Chapter 292: X-Ace Clash (Part 10)

"<Void>!" I exclaimed, springing back as I generated a black hole in front of myself, the lightning getting drawn into it.Drain wouldn’t have been enough to fully defend myself against that attack, with how violently the lightning was crackling, I’d likely have been hit from the sides.

I deactivated Void as her lightning got swallowed up by the black hole, before I extended out a tendril of Negative Energy as I shot towards her, whipping it across as I began to close in.

She deflected it away with a rapid bolt of lightning, before thrusting her staff in my direction, a piercing electric beam shooting out towards my chest.

The beam grazed my right bicep as I tilted my body across, before I fired out a Negative Energy blast towards her, followed by a couple of Pulse Bullets, hidden behind the blast.

She canceled out the blast with a powerful bolt of lightning, before a startled cry of pain rang out as my Pulse Bullets hit the middle of her chest, her skin spasming as she seized up in pain, her boobs jiggling slightly-...n-no, you have a girlfriend, don’t stare, the effect of Arouse isn’t a valid excuse!

I focused up as she gritted her teeth before swiftly swaying out of the way as I lunged at her and drove my blade towards her throat, grazing the right side of her neck.

Huh, I guess she really does fight well when she’s buzzed, that motion didn’t look like sober at all, and yet, she looks like she’s in complete control of herself.

She then fluidly twisted her upper body across, whipping her blade across towards me, which I narrowly blocked with Desecrator, before I quickly sprang back and manifested Drain as she fired out a blast of lightning at me from her staff, swallowing it up.

Hm, I can keep up with her speed, but her movements are hard to read, I doubt I’d have been able to block her blade if she was closer to my speed.

"Let’s try another [Lightning Vortex]!" She exclaimed, intense electric sparks crackling ahead of her as she took aim at me.

Right as she fired the attack, I launched myself high up into the air with pressurized bursts of Negative Energy from my feet, narrowly evading her lightning, before I swung my left arm across and fired out a slashing wave of Negative Energy down towards her.

She raced forward and leapt straight ahead, my attack whizzing past the top of her head and hitting the spot behind her, before I blasted myself down towards her as she began to get back onto her feet.

Suddenly, she snapped her head straight up and swung open her jaws, a rapid, concentrated blast of lightning shooting up towards me.

I swiftly swallowed up her blast with Drain, before she quickly scrambled out of the way as I closed in on her, swinging my blade down towards her, the tip of my blade slicing through the back of her gear and grazing her skin, drawing out trickles of blood before she spun across towards me and fired out a crackling bolt of lightning towards me from her staff.

I narrowly swallowed it up with Drain as she backed away several paces and got some distance, an electric glow surrounding her as I shot towards her, the glow rapidly intensifying as sparks crackled all around her, right as a devastating electric explosion erupted around her.

Jagged, charred streaks got painted across the floor of the arena as I just barely avoided any direct hits, my body seizing up as a crackling spark of lightning grazed my left arm, searing my skin, before I fired out a blast of Negative Energy to cancel out an incoming bolt of lightning.

I backed away and got some distance, before letting out a slow exhale. Alright, that’s enough of a warm-up. Time to take this seriously.

I took a deep breath and let out a slow exhale to compose myself, before lifting my gaze as she began to take aim at me with a rapidly charging up mass of concentrated lightning.

"<Command: Don’t Move>," I chanted, her eyes widening as she suddenly froze in place, her expression tensing as the charged up lightning abruptly faded.

I shot towards her at full speed as she strained against the effect of Command, desperately trying to break free.

Right as I began to close in on her, she managed to resist and break free of the effect, stumbling back before quickly raising her staff as I leapt straight towards her, swiftly chanting as the Mana Orb at the end of her staff began to glow...

"<Spite>, <Lethargy>!"

The glow of the orb faded as a dazed look appeared on her face, her legs wobbling before she rushed to raise her blade over her head as I took aim with my index finger...it didn’t go up past one percent, but I might as well use it anyway...

"<Obliterate>."

A narrow purple beam fired out of my fingertip, shooting straight through her blade and closing in on the middle of her forehead, before she got teleported out as the barrier activated, before my beam could pierce straight through to her brain.

At one percent, Obliterate shoots out a beam that carves a one centimeter hole through whatever is in its path, which spans a one meter range. One meter may not be a lot, but it’s more than enough at near-point-blank range, and as narrow as the beam is at one percent, it’s still deadly if aimed at a vital spot, like the brain or heart.

Iseul let out a weary sigh as I strolled across and hopped off the arena, sitting on the ground with her shoulders slumped.

"I feel so tired...could you help me up? I need a drink," She sighed, before rubbing the side of her head as she stared despondently at the hole I’d blasted through her blade.

Hm...lending her a shoulder probably isn’t the best idea while I’ve got Arouse active. And it lasts fifteen minutes, almost all of which is still intact.

But I feel bad for damaging her weapon, she seems pretty upset by that, so I should do something to help. In which case...

"Sorry, but due to a Skill I’ve currently got active that I can’t turn off until the time limit runs out on its own, I can’t help...at least, not directly. <Emerge, Apostle of Envy: Invidia>," I chanted, before addressing Invidia as he appeared before me, "Mind giving her a hand? And don’t be a creep about it."

"<Sure, Boss, leave it to me>," He nodded affirmatively, before helping Iseul back onto her feet, following after me as I began heading back to the waiting room...