yet," he told the other versions of Zelretch he could summon.
This magic involved bringing other versions of Zelretch to this dimension, but since they can't simply abandon their reality, not to mention the paradoxes and complications with the Counterforce and Gaia, they use gems to create vessels that resemble their real bodies, which they will then manipulate and use as if they were here.
"The use of the second true magic is quite a marvel, but knowing the great advantage of being able to communicate between dimensions and being almost a fiscon with this one, I feel it's normal that this is happening," a voice said from behind the five Zelretch.
Some turned away, while others continued to stare at Kiss-Shot.
The royal marshal glanced at Caster, who was walking somewhat slowly toward them, but he noticed almost immediately something unusual about what was happening.
"Your body density has increased," he concluded, observing how Caster's footsteps were becoming heavier.
"Oh, you noticed. That's good. It lets me show off my genius by saying what I did, which," Caster tried to say but was interrupted by the hooded Zelrecth.
"You altered your body with different materials, didn't you? Someone in my reality who could transmute just by touching something tried it and ended up deformed, but I see you succeeded," he explained, making Caster a little discouraged.
"It's true that Helena never found the Alchemy Fruit when I died; surely in that reality, the user of that fruit at that time tried the same thing I did, but unfortunately for them, they didn't have such a resilient body and the regeneration to compensate for the shortcomings and mistakes made," Caster thought as he touched the ground and began to transmute and transform into a weapon.
"That's right, I coated my skeleton, Weapon X-style, with a titanium alloy," the blond replied, holding the branch he had just created and beginning to spin it. "It's 86% titanium in the structural base, 6% molybdenum, 4% vanadium, 3% niobium, and finally, 1% zirconium."
Zelretch frowned at this, but if anyone was capable of doing this, it was, frankly, Caster, no one else.
"Well, let's begin the final round," Caster declared, her red pupils turning a completely metallic blue.
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Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I plan to finish the fight in the next chapter, but I'm not making any promises.
I was supposed to upload the chapter yesterday, but figuring out the composition of the material to coat Caster's bones and the alloy took me some time to research; plus, I watched the Cape Verde vs. Argentina match, and that also took up quite a bit of time.
That's all I wanted to say; with that said, see you later.