"Combustion Spark."
From Weissmann's index finger was a small black dot. It was barely the size of a coin. Kyoka backed off slightly and raised Caliburn. She had sensed the danger of the Singularity.
He pushed it off of the tip of his finger and it slowly travelled toward Kyoka.
When it finally reached her within a 2m radius, it sparked orange and exploded.
"Oh..."
Weissmann spoke.
Though there was an explosion, there was not supposed to be. The space around Kyoka, including Kyoka herself, was supposed to be eaten up by the Singularity.
Weissmann understood why it had not worked.
"Durandal is quite fearsome, isn't it?"
She had absorbed the dangerous mana particles into Durandal so that it would be reformed back into a small explosion.
Of course, this was Durandal's own judgement, not Kyoka's.
She dashed toward him.
(She'll probably release the mana that's caught in her sword. I'll render it useless.)
The man used Absolute Defense to block the girl's next attack, however...
Durandal ripped through the Absolute Defense like a knife cutting through butter.
Instead of cutting him, Kyoka pounded Weissmann in the face, sending him flying into another rooftop. He was able to regain his footing before falling off the building.
(I should've thought about it more. If she had completely absorbed the Combustion Spark's mana then there wouldn't have been an explosion meaning that she didn't absorb all of the particles on purpose. Since Combustion Spark devours space, she absorbed those particl--!)
Weissmann tilted his head to the side, and a projectile scrapped his cheek and landed on the ground.
It was not just any projectile but the Erasure Sword, Durandal itself.
Kyoka was in the air with Caliburn prepared to swing at him.
It was a simple message.
The enemy gave up on one of her weapons to give him an advantage. It was a sign of provocation. Or at least that was what Weissmann thought.
Kyoka swung Caliburn downwards and Weissmann reached for Durandal.
"Huh?"
Blood danced through the air as Weissmann's arm dislodged itself from the shoulder and rotated rapidly in the air.
Kyoka had won that exchange.
Though, if it were not for her trick, it would have been the same situation.
Holy Armaments cannot be used by others once they choose their owners. The only way for a contracted Holy Armament to be used is if the owner dies or someone of a higher power controls it.
Sure, Weissmann was an Emperor but Kyoka was currently the stronger one with her Imperial Domination.
When Weissmann tried to lift Durandal, it did not work.
While Kyoka was ready to swing upwards to cut him in half but Weissmann stopped Caliburn with his foot.
The girl was surprised.
The sword that had cut his arm, clean off, without any mana enhancements, could not cut his foot. It was a sword which could cut anything.
So how?
Caliburn was pushed downwards causing her to lose balance. Weissmann clocked her head with a kick to the face.
Kyoka stumbled sideways, trying to arrange her thoughts. She set her hand outwards, extending out her palm.
The Erasure Sword jumped out of its lodged position and flew past Weissmann and went into Kyoka's hand.
As she was swinging Durandal, she was hit in the face. It felt different from a normal punch.
Was it just that Weissmann was strong?
No, it was a Singularity.
Muscle Enhancement.
He barraged her with hooks and stomach blows before his hand swiftly changed to a scythe.
Another Singularity.
Sickle Replacement.
Though Kyoka lifted her hand upwards to block, the sickle dodged her hand and scarred her left eye.
Next, his hands were coated with an earthly gauntlet which glowed orange when it came in contact with Kyoka's stomach.
It exploded.
Impact Gauntlet.
Kyoka stumbled to the ground. She coughed up blood as she tried to lift her arms. The attack from the Impact Gauntlet rendered her immobile.
She could not see out of one eye. She had dropped both of her weapons.
Weissmann stood over her.
"Not even a single shriek when your eye got cut? Or when you were blasted by an explosion? You're strong but you still feel pain."
Suddenly, Kyoka began vomiting. Imperial Domination had been released. Her body was screaming in pain. Her body was forcibly pushed to the limit and now she was experiencing the consequences.
Weissmann eyed Durandal.
He picked it up and swung it.
"Now I can swing it."
The man smirked.
"I don't have an arm, thanks to you. I took your eye but you took the arm of an Emperor. I need to take your arm as compensation."
Kyoka looked up at Weissmann, glaring.
"My, now, don't give me that look. You've heard about an 'eye for an eye,' haven't you?"
Mercilessly, Weissmann cut off her right arm, her dominant arm.
This time, she groaned loudly as her arm was cut off. Meanwhile, Weissmann was laughing maniacally.
"You cut off my fucking left arm! Did you really think I'd leave a swordswoman intact with her dominant arm?! You crazy bitch!"
He laughed.
He did not stop.
He could not stop.
All he did was laugh.
Weissmann tossed Durandal to the side and grabbed Kyoka's hair.
Before Imperial Domination was the key to beating Weissmann but now that Kyoka's body could not handle anything, Weissmann had the upper hand.
He punched her continuously. Not with any Singularity but normally.
Blood spilt with each hit.
Weissmann continued laughing like a psychopath. He punched and punched and punched and punched without remorse.
"Let's see how long you'll--"
Weissmann swiftly backed away and flipped backwards, dodging a white spear.
He had blood on his cheek.
A small smile perked up his face.
"It's been centuries, hasn't it?"
He asked.
A woman walked toward him.
She dressed in a blue suit, blue waistcoat and a blue coat on her back. Her hair was navy blue and tied into a ponytail. The woman reached for the cigar in her mouth and exhaled. She threw it in front of her and stepped on it.
Her eyes were also blue but seemed far more threatening but also enchanting. She wore a golden monocle.
The woman checked the pocket watch, which was in the pocket of her suit.
"3 minutes, huh?"
"Are you going to ignore me, Astoria?"
Weissmann spoke to her.
The woman, Astoria, put her pocket watch away.
"3 minutes ago, the original future that I had seen changed."
"What future?"
"The one where Altair's vessel dies."
"That's a lie. You just told me. You can't tell anyone about the future."
"The reason I can tell you is because it is not a future anymore."
Weissmann prepared himself by using Impact Gauntlet, preparing to attack her.
"The future I see now is... far more terrifying."