Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 1007: ’Z’ The Genius

Asher in Star Form and Arianna in World Embodiment State closed the distance between them and ’Z’ in a blink of an eye, their speed so swift that, if one blinked, they would miss them entirely. A rapier was in Asher’s hand, while two short swords were in Arianna’s hands, one closing in for ’Z’s neck with a thrust, while the other screamed towards ’Z’s chest with a double slash.

’Z’ smirked at the incoming attack, while he might be the weakest Alphabet, he was by no means a pushover of any kind. His figure vanished from his position as though he had teleported, Asher’s and Arianna’s attacks missing completely, as everything before them was destroyed in totality.

’Z’ appeared behind them, his left foot leaving the ground and swinging towards Asher’s neck, as he was the priority. Asher’s senses flickered as Omni Perception and his brain, enhanced by Star Energy, picked up and mapped out the attack.

His body bent to the side as he dodged, his speed seemingly increasing even further as he flowed to the side. But he didn’t just dodge; he retaliated, Virelass in his hand blurring upwards as he slashed at the leg that had just attacked him.

Arianna wasn’t far behind. Since ’Z’ had left her to attack Asher, she simply recalibrated and attacked the other leg ’Z’ was standing on. ’Z’, seeing both attacks closing in for his two legs, smirked and pushed off his feet. His body lifted gently into the air as he rotated and landed on Arianna’s sword as though he possessed no weight at all.

Before Arianna could even blink, all she saw was a kick screaming towards her jaw with impossible speed and force as the air between her and her attacker collapsed. Arianna didn’t dare hesitate; she simply activated her Genesis Archive ability as she tapped into her phasing skill and phased through ’Z’s attack with extreme ease.

Asher’s figure appeared above ’Z’s body as the man stood on Arianna’s sword. Without missing a beat, he swung his rapier down in a downward arc, the force immense, the attack brutal.

’Z’s black eyes tore upwards towards the incoming attack, his smile never leaving. While he might not be as talented as Arianna and Asher, he was of a Noble Bloodline and was immensely talented in his own right.

He vanished from Arianna’s sword and appeared above Asher just as Asher had appeared above him. The moment he dodged, Asher’s attack tore into the earth below with apocalyptic fury as Star Energy tore through everything beneath him, blowing up a sinkhole that covered everything within a seven kilometer radius. The shockwave from the attack slammed directly into Arianna’s green armor as she shot backwards, but without suffering any injuries.

Asher’s senses screamed again as he sensed ’Z’ above him. He couldn’t help but wonder if this guy could teleport, but his thoughts didn’t matter. All that mattered was evading the incoming punch. But Asher didn’t truly evade; his body turned purple as he transformed into Lightning and phased through the punch.

Purple Lightning bolts buzzed as they moved as though dissipating, then collapsed back into one another, forming Asher’s figure, his rapier already in motion once again as Lightning coursed through his blade.

But before he could even unleash his Lightning Stanza rapier technique, ’Z’ closed the distance once again with the same smile, his hand clamping down on Asher’s right wrist as he pushed Virelass to the side, using his other hand to unleash a palm attack towards Asher’s chest with insulting ease.

Asher felt a chill course through his body. He didn’t need anyone to tell him; he knew that even in Star Form, that singular palm attack would leave him in critical condition. The world seemed to slow down within his perception as Accelerated Thought Process stretched his thoughts across the rapidly unfolding moment.

As the palm was about to meet his chest, space warped as Asher vanished from where he was, and in his position, a log of a destroyed tree appeared in his place as he swapped positions with it at the final moment.

The moment Asher was out of the way, Astra Energy surged in the distance as Arianna, who had been blown backwards, transitioned into an attack. Before ’Z’ could blink, a colossal beam of light tore forward with rocketing speed and force, tearing through everything in its path.

Seeing the incoming attack, ’Z’ simply raised a hand while midair, Astra Energy flowing into his palm as he took on Arianna’s beam attack, which had been strengthened by World Embodiment State.

With a boom, the light beam met his palm, then immediately tore into various refractions that lanced through everything across the battlefield, various explosions following in their wake, the entire battlefield quaking beneath the force of the attack.

But Asher wasn’t just watching. The sky rumbled as he now stood just beneath the clouds, his Star Energy surging through his heart. Lightning within the sky and clouds began to turn purple under his command as they collapsed into one another, forming a gigantic Lightning Dragon attack that roared throughout the entire sky, shaking the entire battlefield.

Clearly, Asher had poured an outrageous amount of Star Energy into the attack. Then, without wasting a moment, Asher pointed his finger downwards, and with that command, the Lightning Dragon heeded his call. It flapped its immense wings as it covered the distance in less than a single second, its enormous maw wide open as it moved to swallow ’Z’.

’Z’s eyes were already fixed on the sky, his attention no longer on Arianna’s light beam attack, which he still stopped with one hand. As the attack screamed towards his head, he smiled, as he knew he couldn’t simply stop this one with one hand as he had done with Arianna’s.

His weapon appeared in his hand: a katana.

Without missing a beat, he simply swung his katana upwards as though he were swinging a random stick.

The air seemed to still with that singular swing. Then, the entire atmosphere collapsed the next moment as Asher’s Lightning Dragon was instantly split into two perfect halves. The invisible slash continued without slowing as it reached Asher in less than a blink.

Asher’s senses screamed. He didn’t hesitate to tap into his phasing skill, not daring to shift into Lightning as he had just seen the man split his Lightning Dragon. The moment he phased through the unseen attack, the sky behind him immediately felt a force rip through it as it was instantly split into two perfect halves.

The sky parted, the sun shining even more brightly as the blue hue and beauty of it seemed to become even more pronounced. From the sky, rain began to fall as some clouds had been destroyed, the sudden downpour scattering across the battlefield beneath the divided sky.

Asher’s purple eyes couldn’t help but turn as he stared at the cloud above him.

’Such swordsmanship,’ he thought to himself in amazement. Although his own Swordsmanship had taken a step forward, clearly, ’Z’s own techniques still stood half a step higher, as the man had had years to polish every level he had stepped into.

Arianna abandoned her light beam attack as she closed the distance between ’Z’ and herself the moment ’Z’ had focused on Asher’s Lightning Dragon attack. She had taken advantage of that small window and lapse in attention. The moment she closed the distance, her fist sang upwards like a comet moving in the opposite direction as she aimed for the man’s chin.

’Z’s eyes immediately snapped towards Arianna as he had already sensed her movement. Without missing a beat, his left palm moved as he immediately stopped Arianna’s attack as though he were stopping the attack of a mere child. The moment he did, the air and wind between them collapsed and tore into both of them, but neither of them took a step back as their Physiques tanked the force.

Arianna’s hand moved again as her own fingers moved and clamped down on ’Z’s wrist, then she immediately pulled him forward. Using the air as a foothold, she spun on her heel as she unleashed a high kick towards the man’s temples as though she wanted to explode his head to bits.

As ’Z’ was pulled forward and attacked, he didn’t panic. He simply twisted his own body as though he were performing gymnastics, his head passing just below Arianna’s wicked attack, the air brushing against his face.

His black eyes shifted towards Arianna, Arianna’s own amber-gold eyes meeting his. One possessed a smile, while the other possessed an expression of absolute focus.

But before both of them could even move, Asher was already on the move as he didn’t spend much time admiring ’Z’s genius-level swordsmanship.

He unleashed various crescent-shaped StellarFlame attacks that tore downwards as he didn’t differentiate between Arianna or ’Z’, simply because he was confident that Arianna could dodge.

And indeed, Arianna dodged as she immediately tapped into space, but two skills. She immediately willed herself to teleport away as she used Spatial Lock to lock ’Z’ in place.