A Decisive End

[You have created a new spell!]

[Wind Cannon (Level 1)]

Renji stared at the cloud of dust that swallowed Reo, he was unsure if the wind dragon's blast had any effect at all.

"RAH!" Reo exclaimed as he swung the sword as he rose to his feet, creating a strong wind pressure that dissipated the cloud of dust. Each breath he took was accompanied by a slightly painful panting, blood escaped his mouth and rolled down his cheeks.

"Impossible! There's no way you can be this good! I'll not accept this!" Losing his sense of reasoning, the sphere fixated on the sword illuminated the whole battlefield as he immediately swung his blade forward.

The blade flashed through the air with a deadly gleam, cutting through the space between them with a swift, precise motion. As the light died down, Renji removed his arm from his eyes immediately. The light could have easily been a distraction to give Reo the upper hand to attack, but that wasn't the case.

"He's... Gone?" Reo vanished, not even Renji was able to sense his magic. "So he chose to run away?" He chuckled softly as it seems Reo appeared to be a coward.

"AARGH!" Renji groaned, holding his right shoulder instantly as blood escaped a horizontal cut on his shoulder. "AARGH!" He groaned aloud again as another horizontal cut appeared on his left thigh and he fell to his right knee in pain. As seconds passed, more cuts reaching deeper into his skin appeared all over his body.

"ARGH." He groaned softly once again as he felt an overwhelming force upon his cheeks, almost as if something or someone had punched or kicked him right in the face. He was driven to the ground, his body aching from the injuries inflicted on him.

"Neat ability won't you agree?" Reo's voice resonated through the battlefield but his physical body was nowhere to be seen. It was the same technique he used earlier only this time, it was something entirely different.

"Divine magic: Etheral Veil." He added, revealing the name of the technique he utilized.

Etheral Veil is one of the abilities of the sword of Phantasos, it dosen't necessarily entails control over one's senses or perception. But total control over what is and what will be.

It is an ability that is only granted to the wielder of the blade once the sword is combined with the Sphere of Aegis, in essence;

"Reality manipulation." Reo uttered softly. "The moment I fused the Sphere of Aegis with the sword, it's illusion manipulation ability transcended beyond the fabric of space and allowed me to bend the natural laws, warping reality into what I want it to be. That's the thing about humanity Renji, it's all about perception!" He added.

Renji's eyes widened instantly as he heard this, it reminded him of something that transpired not too long ago. He smiled softly on recalling said memories.

"Tch." Even under such circumstances, Renji had the nerve to smile and this pissed him off greatly. "What are you smiling about bastard? Don't you realize the situation you're in?" Carried away by rage, he rotated the sword in his hand as he dashed forward at Renji who had no idea where he was or what he planned to do.

"You're right, it is all perception. Our motives for doing things, every action we take and the results for such actions are all based on perception. That's why..." As Reo drew closer to him, Renji looked over his shoulder with the same cold piercing gaze into the horizon.

[Ability (Infinite Perception) has been activated]

"You're going to lose." He grabbed the forehead of Reo as he approached him and slammed him into the ground, shattering it to pieces and sending debris of rocks all around them. The space they stood in shattered like glass revealing the physical body of Reo.

"I-impossible! How did you know where I was coming from!?" He exclaimed as he spat out blood from his mouth with Renji's hand pressing firmly on his forehead.

"Like you said, it's all about perception. My Infinite Perception allows me to control the five senses of my target, so I easily manipulated your senses in a way you thought your reality warping was still active, but you actually deactivated it and returned it to normal." Renji explained, his face lacking every emotion.

"B-but I warped reality! You shouldn't be able to touch me!" Reo retaliated in disagreement.

"Yes you did, and it would have stayed that way as long as you didn't try to physically attack me. In order to physically harm me, you'd have to be in the same space I was in and that just made it easier because as long as you exist in the same space as me, you cannot escape my ability." Renji said, withdrawing from Reo and staring down at him.

"Impossible! It can't be! There's no way a normal human can be this strong without divine artifacts! Your power isn't the same as when you fought that dragon! Just who the hell are you!?" Reo exclaimed expressing his rage, even with a divine artifact he couldn't outclass Renji. Now that he thought about it, was he always this strong or has he been hiding his full strength?

"I hate to break it to you Reo, but I have been levelling up all this while. You cannot defeat me." He responded boldly.

"Bullshit!" Reo exclaimed once again as he attempted utilizing his reality manipulation ability, he rose to his feet swiftly swung his sword at Renji.

With a soft sigh, Renji cloaked his hand with mana and caught the sword with just two of his fingers. "What!?" Reo couldn't believe his eyes.

"Wind Magic: Wind Cannon." He uttered softly as he cloaked his right hand with spiralling wind energy and punched Reo's stomach.

He released the (Wind Cannon) and sent him flying upwards into the air once again. Reo was severely weakened, his body couldn't keep up with the strength and level Renji's abilities.

Once again Renji appeared above Reo, showing clearly the difference in speed and power. "Just because you wield a divine artifact, doesn't make you stronger. It just makes your offensive and defensive capabilities stronger. You abandoned your own strength for a borrowed one and that's why you lost, it's over."

Gathering up the remaining mana he had left, Renji took a deep breath as he infused his mana with his wind magic. "Sacred Art: Spiralling Wind Dragon's Blast." He muttered softly before releasing a huge blast of wind down at Reo which assumed the form of two dragons. They both combined creating a rotating effect that drilled through Reo's stomach.

"ARGH!!!" He screamed in excruciating pain as the blast drilled him through the earth before dissipating into an explosion that cleared multiple trees. It was at that moment Hinata arrived at the battle ground.

She covered her eyes to prevent any particles of dust from getting into it. As the dust settled, she caught a glimpse of Renji descending swiftly from the sky. "Renji!" She called out to him.

[Enemies defeated: 1/1]

[Level Up!]

As he landed to his feet, his facial expression displayed slight sadness and regret. Although he had won, his face didn't look like that of someone who had emerged victorious. His wounds already began healing due to his [Mythic Recovery].

"Are you alright!?" Hinata spoke aloud as she approached him.

"Yeah..." He responded with a low tune.

[You have received a reward item!]

[Item: Sphere of Aegis

• An orb containing a great amount of mana which can be used to empower the wielder's spell or artifact.]

[Acquisition difficulty: A-rank]

[Category: Orb]