"I am Izroth. Is there a need for you to know anything else?" Izroth stated with a carefree smile.
With just a glance, Tal'Nis had seen through many of his secrets; therefore, Izroth had no plans to disclose any further information about himself of his own accord.
Not to mention, there was a good chance that this fragment of the true Tal'Nis was still tied to the original. If so, it might be possible for the Tal'Nis before him to relay all the information back to her original body.
At the moment, Izroth did know how or why, but there was someone in the Divine Realm that wanted to stifle his growth.
If not for Kayn and the mysterious man he met near the end of the second team's selection, Izroth would have never found out about this enemy hidden so well within the shadows. Not to mention, the restriction that person placed upon him would've undoubtedly still been present.
In the end, Izroth was unsure of the events transpiring inside the Divine Realm. For all he knew, Tal'Nis could be related to the divine being that restricted him; therefore, the less she understood about him, the better.
"So it is Izroth you go by. Then, Izroth, shall I provide you with some free advice? A hand closed neither gives nor receives," Tal'Nis said unhurriedly.
"When the world is in the palm of one's hand, what is left to receive, and—what fool would give it away so freely?" Izroth replied indifferently.
Tal'Nis remained silent for a few seconds after Izroth spoke. She raised her hand to her mouth as the sound of soft laughter escaped from between her lips.
Izroth was taken aback by Tal'Nis' behavior. He expected Tal'Nis to lose her temper after not getting what she wanted out of him. It was Izroth's attempt to throw Tal'Nis off her game and possibly create an opening to have some of his own questions answered.
But, unexpectedly, Tal'Nis was not angry nor did she seem offended by his statement.
Tal'Nis' laughter slowly died down as she said, "You will have to excuse me. Your words reminded me of an old friend who once said something quite identical."
She briefly paused and then continued, "Very well. It appears that your mind is made up. Then, shall we proceed?"
〈System Alert: Countdown has been resumed. [Time Remaining: 3 second(s)]〉
2…
Izroth unsheathed his Sword of The Storm. At the same time, the Scorched Inferno's Fang appeared in his left hand.
〈System Alert: Attack Damage for the item «Scorched Inferno's Fang» has been reduced by 975 points due to the effect of «Dual Wielding»!〉
〈System Alert: Agility for the item «Scorched Inferno's Fang» has been reduced by 152 points due to the effect of «Dual Wielding»!〉
Since Tal'Nis seemed to match her opponent's strength and stay one step above them, Izroth prepared to start off strong.
After observing the previous fights, Izroth understood that he could not afford to take it easy against someone like Tal'Nis, and so, he needed every edge he could possibly get. Also, there was something Izroth had been eager to try ever since he observed Niflheim's match.
〈System Alert: The match has officially commenced!〉
Zeeeut!
The instant the countdown reached zero, Izroth utilized his Primed Instantaneous Movement to close the distance!
Swoosh!
In a flash, Izroth arrived next to Tal'Nis as his figure began to flicker in and out of existence. Simultaneously, a powerful concentration of the lightning element converged at the edge of Izroth's blade as he slashed down mercilessly at Tal'Nis!
For a moment, Izroth's Sword of The Storm seemed to vanish mid-attack as the sound of a thunderclap echoed throughout the third stage. The next moment, a bolt of lightning descended and struck at Tal'Nis' location.
When Izroth reached within striking range of Tal'Nis, he immediately activated his Flickering Steps. In addition, he used his Third Sword Form: Collapsing Thunder to launch a quick and decisive sword strike.
With the attack speed increase from Dual Wielding, the agility boost from his Flickering Steps, and the bonus attack speed buffs provided by his third sword form, the speed of Izroth's sword strike moved at blinding speeds!
The bolt of lightning landed, causing a cloud of smoke to form. Then, right after his attack, a powerful torrent of raindrops drilled down at Izroth's position!
However, all that the deadly raindrops made contact with was the silhouette Izroth left behind as he retreated a few meters away from the striking zone.
But, just as he retreated, Izroth kicked off his back foot as a strange vibration was released from his heel.
Meanwhile, as the cloud of dust cleared up, Tal'Nis stood completely unharmed by Izroth's high-speed assault.
'I figured it wouldn't be that easy.'
The blue flames that made up Tal'Nis' hair extended outward and wrapped around her body, protecting her from Izroth's Third Sword Form: Collapsing Thunder. It was only the second time she used those flames to protect herself—the first time being against Sacred Blade's last all-out attack.
'Still… her reaction speed is even more troublesome than I anticipated.'
Upon his retreat when he kicked off the ground, Izroth used Behemoth's Quake. It was an AOE skill that sent out strong quake waves within thirty meters of every direction. In addition, it had a fixed amount of damage that ignored all defenses and lasted ten seconds.
Typically, Izroth would have never bothered using such a low damaging skill against Tal'Nis as it was bound to be brushed aside. However, since the clear condition of the third stage was to land a single blow, Behemoth's Quake was an ideal skill.
But, who would have thought that even at such a close distance and after being taken by surprise, that Tal'Nis was able to prepare a counter within a fraction of time?
The moment Izroth's foot touched the ground and released the quake waves, Tal'Nis lightly tapped her foot on the platform to unleash a wave of vibrations that mirrored his Behemoth's Quake. The two waves collided with one another, ultimately canceling each other out.
"A solid focus of both speed and power with no hesitation behind his strikes. Now, I have become even more interested in you, Izroth. Show me the power that is capable of drawing the blessings of those two." Tal'Nis internalized.
Woosh!
Izroth did not stay and kept on a constant move, avoiding the raindrops that fell from above while looking for an opening. But, even then, Izroth's steps were not without purpose.
Tsssst…
Everywhere Izroth stepped, a scorching mark was left carved onto the platform due to the Earthly Inferno passive from his Scorched Inferno's Fang.
'As expected, the burn status effect is incapable of penetrating her natural defenses. Then…'
Izroth's speed surged to new heights as he employed the active skill of his Light Feather Footwork, increasing his movement speed by 250% for two seconds.
As a result, Izroth was able to produce a large number of Inferno Prints. Then, right as the boost from his Light Feather Footwork ended, Izroth executed his Fourth Sword Form: Dipping Valley, creating a fissure that traveled out in Tal'Nis' direction.
At the same time, a flash of bright light was released from the Inferno Prints on the platform's surface, followed by an ear-piercing explosion!
…BOOOOOOOOM!!!
The stage shook violently as a towering pillar of flames formed near the platform's center. The explosion and pillar of flames were slightly weaker than what he used to take out Tigran, or rather, the Dragon Lord of the Abyss who was secretly controlling Tigran. But, its power was not too far off.
"An interesting strategy. However, it's useless. If you plan to rely on raw power and speed alone to win—you will find yourself met with disappointment." Tal'Nis' voice sounded with the blue flames from her hair coiled around her body.
"Since you seem to be quite capable, what do you say we take things up a few steps?" As Tal'Nis spoke, a gentle breeze found its way onto the platform.
'Hm? This is…'
It was not long after its appearance that the gentle breeze transformed into harsh winds. The bizarre thing about the harsh winds was that the direction they blew was continually changing. And, while the winds were not powerful enough to interfere with Izroth's movements, they gave birth to a different problem.
"?!" Without warning, Izroth pushed off his foot to the side as the area he stood in became riddled with deep cuts.
'How troublesome.'
〈Battle Alert: You have been hit! [4/5]〉
Just now, Izroth's reaction was fast, but at the last moment, something unusual happened.
Due to the shifting harsh winds, the movements of the raindrops became erratic and unpredictable, causing one of them to successfully graze Izroth's skin.
As the rate of their descent rose, even under normal circ.u.mstances with his Energy Vision Sense, it would be challenging to keep track of every last raindrop. Now, with the addition of the unpredictable winds, the difficulty had just increased severalfold!
