Essence swung his halberd to crash into the Avatar, but the fellow easily parried it to the side. Draco then pierced towards Essence's position with his Dragorugio sword, but the latter retracted his halberd and used the shaft to pinpoint block the tip of the blade.
This surprised Draco as he pulled back and paused. "You've advanced this much?"
Essence got into a fighting position and didn't drop his hard for even a second. "After teaching me how to effectively use the Technique Generator, I practiced using your battle clones to hone my skills. My Halberd God Technique has reached level 2, and I have merged it with my Void Energy!"
The Avatar nodded. "You have yet to unlock Control, so your progress so far is already amazing. How you managed to integrate without using Control as a binding agent is something we'll discuss in private. For now, I will limit my power to your level and clash with you on a technique basis."
Essence remained silent, but his blood began to boil. He would be fighting the almighty Draco head-on, in a battle of techniques only! To describe himself as excited was a severe understatement.
The Avatar calmly and purposefully paced around Essence, his eyes locked on the fellow like a hawk. He flourished his blades menacingly as he slowly circled the fellow, Essence himself only remaining stoic and steady like a mountain.
His eyes followed Draco's movement, not missing even a single bit. The tension on the battlefield rose so high that even the onlookers felt like they were being gripped by the neck.
Warm Spring, the last remaining other person who hadn't been killed once yet, was completely ignored and forced to the side. She could only helplessly watch as she could not and did not dare contribute to this particular fight.
Suddenly, Draco and Essence disappeared from where they were and clashed a few meters away, their weapons shaking as they tried to overpower one another.
Then without warning, they disappeared once more and appeared somewhere nearby, striking each other's weapons and causing a small shockwave before disappearing once more.
Like that, they rapidly appeared and disappeared across the battlefield, only appearing for split seconds where they would clash, cause an earth-rupturing shockwave and disappear once more.
The crowd had their visors so they were able to follow. It was strange to watch an almost clear battlefield and a large group of onlookers whose heads were going up, down, left, right at the same time as if they were tracking something moving at high speeds.
Draco and Essence appeared in the center of the field, clashing once slowly then almost a hundred times in a second as their weapons blurred so fast that even the visors couldn't render them at full speed.
With one last clash, they created a final shockwave that caused the ground in between them to crater a little as they were both forced back, their feet digging into the earth and forming grooves.
Their weapons were smoking a little as both parties gauged each other. Unfortunately, there was still a gap in skill quality as the Avatar was neither panting nor touched, yet Essence had lost 50% of his HP and was huffing.
"There's no way around it. You are a monster, Draco." Essence stated his heartfelt belief at the moment with sincere eyes.
Draco nodded with a casual smirk. "That I am. Your technique passes my bottom line grading. Now, join your fellow members in death so you can all try again, and I can enjoy the feeling of beating you all down once more."
Before Essence could respond, the Avatar raised Fragarach high. Torrents of Worldly Energy gathered into the blade, so strong that it caused the entire battlefield to erupt in a cyclone.
Warm Spring screamed as she was captured within and tossed around, though she didn't die due to her damage immunity. Essence remained standing with ease as he channeled his Void Energy to cover his body, removing himself from this physical point in space.
His face became solemn. He did not see why he should wait for Draco to charge up his move till the end, nor would the other advise him to undertake such a foolish act for no reason.
However, every time he created a rift to strike Draco, he would use his free hand with Dragorugio to parry it with ease while Fragarach still swallowed energy.
This went on for 5 minutes, and by that point, Essence knew that what was coming next was not something he couldn't handle even if he wanted to be honorable. As such, he unhesitatingly entered his void and prepared to receive the Avatar's attack.
When the Worldly Energy torrent stooped, the area returned to peacefulness as Warm Spring barely managed to catch herself with her wings before crashing headfirst into the ground.
She then gazed at Draco who still held the Divine Fragarach up, but its power right now was horrifying. The sea nymphs and behemoths within were so excited and active as if they were on steroids.
Behind Draco, the image of a Sea God manifested, his trident pointing at Essence menacingly. Winds and waves seemed to surround him as his aura rose endlessly, his eyes still locked onto Essence with that slight smirk.
The Avatar breathed out lightly, a mist of Aetheric Energy leaving in his breath as he spoke in a deep voice.
"Paragon Sword Style, Sword Skill 359: Overcharge!"
Draco blasted forward in a huge shockwave, tearing apart the sound barrier within an instant and appearing before Essence Fragarach glowing majestically. He then pierced the sword into Essence's mirage body which only represented the opening to his personal void.
Like this, time seemed to stop. The potent glow and power contained within Fragarach slowly bled into Essence's body, staining a circular area in his torso with a mixture of blue-green, blueish-green, and gray light.
Once it was completely gone, the Avatar casually pulled Fragarach out and turned. He turned his head sideways to partially face Essence.
"Do not trust that void of yours. Before unlimited power, it will crumble with ease."
After saying that, the Avatar calmly walked over to where Warm Spring sat, her face filled with trepidation. Essence simply stood there in disbelief, staring at the energy that stained his torso in shock.
He then raised his head and gazed at Draco's back with a complicated smile.
'Just as I am the bigger fish to all those small fish, he is the bigger fish to the small fish that is me. I see…'
The next second, Essence's body exploded in a huge light, a myriad of colors merging from his body as a mushroom cloud was formed. Amber had already protected onlookers by operating the stadium's dome, but they could feel the sharp winds and slight heat.
The entire battlefield was ruptured by that explosion. The only place untouched was where Draco walked, as the fire, heat, and shockwave passed around him as if not daring to anger him.
This also benefited Warm Spring who was staring at the fire that raged around her, the dust and the sheer heat with disbelief. She then gazed up at the Avatar who stood tall above her.
He then crouched down to her eye level and smiled.
"Yo."
"Y-Yo…?" Warm Spring replied with confusion and a bit of fear.
Draco patted her head gently. "Look, Xela, you're one of Eva's little sisters and all, and you're only like what? 16 years old? I can't bully you too much."
Warm Spring initially felt relieved, but she noticed that the world around her went dark the next instant.
Draco had directly punched her head, exploding it to bits as he coated his fists with Destruction Energy which easily bypassed Warm Spring's passive skill.
"However, you chose to be a core member of my guild, so you must subscribe to both the benefits and the obligations that come with it."
With the last fighter dead, the battlefield was silent for a while before white light shone down on the entire field. From with, the various players who had been killed were respawned, and their faces showed shock, horror, fear, and despair.
Those who died later had looks of slight defeat mixed with solemn determination. Even though they were dead, they could still hear and see everything that happened up until Warm Spring's death, so they understood what this Raid was about.
They also understood that they wouldn't leave here until the Avatar of Umbra's Guildmaster was satisfied.
…they also intimately understood from Draco's earlier actions that today, they were going to experience pain like never before. Their wills, mettle, and fortitude would be tested.
If they were found wanting, there was even a risk that Umbra might experience its first reshuffling since the guild had opened up!
Draco had initially proclaimed that his guild members' positions would depend on their own performance, which would not only allow them to rise through the ranks but also drop down.
However, what had ended up happening was that he had become soft, then started pampering them with high-grade items as well as methods to increase their power beyond anything else.
Alas, it seemed like Draco's Avatar was going to prove that those weren't just empty words.
The members of Umbra had been like a group of elite students who had been recruited into a top-grade university. They had endless talent and will to learn, but the sheer facilities of the academy had allowed them to soar higher while neglecting fundamentals.
It had certainly made them great and exemplary, but when those facilities were removed, they would drop down to their base forms. Now, like students caught within a trap, a surprise exam had been announced and they were about to be tested thoroughly.
They could only pray to whatever Gods they believed in that they would, at least, achieve a passing grade.
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Author's Note: Whether to stick to one longass chapter of 3k or to split into two of 1.6k like this one…. hmmmm.
