"Your sword is strong," the Paladin of Void spoke at last, his voice resonating like the low rumble of distant thunder. "Too strong."
I didn't respond immediately. My grip tightened on the hilt of my blade, its edge faintly glowing with the lingering echoes of my last attack. My breaths were shallow, measured, my heart pounding a frantic rhythm against my ribs. Sweat trickled down my temple, but I held my ground, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing me falter.
He was strong. No, more than that—he was overwhelming. Despite the damage I had managed to inflict, the Paladin of Void remained a towering force, his aura unyielding, his shadowed form almost unscathed by the devastation around him. His regeneration was relentless, undoing my efforts as quickly as I could make them.
Hitting the soul directly had been a gamble, and while it had paid off once, doing so repeatedly was a far more daunting challenge. I didn't have the luxury of mistakes. God Flash: Absolute had to strike true every time, and even then, it was not enough to break him. Not yet.
I licked my lips, eyes narrowing as I studied him. His movements, his stance, the rhythm of his breathing—everything about him demanded my full focus. I couldn't afford even a moment of distraction. Not against this opponent.
Cecilia's spells continued to rain down from behind me, her magic a relentless storm that forced the Paladin to remain on the defensive. Fire cascaded in molten torrents, ice surged in jagged waves, and lightning laced the air with an electric fury. She was my anchor, her spellcasting precision giving me the room I needed to concentrate entirely on the Paladin.
Yet even with her support, it was taking everything I had to keep up with him. Mind's Aegis hummed in my consciousness, dividing my focus into streams that each followed a different aspect of the battle—his movements, my positioning, the echoes of mana shifts in the air, the pressure of his looming attacks. It was a mental strain I'd rarely experienced, and it left no room for error.
And then, there was the truth that gnawed at the edge of my awareness: he wasn't at full strength yet.
The Paladin's Domain hung around him like an unspoken threat, a storm cloud on the horizon that had not yet broken. It loomed, heavy and oppressive, a reminder of the gulf between us.
The differences between an Immortal-ranker and an Ascendant-ranker were not just matters of power but of foundation. An Immortal-ranker's Domain was an extension of their will, a reality-altering force that transcended raw strength. Combined with superior astral energy and the monstrous regenerative abilities granted by the second body metamorphosis, it made defeating one in direct combat nearly impossible for someone at my level.
"Is that hesitation I see?" the Paladin taunted, his voice cutting through the haze of my thoughts. His blade shifted in his hand, the shadows that clung to it writhing as though alive. "Or is it fear?"
I met his gaze, steady and unyielding, even as my mind raced. Fear? Perhaps. Only a fool would claim to feel nothing when standing before an opponent of this magnitude. But fear alone would not decide this fight. Action would.
And I wasn't done yet.
The Paladin's movements were subtle, deceptive, each step calculated to draw me out of position. He was probing, testing the edges of my resolve, waiting for me to falter.
I wouldn't.
I adjusted my grip, my blade glowing faintly as I channeled astral energy into its edge. The light was subdued, flickering like a candle in the wind, but its power was anything but. My movements slowed, deliberate now, as I drew on every ounce of training, every technique honed through years of relentless effort.
Cecilia's spells shifted, her attacks growing more precise, more focused. She was creating openings, forcing the Paladin to split his attention between the two of us. It wasn't much, but it was enough.
I surged forward, my blade flashing in a blur of motion. The Paladin met my strike with his own, his shadowed sword clashing against mine in a burst of energy that sent shockwaves rippling through the air. The impact jarred my arm, but I held firm, redirecting the force and countering with another strike.
His movements were faster now, more aggressive, but also more predictable. He was testing me, searching for weaknesses, but in doing so, he was revealing his own.
"You've gotten slower," I said, my words calculated to provoke.
His eyes narrowed, a flicker of annoyance breaking through his stoic façade. "And you've gotten arrogant."
Our blades clashed again, the sound ringing out like a bell. I gritted my teeth, pushing back against the weight of his strike. For all his power, there were cracks in his armor—small, almost imperceptible, but there.
And I would exploit them.
With a burst of energy, I shifted my stance, pulling back and launching myself forward in the same breath. My sword struck true, cutting deep into his shoulder. Light mana surged through the wound, tearing at his flesh and forcing him to retreat.
He snarled, the sound low and guttural, but I pressed on. Every step, every strike, was calculated, each one a step closer to finding the opening I needed.
Cecilia's magic surged again, a wave of fire and lightning that forced him to raise his defenses. I seized the moment, my blade cutting through the chaos to strike at his exposed flank.
The faint glimmer of hope I'd dared to feel was extinguished in an instant as his Domain unfolded.
It wasn't simply the appearance of a space dictated by his will—it was an assault on reality itself. The world bent to his mastery, and I felt the shift in the air as though a thousand invisible blades pressed against my skin.
'What is this?' My thoughts swirled as the oppressive weight of the Paladin's Sword Domain bore down on me. Every instinct screamed danger, every nerve burned with the proximity of annihilation.
This wasn't merely a battle anymore. It was survival.
His Domain shimmered with an unearthly light, phantoms of a thousand swords swirling around us in a relentless storm. The edges of his power extended to every corner of the space, and my own strength felt like a candle against the hurricane.
Even with Mythic Body reinforcing my resilience, my blade itself seemed vulnerable under the weight of his Domain. Every step forward felt like wading through a tide of sharpened steel, an inexorable force that sought to tear me apart.
I refused to let it.
"Not yet," I muttered, channeling mana into a fire-based seven-circle spell. Flames exploded outward, a searing burst of heat and light that carved a temporary reprieve in the storm. The fire cleared just enough of the pressure for me to regain my footing.
No time to hesitate. My body moved on instinct, sword raised as I pushed forward, deflecting phantom strikes that came from every direction. Each swing of my blade collided with invisible edges, and the reverberations jolted through my arms.
'Luna, help,' I called to her through the mental link.
A shimmer of light appeared at my side, and Luna materialized. Her form was luminous, her qilin eyes glowing with the fire of unyielding determination. Her voice entered my mind, steady and unshaken. "We need to hold the perimeter. I'll handle the spellcasting."
Her mana intertwined with mine, her celestial consciousness bolstering my focus as a shimmering seven-circle spellform appeared around me. The protective magic deflected the strikes that rained down like a celestial downpour, each blade repelled by the intricate weave of our combined efforts.
But the phantom strikes were merely the surface of his Domain.
I felt it before I saw it: the Paladin's approach. His aura intensified, and the air grew colder as his sword began its descent. The force of his strike radiated outward, a ripple of devastating intent that threatened to consume everything in its path.
Even with Luna's aid, I was barely able to keep up. My Tempest Dance Technique had lost its rhythm under the unrelenting barrage, and I didn't have the time to build it up again. The Spectral Sword technique was still active, but it wasn't enough. Not against this.
I needed more.
His sword crashed down in a meteorite-like strike, a move I'd seen before—an attack I had felt in my bones during our earlier clash. Its raw power had left a scar on the battlefield, and its echoes lingered in my mind.
But it had also left an impression.
My mind raced as I remembered the sensation of that overwhelming strike. Not to replicate it, but to refine it—to match his storm with my own.
"Third movement," I whispered to myself, the words carrying the weight of my resolve. My grip tightened on the hilt of my blade, and my astral energy surged.
Stellar Cascade.
The air around me shifted as I activated the third movement of my technique. Astral energy coalesced around my sword, its light growing brighter and sharper with every passing second. The runes on the blade flared to life, carving intricate patterns into the air.
As the Paladin's strike descended, I met it with my own.
Our blades collided, the resulting explosion of energy shattering the ground beneath us. Light and shadow clashed in a furious dance, their interplay creating a maelstrom that consumed the battlefield.
Stellar Cascade wasn't merely an attack—it was a symphony of destruction. My blade struck with the force of a collapsing star, each movement rippling outward in devastating waves. The energy flowed like a river, unyielding and unending, each strike building upon the last.