Episode(21): Oneness
SOVEREIGN OF DEATH~(21)
Nagisa's golden pupils lit up and at the same time the calm energy surrounding his body exploded. A huge fluctuation of energy compressed into his sword spreading from his entire body.
Pivoting on his left leg, Nagisa's right leg drew an arc while kicking up the dust on the ground. With all the strength in his forearms and his surging tide of magical energy pressed into a single sword slash, Nagisa waved the sword in his hand.
The wolf was surprised to see that Nagisa actually found its direction. Having been born with this ability and faced numerous human foes that all claimed to be the strongest, none of them could properly tell his location.
Aside from the hero that used the Goddess's of lights blessing that temporarily halted all enemy skills, it didn't believe that that would be another human that could expose its location. To begin with, it didn't consider its loss to the hero an actual loss since if not for the blessing of the goddess they definitely couldn't defeat it.
However, the human before it didn't use a blessing nor did he use an artifact! The human only used his genuine strength and ability. The wolf general was indignant. However no matter how indignant it was, it didn't stop Nagisa's sword from carving through its flesh.
The katana drew a deep line spewing blood as it carved its way through the wolf's chest.
Unlike the wolf boss with its high defensive fur, this general merely had a stealth skill. How could it defend against Nagisa's full power strike? It was impossible. The wolf was helpless as the sound of its flesh being slash and the vivid pain shot to its brain.
It shrieked in pain and refused to believe that it was bested. The wolf ignored the burning pain on its chest and tried to attack Nagisa with all its remaining strength. Since it was going to die anyway then it was better to kill this human and take him down as well.
But it was at this moment something odd happened. The general noticed that it had stopped attacking. It was confused what was happening since it didn't stop itself but as a bone chilling cold spread through its body the wolf realized that it must be the result of being slashed by the white sword.
It wanted to resist but was encased in ice before it could do so.
Nagisa looked at the frozen unmoving enemy before him with cold eyes. He didn't even hesitate to swing his sword down.
Sure enough-
*Klang*
Before the strike could land, the wolf boss sped over and quickly blocked the attack. Stepping back, Nagisa created distance between himself and the wolf boss.
It bared it fangs and growled at Nagisa, meanwhile Nagisa raised his sword waiting patiently for the boss to attack. This time he wouldn't go on the offensive but he'd observe as best as he could.
As expected, the angry wolf boss didn't want to wait and charged forward with incredible speed. It threw out its claws intending to tear through Nagisa's flesh, however Nagisa avoided it and moved to the side.
But, again-
Boom!*
Nagisa, not just him but even the frozen wolf was blasted away on the spot and flew off into the distance. The shockwave blew away the surrounding trees and even the ground split apart.
Long prepared for this, Nagisa easily stabilized himself midair before landing nimbly like a cat. Nevertheless he was still stunned.
He made sure he had kept his eyes peeled on its every movement. Up until the last moment he only saw a sort of recoil blast him away.
'What was it?'
However Nagisa didn't have the time to think. As soon as Nagisa got to his feet, the wolf sped over in a flash.
Its claws tore down through the air leaving Nagisa with no choice but to block. He held the sword over his head and firmly held a defensive posture. In the next second the claw collided with the sword, however Nagisa heaved a sigh of relief.
He wasn't sent flying like the last time. Although the wolf boss was still strong without its cheat code it was still bearable compared to being blasted off every moment they clashed.
Nagisa didn't waste his time thinking. He used every bit of strength he had to push the wolf boss back so he could regain his ground.
He pushed the wolf boss back and the moment the boss was sent back, Nagisa took a step forward. Twirling the sword skillfully in his hand, Nagisa twisted and slashed it diagonally at the wolf's body. At the same time the wolf easily evaded the attack and moved to slash at Nagisa with its claws.
Nagisa retreated hurriedly so as not to be struck again. After that it was a battle of technique and speed. The first one to crumble would definitely lose.
As a monster the wolf definitely had the upper hands, however Nagisa was fighting for his life and wasn't to be outdone either. He evaded strike after strike with a grin plastered in his face.
He didn't dare to parry or strike when he wasn't confident. That was because Nagisa knew he'd be blasted away and lose the momentum. However Nagisa wasn't panicked. He was like a hunter patiently waiting for its prey to make a mistake.
And finally, a gap came!
Nagisa held the sword firmly in his grasp and didn't hesitate and he stomped out and slashed across the wolf's body. However his strike this time was slightly weaker than all his prior attacks.
While fighting, Nagisa had a thought. Up until now he'd been using all his strength when attacking but what if he used a weaker amount of power to attack? Normally he'd have casted this thought away as idiocy.
However for some reason Nagisa truly felt like this theory had potential. Thus, without hesitation he tried it.
Sure enough, he was blasted back. However this time he wasn't uncontrollably flung backwards and was only pushed back with a weaker recoil than before.
Nagisa took in this feeling with a contemplative look in his eyes. The wolf boss didn't think anything was wrong and continued to rain down its attacks. Waving his sword through the air Nagisa easily dodged the fur while running and deflected when he had the time.
At the moment he was still recalling what happened earlier. He didn't care much for the fur spikes but they had a lock on function and the wolf boss would use this ability from time to time making it harder for Nagisa to concentrate on his thoughts.
'Fine!'
He sighed.
'Let's get rid of this ability quickly then!'
He already knew what to do about the first ability. Now that he properly experienced it and what more now that his theory was successful, all he had to do was act in accordance.
From what he felt it was likely an ability that had something to do with both eliminating the damage of colliding forces and repelling that force back to the source.
For example, a truck and a car crash. Normally the car would become scrap metal but in this case it had the ability to return the impact back to the source. While the car wouldn't come out unscathed, the truck would end up in a worse state while the car would mainly be alright.
This was what was happening here. Nagisa's perception clearly portrayed that feeling in the last collision so he knew that his conjecture was likely 90% correct.
However knowing this fact barely gave Nagisa an advantage. That was because it simply meant that the harder he hit the more damage he would suffer while softer attacks wouldn't do jacksh*t!
At this point he was just swinging a toy hammer at a bodybuilder. Totally useless!
However Nagisa had to fight. He could only sigh and lament in his mind at how unfair it was. Meanwhile, he sunk while bending his knees with a firm posture and swung the blade at the wolf's legs.
However the wolf boss reacted quickly jumping back while releasing to magic claw attacks in the air. Nagisa stomped to the side before weaving through the two attacks. When he avoided the two attacks, he immediately bent his knees and made a leap straight towards the wolf boss without wasting a moment.
The moment he closed the distance he didn't hesitate before swinging his sword. Seeing this, the wolf boss sneered and also met the sword with its own slash.
*klang*
'As expected...'
Nagisa was blasted away yet again. He clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Twisting his body in the air, Nagisa landed nimbly while on a knee. He held the ice sword in his hands while squinting his eyes.
'Is there really no flaw that I can use?'
Nagisa didn't believe that there was such a perfect thing in this world!
He lamented the fact that he didn't have a real blade instead of a bone blade. Nagisa felt resentment well up in his heart but the next moment he gasped.
What swordsman blames the weapon their wielding? If a strong weapon makes you stronger as a warrior but a weaker one makes you weaker then you could be nothing but a bogus sham!
Nagisa closed his eyes and took a breath. He was too caught up on his weapon and almost forgot the fundamentals! Right, his skills were the only way to overcome the current predicament.
Sure, with a stronger sword this would have all been done and over with, but then he'd become too reliant on his weapon.
No!
Nagisa stood up and gazed firmly at his opponent. He was a swordsman, one that could definitely slay dragons with his current sword!
[Its not exactly a holy weapon, but its my sword]
Nagisa smiled and suddenly felt at peace. He finally knew what he needed to do and the knot in his heart and mind had been untied just like that. A peaceful feeling surged into his mind like a tide, but it wasn't an unruly flow but a calm and warm feeling.
At this moment he could feel it.
The way to end the life of this boss monster.
A strong and powerful slash, however it had to be soft and gentle. Fast like the speed of sound yet slow and steady like the flow of water. It was filled with contradiction but as Nagisa brushed his finger against the flat of his sword, endless comprehension surged into his brain.
Eureka! Nagisa was being enlightened endlessly!
Normally Nagisa wouldn't be able to pull off such moves, however he had something others didn't.
Oneness!
At the early stages it just allows one to better control their body and improve all their five senses, however as you grow more proficient this gave the user the ability to harness an endless amount of talent and instantly comprehend difficult techniques.
At the moment Nagisa was still at the early stages and naturally couldn't pull off such skilled attacks. If he wanted to do something so extraordinary Nagisa had to make a breakthrough in order to use the enlightenment he had gained.
'But…how?'
Nagisa didn't know how to make a breakthrough at all. It wasn't like he was given a secret manual on how to master oneness. And according to his gramps aside from him, only a handful of people ever gained the ability and out of that many people only one mastered it completely.
All the conditions were so hard to fulfill that even though Nagisa gained enlightenment just then, his expression didn't look good at all.
The wolf boss naturally didn't know Nagisa's thoughts and only saw him standing there in a daze. It didn't even hesitate as it shot forward.
Ah!
Nagisa had just finished thinking when he suddenly saw the wolf appear before him. He hurriedly tried to retreat but as he stepped back he tripped over the root of a tree and started to fall backwards.
The wolf boss's eyes lit up as it saw the chance to attack come out of nowhere. It began to sing praises of thanks to lady luck in its mind and attacked without hesitation.
Nagisa's expression changed. With no way to correct his crumbling posture, all he could do was watched as the wolf boss thrust its claws towards his chest.
But Nagisa was unwilling to accept it. How could he just lay down and die like this? No way in hell!
He closed his eyes in desperation and all of a sudden he recalled a past conversation with his gramps.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Your stance is too unsteady, grip your sword tighter and make sure every step you take is a step leading up to your next attack and let each motion flow in tandem with your next.
Don't forget, an increase in momentum also means more powerful swings.
Even just one wasteful movement is detrimental for a swordsman's form so correct your footwork]
[Yes Grandfather!]
[Nice! That's it, now show me how you attack!]
[Haaah!]
After those words, Nagisa was beaten black and blue by his grandfather without an ounce of pity.
[That was good development in such a short amount of time, you may even surpass me in the way of blades soon enough]
[You think so Grandfather?]
Nagisa naturally thought his grandfather was just exaggerating and trying to not break his spirit.
After all, who would even believe the old guy when he literally beat him half dead? Even when he surrendered the guy still continued. There wasn't an ounce of sportsmanship in his old wretched bones.
Nagisa wanted to spit a few curses but was afraid he'd be beaten again if he dared.
[Yeah]
His grandfather naturally saw the aggrieved expression in his eyes but ignored it. Instead he took on a look like an elder that had experienced the vicissitudes of life and knew everything in the world.
'What a poser'
Nagisa mocked. Nonetheless he obediently listened to the old guys words without interrupting.
[Even though your gramps is like this I'm not that talented with the sword.
I can use the sword at a master level but...that was only through endless long hard work.
This--is the furthest I could reach in all my years of wielding a sword. Now even if I put in all my effort I can no longer grow my strength in the sword]
Nagisa looked at him with a deadpan expression.
[You say that but I wasn't able to land a single hit]
He was seriously beaten until he had to question life. And the old guy had the cheap to spout his nonsense?
His grandfather sighed and shook his head.
[It's true that I won easily, but you also managed to make me draw out my full power. If I had let up even once you would have been able to strike me multiple times. Back in the in the day you were just a little imp waving around your sword without proper aim]
[But now look how far you've grown?]
He smiled like a grandfather satisfied with his grandchild's result in life. Nagisa was stunned and couldn't help but wonder if the old guy had gone senile. However as he felt the genuine joy from his gramps smile, Nagisa was proud.
His grandfather smiled at his grandson and looked far off into the distance.
[Compared to this old guy, you have the talent to go further, to achieve even what I couldn't.
Just like your father....your talent and even your hard work will make you see the fruits of all your effort soon enough...
That's why, I know you will achieve it. The state that neither I nor your father could achieve...its name is–]
'Oneness'