Onyx stares at the young boy floating in the air who somehow managed to survive his attack.
There is still lingering smoke in the air from the boy's last attack.
He can't tell whether he should be worried or impressed.
He is no supreme existence. There are countless beings who could erase him before he finishes a single thought. Yet weakness is never a word anyone has used to describe Onyx. Given enough reason, one swing of his blade can split this world apart. Two, perhaps three, if he chooses not to hold back.
That is why his lord ordered him to annihilate the silver-skinned species in this universe.
His lord hadn't given him the name of the race before he came here. All he told him was that they were dangerous. That he could see a future where they would hinder his plans.
His lord has always looked ten moves ahead before executing any plan. So if he saw the silver-skinned race as a threat, then as his humble servant, it was only right that Onyx take care of the matter.
He had thought it would be a trivial task. He expected to be in and out in ten minutes. But the silver-skinned species turned out to be far more trouble than he anticipated.
At first, they disappointed him. They greeted the invader instead of drawing their weapons. Even as hundreds of thousands fell, they begged for peace. He almost pitied them.
Then they finally unsheathed their swords.
Only then did he understand why his lord had marked them for extinction.
Their swordsmanship flowed like living water. Watching them was like watching a dance performed by executioners.
Their magic was equally terrifying. Several among them possessed enough power to erase planets from existence. Given another three hundred thousand years of growth, they might have rivaled half the authority of the gods themselves.
Even their craftsmen were monsters. Weapons of Empyrean quality were common enough to make him wonder whether their blacksmiths understood just how absurd their creations truly were.
Yes, Onyx won. But that was only because of his battle experience. While their swordsmanship was excellent, it didn't look like they had used it in actual combat, giving Onyx the upper hand.
His armor was able to nullify mana, blocking their magic attacks from working on him.
Not to mention, he also had the ability to use Veil — something they didn't seem to possess. Or rather, they were not able to achieve it due to their lack of real battle experience.
Had they been able to use Veil, who knows how the battle would have ended.
What was supposed to be a ten-minute job ended up lasting an entire day.
Just as he thought he had finally won, a young boy suddenly appeared and started fighting him.
He looked so young that Onyx naturally assumed he would win. After all, how could he possibly lose to a child?
Then that child suddenly grew two feet taller, changed his clothes, and began radiating black mana powerful enough to engulf a huge chunk of the planet.
But as they fought, the child proved far more cunning than Onyx had expected.
Out of nowhere, the boy formed a curved sword from thin air and clashed with him.
The first time Onyx tried to punch him, several black swords pushed his fist back, allowing the kid to escape.
Then the boy started generating wind and attacking relentlessly, but Onyx kept dodging.
Finally, Onyx decided to strike — but just as he did, the boy's sword exploded into a wave of different colors. That was the first time Onyx's armor received a crack.
From then on, the two of them fought using only pure swordsmanship for a while.
His swordsmanship lacked experience, not talent. Every exchange carried traces of techniques that should have taken centuries to master. Had that child lived long enough to temper them in real battle, even Onyx could no longer predict the outcome.
But as the fight progressed, the boy suddenly did something that caught him completely off guard. All of a sudden, red particles began to illuminate around them. With one word from the boy, who had leapt back, they exploded.
This blinded Onyx's vision. At that point, he became annoyed. With the smoke still hindering his sight, he created a sphere of light and allowed it to expand.
The smoke faded.
The boy remained suspended in the sky.
His oversized frame was gone. Once again he looked like the child Onyx had first dismissed.
A black bodysuit clung to his figure beneath a dark jacket, replacing the strange attire he had worn moments before.
He had survived.
For the first time since entering this universe, uncertainty crept into Onyx's mind.
So right now, in this moment, he can't help but ask a question in his head.
Who… are you?
───
I generate a small amount of wind and use it to lightly set myself down on the ground.
A few more cracks have appeared on Onyx's armor.
I don't know how he feels, but I know I'm happier than I've ever been.
After so many deaths, I'm finally fracturing that armor of his, even if it's only a few cracks.
Still, I need a way to end this, and quickly.
I need something that can obliterate him in one go. It can't use much mana, and it has to be something he can't block.
Obviously, I'm going to use Qi to do it.
That's a lot of conditions to satisfy. But it's not impossible.
In that moment, a spark of genius ignites in my head.
That's it. It was so simple. Why didn't I think of this before? The final piece to my perfect plan.
But in order to do that, it's going to take some time.
Which means no matter what, I can't let him figure out what I'm up to.
I need to occupy him long enough to finish this.
My katana begins to glow with a bright white light. I quickly clamp my left hand around the upper half of the blade.
Crack.
The sound echoes through the battlefield.
The broken part begins to rearrange itself, forming a dagger.
On my right hand, the katana shortens, becoming a curved shortsword.
I twirl the dagger once between my fingers before lowering both blades.
At the same time, I start releasing tiny bursts of magical energy into our surroundings — enough for my plan, but too small for Onyx to notice. I hope.
Once we start fighting, he'll be too focused on me to notice.
With that, I glitch toward Onyx.
───
What!
The boy has suddenly snapped his sword.
Maybe I've overestimated him, Onyx thinks. He's not wrong to think that — after all, no sane person would snap their weapon in the middle of a fight.
Of course, lately being proven wrong seems to be an occurring thing.
Sure enough, from the cracked piece of his sword, a dagger forms in his left hand while the snapped sword turns into a curved shortsword.
Suddenly, the boy distorts and vanishes from sight. Then, in the same moment, he appears right in front of Onyx and lunges with the shortsword.
Onyx quickly uses the flat side of his blade to block the incoming attack.
Clang.
But as he does, the boy throws his dagger above them.
What is he…
The boy suddenly distorts again.
His body fractures into countless blue fragments before immediately stitching itself back together.
A slight whistle sounds from above.
A shadow looms over Onyx.
Onyx's eyes widen for the first time.
He can feel the pressure against his blade. He can see the boy standing before him.
Then how…
How is that same boy above him?
He looks down to see the version of the boy pushing back against him.
An afterimage?
No, an afterimage can't exert force.
An illusion perhaps. Impossible — his senses are too refined to fall for such a crude tactic.
Maybe a clone.
No, there was no wave of mana.
It is only when the boy above kicks the dagger down like lightning that the boy in front of him fractures and vanishes.
Now free, Onyx throws himself backward.
Boom.
The moment he does, the dagger pierces the ground, causing the earth to rumble as cracks spread.
Onyx looks up. The boy is still in midair.
No — now he can't be too sure. After what he just witnessed, it can't be wrong for him to assume what he's seeing is fake.
For all he knows, the boy could be behind him and he would be none the wiser.
It would be different if he could detect his presence, but the boy has managed to mask everything about him.
His mana, bloodlust, sound, and presence are all gone.
It is as if the world suddenly forgot where the boy was.
The only thing he has left to rely on is his sight. Yet after what he just witnessed, even his eyes may betray him. For the first time in a very long while, that possibility exists.
The boy breaks into the blue fragments like before.
But this time, Onyx can't seem to find another version of the boy.
Not wanting to take any chances, Onyx sheathes his blade in mana and swings upwards.
A mistake on his part.
The moment he does he feels a small hand touch his chest.
"Surge."
A violent burst of lightning explodes from the boy's hand. The blast lifts him off his feet and hurls him through the air.
He crashes hard into the broken ground, skidding across and leaving a trench in his wake.
He uses his sword to lift himself up. Steam starts rising up from his armour as faint crackles of electricity dance on the surface.
What was that?
What he was just hit by is something sharp and invasive. It's not mana since his armour didn't nullify it so what can it be?
The boy stands a good distance away. One eye burning gold and the other an impossible blue.
Something about thst golden eye resembles his master.
Onyx straightens himself.
This child is becoming more dangerous with each passing moment.
This child has already exceeded all expectations. He is a threat, a nuisance. An unknown variable which has the power to turn everything upside down.
Chaos.
That is the only word to describe him.
He must die.