Chapter 62: Duskwood Trial Grounds (VIII)

BAAAM!

Her body shook, the ground beneath her feet splitting wider as her magic poured out, heavy enough to bend the air.

“I’ll wipe that smug look off your face!” Maelis screamed, raising her hand again.

But before Gray could even answer…

“HAAAAH! Finally found you!!”

A wild, booming voice exploded from behind him.

Gray’s eyes narrowed.

THUD, THUD, THUD!

The sound of heavy boots slammed against the ground. A figure charged, dust rising under his steps.

Dexter, with madness flashing in his eyes, rushed forward, both hands gripping his twin axes.

“LET’S SEE IF YOU CAN TAKE THIS!” he roared.

WHOOSH!

SWISH!

The axes cut through the air, crossing toward Gray’s back with deadly force.

Gray tilted his head slightly, a calm smirk on his lips.

CLANG!!

The axes struck hard, but they only bit into the rock where Gray had been sitting. Stone shattered into chunks, flying outward like bullets.

Dexter’s eyes widened.

“The hell—?!”

“Two against one now? Getting desperate already?” Gray’s voice drifted from the side.

When Dexter turned his head, he saw Gray standing just a few feet away, cigarette still resting between his lips, his eyes cold and mocking.

KKRRR!

Dexter ripped his axes out of the shattered stone, dust spraying across the field. His teeth bared in a manic grin, veins bulging along his neck.

“You slippery bastard!” he barked, slamming one axe against the other, creating a clang sound.

The sound echoed like a challenge.

“Stop running and fight me head-on!”

Maelis stepped beside him, her eyes still locked on Gray.

The heavy pressure of her gravity magic made the ground tremble, small cracks crawling out beneath her feet like spiderwebs.

“Don’t think you’re untouchable just because you can dodge,” she snapped, her voice shaking with fury.

Gray looked at them both calmly, cigarette still between his lips.

He tapped it once with his finger, ash falling to the dirt, and then his voice came as bored as ever.

“Two dogs barking louder doesn’t change the fact that they’ll still bite the same way.”

Dexter’s face twisted.

“WHAT’D YOU SAY?!”

“Let’s kill him together!” Maelis growled, raising her staff again.

BOOM!

She released another burst of gravity, the air pressing down hard toward Gray like an invisible hammer.

At the same time, Dexter charged with a roar, his axes swinging wide, each step shaking the ground.

But just at that moment…

“[✧Swap✧]”

In an instant, Gray’s figure vanished, and the shattered rock Dexter had destroyed earlier appeared where he had been standing.

The axe slammed into the rock instead, crushing it to dust.

“What the—?!” Dexter’s eyes went wide.

Gray’s voice whispered coldly right at his side.

“Looking for me?”

Dexter whipped around, but it was already too late. Gray’s hand flicked, and his rapier appeared in a clean draw, the blade thin and silver under the light.

SHIIIING!

The blade’s sound cut sharper than steel, smooth and merciless.

Dexter swung his axes to block, sparks flying as metal crashed against metal.

CLANG! CLANG!

The force rattled his arms, but Dexter only grinned wider.

“YES! THAT’S WHAT I WANT!”

Maelis thrust her staff forward.

WHOOM!

A crushing wave of gravity pressed down on Gray again, aiming to pin him in place.

Gray didn’t even look at her.

“[✧Swap✧]”

His body flickered, vanishing into thin air.

This time, Maelis’s own staff was pulled into the space where Gray had stood, the gravity crashing down on it instead.

“Wha—?!” Maelis stumbled forward, her staff bending under her own attack.

Gray reappeared just behind her shoulder, voice low and mocking.

“You really haven’t learned.”

Fwip!

The tip of his rapier grazed her sleeve, cutting through cloth, almost reaching skin. She gasped, spinning away, her hair whipping in the air.

Dexter came roaring back in, axes raised high.

“DIEEE!!”

He brought them both down in a cross slash, aiming to split Gray in two.

Gray’s eyes narrowed slighly at her movements…

“Shadowless Sword Art—”

He stepped forward, his blade moving so fast it vanished into a blur of silver.

“—First Move. Phantom Sword.”

FWOOOSH!

The rapier struck out.

Dexter’s attack froze mid-swing.

“—Huh?!” His eyes widened.

Splurt!

A sudden sting tore across his shoulder as blood sprayed. He hadn’t even seen the blade move.

Maelis’s pupils shrank as she watched, her breath catching. She hadn’t been able to track it either.

The only sign was the soft shhhk sound of steel passing through air, followed by the pain.

Gray’s body didn’t stop moving. He twisted, the rapier sliding through the air again, each thrust echoing like a whisper of death.

SHHHK!

SHHHK!

SHHHK!

Dexter was forced to step back, his axes clanging desperately against Gray’s invisible strikes.

Sparks rained as he blocked, but he was too slow to guard all of them. Shallow cuts opened across his arms and chest, blood dripping down his skin.

“GAAHHHHH! YES! MORE!!” Dexter roared in wild delight, spitting blood but grinning like a beast.

Maelis slammed her palm down.

BAAAM!

The gravity around Gray’s feet suddenly multiplied, dragging at him, trying to pin him to the ground.

“Stay STILL!” she screamed.

But Gray only smiled at their actions.

“[✧Swap✧]”

The pressure collapsed, but not on him. Dexter suddenly found himself yanked into Gray’s position.

CRUNCH!!

His knees slammed into the ground under Maelis’s crushing gravity.

“GAAAAHHHHH! MAELIS, YOU—!!!”

Her eyes widened in horror.

“D-Dexter?!”

Gray appeared a few meters away, his rapier resting against his shoulder, his cold eyes glinting.

“Such clumsy teamwork,” he muttered.

“ARGHHHH, YOU FUCKING BASTAAARRDDDD!”

Dexter roared, forcing himself up despite the pain, blood dripping down his arms. He ripped free from the gravity and charged again, swinging wildly.

SWISH!

SWOOSH!

CLANG!

Each strike was heavy, fueled by his madness, but Gray’s body flowed around them like water.

He ducked under one swing, side-stepped another, his rapier flicking out to slice across Dexter’s side.

SLASH!

Blood sprayed, but Dexter only laughed louder.

“MORE! DON’T HOLD BACK!”

Maelis’s breathing was rough, her face twisted with anger and panic.

She raised both arms, pulling all her strength into one last move. The air thickened, so heavy it made even Dexter stumble.

Gray tilted his head, his cigarette burning low between his lips. His voice came soft, almost like a whisper carried on the wind.

“I warned you both already.”

He stepped forward again, his rapier vanishing into motion.

FWOOOSH!

SHHHK!

“………”

A silence suddenly stretched as Gray casually unsheathed his rapier.

SPRAY!

In the same instant, red streaks burst across the air.

Tiny cuts opened all over Maelis’s body, her arms, her legs, her waist, even across her cheek.

Thin lines of blood ran like rivers, spraying outward as if her body had been carved apart in a hundred places at once.

“AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!”

Her scream tore from her throat, raw and broken, as her knees buckled.

At the same time, Dexter’s grin shattered into shock. His eyes went wide, mouth hanging open:

CRACK!

His left arm suddenly dropped from his shoulder, cleanly severed. Blood gushed out in a violent spray, painting the ground beneath him.

“GAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!”

Dexter howled in pain, stumbling backward, clutching at the bloody stump where his arm used to be.

His axes slipped from his grip, hitting the dirt with heavy thuds.

THUD!

THUD!

Maelis’s body trembled violently as the shallow cuts burned and bled all at once, every nerve screaming with fire.

She fell forward onto her knees, her hands shaking, her staff lying far out of reach.

Her breath came fast, ragged, her eyes wide with horror as blood dripped down her chin.

Dexter’s scream turned into a growl, spitting blood from his mouth as his body shook with both pain and rage.

“Y… YOU… BASTARD!!”

Gray didn’t move. He stood calmly in front of them, smoke drifting from his newly lit cigarette.

He exhaled slowly.

Puff…

“Now…” His voice was quiet, cutting into their cries like cold steel. “…you both finally sound honest.”

Both of them got angered by his words.

ZRRRMMM!

Suddenly, the air twisted, space itself warping like glass under pressure.

A long blade made of condensed spatial energy tore through the air, each swing leaving cracks in the sky.

“GRAAAAYYYY!!!!”

Leon burst forward, his eyes sharp with fury with his sword carving a deadly arc straight toward him.

CRACKKKK!

The air split, fissures of warped space spreading out like broken glass where the blade passed.

“[✧Swap✧]”

Gray’s body flickered, vanishing in a blur.

In his place, a broken piece of stone was cleaved in half, crumbling instantly under the distortion.

Gray reappeared a few meters back, smoke still curling from his cigarette.

His gaze shifted lazily to the side where Cassandra was, her figure tense, her hands wrapped tightly around her scythe.

“…You couldn’t hold him?” Gray asked, tilting his head with a wry smile, as if he was scolding her lightly.

Cassandra’s eyes narrowed as she clicked her tongue, irritation flashing across her face.

“Tsk… It’s not my fault this bastard can space jump to escape any time.”

Leon’s expression darkened at their words, a vein popping out on his temple.

“Don’t talk like I’m not here,” he growled, gripping his spatial blade tighter.

The air around him bent unnaturally, waves of distortion spreading from his sword.

Puff…

Gray exhaled another slow breath of smoke.

“Sadly,” he said faintly, “I don’t have enough time to finish you all.”

Leon’s brows furrowed, his voice harsh.

“What… the hell does that mean?!” His grip on his sword tightened, the distortion around it flaring brighter.

Even Cassandra, who had been focused on Leon moments before, blinked in surprise.

“Emr… Gray…?”

Gray didn’t answer immediately. He simply raised his hand, his index finger lifting toward the sky.

All eyes followed.

Above them, the heavens burned.

The sunset stretched across the clouds in deep reds and golds, washing the battlefield in warm, almost peaceful light. The horizon seemed to swallow the world, casting long shadows that reached for all of them.

For a moment, the chaos of blood and broken ground felt silent.

Then, Gray’s voice came…

“Time’s up.”

And just like that….

WHOOM!

All of them vanished.

The only thing that remained was the fading glow of the sunset, bleeding gently across the broken earth.

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