Chapter 95: Defeat Darius

Darius looked at Strax, still furious, his eyes blurred with madness already burning, whatever he had taken was worsening the effects. He began sweating profusely. His body was already starting to give out, yet even after giving everything and sacrificing his body, he was still beneath Strax.

"Why! Why do you continue to be the annoying ant!" He roared, advancing and grabbing his sword. As he swung horizontally in an attempt to strike Strax, it was deflected effortlessly by Strax's practiced movements.

The blows were heavy, but if redirected correctly, he wouldn't feel any damage. Strax had completely dominated the battle, even as this frenzied man tried to attack him in every possible way.

That's the problem with entering "Berserk" mode. Converting fury into strength was common, but converting fury and sanity into strength was even worse. He wasn't thinking rationally anymore about how to win, how to surpass Strax in skill; he was hoping that maybe, if an opportunity arose, he could land a hit and cause some damage. But that would never happen.

Despite letting Darius use that thing in his body in a slip-up, the shock was momentary.

Strax was superior before, and remained so. In battle, it only mattered how much more skilled you were than your opponent. If your skill surpassed the enemy's strength, the duel was over.

Simply put, Darius was doomed in every way. Mentally, his fury was subsiding; he was slowly coming back to himself. The anger persisted, but the turmoil in his mind was being controlled. After such humiliation... he began to evolve in battle.

Strax continued to watch with his dragon eyes, sensing a sudden shift in mana in the environment. Darius's eyes began to focus, losing their wild frenzy and gaining surprising clarity.

"He's plotting something," Strax thought. The mana around him, leaking uncontrollably, began to be contained by his muscles and sword, which had lightly cracked.

[<Imminent Threat> The system recommends that the user re-engage contracted spirits [Ouroboros] and [Tiamat] for increased survival chances.]

Strax read that red message without understanding what was happening. For the first time in all this time, the System was directly speaking to him about something that was happening? The surprise made him lose half a second of focus, and he soon felt a tremor as the mana was all drawn to one point... Darius's body.

The area began to fall silent as a different aura started to increase as if... "He's advancing," Diana said in the distance. Fortunately, Strax's ears were sharp enough to understand what she had commented on... If he advanced to Grandmaster, that would be a problem, a big problem!

"No no no!" Strax shouted and focused everything on the Claymore, transforming its tip into a large, immense ice spike, like a huge spear! "Not this time, you damn wretch!" Strax yelled and launched the enormous stake, it shot forward with tremendous speed!

Unfortunately, once again his attack had no effect at all, or rather... It didn't even get close to Darius. The pressure of his aura halted the sword in mid-air, preventing it from striking him. His body seemed to be breaking down as it slowly transformed; the energy was too overwhelming, and once again, the System warned him.

[< Imminent Threat > The system recommends that the user re-engage contracted spirits [ Ouroboros ] and [ Tiamat ] for increased survival chances]

[ < Darius Vorah (Awakened) [35 – 100] > ]

It was his life bar, something that had never appeared before. Strax had fought against various opponents before, including what could be considered a boss, like the Frost Bear.

Strax initially only observed; he couldn't make any moves and was waiting for a reaction, but it seemed Darius wasn't in a hurry to make the first move either. He simply stared at Strax, waiting for something.

"Where has all your arrogance gone?" Darius questioned Strax, who continued watching him. "I don't know what you did to evolve so much in such a short time. But I hope you regret being so arrogant, brother," Darius said, making a slight motion with his hand. His sword came to his hand, his energy—his mana, to be specific—began permeating his entire body and his sword, fortifying them evenly.

"You did everything to get stronger, used and abused, broke rules, and now you want to talk to me about arrogance?" Strax questioned, looking at Darius. "The difference between us is clear," he said directly to Darius and raised his sword towards him. "Let's finish this," he said confidently.

Strax looked into Darius's eyes, and in a swift, silent advance, his sword emanating a unique aura, came towards Strax with astonishing speed. His sword sliced through the air towards Strax, the power in his attack visible in the distortion around the blade.

Fortunately, Strax managed to block the attack with his swords; the shock reverberated through his arms, but he held his ground. Although Darius didn't attack with full force, the angles and precision of his strikes had increased exponentially.

Once again, he sacrificed strength for speed and precision. Strax remained intensely focused; now he couldn't just act superior— the battle had intensified. The clash of swords occurred again, sparks and smoke creating a visual spectacle for those watching.

"You'll have to do better than that!" Darius shouted, pushing Strax back with a powerful swing of his sword.

...

"Don't you think it's better to end that fight, sister?" Veronica asked Xenovia, who was watching the battle with an analytical gaze. It was a fierce fight, but for some reason, she felt something different about how Darius was fighting. "There's no need for that," Diana's voice came from behind Veronica, who turned abruptly to her, seeking more concrete information.

"Darius has the advantage now, but that man... seems to be waiting for something," she commented, noticing that Strax was no longer attacking Darius, only defending.

"Intriguing..." Diana thought. Like Xenovia, her gaze was highly analytical, and as a dual-sword wielder, she knew how to fight against someone like Darius. Everything indicated that Strax was planning a counterattack, but how? When? Where?

The truth was simple: everyone there was observing the battle intensely, so much so that they didn't even blink as they watched the clash of swords. What had started as mere irrational vengeance had transformed into a formidable duel that would lead to only one conclusion.

The death of one of them.