The ability to skip processes consumed more mana as the complexity of the skipped process increased, with a longer cooldown to match.
Otherwise, Lucius could simply erase the sword-wielding fool before him—how convenient would that be?
Better yet, skip the process of growing stronger entirely.
From hiding on a distant rooftop to appearing before Doni with a sword and striking, the mana cost was already significant.
Pushing further would make the process too complex, demanding mana beyond Lucius's capacity.
So, he settled for this.
"Roar!"
Though unsure what had happened, Salvatore Doni knew he was in mortal danger and let out a furious bellow.
As Doni laughed, Lucius seized the moment to slide the sword into his mouth.
One slight push, and the sword, formed of magical flames, would destroy his brain from within.
Even with a Campione's superhuman constitution, he'd be dead beyond recovery.
Facing death, Doni didn't retreat.
Instead, his magic sword, glowing with Authority, slashed diagonally at Lucius without flourish.
A blade imbued with the power to cut anything wasn't something Lucius's flesh could withstand.
It seemed that even if Lucius pierced his brain, Doni intended to lop off half his head in return.
"What a shameless tactic," Lucius sighed.
Doni's goal wasn't to trade lives but to force a desperate stand.
He knew Lucius wouldn't risk a one-for-one.
A flash of gold in Lucius's other hand formed a hasty light sword to meet Doni's.
But the crude blade only stalled Doni's [Ripping Arm of Silver] for a moment before being cleaved.
Using that brief pause, Lucius gave a final push to the sword in Doni's mouth, then released it and retreated.
The all-cutting magic sword grazed Lucius's cheek, leaving a shallow cut and severing a few hairs.
Meanwhile, the sword in Doni's mouth, caught by his teeth, failed to land a fatal blow.
The Sword King, Salvatore Doni, loved battle but never limited himself to rigid methods.
With this near-rogue maneuver, he turned a disadvantage into a stalemate.
Lucius's face showed no regret.
The sword, still clamped in Doni's teeth, was a ticking bomb of surging magical flames.
Its mana was triggered.
Boom!
An explosion erupted in the Sword King's mouth.
The crystalline, beautiful sword of mana dissolved into raging flames.
Compared to their resilient exteriors, a Campione's insides were vulnerable.
If the sword detonated unprepared in his mouth, it could incinerate him from within.
Boom! Flames shot from Doni's mouth, followed by bursts from other orifices.
The flames reaching Lucius dissipated, reabsorbed as mana.
"A bit of a pity—"
Lucius frowned, eyeing the Sword King engulfed in flames.
Beneath the blaze, he glimpsed a cold, silvery metallic sheen.
Thud, thud.
Heavy footsteps echoed as a figure, faintly glowing with red and silver, emerged from the flames.
Countless runic symbols adorned his body.
The flames faded, black smoke occasionally puffing from his mouth.
"Kin, you don't hold back," Doni said, exhaling smoke, wincing through the pain.
His mouth was charred black.
Yet his battle lust only grew.
The Incarnation of Steel, an Authority usurped from the Norse hero Siegfried, vastly enhanced his durability and weight without sacrificing agility.
Though its nominal weakness was extreme heat, it could withstand flare-level temperatures for minutes with mere burns.
Lucius's flames, though powered by immense mana, were fundamentally like those of mages, lacking the potency of an Authority or solar fire.
Thus, they couldn't breach the Sword King's steel protection.
Still, the black smoke from Doni's mouth suggested Lucius's effort wasn't entirely fruitless.
"You're still alive," Lucius said evenly, unfazed. "And that slash of yours didn't hold back either."
But facing the Sword King in his steel-protected state was a headache.
His vast mana made bullying mages easy.
But against Campiones or Heretic Gods, his tricks often fell short.
Still, Lucius was confident that unless vastly outclassed, he'd always hold the upper hand.
"Phew, I think some of my insides got singed. Good thing I used the Incarnation of Steel in time, or I'd be charcoal inside and out. What's that phrase? Thousand ropes, one ton?" Doni gripped his sword tightly, its Authority glowing.
He wasn't here for friendly sparring.
He'd realized his opponent aimed to kill.
"The phrase is 'a hair's breadth,'" Lucius said, arms crossed, outwardly calm despite pondering how to break through the steel protection.
After all.
His process-skipping ability had cooled down.
With that trump card, what was there to fear?
Still, he'd try something first.
A sword slowly formed in his hand.
Designating this moment as the "cause."
Attempting to set "breaking the Incarnation of Steel" As the "result"—
***
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