Legacy of Hatred

Unlike the unaware crowd, Liam saw nothing shocking about his achievement. Jessica had indeed used a rank 3 spell, but a split version of the previous attack, meaning that each gale had been individually weaker.

Instead, Liam had relied on his current culmination of the Demoness’ unique technique. He had used the greatsword as the cauldron where to force his black Qi to spin and condense before relying on the immense physical strength from the Primal Urge to hurl it down.

The Demoness’ technique was a method to surpass the Qi’s power. Liam’s version even mimicked the breakthrough’s effects, but it required time to build up.

Despite that additional preparation and the addition of physical strength, Liam had barely overcome a rank 3 spell launched instantly. As incredible as the feat was, he only saw room for improvement. Sadly, that was the best he had been able to achieve in one month of training.

It was also obvious that Liam wouldn’t get a second chance to prepare that technique. His failure to touch Jessica at all with it actually put his entire hunt at risk.

Liam’s very life would also be at risk from that point onward, but that hardly was a novelty for him.

A warning arrived in unison with Liam’s survival instincts. With the hyper-clarity boosting his polished perception, he could make out the parting of the world and the blur flying through it, but the fan actually saw that movement.

Liam let the weapon devour his wild Qi while lowering the greatsword to his right, planning to use it as a shield while the fan dodged left.

The following exchange was too fast for Liam to react to it. He felt the air pressure, the noise, and the shadow, but his body just couldn’t keep up with it, no matter how much he boosted it and eliminated thoughts.

A clanging noise resounded from the lowered greatsword, and its upper half just split away, severed cleanly by whatever had hit it. Luckily, the fan’s prompt dodge had saved Liam’s body, but that was simply the beginning.

Liam let the fan handle the evasive maneuvers, but its superior speed couldn’t save him in that situation. Blurs kept blowing around him, circling him, launching attacks with too much range for him to dodge completely.

A long cut opened on Liam’s back. Another burst alongside his left arm. His right cheek began to bleed, and his forehead soon joined it.

If it weren’t for the fan’s prompt dodges, each of those slashes would have led to the severing of something important, or directly to Liam’s death. The rank 3 weapon was narrowly escaping the invisible attacks’ range, only leading to relatively shallow injuries.

As expected from an experienced branching expert, Jessica had dropped any attempt to overpower Liam. It was shocking, but he seemed to be able to match her in that field, so she had switched approaches.

Jessica was naturally faster than Liam, and she seemed to be using movement techniques now. Moreover, she was relying on her core’s nature to maximize her battle strategy.

The air had become the enemy, trapping Liam in a cage he couldn’t escape, overpower, or catch up with. That was a strategy nothing in his arsenal could defeat.

Of course, Liam could still defend himself better. With the fan’s swift dodges, the Qi Repulsion was bound to save him from those shallow cuts. However, the rank 3 weapon was already devouring an immense amount of Qi, and protecting himself would only leave him defenseless earlier.

Running away was another option. The fan was faster in a straight line after all. As long as Liam survived a few more exchanges, he would be flying away to safety.

Nevertheless, Liam didn’t explore either of those options, his brain only having room for the simplest thoughts of them all.

’Twenty-nine,’ Liam counted, ’Thirty. Thirty-one. Thirty...’

Liam had done the math, but that field was nothing short of experimental, on top of having never been attempted with inferior tools. He had settled for very unfavorable estimates just to be safe, but that window was about to close.

Unless Liam did something right away, his entire battle strategy would fall apart, and that wasn’t an option. Jessica had to die no matter what.

A long cut opened on Liam’s left thigh, but he just stared ahead. He felt the hint of something that could only be described as the rhythm of battle, as its very breathing.

It wasn’t anything conscious, but Liam knew that his instincts had picked up on it, so he let them guide his hand. He threw what was left of his greatsword to his side with all the strength he could muster, suddenly cutting the blur’s path.

Liam didn’t wait for the blur to grow clear in his perception. A beam of energy more ethereal than Qi shot from his bloodshot eyes, hitting that indistinct figure, a hammer slamming on his own mind due to the blowback.

A debilitating ringing afflicted Liam’s ears and brain, but he kept his eyes on his target. He saw Jessica in the air, stunned, a painful frown afflicting her face.

Liam pushed through the noise, throwing a Qi-Storage Pill in his mouth as he slammed his feet on the fan, unleashing the rank 3 Defying Stomp. It was unclear whether he had the time to kill Jessica in the next blow, so he wouldn’t risk it.

Jessica managed to focus in time to see a clawed, hissing fiend fill her vision. She lifted her arms to deflect the black talons, but their tips stabbed her shoulders first.

At that point, Jessica was put against the sum of Liam’s physical strength and the Defying Stomp’s momentum, which she couldn’t oppose. The talons stabbed deeper into her shoulders, and Liam crashed into her figure.

Despite the battle being at the level of branching experts, nothing fancy unfolded. Liam turned that clash into a primal brawl as he and Jessica became a meteor that cut diagonally through the sky and crashed into the ground.

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