Lucas's breathing quickened, his eyes tracked the faintest ripple of the shadow's body as its blade blurred in precise swings.
They weren't heavy, no it was quite the contrary, they light, very light.
But the problem laid in the fact that they were calculated and measured, one wrong step, and his head would roll.
Even with his years of training, the pressure was palpable.
'Intangible… but only sometimes. That trick is that delay. I need to figure out how long.'
The shadow lunged again, its longsword cutting a silver crescent through the air. Lucas flipped aside, parrying the attack.
The clash of metals echoed in the hall, almost like an orchestra of steel. Lucas slipped in, his sword drawing an arc, but once again the sword passed through without resistance.
'Intangible once again.' Lucas thought grimly, counting the time.
"Lucas boy, I'd like to remind you that thinking too long in battle usually ends with—you know, being decapitated!" Belphegor's mocking tone reverberated inside his skull.
"Could you shut your cakehole and let me think!" Lucas cried loudly, deflecting another attack.
The shadow feinted, its sword slicing at Lucas's neck. Lucas ducked, rolling forward in a shoulder-spin.
The air hissed past as he avoided being skewered. He rose to his feet, twisting his odachi into a thrust toward the figure's chest.
Once again his blade went through, harmlessly—just like smoke.
'2 minutes.' Lucas thought, 'God, how long does his intangibility last?!' He cried in his mind as he dodged another blow.
Lucas clenched his jaw, his odachi carving empty air once again. The formless body of the shadow blurred around the steel like mist refusing to be cut. He grit his teeth, stepping back quickly as its blade grazed his side—clean, shallow, but enough to draw blood.
"Damn it! That fucking hurts!" Lucas hissed, the warm blood of his, staining his shirt.
Lucas growled, 'There should be a limit! Nothing lasts forever. If it was infinite, this challenge would be doomed from the beginning.'
'Three minutes.' Lucas counted, as the shadow whirled with mechanical precision, thrusting forward. Lucas shifted, his odachi clashing against the longsword
Clang!
The vibration jolted up his arms. He smirked despite his exhaustion, 'Solid again. During the strike.'
But then the shadow melted immediately afterward, his follow-up slash diving through emptiness.
"Four minutes," Lucas breathed, watching the time in his head.
It leapt again, blade sweeping up in a savage vertical slice. Lucas barely managed to intercept, sparks bursting. His arms shook from the impact, but again, he sensed it. Solid while attacking, intangible while dodging.
It had to turn tangible while attacking, otherwise its attacks would pass through. There was one weakness he could exploit, but to catch him in that split moment of tangibility—that would require insane speed—speed he hadn't been able to reach.
He had to figure out the timing.
He twisted quickly, trying to slice its leg during its recovery—but no resistance again.
"Fuck! It's like fighting smoke."
Belphegor barked a laugh at his struggle.
He flipped back as the shadow pressed harder, each strike faster, more savage now, forcing him on the defensive. Lucas's lungs burned; blood dripped, every dodge a fraction too close. Still, he focused—not on the attacks, but the duration.
"One… two…" He counted aloud, parrying another hit, then dodging low.
The shadow phased away just as Lucas touched steel against its side.
"Three… four…" The attacks came again, another clash. The body hardened with the swing, then misted in recovery.
Suddenly Lucas lunged at the fifth minute, the shadow recoiled in surprise, as it twisted its body in an effort to dodge Lucas's attack.
But Lucas spun his body in a circle, slicing the shadow's shoulder, instead of encountering no resistance, this time it was completely different.
The sound of flesh tearing rang through the hall, wet and sickening. Black ichor splattered from the shadow's shoulder, sizzling as it hit the smooth stone floor like oil catching fire.
Lucas drew in a sharp breath, eyes wide but burning with exhilaration, "…Finally… got you."
"When you turn intangible, you can continue turning intangible for five minutes but after that you have to turn tangible for a set amount of time. To attack too, you need to turn tangible. That's your weakness."
Lucas said loudly, pointing his odachi at the shadow who growled and tilted his head.
Belphegor's laugh echoed inside Lucas's head like a drumbeat, "Haahh! Now that was a clean cut! You definitely pissed him off, Lucas boy."
The shadow shivered, its blade splitting apart into two, reshaping itself into dual scimitars. Its speed doubled instantly.
Lucas barely had time to raise his odachi.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Within a moment the shadow unleashed three devastating slashes that knocked Lucas's sword out of his hand.
Lucas's boots screeched against the stone as he grinded to a halt. "Tch, fuck!" He cursed under his breath.
The shadow lunged again, blades a blur. Lucas ran towards the swing as the shadow steeled itself, its blade coming dangerously close to Lucas's neck, suddenly Lucas rolled underneath his attack.
The blades avoided him, striking the marbled ground as Lucas gripped his sword and rolled forward, coming to a stand.
Just as the shadow touched the ground, he traveled towards him in a blur, causing a loud boom to erupt.
Lucas brought his sword forward immediately.
Clang!
The blades collided as the world seemed to hold its breath, their deadlock continued for moments, as sparks slid off their blades.
Lucas hissed, his arm deflecting the blade, causing the scimitar to slide off as Lucas cut the shadow's plummeting body.
But once again, his blade passed through without resistance.
Lucas jumped back, "Five minute tangibility, one minute cooldown."
He paused, "What a broken ability." He muttered slowly as the two circled each other.
"Breathe, Lucas. Don't break focus," Belphegor's tone snapped sharper this time, devoid of mockery for once. "He's faster and his weapon…divided? But the wincon hasn't changed. Tangible only when attacking. That's still your one road to victory."
"Yeah," Lucas panted, his fingers tracing the scar across his side. God was it deep, he needed immediate medical attention after this or else he'd bleed out.
The shadow lunged, its scimitars twirling forward. Lucas's eyes narrowed, his body moved on instinct, steps light as breath as he lunged forward, meeting the shadow.
The final dance had begun.