Azimuth: The Elden Throne (New Version)

Chapter 287 Ruler VS Challenger Part 3

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[Ruler of the Red Court gazes at you]

"?"

As their eyes met, Dale didn't quite know how to react.

The man just stood there, looking at him silently, as if waiting for him to do something… But he didn't know what else he could've been doing.

There was no pressure, no ill intent.

So he did the same thing he did before… Ignore it.

His eyes were fully focused on the target at hand, the blue-haired knight.

[10 seconds…]

'It's time.'

His System window popped up in front of his eyes as he decided on what to do, and without any hesitation, he activated his Skill.

[Manifestation of the Perfect Self 1-??? has been activated]

/Inhale… Exhale…/

Dale breathed deeply as if nothing had changed. But the moment he exhaled all air from his lungs, his eyes grew serene, very much like the eyes of the knight in front of him.

Few could tell something was different about him, however, but those who knew him knew something had changed, if not the reason why.

His entire self had flipped over, as if someone else had taken his place.

"..."

At the other side of the arena, the Knight noticed this change.

She felt his demeanor flip, so much so that her posture changed again, this time to a more aggressive and heavy stance.

To many of the onlookers, this was unheard of.

They had seen the King… Or better put Queen take out her weapon from its sheet before, but she only did that to the Third and Second ranks… After they had lost to her over 10 times each.

She had never acted like this from the get-go.

As expected, this fight would be…

/Baddum… Baddum…/

"..."

The silence of the battlefield was broken by a heartbeat, so strong and loud that it echoed all around.

/Baddum…/

Its source was none other than Dale's chest. 

He was activating his internal abilities, getting ready for the battle ahead.

His energies moved within his veins, making a dozen revolutions every second.

The tip of his spear glowed in faint light, vibrating faintly due to the intensity of the Mana imbued into it.

/Shua…/

The Queen did not remain idle either.

The Rapier in her hands started to gather flocks of light around its edge, like snowflakes in the coldest of winters.

Her breathing grew rhythmic, her foot dug into the earth, her hair swayed in the wind...

It was obvious that she was preparing as well.

No one had ever seen her put so much effort into the start of a fight before.

/Hunch…/

Dale hunched his body, holding his spear horizontally from the ground, pointing it toward the girl at the edge of the Arena.

/Spark!/

Sparks of red lightning bolted from within his limbs, jumping from muscle to muscle as they gathered around his arms, legs, and chest.

But then, something strange happened…

/Flash!/

The blue and red energies mixed together momentarily, turning into a strange purplish energy…

/SNAP!/

/SNAP!/

This energy didn't behave as quietly as the other two as it snapped all around, leaving gashes on the rocky ground around him as it whipped furiously in the air.

The energy continued to grow in intensity over the seconds, building pressure, ready to burst at any moment…

"Haa..."

Each time he breathed, faint smoke was released from his lips.

/Baddum.../

/Shine…/

It was also at that moment that his entire armor set changed, going from his current lightweight set to his previous, red knight armor.

The Wyverian Ignition Set, with it, Dale was at the height of his power.

It was still inactive, but soon enough, it would start to burn.

[5 seconds remaining…]

"..."

Seeing the ever-growing momentum of her opponent, the Queen made her choice.

/Zip… Zap… Zap…/

/THUNDER!/

Her body exploded with thunder, releasing bluish-white lightning bolts throughout the arena.

She did not take anything from her inventory, because from the very start, she always fought at her full power, it was just that her opponents weren't good enough to receive it all at once.

/Rise…/

At the same time, the red-haired man rose from his seat, gazing down at them with a somber expression, his hands behind his back.

[3 seconds remaining…]

He then raised one of his hands...

[1 second remaining…]

And he pulled it down.

"FIGHT!!" He exclaimed loudly, his voice shaking the arena

/BADDUM!/

[BATTLE START!]

/BURST!/

/FLASH!/

Dale's spear vanished from everyone's sight, followed by an explosion of purplish energy.

A straight beam of energy pierced the arena, cleaving it in two.

/BLAST!/

"HUPP!"

The Queen's body tensed as her eyes turned white, energy overflowing from within.

She grabbed her sword hilt with such strength that it wouldn't be strange for it to break at the weight of her fingers.

The edge of her blade seemingly vanished within the bluish-white sparks surrounding it, like it was never there to begin with.

She swung her hidden blade upwards, intercepting the forward charge with everything she had.

/BOOOOOOOOOM!/

Within the blink of an eye, a flash of light covered the massive arena, sending some of the onlookers falling back in both shock and awe.

Dust was raised to the skies together while large rock chunks were flung around violently, but neither ever reached the audience due to an invisible barrier surrounding the Arena like a dome.

/FLASH!/

Amidst the momentary silence, the dust cloud was suddenly pierced by a beam of purplish energy, aiming at the skies, it went down within a heartbeat.

At the same time, white light shone from the cloud…

/CLANG!/

/BAM!/

The lights clashed together once more, dispersing the dust completely, revealing the scene of their clash to all!

Holding his spear down, Dale pressed the Queen down with overwhelming strength!

Behind them, a long trail stood, the proof of their clash, Dale had pushed her back dozens of meters!

This had never been seen before! The Queen had always been the one to overwhelm others with strength, power, agility… Everything!

But now…

"HUPP!"

She breathed quickly as she changed her posture, parrying Dale's spear upward.

/SMASH!/

But he made use of her movement to kick her, only for her to evade his strike, sliding sideways as her sword flashed with light.

/SLASH!/

She cut sideways at his waist, but Dale was far from over.

"HAA!"

For likely the very first time ever since he first got this Skill, Dale exclaimed loudly as his energy exploded outward, forcing the girl back as she was flung around by the air pressure.

/Gather…/

Purplish energy gathered in the Spear once more, and this time, he did not release it.

/FLASH!/

With overwhelming speed, he vanished from his spot once more, reappearing next to the still-flying knight, swinging his Spear down towards her body with one hand.

If one were to compare both combatants' fighting styles, then Dale's was forceful and brutal, while the Queen's was elegant, sharp, deadly, and precise.

Though this wasn't mutually exclusive.

/CLANG!/

/CLANG!/

/SWIPE!/

Like before, showing her prowess, the Queen made use of Dale's force to stabilize her own posture before counterattacking, clashing her sword with his spear once more.

Each of their strikes may have nullified upon contact, but the aftermath of their strikes left behind deep gashes that affected dozens of meters around them, turning their environment into a wasteland full of scars and craters!

But just when their strike was about to end in another stalemate, this time she caught him by surprise!

Due to his own strength, the ground beneath his foot broke, causing a momentary imbalance in his posture, giving her the chance to pierce at his chest!

/Drop…/

To the surprise of all that could still somehow follow their match, Dale dropped his spear, using his hands to grab the Queen's rapier, stopping it in place.

/PRESS!/

He then bent the rapier upward, forcing the Queen to take a step back.

No matter how much she tried, she couldn't continue with her slash, it was as if her sword had been sandwiched between two slabs of iron.

Dale's main advantage had always been his obscenely strong body.

"..."

/Pull… Fwoosh… Slash!/

Unwilling to lose ground like this, she swung her sword sideways as she performed strange footwork, seemingly gliding on the ground as she moved back, pulling her sword with it as it slipped past his hands.

She immediately got into a thrusting position, blasting the ground forward as she moved back at Dale who was still without his weapon.

/PIERCE!/

"!"

But what Dale did next surprised her, so much so her eyes opened a little.

He raised his right hand, putting it in front of his body, directly in course with the Rapier.

The Queen felt something was wrong, but she only had a fraction of a second to think about what to do, and in the end, she kicked the ground with even more strength, slashing the air without remorse.

/Gather…/

"?!"

It was at this moment that Dale closed his hand, seemingly pulling at the air.

And he did so, the Queen's eyes bulged completely.

Because she saw, at the center of his palm, a small wisp of energy had been gathered… And Crushed.

/BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!/

A massive cone of fire blasted in front of Dale's hand, covering hundreds of meters all the way to the Arena's limits, covering it in a sea of fire.

/Sizzle…/

Taking this chance where his opponent's Status was unknown, Dale jumped back and kicked his spear on the ground, grabbing it with his hands as he rested it on his shoulder.

A rather relaxed posture but it was one he could chain movements from easily and smoothly, don't underestimate it.

He momentarily looked at his hand, which was now red, faint smoke was rising from his fingertips.

This skill he just used was one he hadn't been able to use before, the Skill Book he received for completing Tina's Quest.

[The Flame of Prometheus 0-Star]

A strange Skill that delved into an even stranger topic, Dale tried to read it once, but he barely finished the first chapter… And he didn't understand it at all.

/BOOM!/

Regardless, his rest time was over.

/Zap… Buzz…/

His opponent walked from within the flames, a spiral of chaotic energy surrounding her.

There were no signs of injury on her body at all.

"..."

/Smile/

And for the first time again, Dale smiled.

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Notes