He returned to the ground slowly; his body effortlessly floated down through the air, carried on the night's breeze. His coat flickered, a wraith in the dim light.
The moon's ethereal glow from the cracked ceiling only accentuated his shadow in stark relief against the cavern walls. He could feel Esmeray's pressure from all the way here as his figure loomed larger and more ominous, a spectre descending from the heavens to confront mortals.
Behind him sprawled the serene lake, its surface a mirror reflecting thousands of stalactites hanging in crystalline icicles from the cave ceiling. The tranquil waters seemed to amplify its vastness, creating an ethereal yet suffocating atmosphere.
"I'll just put you over here," Esmeray murmured as he pushed Ukiyo's bubble over to the middle of the lake. "We don't want any accidents occurring now, do we, Mai-sama~"
"Kazami!" Ukiyo yelled, trying her best to reach him; everything was distorted—the cries and pleas emanating from her, their echoes muted by the watery barrier.
'He can't hear me.'
The bubble throbbed; sound sank.
"Kazami!" She slammed both arms into the surface.
'Just like before—you never listened once you'd decided.'
Her gaze fell to trembling palms, empty and heavy—the threads of fate coiling, unseen, tight. 'I want the shears. My own cut.'
She wanted to control her own destiny, but this world was tying her life's threads into a knot she could not disentangle or cut—at least not without the right tools.
As Ukiyo gazed down at her own distorted reflection in the rippling water, the moonlight cast a gentle glow that danced upon the submerged rocks, revealing the underwater world in an otherworldly silver hue.
With just a blink of an eye, she saw a reflection of a child crying with her face tucked into her legs. It reminded her of those long nights of suffering; each ripple of the clear water acted as a reminder of the passage of her remaining time and the gradual washing away of pain.
Panic began to seize control of Kazami as he unconsciously took half a step back before gripping tightly on the hilt of his sword. Tracing his vision along Esmeray's white outline, he began analysing his opponent's components.
With a long grey coat with shoulder guards and a black vest on top of a buttoned-up white shirt, he took his time scanning every fibre of his foe.
'He's far stronger than me… I should stay on the defensive so I can get a feel for his Leere. If I can, by some miracle, last longer than a minute, I should be able to grasp his abilities.'
"Heh." Esmeray laughed smugly. "Your glare is so intense, it's making me so nervous~" He jeered.
Kazami remained silent, not giving into his opponent's nonsense. Despite all the jokes his opponents made, he could feel a trace of Esmeray's bloodlust beneath his playful demeanour.
'In reality, we are probably fully submerged in our own pod, with only digital data being passed between us. However, I can feel something—something odd in his eyes—that can only be described as killing intent.'
The sound of sniffling and crying wormed into Kazami's head.
' …aargh…' a child's wail, thin and raw. 'Focus.' Esmeray's outline returned, moving closer. 'He's washing out my senses.'
Before he realised it, the adrenaline was kicking in, and it felt like even the colours of his surroundings had changed. It was the moonlight that slowly enveloped him as it bathed all the insignificance of the underworld with life.
Esmeray gave another nasty smirk, stretching his smile out like a crescent moon before turning his gaze and walking to a spot about ten metres away. He then raised his right hand and manipulated a menu screen he had summoned while his intense gaze was still locked on to Kazami.
The electronic chime of the menu tolled in his head, a church bell.
Nervous, he traced his finger in front of his vision, bringing up a message. Kazami broke into a cold sweat before selecting the green tick icon on the hologram, consenting to a duel set with a 'no safety net' rule.
'If my health drops to zero, I really will die.' Knowing quite well that this wasn't just a simple duel in a video game.
He steadied himself; he did not regret his decision.
After all, from the moment that announcement was broadcasted on that fateful day, his lifeline would have already been sealed behind a pixelated green bar.
'I'll win this, free Hoyeon, and have him at my mercy. Answers… I need more answers about this world and the truth about Hoyeon.'
A red countdown started on the top side of Kazami's vision.
"Three…" the game system chimed.
He could feel his virtual blood beginning to pump faster as he vanquished the last remaining bits of hesitation and let loose his desire to win.
Then he drew his empty hilt, pointing towards his target without a single hesitation.
"Two…"
Even though the battle hadn't started yet, his instincts screamed at him, telling him that his opponent wasn't someone that he could win against if he charged in first.
"One…"
Esmeray clicked both of his fingers and took a deep breath, causing a familiar blue outline to begin forming in the air.
"Now I don't usually fight like this, but I'll give you a handicap." He said through a smile, before materialising the silhouette of a longsword and a shield.
"What are you on about?!" Kazami said, confused.
The sword itself was strange. It had a grainy texture that could only be described as bread-like. Its hard, crusty exterior gleamed with an otherworldly sheen, while its stiff, doughy core gave it a slight flexibility, akin to a saber's elegant curve.
"Is this a joke? Stop fucking around already!" He was feeling a mix of confusion and anger at what he was witnessing. "A bread sword? You expect me to fight you like that?"
"Hehehe… like I said, this is not really my style, but since today's menu is all about swords, I thought it would be great to get a feel for this." Esmeray slowly reached out his other hand towards the moonlight as it seeped through his open palms.
Beside the bread sword, a shield slowly materialised in his left hand. It was shimmering with a translucent jelly-like substance. It wobbled slightly as it solidified, its surface smooth and slick to the touch.
Trying his best to compose himself, Kazami took a step back before switching his stance. Materialising before him was a blade similar to a scimitar, with its distinct bend. The guard of the blade was lined with spikes, and on the grip of the weapon was a switch.
A defensive blade disguised as an offensive one, with the switch activating the blade's rotating mechanism, allowing the blade to spin 360 degrees at impressive speeds.
Esmeray readied his own pair of weapons in kind, still smirking behind his jelly shield.
Kazami's brow furrowed.
'That's his, Leere? No, I get the feeling that this is just part of his ability… The ability to materialise any material, perhaps? But why bread and jelly? That can't be it; there has to be a catch here.' he stared at his foe.
Esmeray stood with his shield facing Kazami and the right side of his body away from him. It seemed that for now, he was also playing defensively. There was something strange about his stance.
'I can't feel any strength behind his stance,' he thought. 'What is he playing at? I have to—' Kazami shook his head, frustrated.
'I'm overthinking every little thing I do. I'm not gonna get anywhere like this! But I also can't go on the offensive…His earlier analysis on my Leere was spot on. He knows too much about my Leere and I know little to nothing about him.'
Esmeray rolled his neck and shoulders, ready to begin the fight. "Now let's dig in, shall we? I'll show you what it really means to be hungry."
The sound of gentle crying once again wormed its way into Kazami's ears.
'It's that sound again. I guess I wasn't going crazy, but who's crying?'
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"You must be really confident to be looking away from a battle~" The shadow whispered from beside him.
It was Esmeray, who had made a 30-metre dash in complete silence. He lifted his bready sword and swung down on Kazami.
Kazami twisted his body to block the blow, which made a thick crunching sound as it made contact with Sentinel Edge. Switching tactics, the man swung the grainy blade in his right hand back upwards to the left.
The blade clashed directly against Sentinel Edge's guards, sending out a burst of sparks. He could see the grin on Esmeray's face. "You didn't think that was just a normal sword strike, did you? I'll have you know that was just an appetiser to the main course!"
Esmeray drew his blade back from below his opponent's blade before slashing straight up through Kazami's defence, breaking his guard.
Kazami grunted, his arms still above his head from where his defences had been broken.
'That was a skill deployment! Usually, it takes a few seconds when initiating a skill deployment, right? When Esmeray used that attack, there was no glow, no callout, no nothing,' Kazami analysed. 'Just how strong is this guy?!'
The strike from the left came quick, and Kazami barely managed to deflect it with the Sentinel Edge. Although it came quick, it did not hit as hard as he'd initially thought. Using the force of Esmeray's strike, he propelled himself backwards, widening the distance between them before charging back towards him.
Kazami dashed towards the man, staying low to the ground. As he closed the distance, he held Sentinel Edge close to his body, attempting to thrust the blade into his opponent in one fluid motion.
Almost like Esmeray read his mind, he countered his attack by charging into the attack with his shield, pushing the Sentinel Edge deep into the jelly shield's centre.
Esmeray glared evilly through the transparent gelatine of his shield and lifted his longsword to the same level as the shield.
'Damn it! I'm stuck!' Kazami grunted, looking down at where his own sword had pierced and become lodged within the gelatinous mass.
In this position, he couldn't move, and he would be defenceless if he let go of his weapon in order to escape. He had to think of something else.
"Rush Technique, Deployment Level 2: Reversal Slash!" Kazami cried.
In an instant, he forced his sword downwards through the jelly and spun around, bringing his sword into position for an overhead strike, once more facing Esmeray.
However, his foe's reaction time was impeccable, instantly shifting his grip to bring his own sword upwards, blocking the attack.
Once more, he dashed away from the man. However, he made no approach but instead he began to circle strafe Kazami like a predator, shield held aloft and unwavering eyes locked on his prey.
It was evident to him that he was facing an opponent far stronger than anything he had faced thus far, and that he had to precisely calculate and measure every movement he made, lest he be killed in a second.
Following in Esmeray's footsteps, Kazami too began to circle his opponent, staying on his left, closer to his shield, 'If I stay on his left, then he'll have a harder time attacking me with his sword, unless he wants to change his stance,' he analysed.
Again, Esmeray brought his sword to shield height and set himself in a billiards break stance, poised over the cue ball.
"Haa!" the man cried, piercing his sword straight through his own shield, a trail of white light.
'Through the shield?' Kazami hit the switch—Sentinel Edge rotated, caught the angle, shoved the blow left. 'Jelly conducts, then releases—note that.'
Although he countered it successfully, the impact of Esmeray's attack rattled his entire body, causing him to take a few steps back to try and regain his balance.
His fighting style was unexpected, far beyond Kazami's imagination.
'It seems that the shield itself not only looks like jelly but is also made entirely of jelly. It's slippery, causing most of my attacks to bounce off. With its unpredictable nature, it gives access to attacks that would be impossible for a normal shield. I won't be able to get a clean slash on him.'
"Come on! I can't be doing all the work in this relationship!" The man jeered.
He dashed towards Kazami, closing the distance between them in half a second, and denying him any time to recover.
The tip of the bread sword he held in his right hand flew towards Kazami at a speed that could rival a spear from an ox monster he had previously encountered during the beta version of the game.
Kazami pressed the switch once again, rotating the Sentinel Edge's blade to protect himself. sparks flew as the two blades ground against one another, neither yielding.
'Fuck! This isn't any normal baguette; it's as hard as steel!' he groaned, feeling the pressure on his wrist.
The attack did not stop there, as Esmeray continued to slash his bread sword at Kazami, switching angles with every strike to keep him on his toes. Sparks continued to fly with each hit, as he could only hold up his sword to defend.
'Dammit, with attacks this fast, it's impossible for me to switch stance right now. Is he doing this on purpose? Is he trying to keep me from switching?' Kazami thought, as metallic creaking echoed in the background.
However, in the midst of the battle, his vision began to blur.