God From The Abyss

Each swing fell heavily from above, tearing through the wind and splitting the air with silent booms.

Mikael moved through them, his body flowing with an unnatural smoothness. His steps were so light they made almost no audible sound when his shoes touched the marble floor.

"Look closely, children," Duke Alan lectured to his children from the stand. "What have you noticed in this duel among the fighters?"

"May I, Father?" Lucius asked, eager to go on.

"Lucius?"

"Firstly, Sir Williams’ primary affinity must be wind."

"And what made you reach that conclusion, Lucius?"

"His movement spell — Swift Pace — while it can be used by those without a wind affinity, it is quite formidable in the hands of those who have the wind affinity. The difference will, or rather is, clear as day from night."

"In addition, for Sir Williams to be able to move so fast whilst retaining his sense of direction, as well as his ability to stop and still attack, it shows that his primary affinity is wind because he would have spent a long time refining and honing his spells and skills, ones that were compatible with his primary affinity," Isabelle completed, looking smug.

The Duke beamed at them a warm smile. "That is correct, at least according to my own deduction."

He turned back to the battleground.

"Then who can talk about our guest, Mikael? What have you understood so far, seeing him in battle again?"

Evander gritted his teeth so hard he felt like they were going to crack.

"He is not using any spells, Father. Not even manipulating mana at all."

"Exactly, Evander."

The tip of the knight’s blade shot straight for Mikael’s heart.

Mikael leaned back just enough for his leg to come up, and a casual kick met the sword’s flat side, veering it off course.

Sir Williams felt a sudden shock to his arm as he staggered back, boots skidding hard against the ground. He was breathing heavily and had used more than half of his mana to boost his speed and his overall attack strength. And yet, his opponent had yet to break a sweat!

"You are quite impressive, Sir Williams," Mikael said, noticing the man’s fatigue. "Might as well humor you for your strength."

His hands slipped out of his pockets, fingers flexing once, and in response, the air trembled with the faintest of hums.

The knight’s eyes hardened. He weaved a sign as his mana burst outward, forming concentric rings of glowing grey sigils. Runes appeared inside them.

"Verdant Wind Dominion."

The runes flared. The entire ground bloomed with dim emerald light. Gusts of wind, fast enough to shred a person to bits, shot out from the spell circle at Mikael.

The knight also surged forward, seeking to use the wind attack as a smokescreen to throw Mikael off.

Lloyd smiled worriedly. "Sir Williams had to use a rather more aggressive style." He sighed. "Might have gotten a bit impatient."

Mikael leapt several feet back, managing to avoid the onslaught of the wind. His eyes flicked — the patterns had appeared, replaced by a cross inscribed into a circle.

The spell shattered like glass. The backlash, however, sent shockwaves outward, making the defense runes guarding the stands ripple gently.

"What—"

Sir Williams didn’t finish. The lad was already in front of him. No wind. No afterimages.

A hand slammed into his chest, a flat palm strike that carried a lot of power.

BOOM!

Sir Williams’ body shot backward like a cannonball, slamming into the wall all the way across the hall! Cracks spidered across the stone, the sound echoing through the estate.

He slid to one knee, coughing, blood staining the edge of his lip.

Mikael straightened. His tone was mild but dripped with command.

"On your feet."

The knight gritted his teeth. The enchantments on his armor sparked to life once more, the mithril sword glowing as he drew up every ounce of mana from every fiber of his core.

The ground cracked and crumpled under his feet as he erupted forward again. Faster. Harder than he even knew was possible for him.

Mikael obliged the seriousness, his form blurring. The Cosmic Gate in him let the much-desired essence flow.

Their clash was soundless. The aftershock came quite late — like reality was struggling to catch up, like the boom of thunder coming after the lightning had streaked across the sky!

The wall behind Mikael exploded as the entire power and pressure from the attack was released. He caught the sword between two fingers.

"Impossible..." Williams muttered moments later.

He stopped the Sword Judge and is still on his feet?

The Sword Judge, whilst it caused profound physical injuries, had its power lie in the fact that it dealt more damage to the insides of the receiver, even capable of slicing the heart open while the blade itself did not necessarily need to reach.

Mikael twisted his wrist. The sword, forged from one of the strongest metals, bent ever so slightly, and the metal screeched in protest. Sir Williams felt it slip from his grasp.

Mikael stepped in, hand closing on his collar, and with a lazy motion, flung him into the air and vanished.

The body spun twice — and Mikael’s foot connected with the chest plate midair, driving him down instantly.

The impact shook the terrain. Dust rose in thick clouds. When it cleared, Sir Williams lay embedded halfway into the dust, his armor dented and blood oozing down his mouth. He could have died, but at the very last second before he hit the ground, he cast a defense spell.

Now his core was truly drained dry of all mana.

Mikael exhaled softly, his gaze calm. He turned to the knight, his voice even, void of the usual cheerful undertone.

"You’ve got amazing strength, human. I enjoyed this battle, so I am going to bestow on you a Rank Breaker.

"Grow, break past your limits, and become very much stronger, as much as your potential allows you to."

His smile came around. "And come challenge me when you are at least at the Half Deity Rank. I’ll gladly take you on."

He began walking away, coattail flowing in the gentle breeze. His steps were always the same; ever so unhurried, his posture easy, loose, silent.

Behind him, the knight had lost consciousness.

At the stand, the Vice President said nothing. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes — those narrow, calculated balls of emerald — lingered on Mikael’s retreating figure with the faintest glimmer of fear.

"We leave at dusk, after Sir Williams is stabilized," Lloyd ordered. "Duke Alan, Duchess Selena. A letter would be sent communicating the Empire’s reply."

"Very well, Sir Lloyd. My apologies for your knight."

"Please, Your Grace. The better warrior won. It’s all part of the experience."

And with that, Clinton led them away, back to the main house.

’All without casting a single spell! At least one they did not see, which was even stranger since three Sage Ranked individuals didn’t notice it!’ Duke Alan thought.

He, Mikael, had gotten stronger after his transformation trip, and his eyes somehow had the ability to cancel out spells!

Mikael was a monster, and the rate of his growth was completely shocking!

And for the first time, or maybe for the second time, Duke Alan was glad the lad was his guest.