Chapter 424 - The Finals (3)

However, that sound of snapping did not come from the sound of this shark of shadows closing its jaws, but from something different. 

Upon closer inspection, it was clear to see that the shark's mouth was jittery, still slightly open, and looking even closer would reveal the face of a grinning man. 

His sword was horizontal propping up the shark's mouth open. Its metal was bent abnormally and cracks filled it from edge to hilt. 

It was more than clear, the sword would not last. And like a toothpick, it then snapped in half, shrapnels of metal flying in all directions as the shark's jaws finally locked in place.

Yet, this gave more than enough time for Moby to spring himself out of the jaws of hell, safely landing on the outside with heavy breaths. 

The crowd almost lost their minds, one second it seemed over, and in the next the battle continued. First, it was Moby with his katana stabbed into Adam, and now it was Adam nearly eating Moby alive. So much had happened in mere seconds that their hearts could not contain the excitement. 

♦️ ♦️ ♦️

"You see Ash! You should have not talked so big! When Kane was 'winning' at the start! Adam was clearly toying with him!" Vilhelm Ortiz chortled, and the supreme general who sat not too far away smiled his words, his right hand tightly clenched as he leaned on his left. 

"Toying? You blind? These two are giving it all they got! Supreme General sir, what do you think of all of this?"

"..."

"Oh! Apologies! I must have lost myself in the battle, what is it that you need?"

"Ummmm… What is it you think of this match so far, sir?" She asked with an odd expression on her face as she closely inspected him, her eyes always finding themselves locked on a certain part of his body far more than the other.

"Oh, well! I think it's quite obvious that my little grandson here is just having some fun. I've never seen him so happy before in my life! So if he's happy, I'm happy! That's my thoughts right now." He laughed heartily, leaning back on his seat and crossing his hands ready to enjoy the show.

♦️ ♦️ ♦️

The battle raged on, yet this time Moby had no blade, his only weapon was his bare hands. 

At first, they seemed evenly matched, trading blow for blow— It was clear to see that both of their martial arts and fighting prowess were unrivalled, especially for their age. It was like witnessing a dance between two master fighters weaving and attacking with grace.

However, as the battle continued, a clear winner began to show… Adam was not alone, Nago was always not too far away from his side. It was clear that Moby had trouble tracking and fighting both, especially with no weapon. And worst of all, every time Moby would try to teleport, he was always countered.

All he had to work with was his ice, and that seemed far from enough for victory.

In one final seemingly desperate attempt, Moby created several ice shards that shot out a beam of energy that surrounded Adam who immediately blocked, no, even reflecting the attack back at its sender.

Yet before the beam could make contact with him, he sent those still floating shards towards Adam and teleported to one of them only to find himself blocked as soon as he did, paying dearly for it.

Adam's initial slash to Moby's abdomen missed its mark, yet the shadow spike stabbing the shoulder and the kick to the gut that sent him flying most certainly did not miss.

The two fighters once again stared each other down waiting for the first move. And sooner than expected, the first move did come, yet it was not in the form of an attack.

"What's with that look on your face Kane?"

"Does it look weird to you? I hope I haven't been a disappointment to you so far like you feared."

"No! Not at all!" He chuckled. "But, I've seen through your teleportation, and your weapons are no more. how is it that you're going to face me now?"

"... Hmmmm… Is that what it looks like to you? That sword the military provided was nothing more than a toy. I don't need it…" He smiled. "I have a much better one!"

Moby lifted his hands into the air, a smokey purple glow surrounding his fingertips. It was clear that he planned for an attack a powerful one at that. Adam could no longer hide his excitement, he lifted his blades and prepared himself, charging his own attack to match. 

The ground shook, and the masses waited with baited breaths for something to happen. But, for several seconds, nothing came, at least until one wide-eyed man from the crowds noticed something and pointed.

"WHAT IS THAT!?"

There, above the heavenly clouds at the edge of the arena's barriers, he saw a sword, one made out of thick, bright purple ice. Or, could was what he saw even be called a sword? It was more like an iceberg, in the shape of a sword.

The detail engraved upon it was immaculate, yet it quickly became hard to tell as such a behemoth began its journey down. 

Only then did Adam Walker catch notice, looking up past the subtle clouds of light.

The crackling sound of ice crystals and wind permeated through the bubble, blowing away all in its path.

However, even in front of such a monster, Adam smiled. Casually, he raised one hand that he had been using to channel his shadows and pointed it at the sky. And with a simple flick of his wrists, spikes and malleable tentacles of umbrae rose out of the ground, attacking the falling sword from every angle. 

Quickly, the sword began to crack, and not too long after did it shatter into several small chunks falling down to the ground like large but simple hail— completely harmless.

The attack was quite the surprise to Adam, not because it was strong, in fact, it was the contrary. It was far too weak, he had wasted too much power on dispelling it. Luckily, he had only used half of what he had been charging, yet he could not shake the disappointment from his face even as hail showered down on his head feeling more like a light shower. 

But that was when the disappointment was erased, and he finally realized… His opponent still smiled, even as his 'ultimate attack' was so casually defeated. 

His eyes grew wide as a goldfish, and the gears in his brain began to turn in overdrive. 

And at that moment, he witnessed that same purple glow that flashed when he was ready to teleport, and in the next moment, he disappeared. 

Adam's mouth flew open. 

'WHERE!?'

He had kept his eyes on him at all times, he had yet to throw a throwing knife to teleport, he made 100% certain of that. So… Now where did he go!?

In that mere instant, his brain worked harder than it ever had in his life, and in that moment of immense shock, out of the corner of his eyes, he remarked an unnaturally bright purple light. 

Signals went off in his head like wildfire, it sensed danger, and his body moved on its own by mere instinct.

And as he jumped away, he felt a stinging pain writhing out of his right side. And as soon as he landed, regaining his balance and vision did he see what it was… 

His arm… His right arm that was previously attached to his shoulder was cleanly severed. It was not a sight he would have ever imagined to see in his entire life, and what made it even odder in his mind was the complete lack of blood he would have expected to be spraying from it like a sprinkler. 

Still, no matter how much it hurt and how much he was stunned, his eyes could not dwell on his arm for long. No, it kept steadfast on his opponent and his zealous, almost bottomless glowing purple eyes. In his hands was a katana made completely out of purple ice, almost an exact replica of the giant one fall dowing. 

And in that moment, Adam realized what had happened… 

This seemingly harmless hail, all of it were marked for teleportation. It was all premeditated and planned. He used his own attack against him, he could not believe he was so easily fooled.

'He's smiling… Ha… Ha…' 

Slowly, the expression of shock and sweat engulfing him began to dissolve, and what came to replace it was not grief or anger… No… It was joy… Pure joy and unrivalled excitement with every part of his body jittering in glee.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!! I didn't expect that Kane! You got me good! BUT! This is the last time I'll allow you to make a fool of me! SHOW ME WHAT YOU'VE GOT!! DON'T HOLD BACK!!"