The red blamed shined even with the lack of light throughout the room. Tsuckos eyes reflected this blade as its sharpness could be visibly seen...If it lands at all it could be fatal, he had already seen its sharpness when it cut through the top half of the pillar...IF he imbues mana into it, it will only grow stronger.
[" What was that just now, my body seemed to shiver, like I was cold...Am I scared of this sword...? It is clearly something new but also old, a weapon of a past time seemingly forgotten, I can sense its strength even with it currently containing no mana."]
Ichi shifted his feet bringing the katana handle up and past his ear having the blade tip pointed at Tsucko. This fight had been even thus far, Tsucko was the only one to land a hit and it was blocked leaving him undamaged....Still, the fight had already drained a great deal of their mana...Ichi using the information he had received, expected this to be the case...And now he had unveiled his counter for it.
Tsucko held out his arms with the mana wire attached to his fingertips dropped across the ground, with the move of his fingertips he could conjure the mana wire to head in any direction with pinpoint accuracy...But if that sword is as sharp as Tsucko thinks it is...It might not matter.
" Swish."
Ichi closed the distance and immediately swung to take off Tsuckos head. Ducking the attack he then dashed to the left aiming to get behind a pillar. He sent his mana wire up at Ichi but he gracefully weaved himself between all the wires with an elegance Tsucko had not seen from him.
Using a pillar as cover he poured more mana into his wire to make them thicker and sharper, but before he could reach his ideal sharpness and thickness a bright red light shot through the pillar nearly missing his face.
The pillar then split at the base like a tree being chopped down before hundreds of smaller cuts appeared shattering the pillar.
Tsucko immediately dashed back and Ichi charged through the rubble in pursuit sword lifted past his shoulders. Tsucko jumped on a wall and used it to propel himself over Ichi who chose not to follow and raced to Tsuckos landing spot.
In mid-air, Tsucko spread his mana wire like a spider web and sent it down on top of Ichi who drew his sword back. A violent red grew from the blade like a flame as he swung the sword.
Tsukcos eyes widened as all his mana wire disintegrated due to the violent red flame that extinguished after the single use. Now Tsucko was about to land right in front of Ichi with no defense.
" SWISH!!"
"TSK!!"
Tsucko activated flight magic once more gaining some distance, but before he could land Ichi too used flight magic and chased after him swinging his sword at any opening...Tsucko was forced to dodge as his summon blade would be shattered in one hit.
Using the pillars as landing posts he could temporarily drop his flying magic and use them to propel himself saving a decent amount of mana, but he was slowly running out of landing points as Ichi was cutting through them like butter.
The building shook and began to fall apart as it was losing support making its weight unbearable. Pieces of stone were falling between their battle but didn't slow either of them down as Tsucko used them as launched points and Ichi sliced through them with ease.
[" I need to create distance,"]
Tsucko landed on the floor sliding to a stop, Ichi followed landing in front of him a small distance away. The look in his eye was of a man determined to protect the things he loves.
With zero hesitation he closed the distance and swung his sword. Tsucko sidestepped the swing but Ichi shifted its trajectory sending it for his head. Tsukco leaned back as the blade passed over his head, his hair was cut but they never touched the blade. They were simply too close.
With the blade over shooting Tsucko used one hand to balance himself and landed a kick in Ichi's side....Tuskos eyes widened at a realization as Ichi went flying into a wall a good distance away from him.
[" I see....That blade possessed something that shall lead to your downfall."]
Tsucko resummoned his mana wire though thin due to the fact he had little time you pour mana into it. A large smile was plastered across his face as he looked at Ichi who was rapidly approaching.
[" I knew that blade mana felt off. At first, I thought it was a type of cast you were using with the blade but no. It's completely different."]
" SWISH!"
Tsucko leaped over an attack and sent his mana wires as a counter, it didn't matter if they were usually sliced he just needed a little extra time...If they land it won't do any significant damage but would still hinder Ichi, so he has no choice but to cut them.
" SHWING"
The blade erupted into a red flam again easily cutting through the threads of mana wire extinguishing right after. Tsucko had changed positions slightly, now floating slightly in front of Ichi and above with a yellow mana ball building at the tips of two of his fingers.
[" The blade mana isn't yours. That blade has a ritual cast on it!... Haha, those are supposed to be illegal in this kingdom now, but I guess if it was done thousands of years ago it wouldn't matter."]
Tsucko fired his basic attack magic at Ichi, who once again ignited the sword with a red flame and cut it down the middle. Causing the mana to disperse and cause hundreds of tiny explosions throughout the room.
[" When a legendary figure of the past dies, and the future generations begin to praise him as a legend or god, a vengeful spirit...they in a way come back to the physical realm, allowing current magic users to make deals through rituals."]
Tsucko was pouring mana into mana wire using the smoke and dust created by the tiny explosions, Ichi had temporarily lost Tsucko due to the scattering of mana, allowing Tsucko to move behind him still floating in the air.
[" Up until you ignite the sword no mana is present, but as soon as you do it appears, but it isn't your mana. Whoever you made the ritual with must have been strong...Seeing as you haven't used any cast that takes place outside your body means that must have been the deal to use that sword power... but that's not all. The sword sharpness is buffed even without the ignition, meaning at least two deals must have been made."]
[" Found you!"] Ichi had finally located Tuskco and propelled himself at him.
[" If that is someone else's mana then it should have a limit, but seeing as instead of dodging my basic attack magic or slicing through my mana wire with your base sword you used the ignited sword...I'm guessing that when you cut anything with mana with that ignited sword it takes it and turns it into its own."]
A spider web of mana wire was fired from Tsuckos fingertips at Ichi who ignited his sword and sliced through them.
[" He can use them at range too huh, oh well it doesn't change anything...As long as he keeps using mana-based attacks I can continue resapling this sword and preserving my mana. I will win this fight and protect my kingdom."]
Tsukco had moved further back, Ichi activated his flight magic and propelled himself further at him prepared for any attacks,... He squeezed his sword as he grew closer and closer, feeling as if the battle was coming to a close. He gritted his teeth and prayed in his head for him to be victorious.
Another web of mana wire was fired as he was only inches away from Tsucko, he gripped his sword and ignited the blade, cutting through the wire with ease and attacking the mana from it.
["I'm right there...He has backed himself into a corner and has to be running low on mana by now"]
Seeing as when they first started their mana capacity was similar. Ichi felt it was safe to make this assumption since he would have been nearly out of mana too if he continued using his casts and hadn't pulled out the sword.
Confirming his suspicions another mana web was shot at him through a smoke screen that had been created due to the small explosions. The mana poured into it was the minimum to create mana wire...A last-ditch effort.
" SHING!"
The blade was ignited again and sliced straight threw the slim mana wire. Ichi was convinced of victory, seeing such little mana poured into the wire confirmed he was running low.
" UH!"
A yellow ball of basic attack magic was fired nearly point-blank in front of Ichi. His sword was still ignited being his only form of defense, if it was extinguished and he blocked it he would still be knocked back, if he didn't block it would still do damage.
[" Dam, he must have charged that up simultaneously with the mana wire...I'll have to use the sword ignited, breaking one of the rules set during the ritual."]
During rituals, rules are set for the use of powers granted by the spirit of a powerful warrior. In Ichi's situation, his ancestors made a deal where they could use the power of a great demon warrior allowing them to use his power by igniting a sword...but the rule was it had to extinguish after every use, no two straight uses in a row.
[" So what, if it means protecting the kingdom losing a power like this means nothing."]
If a single rule is broken that was set during the ritual. The power granted to the user or weapon will no longer be available and said person can never reclaim that power no matter what.
[" I can see his outline through the smoke, if I swing with full force I can cut him in half...I win!"]
The red fiery blade was swung horizontally through the basic attack magic dispersing it and creating even more tiny explosions, but more importantly...The outline of Tsucko was cut in two and fell to the floor with a thud.
The red flame on the blade then lifted off the blade and extinguished, showing as power left the blade. Ichi then sat wide-eyed at his victory.
He floated in the sky surrounded by smoke. He felt such a huge relief defeating such a fierce foe...All those expectations dawned on him from being the ancestor of the first magical warrior were now fulfilled.
"I am truly the king...I protected the people and defeated an incredibly strong enemy...I am worthy of my name."
He had fulfilled his pride, but he knew he wasn't done...There was still one more-
" UH!"
Suddenly a feeling of despair rushed over his body...No it was the mana of a man he thought dead. He turned his head completely around and was practically face to face with Tsucko appearing out of the smoke.
" HOW-"
" GRAB!"
Tsucko reached out and clasped Ichi's face with his bare hand shutting him up. A pleased smirk spread across his face as his hand began to glow yellow.