Whoosh!
The might of the advanced sword skill's 2nd move was so much more powerful than the first as under Rex's mystic energy feeding, Berserker cleared away every obstacle with impunity.
The tyrannical sword energy accompanying this advanced sword skill literally cut the lightning chains in 2 as it continued towards Turan.
Turan's eyes widened in shock at this move that was played by his opponent, and the spectators' eyes widened even further.
The might of this advanced skill once again put into question Rex Vector's real identity. In Obedin Mystic Academy, only the privileged students were supposed to have access to advanced skills.
Rex revealing the first move of the One Autumn Leaf series was already an anomaly, revealing the 2nd move proved that this was no fluke.
By now, it was already confirmed, Rex's real identity was definitely not simple or a powerful figure was secretly helping him from the dark.
Advanced skills were so much more powerful than normal skills because they could only be created by advanced mystic warriors and above.
Basic skills were the ones that could be created by basic and intermediate mystic warriors, advanced skills by advanced and above mystic warriors, while master-level skills could only be created by super and above mystic warriors.
The Water Doppelganger skill that the Wandering Moon Queen mastered was a master-level skill and was why she was so revered in the mystic warrior circle.
Rex wielding 2 advanced sword skills meant that in one way or the other he had a certain connection to a powerful advanced swordsman mystic warrior.
Though Turan was shocked by the card that was played by his opponent and the power that he revealed, he still had a battle to fight and he was not ready to give up as he activated the Triple Kill Sword's defense mystic effect.
Bam!
Once the attack collided, it struggled a bit but it eventually cut through the defense that was erected as Turan sustained his first injury in this showdown.
Turan rolled backward to avoid any further follow-up attack as his shoulder started bleeding, he gnashed his teeth in agony.
With Turan's injury, the battle suddenly came to a momentary stop. The spectators could hardly breathe due to the tense atmosphere as these 2 powerful students stood still and glared at each other.
As they looked, they squinted their eyes in pain.
Turan was not the only one who was injured. Rex suffered a lot from the lightning chains attack though he tried to counter it with his sword energies, the current from the lightning now affected his reflexes a bit.
He bled on his face and other parts of his body, but he was still not resigned to losing, the fierce determination to win stayed in his eyes.
All of a sudden, as these 2 students looked at each other, they seemed to come to a truce without discussion. The barbaric phase of this battle was over, instinctively, Rex and Turan agreed that to win this battle, they needed more.
Whoosh!
Rex calmed his mind as his right leg dragged across the arena floor like he was drawing a circle as he bent down a bit to lower his center of gravity, then he entered his sword stance.
Turan did the same as he entered the exclusive sword stance of the Elliot family. Once these 2 did this, the battle restarted!
"Advanced Sword Skill: One Autumn Leaf- 1st Move!"
"Advanced Sword Skill: Triple Slashes of Death!"
Cling!!!
The sound of Berserker and the Triple Kill Sword colliding reverberated loudly like the sounds of a thousand birds singing metal music.
Once they collided once, the 2 advanced skills once again canceled each other out and without wasting a single second, Rex and Turan continued to the next move as they started a barrage of sword attack combos.
Turan and Rex no longer had any thoughts in their minds except thoughts of their opponent, they gave concentrated focus to this battle.
Their mystic energy drained like water as they both didn't hesitate to make use of it. Advanced mystic skills were released at every opened window of opportunity as this fast-paced sword battle turned a lot more thrilling.
More than once, they both had opportunities to finish their opponents but their grounded sword combat basics enabled them to extricate themselves from these sure-death situations as they fought at their very best.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
It got to a point where only the ringing sounds as the swords collided reverberated in the battle arena.
In this sword battle, Rex and Turan fought at a level that they had never fought at throughout their life, they developed a closer bond with their respective swords today that they had never achieved before.
It was like they were pilgrims in a desert without any signs of water, their only source of sustenance and survival was their sword.
As this realization became firmer in their brains, the closer a bond they developed with their swords as they danced to the rhythm of their swords.
"Advanced Lightning Skill: Lightning Bolt!"
Bzzz!
After fighting non-stop for another 8 straight minutes, Rex's mystic energy got exhausted first and with this advanced skill, Turan's also got exhausted.
Without his mystic energy, Rex became a lot more vulnerable but in the past 8 minutes, he was able to get so close to his sword already that he managed to improvise and counter this attack.
Rex's connection to Berserker at this moment grew so strong as even without mystic energy, they were able to use an ability that was akin to electromagnetism.
The concentrated lightning bolt was then attracted to Berserker's blade edge and the sword absorbed all the lightning energy like a sponge.
Rex felt weaker after that maneuver but he was far from burned out yet. Once Turan lunged at him, he retaliated like a relentless rabid dog.
Clang!
The battle deviated into a contest of swordsmen without mystic energy. Rex and Turan went back and forth with their sword for another 2 minutes before they started regenerating a bit of their mystic energy again.
Rex and Turan were almost equal in everything, Rex's slight advantage was his swordsmanship while Turan's slight advantage was his mystic energy.
In the end, Turan recovered enough mystic energy to use a mystic energy-empowered skill first and this was where the big brain time came.
"Sword Skill: The Boar's Thrust!"
This was a skill that Turan had never used before now, Rex was caught off-guard as his reflexes failed him for the first time.
Turan, knowing about his advantage in mystic energy kept this as a trump card for a scenario like this and when he found the window of opportunity opening up, he did not hesitate to pounce on it like a tiger.
Whoosh!
By the time that Rex reacted, Turan dropped to one knee before jabbing his sword upward for an impossible-to-dodge uppercut blow. The blade edge of the sword was already before him, Rex was on the verge of defeat.
On the verge of defeat did Rex finally enter a special state. Everything seemed to fade out of his mind, turning static and only Master Fixten remained.
Rex could see Master Fixten standing above him and lecturing him.
"…think of the sword as part of the body".
"…like a finger".
"…like a tooth".
"…like an extension of your body like your fingernail".
At this moment when he was on the verge of defeat, Rex's eyes glowed golden as the light of inspiration illuminated his mind.
"…like an extension of my body". Rex muttered.
"I and Berserker are one!"
Once Rex declared this, a change seemed to come about in his mind as he broke an invisible limit.
Rex felt his mystic energy rushing again and unlike the previous time like a lake, this time it rushed like the waters of an ocean, he felt his limits increasing, and he felt himself growing.
Rex finally moved and his speed was countless times faster than before.
Cling!!!
Rex moved his sword with such simplicity and familiarity that it seemed like he was moving his finger to grab a fish to eat. He easily countered Turan's sudden attack, and with time still in his hand, he retaliated.
"Sword Skill: Drilling Stab!"
Ptui!
Turan was unable to react on time as the sword dug into his chest.
While gasping for breath in pain, Turan gritted his teeth and kicked against the arena floor as he rolled backward to dodge any follow-up attacks.
In the spectator stands, the few masters watching this final battle were surprised as they recognized the current state that Rex was in.
"Y-you broke the limit?" Turan finally asked as he clutched his bleeding chest.
"Yes". Rex replied simply before lunging forward for the kill.
After grinding with his sword for years, obeying the ways of his father, Rex finally did it and he became one with his sword.
Rex finally unlocked his sword domain!
Whoosh!
This time, Turan stood no chance as he felt like he was facing off against a ghost. His opponent's sword moved like the wind in his perception, he could not react as Rex's sword inflicted over a dozen injuries to him in a minute.
Turan was now at his wit's end. He tried to access his advanced skills which were his original source of confidence but his mystic energy was too low.
Turan was frustrated, he did not want to lose the finals. He wanted to prove his father wrong, he wanted to prove Bruno wrong, he wanted to prove himself wrong also, Turan could not afford to lose.
"I can't lose!"
Ptui!
Turan's yell did not achieve much as Rex slashed through his abdomen as blood gushed out like a fountain, Turan could only stagger backward like a drunkard.
He now felt dizzy but he was still head-strong and determined not to lose.
At this moment, Turan felt like he was defying fate, it was like he was going against the will of the heavens, and at this moment did he encounter his window of opportunity also, he entered a special state.
All of a sudden, Turan saw his master lecturing him in this tense moment. Everything was so vivid that he was drawn in completely.
"…the sword is your light in darkness, it is you".
"…hide weakness in deftness".
"…use both darkness and light".
"…reveal clarity in obscurity".
"…in surrender become strong".
"In surrender, become strong…" As he muttered this, Turan was kicked by Rex and as he staggered back did the light of inspiration lit up in his head.
"I CAN'T LOSE!" Turan roared in defiance.
Rex was shocked, the knowledgeable spectators felt even more shocked. Just like himself, Turan was pushed to the brink and this became the opportunity of his lifetime, Turan also unlocked his sword domain!
"I CAN'T LOSE!"
Turan roared again as he grabbed his Triple Kill Sword tighter before lunging back at his opponent for the kill.
From these 2 subsequent breakthroughs, one thing became clear. After they both unlocked their sword domains, their mystic energy limit increased, and, in the process came a flood of mystic energy.
The battle escalated again!
This was no longer a battle between mere students, this was now a battle between 2 basic mystic swordsmen who already unlocked their sword domain!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
This time, Rex and Turan were able to go 15 straight minutes as they attacked with their swords while flexing their advanced skills every few seconds.
By now, they were both already thrilled by their performance but they also felt frustrated that despite achieving so much, they could not seal the win yet.
"I CAN'T LOSE!" Turan roared again.
"I CAN'T LOSE!" Rex roared back as he became extremely agitated.
In this tense moment, Berserker became the key. Berserker started singing to Rex's hearing again as in the brief moment before Rex and Turan clashed again, Rex's mind was transported away into the familiar world of his mind.
The visit this time was brief again but Rex saw a lot of things.
He saw massive battlefields, he saw a sea of corpses, he saw an ocean of blood, and Rex saw himself again.
"Sigh…" Rex's future self sighed and this sigh affected his current self.
Ptui!
When Rex opened his eyes, Turan already stabbed him in the abdomen but he didn't give any obvious reactions as he stared at his opponent calmly.
After that sigh, Rex suddenly seemed to have seen it all. He seemed to have traveled the whole world, he seemed to have done it all and seen it all, now he felt like he was in a transcendent state where he lived above everything.
Rex felt that he already achieved the legendary state of Nirvana, this was when the light of inspiration illuminated his mind for the 2nd time today.
Rex closed his eyes and muttered.
"Self-created Advanced Sword Skill: Nirvana Slash!"
Whoosh!