Leon and Lydia faced the Troll with complete resolve. Their swords and hearts resonated with each other as they watched the massive beast edge closer towards them. Their gut instinct when facing a foe of that threat level was to turn their heels and run. Yet, they had no escape path.
The only thing they could do was stand and fight.
The Troll's venomous green eyes gleamed with feral hunger and snarled with gruesome fury. With lightning speed, it swung its gnarled club swiftly, sending a thunderclap reverberating through the cave. Without any thought, Leon and Lydia split in two directions, using everything their leg muscles could muster to push themselves away.
BOOM!!!
Instead of snapping in two, the fearsome club the Troll wielded smashed through the rubble, creating an impact crater nearly three metres deep. Leon's face hardened, and his saliva was forced down his throat as he imagined what would have happened if he was just a second too late.
He would have been smashed into a mush of meat and blood.
Taking advantage of Leon's sudden pause, the Troll lifted its club again and turned to face the young Knight. Even using one arm could produce enough force to turn an elephant into minced meat in one swing. Once again, it struck violently at the intruder who disturbed its rest.
Its club dragged against the limestone ground like a shovel in sand. Pieces of gravel broke free and danced haphazardly in the air. The force generated by the Troll's approach was enough to shake the ground akin to an earthquake, forcing Leon into uneven terrain.
Knowing he could not block the attack, Leon relied on his instincts and leapt back towards the wall. Using the vertical wall as a foothold, he squeezed his thighs together and assumed a leapfrog position. Only when the Troll finally lifted his club off the ground for the fatal swing did Leon jump with the force of a wound-up spring and leapt over the monster and towards his stunned cousin.
With all the momentum following it and no target, the Troll had no choice but to let its attack strike the empty wall. The force of its swing decimated the cold limestone wall and created a twenty-metre mark from one end to the other. Seeing what could have become of him, Leon could only wipe his face, which was full of sweat.
"My god, it's physical strength is off the charts!!!"
"It's a Troll, what do you expect?"
Lydia loosened her arms and eased the tension in her muscles. Against such a terrifying opponent, the young female Knight knew that they had to be prepared as every margin of error could cost their lives.
"A Troll's physical strength is among the upper tiers of Demonic Beasts. However, its speed isn't as astonishing. We can use that to our advantage. Hit-and-run tactics work especially well against the Trolls, but there is one thing we have to consider…"
The Troll turned around, revealing its green eyes, glistening with even more rage. Before Lydia could complete her sentence, the Troll struck again. Closing in the distance in less than five seconds, the pair could see its massive gnarled club flying at them again, and they split again similarly.
'You call that slow?!'
Leon retorted in his mind.
With its protruding belly and folding flaps of fat, it was hard to imagine such a monstrosity moving at breakneck speeds. At that moment, Leon thought it was fortunate that Trolls didn't have the adequate intelligence to train like Knights. Just imagining this monster with a better physique and complete control over its physical abilities sent shivers down his spine.
"Now, Leon! Strike it!"
"Y-Yeah!!!"
Letting out a battle cry, the pair attacked while the Troll was still recovering. Their blades were laced with golden Aura and increased sharpness, forcing the beast to open its eyes wide with surprise. Lydia was the faster of the pair, so her attack landed first. With a beautiful, smooth swing, she sliced at the back of the Troll's neck, only to find her blade slowing due to the thickness of its hide and fat.
'Tch, too shallow!'
Lydia clicked her tongue and used all of her physical strength to push her blade deeper. However, no matter how much she tried, she could only cut two inches deep at most.
"GRAORRRR!!!"
The Troll roared in agony, and it turned around to smack the pest that cut its neck. With both arms raised, it left its abdomen wholly exposed, giving Leon many options to strike. Ultimately, he swung his Aura-clad sword into the Troll's stomach, only to meet with the same resistance that Lydia felt.
'Damn it!!!'
Leon cursed as he sliced through the surface of the Troll and evaded the inevitable strike from its club.
The cousins instantly leapt far away together and regrouped. They watched closely as the Troll shrieked endlessly, tapping its wounds like a pained baby. And to no one's surprise, the Troll's injuries started to recover rapidly. Blood stopped flowing by the fifth second, and the wounds closed by the tenth. It wouldn't be long until the Troll reverted to its original state.
As good as new.
"Trolls are notorious for their high defence and enhanced regeneration. If we can only inflict shallow wounds on it, the Troll would regenerate back the flesh immediately." Lydia explained with a sombre tone. She observed as the wounds they inflicted were healed like magic.
"We need to cut deep into its body, past its hide and fat, to strike into its flesh, internal organs and bones. Fortunately, it's weak to fire so that we can burn it from the inside."
Lydia had the upper hand when it came to Demonic Beasts' biology. She thoroughly explained the Troll's strengths and weaknesses and instructed Leon on the following action.
"Let's try and use the Solaris Mystic Arts this time!"
"Understood!"
Leon didn't waste a second and charged at the recovered Troll. Two Suns with satellite stars orbited the young Knight, instantly raising the temperature of the damp cave. Heat and light intensified by the second, forcing the confused monster to snarl like a cornered beast. Swinging his club wildly, the Troll attempted to create an invisible force field that barred its prey from any entry.
But Leon was wise to it.
Leaping backwards, he pivoted his feet to circle the Troll's side before unleashing the flaming fury of his sword.
"Dawn!"
The Sun emerged with Leon's declaration. Fire and stellar dust permeated the Troll from the right side of its waist, scorching its leathery and matted skin. Leon plunged his sword at the exposed area, hoping to pierce deep into the beast's body. Unfortunately…
CLINK!!!
The moment the tip of Leon's blade made contact with the Troll, he could feel a firm resistance. His sword bounced back, causing zero damage to the monster. Leon's ever-lasting blue eyes zoned in on the target to observe what caused such a phenomenon, and he was stunned by what he saw.
'Concrete? No way is that… Hardened skin?'
A concrete-looking slab protected the weak part of the Troll. It looked like a wall of stone, something odd for a Demonic Beast of its type. Leon hypothesised what could have caused such a protection, and one theory came to mind.
'It used its hyper regeneration to over-regenerate its skin?! Could Trolls even do that?!'
A Troll's defence was already high enough, but if it could further enhance its defence through its regenerative ability… it wasn't even fair anymore. Causing an injury to that monster would be twice as hard now.
'But, if it had over-regenerated here… could that mean?!'
Before Leon could finish his thoughts, the Troll recovered from the strike and exploded all its anger upon the distracted youth. While it was slower than Leon, that moment of distraction allowed the Troll to send a back fist flying in his direction. Unable to dodge anymore, Leon ate the hit while standing his ground. Alas, he was far too weak.
BOOM!!!
Leon was flung straight into the wall, and his body was deeply impressed by the limestone. Letting out a huge gasp of air, Leon could feel his insides churning and his skin burning. That one hit had caused his body to convulse and his mind to skip for a millisecond. Blood trickled down his nose while Leon struggled to stay lucid.
Falling to his knees, Leon oscillated his Suns and chanted the Nine Suns Heart Mantra to aid in his recovery.
'Its backhand is that strong?!'
Leon was momentarily stunned by the Troll's overwhelming strength. Physically speaking, Leon stood no chance against that monster. If it had struck with its club rather than fist, there was no question in Leon's mind that he would have been converted into paste.
While Leon's mind raced, Lydia aimed at the Troll's blind spot. Rising to the ceiling, she concentrated her mana into the Two Suns she condensed. Fire and Aura enveloped the young lady, creating an illusion of a mighty Sun descending. Luckily for her, the Troll was still preoccupied with Leon and could not sense the threat from above.
And Lydia took full advantage of it.
"Heaven's Fall!!!"
Lydia turned into a comet that fell from the sky. Her sword was clad in Aura Fire with the Solaris Mystic Arts aiding it. The Troll didn't even realise the heat searing at the back of its neck until it was too late. Lydia's rapier sunk deep into the back of the Troll's neck, and a spear of fire exited from the other end.
It worked.
Lydia had pierced through the monster's defences.
And the beast was suffering the consequences.
"GRAORRRR!!!"
The Troll roared yet again, this time with twice the volume. The sound shook the entire cave and resonated like thunder in a hurricane. However, this time, it was quicker to react.
Its skin hardened almost instantly, trapping Lydia's sword entirely within the beast. Unable to pull out her blade, the young Knight was forced to leap skywards to gain distance from Troll. Alas, the incensed beast had other plans.
It turned around to find the source of its pain and saw Lydia falling in the air. With no foothold to step on, she could only watch in horror as the Troll turned its body around to charge an entirely forced kick onto her body.
BOOM!!!
Lydia was sent flying in the same direction as Leon, in the same exact manner. However, the strike she endured was more violent. The Troll's kick snapped like a whip, and before she knew it, Lydia was already rolling on the rough floor, picking up gravel on her way to the edge of the wall.
She crashed into the wall destructively, instantly coughing blood from her mouth. Her bones cracked, and either two or three of her limbs were dislocated. Lydia instantly sought to recover, but even with the Nine Suns Heart Mantra healing her, all she could feel was endless pain.
"Sister Lydia!!!"
Leon yelled out at the top of his lungs. He rushed over with the little energy he had left and knelt beside her. He sought to heal her wounds, but how could the wounded treat the wounded? Not to mention, a shrieking Troll was slamming its body onto the walls, ready to pounce at any given moment.
"D-Don't worry, I'm fine!"
His elder cousin tried to ease Leon's worry, but who would believe her? One eye was closed due to the blood flowing down her head; Lydia could barely see or walk. Yet, she stood up tall.
Was it adrenaline? Or pure willpower? Even Lydia didn't know. But all that mattered to her was dealing with the Troll holding onto its neck while wailing loudly.
"L-Listen! M-My sword is c-coated wi-th Aura Fi-re. It shou-ld be bu-rning from the ins-ide out now. B-ut, it's still not eno-ough. I'm too inj-ured to move, but I can still use m-magic! Y-You will ha-ve to be the one who kills the T-Troll! Can you do it?!"
Leon looked straight at his female cousin, his blue eyes widening by the second. At that moment, Lydia personified the ideal form of what he sought to be as a Knight. Even while battered and bruised, with all the excuses in the world, she stood tall.
A protector and a warrior.
Leon closed his eyes, reflecting on his behaviour.
Was he worthy of Lydia's protection? As he was, no. Even now, he still hesitated to reveal his secret, fearing the backlash it might come from the Solaris House. If he had used his hidden power before, perhaps Lydia wouldn't have been injured to this extent.
Hence, Leon burned with a new resolve as he opened his eyes.
"Sister Lydia, leave it to me. You just have a rest; I will take care of everything."
"Huh?"
Leon stood before his cousin as determination flashed within his clear, blue eyes. Lydia was naturally confused at Leon's change, and she watched with great interest as a different sensation permeated her skin. Bit by bit, her wounds were healing quicker, but it was not with Solar mana… A different power was coming out from Leon, and she noticed it instantly.
"L-Leon?"
"Just wait here, Sister Lydia… I will explain everything later."
There was a reason why Leon's eyes were blue, not gold, even though he possessed the Solaris Bloodline. There was a reason why his body could handle the Eighty-One Suns Heart Mantra. And… There was a reason why his father banned him from ever revealing his secret power.
But at this current juncture, there was no choice.
Leon's golden Aura gradually shifted into a deep, cerulean hue. The energy of the ocean emerged from his body and mana that could douse the entire Solaris House in a thousand-year flood was condensed.
The Troll, agonising over its injuries before, paused and watched as Leon's mana rose beyond what it ever expected.
With his right hand, Leon wielded a sword of absolute fire. It had the power to burn all of creation and smite righteous fury against all that was evil.
And in his left hand… Leon held a sword of ever-flowing water. A gentle power that had the capacity to drown the world and slice through all of his enemies.
That was Leon's secret.
A prodigy with dual mana.
"Let's end this, monster!"