Y/N POV
My entire battalion surrounded Reid within the circle of circles that Sphinx drew on the floor earlier. Since she used a mana signature that only we can detect, the battalion members knew exactly what to do.
Stepping into their designated positions, the circle shone a white light as they received their buffs. Sphinx stabbed her wand into the circle's edge, and the light shone brighter before forming a barrier around everyone inside. I stepped in at the last moment just in case anything happens, and Omega readied her staff.
"Al Akra, Al Anima." Omega chanted as the battalion members received even more buffs, and the first one to dash towards Reid was Elsa, fitting for her bloodthirstiness. With one swift step, she appeared in front of Reid and slashed upwards, only to be blocked by his chopsticks.
"Oooo. You got speed and power, I'll give you that, girl. Now, can you truly earn 'it'?"
Reid's pure power sent Elsa back, only to be met on the ends of tens of kunai, closing in on him from all directions, thrown by Yae while she looped around him in a circle. He took quick measure to deflect all of them, and Palmyra casted an Earth Barrier to prevent any of the reflected kunais to hit the battalion members. After Reid has finally finished deflecting them, eight white lights shone in a circle above him, and each unleashed a beam of light straight at his head.
"Al Jiwald- Eightfold."
Sphinx's mana capabilities are incredible indeed, but it didn't make Reid move an inch from his spot. Sure, it burned some of his clothes, but its not like he's fazed or anything. Colette, seeing this opportunity as Reid was distracted, threw her strongest punch at Reid's stomach, sending air across the room that even I can feel. The Ryuuhou technique she learned from Gaston was slowly taking its effect, and is even forcing Reid back a little.
Frustrated that the sheer force of the Beast Bracelet's enhancement on Colette's punch is rendering him unable to move, he was forced to take a step back before performing a suplex and slammed Colette down on the ground behind her, but she was quickly healed by Palmyra as the mage summoned poisonous vines that ensnared Reid.
Reid tried to cut the vines, but Capella smirked. Looking further, I realized that the vines have been laced outside and covered inside with diamond, completely immobilizing Reid. Meili took a branch and Capella modified it into a slingshot, and Meili slotted her transformed mabeast onto the slingshot, now a mana-enhanced drill, and shot it straight at Reid's forehead. Since Reid was ensnared by the vines and all he had to do was just to not move outside of the circle, he didn't even resist and took the drill head on.
With the drill now clashing against Reid's forehead, the vines instantly vanished and the force pushing Reid's body upwards disappeared in an instant, catching the Sword Saint unawares as the force of the drill slammed his forehead along with his body and back flat down onto the ground, shocking even my teammates.
"We... did it?"
The answer was obviously not, and Omega knew that as well as I do. Reid did a 90 degree rotation and stood himself back up through the sheer force of his heels, and rubbed his hair before letting out a hearty laugh.
"Hahahahaha, you kids have spirit, and some strength to back it up. But don't think it'll be easy from 'ere on." He stomped both feet into the ground, and assumed somewhat of a sumo stance while having one chopstick in each hand.
"Remember guys, work together!" I shouted from the back. "Not every single one of you have the sheer power like Halibel or Reinhard, so don't try to fight him head on! Cappy, summon some Demi-beasts to tank the damage for Elsa and Yae!"
As Capella obeyed my order, Reize finally made her move along with Zarestia. Although Zarestia didn't want to directly intervene as she can probably match Reid in a 1 on 1 fight. Using her new Wind affinity blades, she copied one of my own moves and sent a wind blade at Reid after slashing through the air with a diamond katana I made for her. The niche thing is that diamond katanas are actually easier to wield due to their structure and smaller molar mass compared to the compact steel that is used in traditional forging.
Reid slashed apart the wind blade that Reize sent at him, and rushed to attack her. However, Sphinx's magic circles took effect and covered his eyes full of paint and mud, blinding him temporarily as Capella flew over and smashed him into the ground with her transformed dragon fist.
"Now, Palmyra!"
Capella directed my student to move out, and a giant stalactite formed out of the air through her Earth Magic and pushed it through the air down towards Reid who was now stuck in the floor using a water current. Accelerated by the current and gravity, Palmyra added an extra push using the winds and the dripstone struck hard onto the back of the Sword Saint.
But it was stopped by a mere chopstick.
"Gehehe... the runts today are quite feisty, ain't they?"
A simple upward slash decimated the stone, shattering it to pieces. Everyone held their ground as Reid stood up from the rubble, and swung his chopsticks around before they were held like daggers. "I haven't done this in a while, especially against runts..."
"...but it's time to go on the offensive."
Subaru POV
Y/N's team is amazing.
I can't believe they're fighting that bastard with less difficulty than Julius. I knew they were strong, especially Y/N, since he took down Lust all on his own, but to this level...
But I have my own strengths too.
Beatrice, my Spirit Yin Magic, Guiltywhip, Invisible Providence, and Return by Death...
We just all need to do our own parts, and we can definitely overcome any obstacle. Right?
And you...
...are you not ready yet?
The entity in question gave a slight pulse in response, but denied any further response they were going to emit.
"Fine, but I'm going to need your help sooner or later." Subaru gave a smile to himself and Beatrice before he started to analyze the battlefield just like Y/N. "After all, I'm going to be the best knight for Emilia-tan."
Tiny footsteps suddenly sounded behind him, and he saw the dark-skinned little girl walk towards the domain surrounded by magic circles. She threw her gloves to Subaru, before looking back at the ones left behind.
"Baru, take care of my gloves for me, okee?"
"Sure I will, Typhon."
"I'm coming, N/N! Typhon is here!"
Reid's speed increased as if he gearshifted himself, and he dashed around the battlefield swifter than the average leopard boosted with Al Akra. Elsa's been trying to keep up with him by unleashing her typical prey hunting striking strategy against him, but I can she's visibly struggling.
"Omega, can't you do something about it?"
"I was going to ask you to do something. Are you not going to fight and just leave your problems to us?"
"It's not the right time yet... we still need more data..."
"What, are we just tools for your own personal experiment?"
"Bold of you to say that after using people for your own goals for centuries."
"I'm just kidding." Omega gave a sigh, and slammed her staff down to provide the team members with another round of refreshed buffs and stamina restoration. "But can we actually win?"
"My current calculations estimate around 27% chance of that happening. Whether we win or not is if Reid decides to show off his other cards or if he will just allow us to leave with the 'trophy'." I replied, uncertainty lacing my voice.
Turning my eyes back to the battlefield, I saw that Colette was knocked unconscious despite the protection of the Beast Bracelet, and Palmyra has encased her friend in a healing barrier. Meili's hybrid mabeast has also been knocked out, so she's forced to defend herself with her daggers, the 'Fangs of the Rabbits' fashioned from the horns of the corpses of the Great Rabbit.
Meanwhile, the three close range fighters launched a coordinated attack on Reid, forcing even him into a situation where he did not dare to be careless.
Yae's kunais are now attached to strings, and she commanded their movements similar to a puppeteer. Elsa's enhanced kukri knives, Gorecutter and Bonecrusher, collided with Reid's chopsticks while Reize's diamond katana came into contact with Reid's hard skin many times, but failed to leave any permanent or temporary damage.
Capella stood by Meili's side while creating demi-beasts out of sheer sand particles, forming an army that is ready to strike as soon as Reid breaks free. Palmyra readied some dripstones, layered with spinning wind and water blades. Sphinx already used her staff to telekinetically draw more magic circles, and all were ready for deployment. Zarestia has now encased herself in an armoursuit of wind, in case of any sudden attacks.
After 3 minutes, the close ranged fighters were blown back, sending Yae and Reize out of the circle and preventing them from entering since it was the rule we made before the battle...
Flashback
"If you or any of my members get pushed out of the circle, we lose. If you get pushed out of the circle, any of my members inside will win the challenge. How about it?"
"Now that's more like it. No more of that 'one step' business. If you wanna fight, at least man up about it, ain't I righ'?"
Flashback End
Elsa landed beside Meili and immediately picked up her to run to the boundary's edge. Surprisingly, Meili started whining. "Why are you taking me away, Elsa? I can still-"
"Shhh... Meili, Y/N told me that you will be needed later on for something very important. So you need to stay safe for now, okay? I'm really sorry about this."
"I'll go talk to Y/N nii-chan alone then. He can't just-"
"Sorry, Meili."
Elsa then tossed her out of the boundary, where Subaru caught her. After that, Elsa returned to the battle, which was full of the torn bodies of demi-beasts that were reverting back to sand grains.
Capella had unleashed the whole army on Reid, and while it had little effect on Reid alone, it gave Palmyra and Sphinx many open spots to attack, and so they did. The dripstones and beams of light struck Reid one after another as he sliced down demi-beast after demi-beast. When it was all over, Reid sent a punch at Palmyra, and the sheer force of the wind sent her almost tumbling out of the arena.
"HEY! You bastard, that's not nice-"
Palmyra's remark was cut off by a chopstick thrown at her, and she fumbled before falling onto her back, just outside of the magic circles. Sphinx was Reid's next target, but she formed a large wind current between her and Reid, and the stormeye expelled her in another direction so fast it might even be considered as pseudo-teleport.
"Hunter's Territory, pinpointed."
Elsa was suddenly surrounded by platforms made by Capella, and she became more frenzied than usual, and dashed towards Reid like a hungry monster. Reid slashed at her with his chopsticks, but she avoided the blow swiftly and stomped down on him after performing a somersault off a platform above her.
Her kukri knives didn't stop either and hacked away at Reid's chopsticks, but when Reid started retaliating, his relentless assault forced her out of bounds. At this moment, someone completely unexpected showed up, and I've been feeling like she's been appearing at random intervals herself.
Typhon, the Witch of Pride, has stepped onto the battle field.
"Hey, N/N and Dona!" Typhon ran over to us. "I'm here to help!"
"Typhon?! Where are your gloves?" I said out of panic. I'm not against Typhon having her gloves off now, since we need her power and her self-control is probably better now... probably.
"I gave them to Baru to keep for now. I just have to beat the big bad guy with red hair, right?"
"Uh, sure, but-"
"Okie then!"
Typhon ran towards Reid with the most cheerful smile that I've ever seen in my life. Even Reid himself was confused at this scene. Typhon casually took Reid's hand and covered it with hers.
"Hey, red-haired oji-san." Typhon gave her signature smile. "Are you a bad guy?"
"Huh? What to you mean runt-"
We saw Reid shiver and tremble a little before immediately jumping back in caution. "What was that, you little twerp? What kind of underhanded tactics are you-"
"I'm simply asking if you're good or bad, oji-san. Now, come on, give me your hand." Typhon walked closer to Reid, forcing him to step ever more so closely to the domain's edge. "The jury's trial has not ended yet."
While Reid was distracted by Typhon, he was spotted by Capella. Since he was also at the border, Capella took this chance and transformed into her dragon arms and formed a large golf club using a grain of sand leftover from previous uses.
"Draconic Airmail Drive!"
The swing was perfect. If this was a professional golf tournament, she would've won first place for just the aesthetics of the swing. It hid Reid right on the side of his head, causing him to stabilize hastily before he was knocked out of the ring, and he tried to move the golf club away from his face, but failed to do so. In the end, he had no choice but to be swept along with the golf club, but managed to slightly alter the direction to an upwards shot.
Reid landed on the ground with a loud 'thud' and Capella's golf club disappeared. Reid, now actually a bit pissed on how annoying that hit was, marched towards Capella with his chopsticks outstretched. What he didn't realize was that the spell from the others were ready.
"Al Vita."
Sphinx and Omega simultaneously activated the strongest version of the gravity increase spell, rendering Reid completely immobile. Meanwhile, Zarestia's Light Sphere made a tingle as the largest ball of wind I've ever seen in my life was ready to be unleashed.
"Deus Ventum - Primordial Gale Force."
The ball spread itself apart into a beam of typhoons, all of the currents and blades of wind rushing at Reid. When they came into contact with the target, they exerted a force on Reid that was so large it was almost negating the effects of Omega and Sphinx's Al Vita spells. Reid's feet held their ground, and he scoffed at how the spell was underwhelming.
Which is what made him careless.
Within an instant, the Al Vita spells wore off, and the sheer force and power that Zarestia's spell was supposed to have came through, unshackled by the limits of gravity, and sent Reid flying out of the bounds and him crashing into the wall of Electra.
My battalion won.
[Trial of the 2nd Floor Electra of the Great Library Pleiades:
Time Limit: Unlimited
Number of Challenge Attempts: Unlimited
Challengers: Unlimited
Has cleared: Emilia, Halibel, Capella, Sphinx, Omega, Typhon, Zarestia, Y̶/̶N̶ ̶L̶/̶N̶.
Yet to clear: Subaru, Beatrice, Julius, Anastasia, Meili, Ram, Elsa, Yae, Colette, Palmyra, Reize, Y/N L/N.
The Trial, continues.]
Later...
Julius POV
"You couldn' even hope to be my playmate s'long 's you keep usin' that borin' title."
"Really boring, haa, you."
Insults rained down on him like arrows with salt tips stabbing into his wounds, stabbing at his pride.
His sharp thrust was carried by said pride, and it was aimed right between the yawning man's brows. However, the man just tilted his head, the tip of the blade merely coming close to its target. As soon as the red haired man noticed a few hairs having been severed, he jumped back.
In a battle, evaluating the sword skills of your opponent is not the only essential thing. Neither is it about just the sword in the hands. The rhythm of the feet and the pace of the legs are also extremely crucial.
Of course, the swordplay matters as well. To get the optimum position, to get the fastest pace, in order to maximize your potential, you musn't just use your hands and legs; instead you have to use every part of your body.
Therefore, it's imperative that beginners in the art of swordplay learn proper footwork first.
He remembered his teacher, a great master that he was fortunate to be blessed with, who allowed him to go beyond his limits. Although that teacher's skills were now below his current skills, this was due to age, a factor that no one was able to circumvent.
But it's precisely because of this, that he felt ashamed.
Ashamed for not being good enough to match any obstacle coming his way, to uphold his title as the 'Greatest Knight', when all of his friends supported and believed in him.
He HAD to win.
He swung his sword down in a crescent-form arc towards the man. The man jumped up, as if he was avoiding the graceful dance until death and struck his side with his elbow. The simultaneous chants of fire and water, and the three way attack of the sword―all missed their mark. The highest peak of a Knight's sword art, was easily blown away by the chopsticks in the hands of the man.
"Yer fucking pathetic, you. Can you even lift ya sword? You. I haven't lifted my sword for anything other than three months straight, you. I've cut light down, what the fuck have you cut down?"
The man taunted.
"You, right here, right now..." Julius tried to utter words, but was shot down again by the man.
"You, the fuck does that mean!? The fuck can you do to me? You can't do shit. No swinging at it 'till you reach it. Don't swing at it 'till you reach it. 'till you can, no swinging. Don't swing 'till you can. Stop talking 'bout all the shit ya wanna do when you can't even do 'em, you."
Although the words were hurting, they were undoubtedly true for the moment. His opponent continued hacking away at his body, and he was kicked away. A gap formed between him and his opponent.
His whole body was screaming like a siren, especially as the damage to his head was very serious. Even the consciousness inside his own skull was in a state of fluctuation. He was afraid that if he would relax, if only for a little, he would lose his consciousness that very next moment.
The sword... Where was the sword? As if to ascertain it, he made his own strength flow into his own right hand and tried to slowly touch it.
There, there was indeed the touch of the hilt. He felt relief. He couldn't let go. It's only this. He doesn't know what there is left to lose if he even loses the sword.
He struggled to steady himself. Can he still win this fight? Can he still surpass the swordsman? Can he still fix his mistake? Can he still overcome-
Or... is everything already done for?
No.
Not yet, Julius Juukulius.
He lost his own way, he walked down the wrong path... all because he misunderstood what he believed in?
His name, his house, his family, his master, a companion, a friend, spirits bound to his soul, he lost all of them.
What if, what was only left with him now, was just make-believe, incapable of offering any actual help, incapable of relying upon, incapable of any support.
But...
...he would maintain his strength; that's what he swore to his Master.
He would remember his strength; that's what his last remaining friends told him.
In a world where everything is lost, there's only 'Strength' which would assist him. Although, this 'Strength' was the only thing his frail and fragile self was certain would not disappear.
"―You! The hesitation is finally gone from yer sword!"
His opponent let out a remark of surprise and advanced, but he couldn't even move in sheer desperation. He was desperate to raise his sword, to defend himself against this rapid, impending attack. A very sharp, shrill noise rang out. The only way of knowing that the sword's steel edge crashed upon the floor, was by actually seeing it happen.
Don't give up, Julius.
We believe in you.
Subconscious voices... was it? Losing my name, losing my reputation... Now that I even lost the sword, is there any reason for me to still stand here?
"Without the qualifications to reach at the Heavenly sword― You! I can not stand such a henchman like you!" The parched voice coldly announced that, and the Sword Saint held his sticks out forward, bending his knees down.
For the first time, the Sword Saint put out an attacking posture.
Then, the stick was raised, and a strike―there was no way for it to be mistaken, it was a Sword Attack. Reid released an absolute sword strike, and he was wrapped in the powerful shockwave of the strike, and blown away. Whether it was punching or kicking, this blow was completely different from all the attacks so far. This wasn't an attack. This was the zenith of the sword, the highest peak the sword can reach, the true 'Power' capable of a sword.
Was this going to be the end?
Have I... seen death?
You have remained where you stand, Julius Juukulius.
For now, that is more than enough.
Don't give up. Never give up.
How can you be so certain?
Who even are you?
The ones who haven't given up on you.
Because you are Julius Juukulius, and you will defeat Reid Astrea.
At least for myself, I'm sure of it. Just... not now.
For now, it's my turn.
"Julius!"
A voice was screaming, it was full of melancholy. Desperately, the voice had dashed up the long staircase, as if just to witness this decisive moment alone. Since there was a voice calling for him, a very untimely smile was formed on his face.
He looked to his right, and saw that the blow he had felt temporarily never decimated him. A figure stood there, and when he saw the silhouettes of the last people who remembered...
...Julius Juukulius, The 'Greatest Knight' from the Dragon Kingdom of Lugunica, a Royal Guard of the Kingdom's Knights, the eldest son and the heir of the Juukulius family, the Knight of the Royal Election Candidate, Anastasia Hoshin...
...allowed his consciousness to be swept away by the fatigue and pain that cannot even be felt.
The Meaning of Loss.
Y/N POV
"Subaru, get him out of here." I ordered my friend, who nodded and propped Julius up to walk down the stairs. I healed Julius with my Authority after blocking Reid's attack with Prudence's Barrier. His external wounds are now patched, but his physical fatigue and mental suffering and doubt needs time to heal.
"Julius... I'm sorry." I muttered to myself. "You... really are striving ever so hard to become the model knight your titles bestow you, huh?"
I turned to face the Sword Saint. The entrance to Electra was blocked by walls of diamond and unnatural interstitial alloys resulted from my Elemental Rupture.
"Why did you save that worthless piece of crap, you. He who can't even swin'-"
"SHUT UP."
"You-"
"I SAID SHUT UP."
"..."
"You may be the greatest swordsman to ever exist, Reid Astrea. But it doesn't mean you can simply trample on the efforts and hardship every single person has gone through in their lives, simply because they're inferior, simply because they're beneath you."
"Bah, stop givin' me that stupid speech. Ya her' to figh' or what? Because I'm sick and tired of seeing the 'ther trash-"
I couldn't take it anymore.
With all my might, I disregarded the limits and drawbacks of my own powers, and activated my Authority of Wrath.
"STAGE THREE- PINPOINT FURY"
A single thread of red light shot out from my brain, striking through Reid's heart and forcing him back, causing him to collapse in pain. He immediately got back up, wide-eyed as my brain furiously reassembled itself, and my injuries healed immediately.
"Inen. Ryōkyō. Zeam. Amorum. Aionia Katara." My five swords of power obeyed my command, and they slotted themselves into my hands, onto my extensions, and between my teeth.
"You said that those who are worthless are truly useless. But I see differently. Everyone has potential. They just need the right spark."
"And so what? Here, my will dictates all. I don' care what crap you 'ave to say to me, and it doesn't matter. What I will, is how it is."
"Then you will find my will equal to yours."
Taking a step back, my body shifted into a sword stance and my eyes stared deep into Reid's own blue iris.
"Leader of the Liberator's Battalion, Warlock of Deceit, Y/N L/N."
"Borin' titles like yours are what I hate most. Now come on already, you weirdass coward."
Time Limit: Unlimited
Number of Challenge Attempts: Unlimited
Y/N L/N vs Reid Astrea: Initiated.