Abe was still keeping an eye Breaker with great intensity. There had been no major changes. However, the black aura around him was growing stronger. The man had been too quiet for a while. Suddenly Breaker disappeared from his position. Abe's danger senses immediately went crazy, and he heard a loud ringing in his head. Although he had been watching Breaker, the assassin's speed took him by great surprise.
Before he knew what was happening, Breaker had appeared to his side. And the little assassin's hammer was heading straight for Abe's ribs. The dark energy that coated the hammer was so menacing that Abe's earth armor was being corroded even before the weapon got to him.
Abe instinctively placed his sword to his left in a guarded position. A bright golden light engulfed his blade as the earth elements came to the young prince's aid. He reflexively resorted to a technique he didn't like to rely on, much like the one who passed it on to him. It was a strange thing to be honest, for Abe was an Earth User. And Earth Wielders were excellent tankers.
"Prideful Sword: Guard of the Half-Moon"
*Boom*
Breaker's hammer crashed into Abe immediately after he activated Guard of the Half-Moon. The large hammer was like a mountain that had descended. For that was exactly how Abe felt. Guard of the Half-Moon was a powerful skill. But even it could do so much when there was a great disparity in strength between user and aggressor. And that was exactly what was happening now. Guard of the Half-Moon was able to absorb almost half of the energy that came crushing down on Abe. But it could only do that much. And the rest of the turbulent energy travelled past the sword's blade and exited through the handle of the sword before crashing into Abe's armor.
The golden earth combat armor around him which was enforced by his Wyvern scales was strong. But it also couldn't stand the force of impact. In less than a second several cracks appeared on the armor and a few parts broke off. Abe's expression was ugly, and his countenance grim. He knew he had to make a decision, and that mighty quickly. Feeling that the dark energy was just about crashing into him, Abe made a decision that all weapon users never wanted to make. He let go of his sword!
After all, since the only thing acting as a conduit for the dark energy was Abe's blade, letting go of it was the best choice. It wasn't one he wanted to make, but he had to do so anyway. It was either that or be flattened.
Once Abe let go of his sword, the dark energy stopped its torment. But his sword was blown away by the great power of the dark aura and sent flying to god knows where. Abe quickly put the loss of his weapon to the back of his mind. With his fists curled up he delivered a powerful jab towards Breaker's midsection. His fists were coated in earth, and his power was at its peak. He wasn't going to withhold even a grain of power. Extreme Burst was no good here. So Abe resorted to something else.
"Splintering Fist: Wyvern's Fury"
*Roar*
A loud and powerful roar escaped Abe's body his fist was further engulfed in a redness that resembled fresh blood. Splintering Fist, Abe had learned from the Brute King. And after practicing for many months, he had been able to integrate his aura and will into the skill to produce a bloodline effect. Unlike Mane who didn't focus much on reinventing his skills and only focused on reaching the Full Mastery Realm with each move, Abe was always intent on making a skill his own. And he had. For his Splintering Fist was a bit different from Mane and Ray's. It wasn't stronger per se. But it had a hidden attribute.
At such a close distance, Breaker chose not to dodge the attack. He could have, for he was much faster than the current Abe with his power up. But he didn't. For he had been tossed around for so long that now that he had the upper hand, he wasn't going to give up the chance to bring despair to the young boy. He would show Abe why he was Breaker. He stretched out his non hammer wielding arm and placed it before his chest, as that was Abe's intended target, and welcomed the blow with a sadistic smile.
*Boom*
A great force struck Breaker and rocked the entire field. A great shockwave was produced from the powerful strike. And any third person could see that Abe's power was comparable to a peak Noble! Yet when the dust died down, what was revealed was unexpected yet expected. For Breaker still stood with a small smile on his face. He was uninjured. For even his clothes were unruffled. The dark aura that surrounded him still stood, and the man who had no great physical prowess to speak of was now showing an immense amount of talent in this field. Due to the fact that he was so small, Abe was bending towards Breaker, and his hand was within the little assassin's grip. For Breaker would not let go.
"My turn," Breaker's voice wasn't the small, cute voice Abe was used to, but carried a deep tone that didn't belong to the little assassin. Although his eyes were still pitch black, now they carried some emotion. As if mocking the young prince Breaker let go of his hammer and struck so quickly that he was back to holding the giant hammer in less than a second. The weapon didn't even look like it had been abandoned for a millisecond. And before Abe knew what was going on he had been struck right in his chest.
*Boom*
*Crack*
Abe was sent flying before he knew what hit him. There was a huge, gaping hole in his golden earth armor, right around the chest region. And his chest was slightly sunken. Although his armor was strong, it couldn't do much more than blocking 70 percent of Breaker's power. The other thirty percent travelled into his chest and broke his sternum.
*Cough*
Abe coughed weakly as he picked himself up. The pain in his chest was so great that he almost lost his consciousness. But when he felt the great dizziness that threatened to overcome his senses, he bit the tip of his tongue, and the pain shook him right back to earth.
"His power has grown tremendously. Is this the true strength of a peak Noble?" Abe coughed once again. This time though blood poured out of his mouth when he did. Only a little of that blood was from his bleeding tongue. For most of it was due to the internal injury he had just sustained. Looking ahead he could see Breaker smiling at him. Even though they were separated by a great distance, Abe could see those flashing white teeth and the mockery held within the eyes of the little assassin. Yet he wasn't offended. For there was something else that intrigued him.
"Is this his true personality?" Abe wondered. The current Breaker was a sadistic moron who seemed to delight in bringing despair to his victims. The earlier one was foul-mouthed, but Abe felt a restriction within the prior Breaker.
"Aegeus, don't interfere yet. Let me handle this. I may require your help later but undo your transformation for now." Abe could feel Abe approaching quickly so he sent him a message before Frederick's brother could get here.
"Frederick, do not interfere either." Abe added before bringing his attention back to the one who wanted to kill him.
"Whatever this power is, it brings out the beast that was restrained. That must mean that this is his true power. But why did he hide it? Why did he keep himself concealed? There must be something I'm missing."
Even with his chest in pieces, Abe's nature as a Scholar wasn't. Though the pain that slowly travelled down his chest was slightly immobilizing, Abe's brain wasn't daunted. For he saw past the pain and focused on something else. He was interested in what made Breaker conceal himself in the first place. After all, Breaker had only chosen this path after sustaining a severe injury. It seemed a bit much to wait that long to unveil such power.
Abe didn't have the answers, but he was bound to find them out. However, right now he had to survive. He didn't have his sword anymore, so he had to go down another route.
"I'm starting to understand why Mane always insisted we always start any fight at our strongest," Abe sighed as the pain in his chest started to get worse. He had been holding back transforming fully because it was a stressful thing for him. But now he had no choice.
"Glow: Wyvern Transformation"
*Roar*
A loud roar shook the entirety of Systema and finally caused a change in Breaker. For the little assassin's expression became much more focused when he heard the roar. The disregard and taunting that previously dominated his expression was slowly wiped off, and the hand that held his hammer gripped it strongly.
Abe wasn't limiting his transformation anymore. His bladed wings had remained as mere decorations to this stage because he was using his sword, but not anymore. They grew much longer and their edges became even thinner. His hands remained like that of humans for Wyverns had no hands, but they grew larger and stronger. His nails grew into long, powerful claws and the horn on his forehead grew slightly longer, and its redness somehow deepened. He retracted his combat armor, allowing his body to grow a few meters larger. And the red scales he limited before were now free to dominate as his primary defense
"Hooo"
Abe breathed out slowly as the element he didn't usually resort to escaped his nostrils. Red flames that carried the pungent smell of blood travelled from Abe's nostrils and lit up the ground he stood upon. The blood was from his lungs, for his injury was much more serious than what it seemed. However, now that he was fully transformed, his Wyvern blood swiftly worked on repairing the damage he had sustained.
Once Abe's transformation was complete, a red mist filled the space and engulfed him. Before Breaker's eyes, the blurry image of a Wyvern appeared around Abe. Although it was blurry, its blood red eyes bore into Breaker's body with authority. And for the first time since his power up, Breaker felt as slight uneasiness from those gigantic pupils. Abe slowly bent over and pushed forward. And like a fired missile, he dove straight towards Breaker. He was much faster, and definitely much stronger. And when he moved, the image of the Wyvern moved as well. And that it did with a mighty war cry.
"Roar!"