Chapter Nineteen: Blood and Scythe
"So what do you want with me if it's not to attempt killing me?" Zenith asked, while pushing his hands into his pockets.
There was tension within the environment as the two SSS-Rank Mages stood opposite each other, encircled by tall large buildings. Sometimes the wind brought the smell of blood past Zenith's nose and he sighed.
This was really the place she wanted to die? "Answer me, I will have a class in forty minutes."
The assassin chuckled, keeping her eyes on him. "That caught me by surprise too. The SSSSS-Rank Mage teaching a bunch of rookies who can't even cast a spell after—"
"In their defense, some can." Zenith interrupted. He hummed before adding. "Alexandria has that Will to command his magic and well, he seemed to be the only one using a spell. Alez has something similar—"
The scythe struck the ground, breaking Zenith's train of thoughts. His eyes dimmed on the lady. "Are you shushing me?"
She clicked her tongue. "I didn't ask you to tell me about your students! I—" She swung her scythe to her right and warded off a sword attack.
She smirked. An invisible attack while he didn't make a move? The prodigy was really something. She stepped back and made a big swing that slammed all the other swords off.
They flew back, sending a backlash against the buildings around them and raising dust.
The lady piqued her senses to detect more attacks and relaxed when they were none. Was this Mage playing with her? That's an A-Rank skill, the only lethal think about it was it's invisible and fast.
Orbs of black swirling energy formed around Zenith and blasted towards the lady. With a pleased smile, she dodged them effortlessly and cut one of them in clean half.
Her scythe had been covered in blood when she did that or else those black orbs, created from void, would've swallowed her weapon.
Another set blasted towards her and faster this time, she narrowed her eyes at the Mage and found that his eyes were closed.
As he couldn't see her, she thought of sending a long range attack and dived below the shooting height of the black orbs. "You're all open, Sir prodigy!"
Her scythe left her hand at that point and she froze, and tumbled back to escape the hand that punched the ground she stood on. She bit her lips angrily.
Why did he keep using invisible attacks? Could he be closing his eyes because he's visualizing what he wants to create and not because he's trying to concentrate?
She sensed where the giant creature trying to smash her stood and stooped low. "I'd teach you how to smash, bastard!" she lunged at its leg and broke its bones with her fist covered in a membrane of blood.
She caught her scythe when it fell and clenched her fists around it angrily. "Is there a reason you aren't at full power! That isn't even close to half your power, is it?!"
Zenith calculated and felt he was at half his power, at least. How strong did she think he was? He was trying to find the fun in this, while helping her make the effort.
The amount of essence she expended was great and she relied more on her element and its skills, Blood, and none other. But she wasn't his student so he wouldn't be pointing her mistakes to her.
"You said you weren't here to kill me so I don't want to kill you." He replied, while hoping his tone didn't expose the boredom he felt. "However, if your words change so will my actions."
The lady's scythe leapt in the air. A string of blood formed around it as it spun quickly, while hanging on the air. "It doesn't matter whether I'm here to kill you or not! Fight me like your life depends on it!"
Those were other words to say 'I just want to use you to test how strong I am' to Zenith and his shoulders slumped.
After checking the class information, he planned to have a short break at the stall and munch on panda bread.
Compared to battling this lady, that seemed more fun to him and he'd rather spend an hour there than a minute here. "The thing is... I don't need my full power to handle your type of—"
The strings of blood shot out quickly, slicing through air and charging at Zenith. His bored eyes sharpened. "Freeze," but he jumped back to dodge the attack that slammed on the ground, creating a huge pothole.
"What skill is that?" he asked calmly, even if he felt enraged that such a simple attack defiled his Word's Will and made him move on instincts. They wouldn't have touched him anyway as he had his barrier active.
"Don't answer that," his left iris turned gray, "I'd figure it out myself." His left iris fixated on her.
A wave blew above the lady and she felt the salty taste of death, a bitter smile spread to her lips and she took many steps back but the wave followed her, a wave of S-Rank swords that reduced the essence in one's body after each slice.
Coupled with that she could feel the blood thirst emanating from him as he stood there. Was this experience or the fancy spells he knew and the fact he could initiate them telepathically?
"Don't dare underestimate me!" she leapt to the air and swung her scythe over the S-Rank swords. They scattered and turned to dust. She landed and ran to him, her scythe fell on Zenith but didn't touch him.
Her eyebrows rose in confusion when she saw her scythe's blade being soaked in blood, she moved away from Zenith but the blade kept soaking.
"No! No!!" she tried to rub the blood off but she knew very well it didn't work that way. She glared at him and noticed his left iris being crimson red. "You copied… you copied my skill, bastard!!"
Zenith only shrugged.
In some realms and amidst some Mages, copying another Mage's exclusive skill was wrong but he believed that if they didn't want it to be copied then they should make it impossible to copy.
"And it was easy doing it. That's the infamous Blood Crawl, isn't it? I think I've heard of you before. I had sacrificed my blood for that skill." He raised his arm to show a palm sized cut. "It's not a skill I'd like to master anyway. I can't keep cutting myself."
Blood wasn't his element so he'd have to manipulate his own every time till he made Blood his element. He didn't have the passion for that.
The lady's jaw fell in surprise but a trickle of determination flashed in her eyes.
Zenith didn't appreciate that and swung his hand at her direction and a bloody wind swept her off her feet and slammed her to a building.
"And stay down. Blood Rain is a common skill so I hope you don't mind…" He sighed as he looked at his wristwatch.
It was almost twenty minutes for his next class and he hadn't eaten yet. "A total distraction, young miss. You were a total distraction."
He tried to dust off the blood on his shirt. It'd be odd if he returned with bloody clothes. He sighed again in frustration.