(Still from Adrian's perspective)
That day came sooner than I expected. At the end, I could not figure out who was scheming against me. Rumors started flowing around about many crimes I "supposedly" have committed, along with well-rehearsed victims. I kept dealing with them and proving my innocence, but it turned out it was just a ruse to distract me until they made their ultimate move.
With all the accusations against me, I was forced to accept when Thalia challenged me to a duel. At that moment, I could not trust even my closest associates. One minute, they would brag about their loyalty to me; the next second, I would find evidence against them. Whoever this person is, they know me very well. And they have considered every scenario. What is even more terrifying is, whenever I get closer to this person, my system starts glitching like facing some sort of EMP device. How was it possible that they could even have countermeasures against the system?
Right now, surrounded by spectators, I'm facing the avatar of flames. I have defeated her before, many times, but she is significantly stronger now. It's not just her growth potential, but someone has instructed her on how exactly she should proceed. I also heard whispers about how Patriarch pooled all resources, artifacts, and wealth on her growth. Are they in on it too?
Her mana core has already reached the noble upper tier, and her proficiency with divinity has increased.
(Adrian. Go all out. We no longer have the luxury of being careful.
Most of the spectators are nobles who are loyal to Thalia. Even if they pulled something illegal today, no one would do a thing.
SYSTEM STATUS
USER – THEON RIVENHART IGNISBORN/ ADRIAN HOLLOWAY
MANA CORE – NOBLE (UPPER TIER)
CORE POTENTIAL – ROYAL
ELEMENTAL AFFINITY – FIRE
SPACE
BLOODLINE – IGNISBORN BLOODLINE
SKILLS - APPRAISAL (UNIQUE)
THOUGHT ACCELERATION (RARE)
LIMITLESS REGENERATION (UNIQUE)
SKILL BOARD (UNIQUE)
SKILL POINTS - 121
I had so many plans. I was designing my main weapon, "Pale Brand". Theoretically, it could synchronize with the system and imitate other divine weapons to a certain degree. I also managed to acquire the "Frost Fairy" flower. But it can only be consumed in specific conditions.
"Whatever, let's get this over with."
"Begin"
With that, Thalia called forth her silver flames. I took out my sword and summoned white flames and surrounded myself with them, a trick used by the previous owner of this body. I summoned a barrage of flame spears and launched them.
Thalia summoned a wall of silver flames, obliterating the spears. When she pulled down the wall, I was not in my previous spot. I propelled myself into the air with an explosion and conjured up magic circles in both arms. One was crimson red and the other was purple.
Direct attacks won't work as long as she is surrounded by those silver flames. So, how about this? I combined the two circles, creating a purple flame. This was my own signature attack. A combination of flame and space, "The vanishing flames".
Thalia, immediately sensing the threat, launched a curtain of silver flames towards me. I launched my own flame attack. When the two attacks are on the verge of colliding, the Purple Flame was not extinguished by silver flames but rather, the purple flame phases through and lands on Thalia. When the silver flame reached me, there was no time to dodge, so I instinctively surrounded myself with white flames. It was able to resist the silver flames for a moment before dying out. But that was enough.
Thalia lost her concentration, and the silver flames got extinguished. Small burns on my body healed in just a few seconds. When the dust settled, Thalia was still standing, but her left arm was heavily burned. She had a surprised look on her face. She must have thought that silver flames were invincible. And whatever shielding artifact she had was also useless. She clicked her tongue and raised her spear into the air.
"Fine, then, outsider, I was trying to be merciful, but let's start fighting seriously."
So, she knows, huh. That confirms her involvement with that person. Fine, let's see what they came up with.
The entire sky around the colosseum was surrounded by all sorts of flame attacks. Spears, blades, and fireballs. There were no magic circles or chanting.
"So, she has reached this state, huh. It happened sooner than was supposed to."
When an avatar reached a certain proficiency with their divinity, they could conjure attacks simply by visualizing them without any circles. That was one of the things which were truly terrifying about them. But then again, she was always bound to reach this level.
I tapped my foot on the ground, and a purple circle materialized on the ground. A dome of almost invisible purple hue materialized around me. Thanks to my skill "Thought acceleration," I can instantly chant magic circles, and I also tinkered with the formula, making it less mana-consuming. When the attacks collided with the dome, they simply vanished, astonishing everyone. Although there are people who possess space elements, no one has utilized it as a defensive spell. But there was a problem. And Thalia took advantage of exactly that.
She can keep spamming flame attacks without worrying about mana consumption. She would only face mental strain. And me? I am sort of trapped within the dome. I can't create a portal inside; warping space within the warped space could have disastrous consequences. My mana will eventually run out.
"A battle of endurance, then. Let's see how long you last."
I smirked. If only I hadn't thought of this. I took a deep breath and muttered, "System."
"Activate unique skill Skillboard. Use all remaining skill points and create a skill which allows me to swap places with an object."
A window materialized in front of him.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION:
COMMON SKILL- SWITCH
ALLOWS THE USER TO SWAP LOCATIONS WITH AN INANIMATE OBJECT WITH AN AREA OF 5M RADIUS.
USES- 3 TIMES A DAY
This is why I hate creating skills. It was so expensive. 121 skill points, and I only got a common skill? Whatever. I activated the skill.
Thalia was so busy launching attacks that she did not realize the looming presence behind her. Adrian appeared behind her and raised his sword, and struck. There was no need to think about the cowardice of attacking from the back. She has everyone by her side and even has protective artifacts. The fight should have ended right there, but suddenly a golden spear materialized behind her and stopped the attack.
Thalia looked surprised, but she quickly turned around and grabbed the spear. Adrian understood what happened and gritted his teeth. The spear was one of the divine treasures of the flame god. This means that God himself interrupted the fight.
Seeing Thalia wielding the spear, people started cheering. It was a legendary moment of an avatar wielding a divine treasure. Adrian felt a deep anger within him. It was not his but Theon's anger, seeing Thalia wielding that weapon.
Purple flames surrounded Adrian's sword. He surrounded himself with a cloak of white flames and created multiple mana circles near him. Before Thalia could even grasp what was happening, he attacked her with both closed and long-range attacks. Attack by attack, strike by strike, he started pushing her back. He didn't even give her a chance to use the power of the golden spear.
The golden Spear can only be used with the god's authority, and it allows her to become a raging storm of fire itself. She will become intangible. That will be a whole other mess to deal with. Adrian ducked to the side and struck at her wrist, disarming her. Then he kicked away the spear.
Thalia had a panicked look on her face. The mistake she made was focusing too much on her weapon at that moment. Adrian sliced at the front, his purple flames phasing right through the silver flames and leaving a deep gash and burns. He kicked her in the abdomen and turned his attention towards the golden spear. As expected, the spear started levitating and flew towards Thalia. Seeing this, Adrian snorted.
Right before the spear moved, he created a purple dome around it. It was the same as the previous attack, but only in reverse. No matter which direction it flew, the spear always ended up in the same location. Spell consumed a massive amount of mana. He no longer has enough mana to use the space element. It was time to end this. He started marching towards Thalia.
When Thalia regained consciousness, she saw Adrian marching towards her. She was bleeding heavily and had consumed most of her divinity. She used everything she had left and launched an attack with crimson flames and silver flames. But he suddenly vanished from his location and arrived right in front of her. He slammed his knee into her face, and she fell to the floor.
Adrian had a furious look on his face.
"I never considered you as my family. But you went too far this time. It's time to end this ill-fated relationship."
With that, Adrian raised his sword to strike. Thalia instinctively closed her eyes, but the attack never came. Everything suddenly froze. The spectators, judges, and even birds flying in the air. Time itself has stopped.
Adrian felt his body halt all movements. It's as if he were frozen in ice. But he was completely aware of what was happening. And in front of Adrian, a new figure appeared. Someone whom he has cherished greatly.
"You really are a hard man to kill, my love."
Reyna spoke cheerfully.