■ Purple Lightning Flash □
The form of a virtual magic circuit differs from person to person.
Since it is, literally, an intangible organ that lacks physical substance, its final shape is determined by the mental image of the one who created it.
Unlike Caldlasth’s cube-shaped construct, Ozma’s virtual magic circuit took the form of an orb.
With each repetition of proper breathing, the wind mana circulating inside her magic circuit swirled and extended through her limbs.
She, originally a Sword Expert, was accustomed to handling refined mana.
Unlike mages who form magic according to set formulas and procedures, those who handle aura, like her, manipulate mana based more on instinct than reason.
Ozma’s sword blade, enveloped in purple lightning, lunged toward Gav’s neck.
But Gav effortlessly blocked her attack with his thick forearm.
Despite the sharp blade making contact with his skin, not a single hair on Gav was harmed as he retaliated by driving his knee into Ozma’s abdomen.
“Kk!”
Though she reflexively defended herself, a numbing pain shot up her wrist, reaching deep into her bones.
Caldlasth might have explained it as “penetration,” but Ozma, unfamiliar with Eastern Continent martial arts, couldn’t grasp the principle behind it.
Clearly, despite exchanging blows, she had been taking all the damage.
“This too! Block it if you can!”
A merciless barrage of punches rained down on the relatively smaller-framed Ozma.
She tried to raise her concentration to its maximum to block every attack, but Gav’s speed kept increasing.
Ozma soon realized that the initiative had naturally shifted to him. Biting her lip, she quickly reversed the sword in her left hand.
This unconventional movement, swapping the rhythm between her right and left hands, allowed her to strike with a needle-sharp slash that grazed Gav’s cheek.
A spray of blood splattered in the air.
For the first time during the three-day martial arts tournament, Gav bled. He responded with a surprise roundhouse kick that sent Ozma flying.
“Good.”
Retreating several steps backward, Ozma clenched her fists tightly as she watched Gav wipe the blood trickling from the wound on his cheek with his thumb.
She had landed an effective hit earlier than expected.
The results of her rigorous training were finally beginning to show visibly.
Regulating her roughened breathing, she pointed both swords she held in her hands at Gav.
Gav, standing on the opposite side, spoke for the first time during the fight.
“You’ve gotten pretty strong, Ozma.”
“That’s what a year was for.”
She had always been the challenger.
Struggling to surpass Gav, someone far stronger than herself.
And now, her efforts were paying off.
Hearing Ozma’s aggressive reply, Gav laughed heartily and said,
“Then let me go a little earlier than planned.”
In an instant, his presence changed.
“I’ll give it my all.”
A tangible blue energy wrapped around Gav’s fists.
In the Western Continent, this condensed form of mana is called “aura.”
On the other hand, in the Eastern Continent, such a condensed form of mana is referred to as “qi.”
Qi Techniques is the general term for martial arts that deal with manipulating qi.
Until now, Gav had fought casually, but now he assumed a stance for the first time.
This time, Gav initiated the attack.
Bang!!
As soon as he stepped forward, a deafening roar echoed, and the ground beneath him collapsed.
A completely different kind of movement from before.
In the blink of an eye, Gav’s fist, accompanied by a piercing sound, was already right in front of Ozma.
She hurriedly extended her sword to block it.
Even though both were in an aura-wrapped state, the weapon in her hand screamed in protest.
Kreeeek!
An unpleasant dissonance akin to metal clashing, and both sword and fist recoiled in opposite directions.
But neither of their attacks stopped.
It was clear that the skirmishes before were merely a prelude.
With a much faster pace, the sword and fists clashed repeatedly.
At times, they used not just their arms but also knees, elbows, and legs, engaging in a brutal close-quarters battle.
“Hahahaha! You’ve become so much stronger, Ozma!”
“Shut up!”
As their bodies accumulated wounds from exchanges of fists and blades, Ozma discarded her broken sword and drew a new one, advancing aggressively toward Gav.
However, Gav spun in mid-air to evade her thrust and countered by stomping on her shoulder with the sole of his foot.
Crunch!
It sounded like her right arm had been dislocated.
Baring her teeth against the pain, Ozma slashed Gav’s side with the sword in her remaining hand.
A fountain of blood erupted, and despite their injuries, they continued their suffocating melee combat.
Gav caught her incoming sword with his bare hands.
Ozma kicked him while releasing her grip on the hilt, and Gav countered by applying a joint lock.
In a split-second decision, Ozma threw herself backward to avoid being caught, then sprang back up, drawing yet another sword from her waist.
Gav, who crushed the sword in his hand with sheer strength alone, looked amused upon seeing the strange-looking blade she now wielded.
“So this is your secret weapon?”
Without replying, Ozma laid her Hellfire Devil-Slaying Sword horizontally.
Flames erupted along the blade, following the densely inscribed characters that no one could decipher.
The dwarf named Nakamura had forged this sword that cuts through mana.
It was a special weapon that Ozma had prepared specifically to face Gav.
Its power had already been proven during her sparring sessions with Caldlasth.
All that remained was to cut through Gav.
Snap!
Having forcibly reset her dislocated right arm, Ozma glared at Gav with eyes that had turned dark with excitement.
Purple electricity was already crackling all over her body.
In the midst of their fierce exchange, she had unconsciously mastered a new magic unique to herself.
Ritualistic Armor – Purple Lightning Flash
Originally, this was a magic only attainable after reaching the Fourth Rank, but like her teacher Caldlasth, she had managed to implement a magic one level higher than her current stage through a slight shortcut.
In short, Ritualistic Armor involves wrapping oneself in a specific element to enhance the body and gain special effects.
This wasn’t much different from the principle behind the Aura Weapons used by aura users.
That is—
Instead of wrapping the sword with aura, she had wrapped herself instead.
The four great elements each possess distinct properties.
And the additional effect of the lightning ritualistic armor derived from the wind element was extremely simple:
“Acceleration.”
Ozma crouched low.
Like a predator ready to pounce, the muscles in her thighs were tense to their limit, exuding a menacing aura.
Facing her, Gav extended both palms forward.
Slowly forming a Tai Chi pattern, he placed one arm across his waist while extending the other straight toward Ozma.
“Come.”
The moment Gav spoke, a gust of wind swept through the arena.
Already fast, Ozma now moved at a speed almost imperceptible to the naked eye, rushing forward with her sword held horizontally.
Whoosh!
A trail of flames followed the wide swing of the Hellfire Devil-Slaying Sword.
With the assistance of Purple Lightning Flash, Ozma’s attack was sharper than ever.
Gav smoothly redirected her attack using the principles of Tai Chi, then immediately advanced with a shoulder charge aimed at the gap momentarily exposed.
Bang!!
But just before his shoulder made contact, Ozma, with superhuman reflexes enhanced by Purple Lightning Flash, evaded the attack and slashed upward in a semicircle, cutting through Gav’s body.
“!”
For the first time, shock colored Gav’s expression.
The blade, which should have been blocked by the aura surrounding his arm, had pierced straight through his flesh.
Swish!
The Hellfire Devil-Slaying Sword gracefully withdrew after slicing nearly halfway through his right arm.
Even attempting to regenerate the wound with magic would be slow due to the black flames and lightning scorching the cut.
Ozma, stepping back, shook the blood off her blade and pointed the Hellfire Devil-Slaying Sword at Gav.
“How does it feel? The price of underestimation.”
Gav, whose skin had been shredded to expose the bone in his upper arm, smiled fiercely as if finding the situation amusing.
“Hmm.”
He raised his leg high.
“Is it my turn now?”
“What?”
Just as Ozma opened her mouth to ask what he meant, an overwhelming presence emanating from him engulfed the entire arena.
Just one step.
But the result of that single action transcended all normal comprehension.
With just that one step, Gav overturned the unfavorable situation, successfully forcing even the stubborn Ozma to surrender.
The moment the finalist was finally confirmed.
