Act 1: Blue Ocean Pavilion - Chapter 266: Orden Aesn of The Hammer

Act 1: Blue Ocean Pavilion - Chapter 266: Orden Aesn of The Hammer

The gray hammer floated between Oscar and the stranger; Oscar could feel the Ein around the hammer, indicating it was a hammer anima, one from a grade-seven Exolsia. Then the gray hammer flew back into the hands of the stranger who tried to ambush him, a tall and muscular man with a large frame that reminded Oscar of his father, Henry, towering over him. The stranger had a bed of shaggy brown hair and brown eyes on his broad face, wearing a black uniform with large black boots that stomped over the swampland, a uniform Oscar recognized to belong to the Earth Core Academy.

Oscar walked slowly, pacing around the small island in the middle of the swamp, as did the stranger, who stared at Oscar with a powerful gaze. He noticed the enemy had another hammer in his right hand, black with red, glowing cracks all over it as if it had been in a furnace. Then, the stranger came to a halt, and Oscar followed suit.

The two stood still as the swamp's murky waters did not flow. Their gazes met, and Oscar knew this person would not be an easy opponent despite having evened out against Maia Claude earlier. This man before him emitted a more intimidating presence than she did.

Then, as a splash could be heard from the waters, Oscar threw his bulwark and a 'Silver Star' toward the stranger. The stranger across from him also threw his hammer anima. Two sharp clangs of metal resounded as his Invicus Bulwark failed to reach the enemy, deflected by the thrown hammer, and his 'Silver Star' was repelled by a single swing from the hammer in the stranger's hand.

"Not bad." The stranger said gruffly as his hammer anima flew back into his left hand. "That ranged spell flew faster than I had expected. I am Orden Aesn; nice to meet you."

"I am Oscar Terr." Oscar pulled back his bulwark to his arms, not showing the shock he felt when Orden easily knocked away his 'Silver Star' like a speck of dust. "Do you have the leisure to talk like this?"

Oscar stepped closer, a heavy wet step on the muddy ground, splattering mud on his pants.

"I like to know the names of my opponents. Well, those I find to be interesting." Orden stomped his large foot ahead, sinking into the weak ground. He spun his hammers around his hands like a master before stopping him with his arms extended down, kicking off a flurry of winds that scattered the grass.

Summoning his deer anima to his side, Oscar noticed Orden's eyes had not shifted or moved. Normally, whenever people saw his grade-four anima, they revealed some hint of relief, scorn, or delight in finding an easy mark, but Orden remained unchanging with the same gaze. For some reason, Oscar felt a bead of sweat run down his cheek, coming from Orden's strangeness.

'He seems to favor close combat. Let's accept his invitation.' Oscar lowered his body like a beast, ready to pounce on its prey. His muscles tensed up from Adamasreis, and his feet dug into the dirt. His opponent, Orden, merely smiled and put up his two hammers in a stoic stance with his large body.

'Silver Burst'

Oscar charged in, keeping his Prinstyct open to view all the possible moves that Orden could do. However, he looked shocked to see not a single intent from Orden. Even as he closed in, he did not catch a whiff of intent within the distorted world.

A gray blur flew out at him without motion or intent from Orden's hands. Oscar clenched his teeth and deflected the hammer anima, but the hammer turned and sped back toward him. The entire way here, Oscar and his deer anima deflected the hammer anima, careful not to allow his weaker-grade deer to be hurt.

"Bastard," Oscar finally arrived in front of Orden, who lifted his black hammer with red cracks and swung down. Oscar responded by pulling up his bulwark, flowing the Reis through it. A bone-crushing dull sound of two heavy objects crashing into each other shook the murky waters.

Shock became evident across Orden's face as Oscar resisted his heavy blow, but it soon turned into a wide smile of a battle-crazed maniac. On the other hand, Oscar frowned upon realizing the true nature of Orden's blows, similar to Emily's combat style of using 'Weight Boost'.

'When Emily uses it, she times it with the downward swing of her blows, and yet this Orden, I can tell he's lifting and swinging it freely without an issue.' Oscar shouted as he deflected off Orden's hammer and spun to get closer. However, Orden wielded his hammer masterfully and swung heavily from the other side. Another clash of heavy blows ensued.

'Flowing Mountain'

His deer anima maneuvered to the back with a single lance formed atop its head and wrapped by the two antlers, almost seeming like a unicorn. It strode well toward Orden's exposed back.

"Tch!" Orden clicked his tongue and threw his hammer anima toward the deer anima. He did not forget about Oscar as he brought down his other hammer to deter him.

Oscar smiled and took on the heavy hammer, easily deflecting it due to knowing its path from his Prinstyct. His right arm became encased in a large silver lance, and he thrust it toward Orden's chest. This motion became clear as day to Orden, who had already prepared for it with his 'Stone Fist' to grab onto the lance.

'Shattering Wave'

However, as the stone fist grabbed onto the lance, it shattered apart, leaving Orden dumbfounded as his hand became bloody from many cuts and tears. Oscar did not let up and forced his lance forward, but his eyes widened at the strange motion of Ein toward Orden's feet, about to happen in the next second.

'Silver Burst'

Oscar propelled himself backward as several large stone spikes protruded from the ground in Oscar's direction, stopping at a certain distance. However, Oscar still spat out blood from the injuries his deer anima took from the hammer anima, and he ordered the deer anima to return to his side.

"Your Prinstyct is better than mine. That much is clear." Orden spoke as he clenched his bloodied hand, staring at it with clear brown eyes. "But it seems there's a limit to your physical powers; they're not natural, are they? How long before you can use it again?"

Oscar wiped the blood from his lips; his arms no longer held the power of Adamasreis and were shaking from the effects of clashing against Orden. He cracked his neck and said, "Who cares?"

"I do." Orden bashed his hammers together. "I have seen enough. It's time to finish this." As he finished speaking, a cloud of sand swirled around him and covered the area.

Oscar squinted to avoid the sand getting into his eyes and gazed around. Within the dense clouds of sand, he could not see Orden, meaning his Prinstyct had been nullified. But the same went for Orden, who should have also lost track of him.

However, within the whistling of the sands, Oscar heard something make its way toward him. Lifting his bulwark, Oscar blocked Orden's two hammers, facing off against the giant, but the double weight of Orden's weight-boosted blows made Oscar take a knee.

'Silver Star'

Oscar shot out his ranged spell, but Orden quickly disappeared into the sands. Panting and covered in sand, Oscar got to his feet, looking around once more.

"How long can you survive in this sand?" Orden's voice whispered through the sands.

"How long do you think you can keep this up?" Oscar retorted.

The sands continued to blow as the two within resumed their battle.