"Enough with the tricks—let's end this fight." Tartaglia activated "Delusion: Foul Legacy Transformation."
A sleek, formidable armor enveloped his body, and the twin lightning blades in his hands merged into a single electrified greatsword. The surging Electro energy from the cape behind him grew even more violent, transforming his scarf into a billowing mantle.
"Were you about to say…" Lucian began.
"I wasn't about to say anything!" Tartaglia cut him off.
"Fine, let's end it then." Lucian shrugged.
Since you've activated Foul Legacy, there's no need for me to hold back either.
As Lucian spoke, water began coalescing around him, gradually forming a suit of armor. Even after taking shape, the watery armor continued to flow, as if he were clad in a rushing current.
Seeing Lucian and Tartaglia enter their final battle states, Lumine and Signora tacitly ceased their own clash.
After exchanging blows for some time, the two had realized that their strength was too evenly matched—deciding a victor would take far too long.
Since the incident where Venti's Gnosis was stolen had never occurred, this was actually the first time Lumine and Signora had met. There was no deep-seated grudge between them, so they halted their fight to observe the outcome of Lucian and Tartaglia's duel.
"You never fail to surprise me, comrade." Tartaglia was exhilarated, thrilled beyond measure.
As long as the fight was satisfying, winning or losing didn't matter to him.
Tartaglia teleported directly in front of Lucian, his electrified greatsword swinging with terrifying force. The violent Electro energy roared through the air, leaving residual lightning in its wake—which then coalesced into secondary strikes aimed at Lucian.
The attack was too fast for Lucian to react to, but fortunately, he had already activated his watery armor.
This armor provided no stat boosts or defensive capabilities—it had only one function:
The water would flow in the opposite direction of an incoming attack, allowing Lucian to evade by riding the current.
Enhanced by the adeptal art "Divine Striding," his dodging speed was extraordinarily fast.
Though the blade moved swiftly, the water's guidance carried Lucian away in a flash.
Tartaglia hadn't yet discerned the armor's secret, assuming instead that Lucian had predicted his move.
He prepared to press the assault but was interrupted by a fireball hurtling toward his face.
Tartaglia froze for a split second—Where did that come from? Don't you have a Hydro Vision?
That momentary hesitation left him no time to dodge, forcing him to block with his arm.
The flames weren't strong enough to pierce Foul Legacy's defenses, but right after the fire came a high-pressure water jet.
The Hydro attack struck Tartaglia's flame-coated arm directly, and the ensuing Vaporize reaction inflicted enough pain to make even Foul Legacy's user wince.
This Lucian fights with so many underhanded tricks… But then again, his surprises make this all the more fun.
"Hahaha! How many more tricks do you have? Show me everything!"
"I'm not some delicate little Lumine—I've got plenty more where that came from." Lucian even had the leisure to joke.
"?" Lumine's expression darkened. Since when have I ever been delicate? Do you know how many monsters I've slaughtered?
Tartaglia didn't understand the reference—he was simply enjoying the fight more and more. Ignoring the pain, he spun his greatsword and unleashed two Hydro blades toward Lucian.
Lucian flicked his finger sideways, sending a matching Hydro blade to intercept.
The two attacks collided, scattering into a shower of rain.
Then Lucian saw it—a greatsword, rapidly enlarging in his vision.
Tartaglia had copied his tactic, using the Hydro blades as cover to close the distance.
Thankfully, the watery armor didn't require manual control—it automatically carried Lucian into a dodge, shifting him backward.
At the same time, Lucian's Hydro Dragon intercepted Tartaglia's path, its jaws snapping down and forcing him to halt.
"Hm?" Tartaglia noticed something odd.
Lucian's movements just now hadn't seemed reactive—his body had dodged before he could process the attack.
Tartaglia's sharp combat instincts led him to a hypothesis about Lucian's armor.
As he pondered, Lucian's Hydro Dragon surged toward him.
Though fast, the dragon was still too slow to land a hit on Foul Legacy. Tartaglia dodged effortlessly and retaliated with two more Hydro blades.
"Repeating the same trick?" Lucian was puzzled.
Given Tartaglia's battle IQ, a failed tactic shouldn't be reused. For him, new techniques were mere flashes of inspiration mid-fight—he was never at risk of running out of ideas.
Lucian blocked again with a Hydro blade, only for the electrified greatsword to lunge at his face—just like before.
The armor dodged, and the Hydro Dragon interposed itself between the blade and Lucian.
But then—Lucian sensed Electro energy gathering behind him. The greatsword in front of him was lodged in the dragon's body… with no wielder attached.
"An opening!"
Tartaglia materialized twin lightning blades in his hands and struck Lucian's back with a crackling slash.
The armor's momentum couldn't adjust quickly enough—though it managed a partial dodge, the attack still grazed Lucian.
Twin bolts of lightning scorched his back, but thanks to his ever-present Hydro Shield, the damage was minimal.
"Too shallow?" Tartaglia realized Lucian had shifted at the last moment, preventing a direct hit. Had it landed fully, he was confident it would've shattered the shield.
Suddenly, a premonition struck him. He barely managed to sidestep—
But not fast enough. A Hydro Dragon clipped his side.
Lucian's counter also failed to connect cleanly, dealing only minor damage.
Two Hydro Dragons now coiled around Lucian, their eyes locked onto Tartaglia.
"Two of them?" Tartaglia hadn't expected Lucian to control two summons simultaneously.
Summoned entities lacked independent will—they relied entirely on the user's control.
Operating one summon versus two was an entirely different level of difficulty.
Given Lucian's current Elemental Mastery, he could manage two, though not as fluidly as one. That's why he'd held back until now—
And it caught Tartaglia completely off guard.
Adjusting his stance, Tartaglia grinned. "No more holding back. That fire from earlier—use that too."
He was growing impatient. If you've got more tricks, just show them already!
"Alright then." Lucian didn't hesitate.
Striking a pose, he declared:
"I shall… set the sea ablaze!"
With a sweep of his hand, flames spread across the ground, stopping just behind Tartaglia.
Lucian couldn't actually ignite the entire battlefield—only the perimeter was set alight. Within this ring, Pyro energy became more volatile, allowing his attacks to manifest faster.
"Now this is more like it!" Tartaglia laughed.
"Just like this—"
Lucian stole his line. "Were you about to say, 'Just like this… entertain me—'?"
"I wasn't going to say that!" Tartaglia snapped.
Lucian shrugged. He'd already gauged Tartaglia's strength in Foul Legacy form.
It's about time to end this.
===✧✦✧===
Character Voiceline · Signora: On Lucian's Strength
"He's stronger than I expected. It seems whipping him into submission won't be so easy."