At night in the training grounds of the Royal Knights, Lapis could be seen swinging her spear at a straw training dummy. The dummy was quickly shredded, reduced to nothing but ashes. She raised her spear to the sky and stared pensively at the spot where the dummy once stood.
As she considered dragging another dummy for practice, she heard a voice behind her.
"Why don't you use one of the metal dummies? They'd last longer."
Lapis shook her head and turned to see Sol, who had approached within fifteen feet without her noticing.
"They break just as fast. Might as well use the cheaper one."
The training dummies weren't free, costing merits, 20 per straw dummy, while metal ones were significantly more expensive depending on the type of metal. Though there was the option not to use any dummy, practicing on a physical target gave Lapis better feedback, helping her feel her strikes and refine her technique.
"Fair enough. How about something tougher, then?"
The two stared at each other silently. She knew exactly what he meant, it was finally time.
"You kept me waiting long enough." Lapis said.
Sol chuckled. "Haha, sorry. We should've done this sooner. Before I became an A-Ranker."
Lapis shook her head. She knew her chances of victory were impossible, but the opportunity to fight an A-Ranker and find out where she stands against Sol was more than enough for her.
"Where?" she asked. "Here?"
Sol shook his head. Though the training grounds were empty, he preferred somewhere more private.
"Let's go somewhere quieter."
She nodded and followed him out of the palace. Once outside, Sol created a stone platform beneath them and flew them out of the city.
As they headed towards the woods a good distance from the city, Lapis found it a bit odd.
"Why not the dungeon?" she asked.
"Well... it's complicated."
It was a rather long story about the dungeon trying to kill him which would take a while to explain. Even though the dungeon rest area was supposed to be safe, he knew the dungeon might try again if given the chance. He preferred not to take that risk.
Lapis didn't press for more details. She was focused on preparing for the rematch.
When they arrived, she leaped off the platform and walked a fair distance away. She brandished her spear and asked, "Ready?"
Sol drew his Lipon and unleashed a nearly invisible blade of wind, radiating a sharp aura.
"Ready."
The moment he spoke, Lapis vanished in a flash, appearing instantly next to Sol and thrusting her spear forward.
TING!
Her spear collided with a green barrier that blocked her surprise attack. Upon withdrawing the spear, only a small crack appeared on the barrier, while Sol's hand glowed green.
'[Phase Step] from the start, huh?'
"You didn't think it would be that easy, right? You're gonna have to try harder than that." Sol taunted.
Lapis didn't waste words during a fight. She disappeared in a blur, circling Sol and unleashing a flurry of attacks, aiming to break the barrier protecting him.
Sol didn't resist, letting her continue her assault, thinking to himself, 'Even with my much higher attributes, I can't make the barrier any stronger. I must have hit the limit of [Polychromatism]. The only way to strengthen it would be to turn it into a law technique.'
It didn't take long for the green chroma barrier to shatter, but as soon as it broke, Sol sent a forceful wave of mana with [Mana Burst], blasting Lapis away.
While flying backward, she recovered midair and slid across the ground, creating a cloud of dust. From that smokescreen, a volley of magical green spearheads shot toward Sol.
Sol slapped the spearheads aside with his empty hand, relying on his natural defense and vitality. He then sent multiple [Mana Slash] attacks back at her. He didn't swing too fast, careful not to break the Lipon, as he was still testing its upper limits.
Even without going all out, each [Mana Slash] was terrifyingly strong. Few B-Rankers would escape unscathed after using all their defensive skills.
The attack came fast, forcing Lapis to use her attribute and movement enhancing skills, something she hadn't wanted to do so soon, but she had no choice. She became a green streak, dodging as the slashes demolished the ground, leaving deep craters.
Sol's eyes widened in amazement; her speed surpassed his own, though only with attribute enhancing skills. Still, he could track her movements, which was enough for him. He summoned three magic hands: one red, one yellow, and one blue, and launched their respective chromatic attacks.
Lapis easily outran the red beam and the numerous yellow projectiles. The hands couldn't track her movements, and predicting her next step was even harder. However, the blue crescents fared better, turning midair to chase her after every dodge. She finally lost them by weaving through the trees, where the crescents collided and dissipated.
As the hands continued their barrage, Sol cast [Light Spear], adding earth and shadow spears to the mix. Soon, hundreds of spears hovered around him, waiting for his command.
"Just running won't get you anywhere. It only gives me more time to prepare." he said.
Lapis didn't respond with words. Instead, she turned and charged straight at him. At the same moment, Sol sent all the spears flying toward her.
The light, shadow, and earth spears rained down, destroying everything in their path. Lapis weaved through the onslaught, but it was impossible to avoid all of them. Several spears grazed her, leaving cuts across her body, as she took the most optimal path through the relentless attack.
Sol was surprised she chose to charge through the spear volley. He had expected her to avoid it entirely but could understand her decision. Seeing her close in, he readied his Lipon and met her attack head on.
His wind sword clashed with her spear, and they exchanged rapid blows in the blink of an eye. Even when Lapis used skills that made her spear bend and attack unpredictably, such as [Twisting Serpent] and her newly acquired skill, [Coil Thrust], Sol blocked every strike, occasionally using [Counter].
'Time to kick it up a notch.'
Sol activated [Vorpal Blade Rush], unleashing a devastating combination of attacks. Lapis tried to dodge and counter, but the strikes were too many and too fast. Several slashes broke through her defense, but just before they hit, Sol pulled them back.
"Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead again. Dead." Sol called out with each fatal strike, continuing for a few more exchanges until he decided enough was enough. With a swift [Unarming Blow], he sent her spear flying.
Without her weapon, Lapis stopped fighting. Just as she was about to speak, Sol launched a kick at her. She barely avoided it by jumping back.
Confused, she asked, "Why continue? It's already over."
Sol shook his head. "No, it's not. You can't fool me, you're still holding back."