Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 605: Stanza

Debro’s motion changed, he had unsheathed his katana earlier, and now, he sheathed it, and with that singular, complete motion, the sky, in every sense of the word, fell and collapsed in accordance with his Technique, as though the heavens themselves obeyed his will without question or delay.

The falling sky seemed to become a silver maw of endless sword lines as it descended upon the forest below, covering everything within a fifty-kilometer radius in range with absolute dominance. It hadn’t even reached the forest floor, but the trees, the earth, the water bodies, the soil, everything below had already begun to be sliced and diced with apocalyptic fury and power, as though existence itself was being carved apart layer by layer.

Debro stared at his Technique with love and awe, this was his own creation, a manifestation of his devotion and mastery over the blade. His black eyes shifted to Asher, he had no doubt that Asher would die to this Technique, and the reason for such confidence? It wasn’t arrogance, no, it was simply the chains of family rules that bound Asher as a Wargrave, rules that dictated the limits of his growth.

Everyone within the Zarethorn Empire knew that the Wargrave Suns and Moons weren’t allowed to use any techniques that weren’t personally created by them. It was considered an abomination to them, a deviation from their core belief, so the family didn’t hand out any form of Technique to their Suns and Moons, forcing them to forge their own paths.

This begged the question, could Asher, an eighteen-year-old boy who had been an awakener for just a little over a year, possibly have created his own Technique, one capable of standing against something like this?

Debro knew that the answer was a resounding no.

Yes, the Suns and Moons could create some random Techniques and be done with it, but their talent and family law allowed for nothing but the best, nothing but perfection. To Debro, there was no way Asher had already created a technique of this caliber, despite all the impossible feats Asher had already pulled during their battle, Debro still underestimated him in this regard, a fatal miscalculation.

Asher stared at the incoming attack, his heart drumming heavily in his chest, the feeling of death returning again as he now felt the river under his feet being erased in real time due to the sheer presence of Debro’s katana technique, the environment collapsing under its overwhelming might.

Within the Star Academy Training Facilities Building, Asher had spent a month trying to create his own rapier Technique. Initially, he had thought it would have been easy, well, it was easy to create simple ones, but it had taken him a whole month to create something worthy, something that aligned with his power and identity. And now, now... he finally got the chance to use it for the first time in battle, the culmination of his effort standing before him.

A wide grin spread across his face, excitement bubbling through his veins as he stood, anticipation and exhilaration mixing with the looming threat of death. Then, the next moment, he entered a stance, his knees dipping forward, his rapier placed by his waist side as he held it firmly in his right hand, his posture stable and refined.

Every thought drowned out from his mind as he entered a state of absolute focus, he seemed to forget his own excitement, he forgot Debro, he forgot the Star Academy mission, it was just him and his technique, nothing else mattered in that moment.

And with that, he unleashed it as he spoke the name of his Technique as though birthing it into the world of Crymora, into the Laws of reality itself, as though inaugurating a Technique many would fall to, be they gods, be they humans, be they unknown entities beyond comprehension.

[Song Of Virelass: Lightning Stanza: Lightning Domain]

The Lightning element was the most destructive element he had in his arsenal, it was only natural that the first part of his newly created technique was born from the Lightning element, embodying raw power and overwhelming destruction.

And with that, a gigantic, colossal purple dome of pure, charged lightning energy expanded from Asher in silence, covering a totality of fifty kilometers, swallowing the battlefield within its radius.

With the dome created, Asher’s stance changed as he unleashed an upward slash with his rapier, and with that singular motion, the dome transformed into a Domain as endless lightning-forged slashes were created in an instant as though reality itself aided him, the lightning-forged slashes filling the air with Armageddon-level, maddened charge and destructive power.

And with that, his Technique screamed upwards to meet Debro’s descending one, two overwhelming forces on a collision course. The moment Technique met Technique, the world froze, it convulsed for a moment, as though reality itself hesitated, and the next instant, a blast that equaled a supernova descended into the world of Crymora with world-erasing ferocity and calamity.

Everything was erased, it wasn’t just destroyed, it was annihilated, it was obliterated, it was exterminated, it was decimated, reduced beyond recognition or recovery.

Yet, even these words seemed unable to do justice to the extinction-level power that was warping the landscape of this battlefield. The tapestry of colors, the deafening sound, the overwhelming shockwave, the sheer madness of it all. Everything within a hundred and twenty kilometers radius was vanquished, leaving behind nothing but emptiness and ruin.

It seemed as though reality couldn’t keep up with the scale of destruction, as though it had given up entirely and allowed these two behemoths to ruin it without restraint, unable to impose its laws upon them.

Debro stared in shock, the shockwave slamming into him directly as he was torn backwards violently, the energies from their collision tearing through his body relentlessly. He couldn’t believe what he had just seen, even as injuries from the collision rampaged through his body, his mind didn’t comprehend the pain but focused entirely on the impossibility of what he had just witnessed.

It was simply impossible for Asher to create a technique of this scale, it was simply impossible, a contradiction that his mind refused to accept. Gritting his teeth, his Friction Manipulation ability activated as he redirected the energies and shockwaves that tore through the air around him, mitigating the damage, then he immediately started cauterizing his injuries to stabilize himself.

But unlike him, Asher didn’t have the time to think or marvel at the scale of the apocalyptic doomsday scene below, his Star Form was almost ending, it was literally now or never, and with that, he moved without hesitation.

He teleported behind Debro, his body positioned to unleash the lightning-type Technique which he had just used barely a second ago again, his intent to end the battle absolute.

Debro didn’t allow it, he immediately turned around, his own katana flashing as he moved to unleash another series of his own Technique to meet Asher’s incoming attack, refusing to be overwhelmed again.

But the next moment, a voice, a familiar one echoed through the air... no, through space itself.

[Song Of Virelass: Space Stanza: Spatial Divider]

There was no overwhelming flash of power or energy or sword slash like when he had used the Lightning Stanza of the Technique.

Lightning Domain focused on pure madness and destruction.

Spatial Divider focused on silence and the division of space itself.

And with that, the space where Debro’s head and neck were was immediately divided into two with silent efficiency and lethal precision, an attack that left no room for defense.

Hearing Asher’s voice, Debro dodged, his speed peaking through Friction Manipulation as he abandoned the Asher before him and vanished from his location. But the moment he appeared at a new location, he froze, pain blooming instantly, his head detaching from his neck as his eyes widened in pure surprise and shock, blood splattering across the air in a crimson arc.

Although he had reacted to Asher’s voice as Asher had called out the name of his technique, Asher had only spoken the name of his technique after executing it. There was no way he would be speaking during a surprise attack, that would be foolish and would expose his position and plan.

Although Asher had used the clone bait strategy on Debro earlier, normally, it shouldn’t have worked on the man again. But who would have expected Asher to use his clone right after the technique, and for the clone to fake that it was about to perform the rapier technique, creating a perfect moment of deception.

And with that, the cursed battle of love and hate finally came to an end, and only the apocalyptic ruins below stood as a testament to their emotions, their clash, and the overwhelming might these two possessed, a silent witness to the devastation they had wrought.

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AUTHOR’S NOTE: Urrhmm... been sick for days now, even sick as I was typing these, hence why there are no updates. Also, I would like to ask if I did justice to Asher versus Debro; how did you see the battle?

Remember to gift this greedy, shameless, and sick author. I love gifts and super gifts. Thanks for reading.