Gora:
Whoosh!
(I missed!) I thought as the punch I threw at Warr hit nothing but air. The tiger had leaped into the sky at the last second. Warr opened her mouth mid-air, letting out a beastly roar.
Boom
A vortex of powerful wind rushed towards me. (Black hand) I thought. A 6-foot tall palm appeared seconds later, stopping the vortex but sending me flying. Lucky I was able to land on my feet. I received backlash in my core, causing me to cough up blood. I didn't have time to think about my injuries. Warr was already launching wind claws at me. I quickly dodged the first two wind blades, but I had to summon some black blades to block the last one.
Boom
Our two moves collided, creating a dust cloud. I planned to use the explosion as a cover to close the distance between the beast and me. Until I heard the faint whistling of wind headed for me.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two circular wind saws blew the dust away as they sailed at me. I had to dive to avoid the attacks. The two attacks struck the ground in front of me, kicking up chunks of dirt. While I tried to recover, I heard whistling again. I turn to see Two wind saws head my way. I conjured two black blades made of pure Ki to intercept them.
Boom! Boom!
I succeeded in hitting one of the incoming attacks, but the second simple avoided my counter and continued to move. Lucky I could dodge the second wind saw. (Where the hell did this cat learn such a move.) I thought as I prepared to circumvent even more incoming attacks.
The saws were a bit tricky. The circular blades of spinning wind would fly past only to circle back around. I used my sword to parry the attacks carefully, not take the full blow of the attacks. I would be in serious trouble if I got hit by the wind saws. Even at my current level. (Not so fast, kitty!) I thought as I stopped moving. Although the wind attacks were troublesome, they weren't anything I hadn't seen before. I also knew that while I'd been dodging projectiles, Warr was getting close. I sidestep the wind blade and prepared for the income tiger.
Bang!
"I'm impressed," I announced after Warr's claws bounced off my void-infused blade. I made sure to apply as much weight to my sword as possible. Still, I was only able to repel the mighty beast. I was about to chase the now retreating tiger. When I heard shouting from behind me.
I turned to see Canis and Frons running from wind saws. Frons had apparently been injured by one of the attacks. The woman held one of her arms. Blood dripped down her wound as the woman stood to look my way. She didn't look too hurt, but I was still angry.
I turned back to the grinning cat. Warr seemed happy with herself. (I'm going to wipe the smile off your face!) I thought as I took a deep breath. I had to admit Warr had gotten strong. She had not only leveled up, but she also developed a bit of strategy. I noticed that the tiger was deliberately keeping her distance. My fight style mainly was based on close combat. I was at a disadvantage in range battle. I would have to get close to ending this.
Crack!
I pushed off the ground with all my might cracking the earth beneath me. I launched myself at Warr, but the tiger wasted no time sending wind saws my way. I continued my charge. Parrying the attacks as I went. As soon as I got close, Warr began to retreat. I wasn't going to let that happen, however.
I summoned dozens of black blades and launched them at my opponent. My blades were much lighter than my normal ones. Meaning they flew much faster. That also meant they were a lot weaker, but I didn't need to kill the cat. I only needed to stall Warr enough to get closer. While Warr was busy dodging my attacks, I had just avoided his last wind saw.
"No more running cat!" I shouted when I was inches away from the beast. Even if Warr could move, it was already too late. (Hydra style. ) I thought after taking a deep breath. The hydra style had started out as only three simple attacks. The real trick to the technique was performing these three sword forms in literal seconds.
Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh
My blade moved through the air like a blur. Each slash was deadlier than the last. After around 30 swings, I lost count of how many times my hand moved. To my surprise, Warr was actually holding his own. Although I had landed quite a few hits, none of them were fatal. This was a testament to the tiger's speed. For every swing the tiger avoided, two more would take its place. Blood sprayed everywhere as I cut the beast into ribbons. A minute went by, and I still hadn't managed to land any significant blow, but the tiger fur was now covered in blood. I was about to cut into Warr again when my body gave out!
"Ugh!" I coughed up blood as my muscle tightened, and I gasped for air. (Damn this body!) I thought as I fell to my knees. My head was spinning, and my ears buzzed. This was the setback of using the hydra style at my current level. Lucky for me, Warr was also in bad shape, although she was recovering much faster than I was.
"For a second, I thought I was a goner!" Warr said as she struggled to her feet. I tried to stand up but with no luck. My body was as stiff as aboard. Lucky I had leveled up my core, so my satanic body had also gotten stronger. I could already feel my body getting better. Unfortunately, Warr was slowly making her way to me.
"How does it feel? To know your so close to death. Do you want to run?" Warr mocked as I slowly stood up, only to fall back to the ground. Warr smirked at my predicament. I gritted my teeth as I finally made it to my feet.
"Don't worry, ill be sure to take your place when you're gone. A strong beast army needs a strong Queen. Maybe I'll change my name to the Warr Queen of battle!" Warr roared with laughter as she finally reached me.
Hahaha, Ahahaha!" I tried my best to hold in my laugh but with no luck. Laughing made my sore body hurt, but I couldn't help it.
"What are you laughing at!? You do know you are about to die, right?" Warr asked, now inches away from my face. I looked the tiger in her eyes as a smile crept on my face. I released an astronomical amount of Ki all around me. Warr's eyes almost popped out of her head in shock before trying to retreat. Black mana surrounds the backtracking tiger and me. Walls of black Ki formed around me and my target, creating a box made of pure mana.
(White box!) I thought as the last remaining light from the moon was covered. Now Warr and I were locked in the box of Ki devoid of any light. Once the white box was activated, I commanded the area to become heavier.
"Ugh!" I heard Warr groan in pain. Even a level seven beast would have trouble moving in all this weight. I, on the other hand, was used to this weight. I moved my hands around, finally getting the feeling back into my body.
"You asked me what I was laughing at! I'm laughing at you!" I said as I stretched my body. It was a mistake to use the hydra style at my layer. I was lucky I trained so hard, or I might have died from using the technique.
"You, the Queen of battle, don't make me laugh!" I scoffed as I activated Ki sense. This allowed a person to see mana in the air. My mana was black when viewed by normal eyes. But when viewed with Ki sense, my mana was pure white. This is why I called the technique white box. Warr was undoubtedly trying to locate me using Ki sense, but she would only see white. I, however, could clearly see Warr's grey mana with relative ease.
Bang.
I launched my first attack, a simple punch to the beast's skull. I had opted to use my fist to finish this instead of my sword. (I'm going to make you wish you never came back!) I thought as I continued my barrage on the beast. The tiger was helpless to stop me.
"You only dipped your toes in the pool of battle. While I was born in an ocean of blood." I shouted, striking the tiger again and again.
"All I've ever know is battle and war. From the moment I was born to the second I died, fighting was all I had." I shouted after landing yet another hit.
Bang!
"I've faced death countless times. My body has been burned and mutilated over and over again! I roared in rage. As the horrible memories of my past life began to surface.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Day after day, year after year. There was no end to the fighting!" I spoke again, this time pausing. This was the first time it really hit me. What I had done as Sir Goerge. Growing up as Gora had showed me all the things I missed out on for the sake of the paladin order. Tears started to roll down my eyes as the images of what I went through flooded my mind. They took everything from me! Until I was nothing but a tool to be used and discarded. Even after I died, I was forced to fight again by people like Warr and the noble demons. ( Fine. If they want a fight, I'll give them one. It's the only thing I'm good at.) I thought as I looked at Warr.
"All my life, I had to fight! If anyone deserves the title of battle Queen, it's me. But if you want the role. I'll gladly give you the pain required to earn such a prestigious title." I said before continuing my onslaught.
Bang Bang Bang
I was brutal in my assault as I combo attack after attack. Warr had long since stopped fighting back. Now she was being thrown around like a rag doll. My barrage went on for what felt like hours. After a while, I had forgotten I was fighting Warr. Now all I saw was the faces of the priest that tortured me. Of all the lives I was forced to take. Tears poured from my eyes as I continued clobbering my former guardian. Then I started to grow weak. The box I had conjured was slowly fading away, and the light from the moon began to filter in.
I fell to my knees in exhaustion. I had used all of my mana, and my body ached with pain. Still, my rage was not satisfied, and I tried my best to stand and hit Warr again.
"That's enough, master!" I heard Frons' voice as a hand touched my shoulder. I looked up to see my guardians stare at me with worry and fear.
"She's right, master! This battle is over. You're the victor." Canis said. His words made me look at the place I last saw Warr. I found the tiger unmoving, covered in dark blood. If I didn't see the light rise and fall of her chest, I would have sworn that the cat was dead. Something told me she didn't have long. It would take a miracle for the tiger to survive the ordeal.
"You see, you don't have to fight anymore," Frons said. I looked at the woman thankfully. ( The words I've longed to hear my whole life.) I thought before my vision went dark.
Wind Saw: circular blades made out of the wind.
Hydra style: Original a move Gora stole from a renowned swordsman in her old life. It allows for multiple strikes in a matter of seconds.
Satanic body: This is a rare skill given to the devil race. It allows them to heal over time. At higher layers, the skill can even regrow limbs.
Void: Gora's awakened element. Little is known about the void. We know that it makes things heavier or lighter depending on the user's needs.
Ki senses: This is the art of amplifying one sense with Ki/mana. This allows a person to see Ki in the air. Mana is ordinarily invisible to normal eyes.
White Box: A box made of solid mana/Ki. Although to the naked eyes, the box would appear devoid of any light. When one uses Ki sense, the box becomes pure white hits the name. The white box is a technique known as a Ki domain. More on this in later chapters.