[Bloodlust skill activation failed!]
Lucien clicked his tongue in annoyance as the notification appeared. "Perfect. Failed the first time, huh?"
The Abysswalker remained motionless, his broken form radiating menace even in stillness. Dark energy continued to seep from his armor like blood from an open wound, and his grip on the massive greatsword never wavered despite his left arm hanging uselessly at his side.
'Four minutes,' Lucien calculated, feeling the steady drain of mana from his active skills. 'That's all I have with both Mana Fortification and Quicksilver running. Better make it count.'
He rolled his shoulders and adjusted his grip on his daggers. The arena felt like a stage waiting for a performance, and both fighters were about to give the audience of crumbling stones the show of their infinite lives.
Without warning, Artorias exploded into motion.
The knight launched himself forward with a horizontal sweep, his greatsword cutting through the air in a devastating arc. The speed was far beyond what someone with a broken arm should be capable of. Lucien threw himself backward, the blade missing his chest by inches. The wind from the swing was strong enough to ruffle his clothes, and he could see the dark energy trailing behind the weapon's edge like poison smoke.
'Fast. Faster than any opponent I have ever faced.'
Artorias didn't pause for even a heartbeat. He chained the missed sweep into an overhead slam, bringing his greatsword down with bone-crushing force. The attack flowed so naturally from the previous motion that it seemed like a single technique rather than two separate strikes.
Lucien rolled to the side as the blade smashed into the stone floor, creating a small crater and sending debris flying in all directions. Chunks of ancient masonry were scattered across the arena like shrapnel from an explosion.
The moment Artorias's sword hit the ground, Lucien moved. He dashed forward while the knight was committed to the attack, both daggers aiming for gaps in the armor around the waist where the plates met.
His blades found their mark, but the impact felt wrong. Instead of cutting through flesh, they scraped against something harder than steel. The dark energy surrounding Artorias had formed a defensive layer that turned aside his strike with the sound of metal on stone.
'An energy armor that reacts to attacks?'
Artorias spun with his sword still embedded in the ground, using his momentum to attempt a shoulder charge with his broken arm. The motion was fluid despite the obvious injury, turning his disability into a weapon. Lucien barely managed to duck under the attack, feeling the knight's armored shoulder brush against his hair.
'He's using the broken arm as a weapon, too. Smart. Turn every disadvantage into an advantage.'
As Lucien crouched low, he activated Dagger Throw. Two portals opened behind Artorias, crackling with dark energy as they materialized. Daggers shot out at high speed, aimed at the back of his neck where the helmet met the armor—one of the few spots that looked vulnerable.
The Abysswalker sensed the incoming attack despite not looking. His helmet didn't even turn, but he yanked his greatsword free from the stone and twisted his entire body, deflecting both daggers with a single sweeping motion of his blade.
The deflected weapons spun through the air like angry wasps, their trajectory completely reversed by the knight's perfect timing. They disappeared back into the portals, which closed with small thunderclaps.
'He's not just fast. He's experienced. This bastard has fought people with similar abilities before.'
Artorias pressed his advantage immediately, launching into a series of diagonal slashes that forced Lucien to give ground. Each swing came from a different angle, creating a web of deadly steel that seemed impossible to navigate. The greatsword moved like it was alive, seeking gaps in Lucien's defense with predatory intelligence.
Up, down, left, right—the massive weapon moved in various patterns. How could someone with a broken arm generate such complex attack sequences without losing balance?
Lucien found his answer when he noticed how Artorias was moving. The knight wasn't fighting like a normal swordsman constrained by proper form and technique. He was using his broken arm for momentum, letting it swing freely to generate rotational force that powered his attacks.
'The broken arm acts like a counterweight, letting him swing faster and change direction mid-attack.'
Understanding this, Lucien began to read the attack patterns more effectively. When Artorias wound up for a diagonal slash, his broken arm would swing in the opposite direction to provide balance. When he prepared an overhead strike, the damaged limb would drop to counteract the weight of the raised sword.
Lucien started dodging more efficiently, no longer caught off guard by the unorthodox fighting style. He slipped between the diagonal slashes like water through fingers and ducked under the horizontal sweeps, slowly but steadily closing the distance.
But Artorias adapted too.
The moment Lucien thought he had figured out the pattern, the Abysswalker changed tactics entirely. Instead of continuing his sword combo, he suddenly leaped high into the air, flipping forward in an acrobatic somersault that carried him completely over Lucien's head.
The greatsword came down blade-first, aimed directly at Lucien's skull with the full weight of the knight's body behind it. The attack had come from nowhere, completely breaking the established rhythm of their exchange.
Lucien rolled forward at the last second, and the massive sword embedded itself in the stone where he had been standing. The impact sent another shockwave through the arena floor, creating a spider web of cracks that radiated outward from the point of impact.
'He's not just using preset combos. He's actually thinking, adapting to how I move. This is like fighting another player, not an NPC.'
This realization sent a thrill of excitement through Lucien's chest.
Finally, an opponent who was adapting. Someone who would force him to evolve during the fight itself rather than simply overpowering them with superior stats.
Artorias pulled his sword free with a grinding sound of metal against stone and immediately went into a spinning cartwheel attack. His body rotated horizontally as he closed the distance, the greatsword extending his reach as he spun. The attack was completely unpredictable, combining movement with offense in a way that traditional swordplay never attempted.
Lucien jumped straight up, letting the spinning knight pass beneath him like a deadly tornado. As Artorias completed his rotation, Lucien came down with both daggers aimed at the knight's exposed back, hoping to end the fight with a decisive strike.
But Artorias was ready. He used the momentum from his cartwheel to flow directly into a backward thrust, his greatsword shooting out behind him like a massive spear. The transition was seamless, as if the entire movement had been planned from the beginning.
Lucien twisted in midair, his agility allowing him to contort his body around the blade. The sword passed so close to his side that it cut through his shirt and left a thin red line across his ribs. He landed awkwardly, his balance thrown off by the desperate evasion, but managed to avoid the follow-up shoulder charge that came immediately after.
'Two and a half minutes left. He's getting faster, and I'm already breathing hard.'
It was true. As the fight progressed, Artorias seemed to be adapting to his fighting style. His movements were becoming more fluid, his attacks more vicious. The dark energy around his armor was growing thicker, and there was something almost bestial creeping into his fighting style.
Lucien activated Mana Slash, pouring energy into his daggers until they glowed with purple light. The weapons hummed with contained power as he crossed them in front of his chest. He released a wide-area attack that carved through the air toward Artorias, the energy wave hot enough to leave trails in the air.
The Abysswalker responded by planting his greatsword in the ground and vaulting over it, using the weapon as a pole to launch himself into another aerial attack. The Mana Slash passed harmlessly beneath him, scoring the arena wall behind where he had been standing.
'He's treating this like a dance, not a duel. Every move flows into the next without pause.'
Artorias came down with a leaping slam that Lucien avoided, the attack creating another crater in the already damaged floor. The knight immediately chained it into a forward thrust that forced Lucien to twist sideways, his spine protesting at the awkward angle. The thrust became a horizontal sweep that he had to duck under, his knees nearly buckling from the rapid sequence of evasions.
The combination was relentless and seemingly endless. Lucien found himself being pushed back across the arena as Artorias maintained constant pressure.
There was no time to counterattack, no moment of weakness to exploit. The knight fought like a machine designed for one purpose: overwhelming offense.
'I need to break his rhythm. Can't win a war of attrition against someone who doesn't get tired.'
When Artorias wound up for another overhead slam, Lucien did something that went against every combat instinct he had developed. Instead of dodging away from the massive sword, he stepped forward and inside the attack's range.
The greatsword came down with tremendous force, but Lucien was too close for the blade to hit him properly. Instead, the knight's armored fist holding the weapon's hilt crashed into his shoulder, sending spikes of pain down his arm and making his right hand go temporarily numb.
But Lucien had achieved his goal. He was inside Artorias's guard, too close for the greatsword to be effective. His daggers shot out in a rapid series of strikes aimed at the joints in the armor where the plates offered less protection.
Several hits connected, finding gaps in the plate mail that his earlier observation had revealed. Dark ichor began to leak from the wounds, staining the knight's armor with something that looked more like oil than blood.
Artorias showed no signs of pain or distress. If anything, the wounds seemed to make him more aggressive.
The knight dropped his sword entirely and grabbed Lucien with his good arm, his gauntleted hand closing around Lucien's torso like a vise. But instead of simply throwing him, Artorias began to spin, building rotational momentum like an Olympic discus thrower.
'Oh shit. This is going to hurt.'
Lucien was released at tremendous velocity, flying across the arena to crash into the far wall with enough force to crack the ancient stone. The impact drove the air from his lungs and left him seeing stars, his vision swimming as he tried to focus.
Artorias had already retrieved his greatsword and was charging across the arena, his weapon held low for a devastating upward slash. Even injured and disoriented, Lucien could see him approaching.
He rolled aside just as the blade carved a chunk out of the stone wall where his head had been. Rock dust filled the air as he came up swinging, both daggers aimed at Artorias's knees in an attempt to cripple his mobility.
The attacks connected solidly, his blades finding the joints behind the knight's knee guards. But Artorias simply took the hits and retaliated with a knee strike that caught Lucien in the ribs. The force of the blow lifted him off his feet and sent him tumbling across the arena floor like a discarded doll.
'One and a half minutes left. Time to stop playing around.'
Lucien came up in a crouch, spitting blood onto the cracked stone. His ribs ached with each breath, and his shoulder was still partially numb from the earlier hit. But his mind was clearer now, focused by the proximity of defeat.
He activated Critical Hit, feeling his next attack being charged with concentrated power that made his daggers thrum with anticipation.
Artorias approached with a long thrust, his greatsword extending like a spear to cover the distance between them. The attack was perfectly timed and angled, aimed at his center mass where dodging would be most difficult.
Instead of trying to evade, Lucien sidestepped the thrust and grabbed the blade with his bare hand, ignoring the pain as it cut into his palm. Blood ran down his fingers, but his grip held firm.
Using the sword as an anchor point, he swung himself around like a gymnast on a high bar and drove both daggers into Artorias's sword arm, right at the elbow joint where his earlier observation had revealed a weakness. The Critical Hit triggered, and both blades punched through the armor with devastating force.
Dark ichor sprayed from the wounds in a pressurized stream, and for the first time in the entire fight, Artorias staggered. His grip on the greatsword loosened noticeably, and the massive weapon dipped toward the ground as his strength failed.
'There. Found your weakness. Even monsters have limits.'
But Artorias recovered fast. He released his sword entirely and backhanded Lucien with his good arm, the gauntleted fist connecting with enough force to rattle his teeth. Lucien went sliding across the stone floor, leaving a trail of blood behind him.
Instead of retrieving his weapon, the Abysswalker began fighting with his fists and feet, using his armor as weapons. A metal-plated knee shot toward Lucien's face with pile-driver force, followed by an elbow strike from his broken arm that could have shattered a skull.
'He's more dangerous without the sword. More unpredictable. Like fighting a wild animal instead of a knight.'
Lucien weaved between the strikes, allowing him to flow around the attacks like smoke. He noted how Artorias moved without his primary weapon—faster now, less committed to the big swings that had left him briefly vulnerable, but also less coordinated.
The knight was clearly taking damage. The wounds on his sword arm were bleeding freely, dark ichor pooling on the arena floor. His movements were slightly less precise than before, and there was a tremor in his broken arm that hadn't been there at the start of the fight.
'Forty-five seconds. Whatever I'm going to do, it has to be now.'
Lucien activated Dagger Throw again, but this time he aimed differently. Instead of targeting Artorias directly, he sent the daggers at precise angles that would ricochet off the arena walls. The geometry had to be perfect—one mistake and the attacks would go wide.
The first dagger bounced off the stone behind Artorias and shot toward his back like a guided missile. The second curved around from the side after deflecting off a wall at just the right angle. Both attacks came from different directions towards the knight.
Artorias somehow sensed them anyway. He dropped low into a crouch and let both daggers pass over his head by mere inches, then immediately launched himself forward in a tackle that caught Lucien around the waist.
Both fighters went down hard, rolling across the arena floor in a tangle of limbs and armor. Artorias tried to pin Lucien down with his superior weight and strength, but the younger fighter was too quick and too desperate.
Lucien slipped free like an eel and came up with a dagger aimed at the knight's throat, putting every ounce of his remaining strength behind the thrust.
The blade found the gap between helmet and armor, but instead of sinking deep into flesh, it scraped against something that felt like stone. The dark energy had hardened around vital areas, creating additional protection where it was needed most.
'Twenty seconds. Almost out of time.'
Artorias grabbed Lucien's wrist with his good hand and squeezed until the bones creaked ominously. The grip was like being caught in a hydraulic press, threatening to shatter the joint if Lucien didn't break free immediately.
Instead of pulling away, Lucien drove his knee upward into Artorias's damaged elbow, right where his earlier attack had compromised the armor. The knight's grip loosened just enough for Lucien to twist free, though he could feel the bruises forming on his wrist.
Both fighters rolled apart and came up in defensive crouches, circling each other like gladiators in an ancient colosseum. Artorias had retrieved his greatsword despite his injured arm, while Lucien held both daggers in reverse grips.
'Ten seconds.'
The dark energy around Artorias was growing thicker by the moment, and his movements were becoming even more erratic.
'Five seconds.'
Artorias launched himself into the air for another leaping slam, his greatsword held high above his head. Dark energy swirled around the blade like a miniature tornado, promising devastation if the attack connected. This was clearly his finishing move.
'Three seconds.'
Lucien made his choice. Instead of dodging away from the attack, he ran forward to meet it head-on. As Artorias came down like a falling star, Lucien jumped up to intercept him in midair, his daggers aimed upward like the fangs of a striking serpent.
'Two seconds
Both fighters collided in the center of the arena with the force of a small explosion. Artorias's greatsword came down just as Lucien's daggers shot upward, and for a moment they were frozen in tableau, neither moving as the outcome hung in the balance.
'One second. Commander's Touch!'
A sudden wave of pressure descended on Artorias's body as his movements became extremely restricted.
Lucien's daggers had found their mark. Both blades had punched through the bottom of Artorias's helmet, driving upward into whatever remained of the knight's head.
'Time's up.'
Lucien's Mana Fortification and Quicksilver skills deactivated simultaneously, his stats dropping back to their normal levels. The sudden change in power was jarring, like being suddenly weighed down with lead chains. His enhanced speed and strength vanished, leaving him feeling sluggish and weak.
But it was already too late for the change to matter.
Artorias's greatsword fell from nerveless fingers, the massive weapon clattering to the arena floor with a sound like a death knell. The dark energy around his armor began to dissipate like smoke in the wind, and his body went completely limp.
Both fighters crashed to the ground, but only one of them got back up.
Lucien rolled away from the fallen knight and came up in a crouch, breathing hard. His entire body ached from the brutal fight, and several new cuts were bleeding freely where Artorias's attacks had found their mark. His shoulder throbbed, his ribs felt like they were on fire, and his wrist was already swelling from the knight's crushing grip.
But he was alive, and his opponent was not.
"Hell of a fight," Lucien said, looking down at the motionless form of the Abysswalker. His voice was hoarse from exertion and the dry air of the arena.
[You have Leveled Up!]X9
Artorias lay still, his body finally at peace. The dark energy that had animated his broken body faded away completely, leaving only ancient armor and the memory of one of the most challenging battles Lucien had ever fought.
The knight had been everything Lucien could have asked for in an opponent—skilled, adaptive, relentless, and strong enough to push him to his absolute limits. It was the kind of fight that made warriors stronger, assuming they survived it.
'Four minutes and fifteen seconds. Cutting it close, but perfect timing.'
Lucien approached the fallen knight.
He placed his hand on the knight's chest plate, feeling the residual warmth from the battle. It was to make the Abysswalker serve him loyally in death.
His strongest opponent till now deserved to fight again, and Lucien would give him that chance.
"Arise."
.....
A.N: I hope you guys enjoyed the fight... I took this boss as a suggestion from one you Dear Readers.
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