chapter 19: submissions on all ends

The battlefield trembled with the sheer force of magic and steel. Hector landed with a practiced roll, his spear humming faintly with residual wind energy as he steadied himself. Across from him, the lich's hollow eyes glowed with malice, its skeletal fingers weaving intricate patterns in the air as it prepared another spell. Asjlanni stood nearby, his cursed blade dripping with malevolent energy, his posture poised and ready for the next strike. Hector gritted his teeth, gripping his spear tightly. The clash moments earlier had been a test of strength, but now the lich's tactics were shifting, exploiting the synergy between itself and the cursed swordsman. They're adapting. If I'm not careful, I'll be overwhelmed. The lich's raspy voice echoed across the battlefield, its tone mocking. "You struggle well, mortal, but resistance only delays the inevitable." Hector's eyes flicked between his two opponents. The lich is the linchpin, but Asjlanni's speed and unpredictability make him just as dangerous. I can't let my guard down. The lich raised its bony hands, and a dark mist began to seep from the ground. Hector's instincts screamed at him to move, but before he could act, jagged black chains erupted from the mist, snaking toward him with terrifying speed. Hector spun his spear, channeling wind mana to create a vortex that deflected the chains. But the effort split his focus, and in that moment of distraction, Asjlanni struck.

The cursed swordsman dashed forward, his speed blinding as he closed the distance. Hector barely managed to block the incoming strike, his spear clashing against Asjlanni's cursed blade in a shower of sparks.

Asjlanni grinned wickedly, his voice low and taunting. "Let's see how long you can last, mortal." Their blades locked, but the cursed energy from Asjlanni's weapon began to seep into Hector's spear. The wood hissed and cracked slightly under the strain, forcing Hector to disengage. He leaped back, but Asjlanni was relentless, pressing the attack with a flurry of strikes that forced Hector onto the defensive.

Hector parried another swing, but Asjlanni twisted his body unnaturally, delivering a surprise backhanded slash that grazed Hector's shoulder. The cut was shallow, but the effect was immediate. Pain flared through Hector's body, far greater than the wound warranted. His vision blurred for a moment, and a chilling sensation crawled through his veins.

"Ah," Asjlanni said, his voice dripping with malice. "You've been marked."

Hector staggered back, gripping his spear tightly as the curse began to take hold. Dark tendrils of energy writhed across his skin, leeching his strength and clouding his mind. He could feel the curse burrowing into his very essence, targeting his mana flow and threatening to disrupt it entirely.

The lich chuckled, its hollow voice triumphant. "The curse of the Abyss Blade. An ancient power designed to drain and corrupt. There is no escape now, mortal."

Hector clenched his teeth, fighting against the overwhelming pressure. No escape? No... there's always a way.

As the curse spread, Hector's thoughts raced. It's targeting my mana, disrupting my flow... but why is it affecting my spear too? He glanced at his weapon, noting the faint cracks where the curse had started to spread. A realization struck him. The curse isn't indiscriminate—it's designed to spread through mana channels. That means... it has a limit. Hector gripped his spear tightly, his mind racing. If I can isolate and control my mana flow, I can force the curse to overextend itself. But I'll need to take a risk. He shifted his stance, allowing Asjlanni to close the distance again. The cursed swordsman moved with terrifying speed, his blade humming with dark energy as he struck. Hector met the attack head-on, deliberately channeling a surge of wind mana into his spear. The weapon glowed brightly, the energy amplifying the curse's spread—but that was exactly what Hector wanted.

Asjlanni grinned, sensing victory as the curse consumed Hector's weapon entirely. But Hector's expression remained calm, focused. At the last moment, he redirected his mana flow, with the help of Faust, severing the connection between himself and the spear and completely dissociating the curse. The curse flared wildly, its energy destabilizing as it lost its anchor. "What?!" Asjlanni staggered back, his cursed blade trembling in his hand as the backlash from the destabilized curse struck him. Hector didn't waste the opportunity. He lunged forward, delivering a devastating kick to Asjlanni's chest that sent the swordsman crashing into the ground. The lich hissed in anger, He had been blinded for a slight moment so his chants and aim had been restricted which gave Hector enough chance. raising its hands to cast another spell, but Hector was already in motion. He summoned the remnants of his wind mana, propelling himself forward with blinding speed

The next battle was Logan versus Hamed. Happening simultaneously with the other fights, this one held a slower tempo. Logan with Harigolds blade found it hard to swing around while movingfast, even though it felt lightweight while he took his time. And his opponent did not seem to mind the slow movements. Finally, after struggling he swung it at Hamed, but, he'd missed. He knew the blade was unpredictable and difficult to control, but he knew he swung the blade fast enough to fit Hamed. But nothing happened. He drove forward again, swinging but this time, he made sure to hit a combo, Hamed avoiding the first one suddenly stopped, giving Logan just what he wanted, however, his body froze. The blade had gotten so heavy, he couldn't swing nor move himself recklessly in the position he stood. The air between Logan and Hamed crackled with tension. Logan tightened his grip on Harigold's blade, the sword pulsing with its usual erratic shifts in weight. Across from him, Hamed stood unbothered, his hands glowing with faint embers as he prepared for the next move.

Logan took a steadying breath. He couldn't afford to be careless; every swing of the blade felt like a gamble. Yet, Hamed's smirk was starting to irritate him. "This isn't working," Logan muttered. "You'll figure it out," Hamed said, as if he were a teacher watching a slow student. Hamed raised a single finger, and a small fireball formed at its tip. He launched it lazily toward Logan, who sidestepped it with ease. Another followed, and then another, forcing Logan into a rhythmic dance of dodging. Logan's frustration grew. "Is this all you've got?!" he shouted. Hamed chuckled softly. "You think I'm stalling. But really, I'm learning." Logan froze mid-step. Learning what? Before he could react, Hamed conjured a sudden wave of fire, a wall of searing heat rolling toward Logan. The flames forced him to leap back, barely escaping the heat that singed his boots.

Logan landed heavily, the blade's weight nearly toppling him. He growled under his breath, remembering Harigold's words. The blade will obey if you guide it.

Focusing his mana into the weapon, Logan tried to stabilize its shifting weight. The blade pulsed violently, resisting his attempts, but he persisted. He swung experimentally, feeling the blade's resistance lessen with each attempt.

Hamed watched curiously, his ember-lit eyes glinting with interest. "Ah, you're starting to understand. But understanding isn't the same as mastery."

Without warning, Hamed clapped his hands together, and the ground beneath them erupted with small geysers of flame. Logan darted to the side, narrowly avoiding the scorching pillars, but Hamed didn't relent. He raised his hands, summoning a series of spinning fire discs that hovered menacingly in the air. "Let's see how well you can dodge this," Hamed said, launching the discs in a crisscrossing pattern. Logan swore under his breath as he ducked and weaved, the discs cutting through the air with lethal precision. His movements were hindered by the blade's sudden shifts in weight, but he used the erratic swings to deflect a few of the incoming projectiles.

One disc clipped his shoulder, leaving a burn mark and a searing pain that made him grit his teeth.

Logan knew he couldn't keep this up. He focused his mana into Harigold's blade again, this time with more intent. The blade pulsed violently, its weight doubling for a moment before suddenly lightening. Logan grinned despite the sweat dripping down his face.

"Gotcha," he whispered.

He lunged forward, closing the gap between himself and Hamed in two swift strides. The blade felt almost weightless now, and Logan used it to execute a rapid series of slashes. Hamed's eyes widened in surprise, but his movements remained fluid as he dodged each attack. "Impressive," he admitted, conjuring a shield of fire to block the final strike. The impact sent a shockwave through the air, and the shield cracked under the force of Logan's swing. Hamed leaped back, his usually calm demeanor showing a flicker of frustration. "You're learning too quickly. I don't like that." He raised his hands, and the air around them shimmered with heat. This time, instead of fireballs or discs, he summoned chains of flame that shot toward Logan like living serpents. Logan slashed at the chains, cutting through the first few with ease. But the chains were relentless, wrapping around his blade and forcing him to pour more mana into it to resist their searing heat.

"You rely too much on that sword," Hamed taunted. Logan growled, struggling to free the blade. With a burst of mana, he shattered the chains, but the effort left him momentarily exposed. Seizing the opportunity, Hamed launched a massive fireball, larger than any he had used before. Logan barely had time to react. He brought the blade up, channeling as much mana as he could into it. The blade pulsed violently, its weight fluctuating wildly as it clashed with the fireball. The explosion that followed sent both fighters flying. Logan hit the ground hard, rolling several times before coming to a stop. He groaned, struggling to his feet. Hamed wasn't unscathed either. He clutched his side, where a stray fragment of the explosion had singed his robes. "You're persistent," Hamed said, his voice tinged with annoyance. "And you're predictable," Logan shot back. Logan steadied himself, gripping Harigold's blade tightly. The weapon felt more stable now, almost as if it were responding to his will. He took a step forward, his gaze locked on Hamed.

But Hamed wasn't backing down. He raised his hands again, the air around him shimmering with intense heat.

Both fighters prepared for their next move, the tension between them palpable.

The battlefield seemed to hold its breath as the two warriors faced off, each waiting for the other to make the first move.

The battlefield trembled under the sheer intensity of Hector's clash with the lich after Asjlanni's defeat. The air was thick with mana, crackling like static as the two opponents moved in a blur of attacks and counters. The lich, unrelenting in its assault, flickered in and out of existence with rapid Blinks, maintaining an unpredictable rhythm.Hector, however, had found his flow. Each Blink the lich performed was accompanied by subtle shifts in the wind. A fraction of air displaced here, a sudden draft there. Hector's newfound connection to the wind let him sense and predict the lich's movements as though reading invisible ripples in a pond. The lich appeared several feet behind Hector, its skeletal hand raised. "Devouring Abyss!"

A torrent of black mana erupted from the ground, tendrils of shadow writhing and snapping toward Hector. But Hector was already moving, spinning his spear with precision to create a whirlwind barrier. The tendrils dissipated as the wind roared in defiance. The lich blinked again, reappearing to Hector's left. "Oblivion Spires!" Massive blackened crystal spikes erupted from the ground, aiming to impale Hector. He leaped high into the air, using his wind manipulation to stay aloft. Mid-air, he thrust his spear downward, summoning a Cyclone Lance that obliterated the spires in a thunderous burst. But the lich was relentless, blinking to Hector's blind spot.

"Frozen Cataclysm!" The temperature plummeted as a dome of ice expanded outward, jagged spikes forming in all directions. Hector barely had time to counter, slamming his spear into the ground to summon a whirlwind that shattered the ice around him. The intensity of the battle fueled Hector's focus. He could feel Faust's power coursing through him more clearly now, the wind responding to his thoughts as though alive. His movements became sharper, more fluid, and every strike carried an efficiency he hadn't known before. The lich blinked away again, reappearing above him this time.

"Infernal Cascade!" A deluge of molten fire rained down, each drop searing with the force of a meteor. Hector spun his spear in a wide arc, summoning a Gale Dome that redirected the fiery rain outward in a dazzling display of sparks and wind. Landing softly, Hector narrowed his eyes. He felt... stronger. His mana flow had become almost second nature, every channel refined and precise. The constant movement and skill usage no longer drained him as severely. If anything, he felt bursts of energy as his techniques became more efficient. The lich snarled, its bony visage twisting in frustration. It extended its arms, chanting rapidly, its voice reverberating like a death knell.

"Vortex of Annihilation!"

A massive, spiraling orb of pure destructive energy formed above the lich, spinning violently as it launched toward Hector. Without hesitation, Hector planted his spear into the ground, summoning a Tornado Breaker that collided with the orb. The impact shook the battlefield, debris flying in all directions. The lich didn't let up. It blinked closer, raising its hand. "Chains of Perdition!" Ghostly chains erupted from the ground, glowing with malevolent energy as they shot toward Hector. He twirled his spear, weaving through the chains with agility, severing them with precise strikes. The lich blinked again.

"Starfire Rend!" A blinding beam of celestial fire shot down from the heavens, aiming directly for Hector. He barely dodged, the edges of the beam scorching the ground and leaving a crater in its wake. As the battle raged, Hector's stamina began to waver. His breath came in short gasps, his movements losing a fraction of their speed. The high-intensity combat, combined with the constant need to keep up with the lich's relentless barrages, was taking its toll. The lich, too, was showing signs of wear. Its spells were still powerful, but the intervals between them grew slightly longer. Its once-fluid movements became stiffer, its skeletal form showing cracks from Hector's relentless counterattacks. Hector gritted his teeth, planting his spear as he steadied his breath. "I can't lose now," he muttered, forcing himself to stand tall. The lich raised its arms again, its hollow voice echoing with resolve.

"You've been an entertaining opponent, mortal. But this ends now." Mana surged around the lich, an oppressive force that made the air itself feel heavy. The ground cracked and trembled as it began to chant the name of an 8th-tier spell.

"Celestial Ruin..."

Hector's eyes widened as he felt the sheer power of the spell being formed. His grip on his spear tightened, his mind racing for a counter. The battlefield grew silent, the tension thick as the lich prepared to unleash its final attack.