The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

After a long day of fighting, the large blazing sun waned, and the dim twilight before night covered the desert. Oscar's figure, wrapped in the continuous stream of Eirin spheres, with his strange Eirin antlers protruding from his head, looked closer to an ethereal being rather than a human, a spirit whose eyes gleamed like the moon in the night.

When he was almost finished fighting against his demon in the realm of thoughts, Oscar was struck by a thought, an idea. What if he used his Adamasreis with Ein and let the Eirin be contained in his body? Such a burst of power would surpass anything he had ever done other than the Omnireus.

It was merely a radical thought. Anyone would have dismissed it as folly or beyond recklessness, bordering on self-implosion. Even with his reckless behavior, Oscar's countering wary nature should have steered him away from the path.

The exact opposite happened. For an unknown reason, perhaps from instinct or enlightenment, Oscar had an inclination it was possible. Despite the vast pain he had felt from the raw power of the Eirin merely flowing through his body when fighting against his demon, it still stuck in his head that it was possible.

Now, in this battle against Regis, Oscar unleashed this power for the first time. His feet roused the Reis from the sturdy battle stage, and he spread them all over his body for the Adamasreis. As the Reis was about to settle into his carefully crafted muscles, Oscar surged his Ein and fused it with the Reis.

No pain.

Oscar expected to be wracked by pain all over his body or hear his muscles tearing and bones creaking. Instead, his heart stirred with a calm, soothing feeling, and his mind was clear and still as a quiet lake. His body felt light as a feather without the usual heaviness of the Reis contracting his muscles, not a single bout of pain.

His body has never felt this way ever since he learned the Reis. Always, there remained the constant slight discomfort in his heart while in a fight, and his constant training never afforded him much relaxation. But now he felt free, freed from all those shackles and weights.

'What are these antlers?' Oscar felt the protrusions on his head. He did not know why these antlers were on his head; they felt natural, as though he always had them. The Eirin flowed everywhere except for the upper part of his chest, which did not contain the Adamasreis.

Strangle antlers, a ghostly demon-like appearance, and Eirin wrapped around like a mantle. Oscar stared at Regis and spoke, "Demon Deer Eirin Mantle; that will be the name for this technique. I fought with Phillip Raeven in the past and lost. Let's see how you compare to him and how I have changed from before."

Oscar lifted his finger, and the blue spheres of Eirin concentrated and combined near his fingertips—a bright 'Silver Star' formed. With a flick of Oscar's finger, the 'Silver Star' knocked away the air, none of which disturbed Oscar's hair, and all could hear its rumbling as the winds continually tore and blasted away from its destructive path.

Regis charged with his swords wrapped in Ein. They transformed into solid blades of ice, so cold the vapors in the air froze into tiny ice crystals which spun around the blades. The howling of a snowstorm followed Regis's blades, white freezing air coursed from their edges, and the ice cracked upon their sides.

His sword mastery was unquestionable; he wove the swords like delicate paintbrushes on the canvas. The stage trembled, and a loud shriek came from the blades' flickering ice meeting the star's smooth metal. Regis sliced through Oscar's Eirin-empowered 'Silver Star,' his face was red and hot despite the cold air surrounding Reigs.

Oscar stared at his hands in wonder. Using the Eirin became so easy in this state as the rebound and heaviness of the power did not bother him. However, with some good news came the bad; the Demon Deer Eirin Mantle was limited, and Oscar felt it despite his first time using the power.

'Three minutes…the time is longer than my usual Adamasreis. The consequences will surely be worse than before, and I've already wasted twenty seconds so far. I need to end this now.'

Oscar exhaled, and the blue glow around him deepened, possessing an eerie oppressive might even he felt. He took a single step and appeared right in front of Regis. His hands wrapped in the gloves of 'Silver Lance.'

Regis swung his blades but was clearly shaken that his swords could not slice through Oscar's lance-covered fists. Rather, they easily shook off Regis' swords and countered with several fast jabs. With the skidding of ice and metal under their feet and the shrill high sounds of ice scraping metal, they fought all over the battle stage in an exchange that lasted for a minute.

Despite Oscar's early evolution of Prinstyct, Regis was his equal, and he could outdo Regis in terms of prediction. Oscar utilized his entire arsenal, but Regis was slippery like the ice he used; his blades deflected Oscar's 'Silver Star,' diverted Oscar's 'Flowing Mountain,' and held on against his 'Edureisclad.'

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Still, Oscar did not make it easy for Regis. His strange, wild, yet precise movements with dodges, counters, and kicks continued to pressure Regis. Oscar was far more powerful in terms of raw power, and his strange movements caught Regis in awkward positions from time to time.

"What absurd strength!" Regis yelled. Regis's arms were trembling and had a pained expression.

Oscar's deer anima constantly circled Regis's back in coordination with Oscar's attacks. He was glad to see his deer anima working so well with him.

'One minute and forty seconds.' Oscar counted down the time. He understood Regis's current level well, a stronger Middle Elite Exalt than himself, a higher grade Anima, and equal Prinstyct. The power of his Demon Deer Eirin Mantle shook him to his heart.

Can I reach Orden and the other terrifying grade eights with this power? If I fight Charles or Celestina with this when I become a Greater Elite Exalt, what will happen?'

His current self currently equaled Regis. As Oscar thought this, Regis missed several swings; however, a smile formed on the swordsman's face. Blood splurted out from Oscar's mouth, arms, and shoulder; an invisible blade had cut him and his deer anima.

'Focus! I still could not break through Orden in my unconscious state. Although this power goes beyond that, Orden was not fully developed as a warrior. Regis is different.' Oscar cooled his head and returned to the state of clarity from before. He could not afford to lose focus when Regis's flurry of swords and ice surrounded him. Regis was a powerful swordsman, warrior, and Exalt, showing the power of his lineage.

Again, Oscar suffered several cuts. The battle stage became covered in spreads of blood from Oscar's wild movements as he continued to engage Regis. He never let Regis out of his sight.

"You crazy beast!" Regis, on the other hand, grew increasingly red, his mouth constantly breathing out columns of white air as he vented. The area around him should be freezing Oscar to death; instead, Oscar was not even slowed down by the cold. With a white-knuckled grip and icy gaze, Regis swung.

'Nine Azure Serpent Swords'

'Silver Sheen'

Oscar and his deer anima encased themselves in a thick coat of silver, created by the Eirin to be far sturdier than the norm. Regis's nine slashes twisted and coiled like snakes, and they bit down on Oscar's armor. The cold air formed a vortex of ice and snow around Oscar and should have sliced anyone inside into shreds, but his silver figure remained indomitable.

'Thirty seconds.' Underneath his silver armor, Oscar continued to mark the time. Regis's ice blades nearly cut down his Eirin-boosted armor. The cold started to seep in from the slight openings, and frost overtook the armor.

It did not affect Oscar, who was clad in the streams of Eirin. The Eirin acted as a deterrent and helped diminish the outside elements to a more powerful degree than a normal Ein shroud. The frosty white air refused to come near Oscar and wafted around.

'True-Frost Execution'

Regis transformed his right sword—a beautiful long sword of ice, wider than ever and longer than thrice his blade. He placed the sword by his side at the ready in a quickdraw stance with a stern face. Then his sword flashed, appearing at the end of his hand, already swung fully to the other side; a storm of snow, ice, and wind blew after the fact, enveloping the stage.

The silver armor of Oscar split into two, clattering to the floor and enveloped by the chill into ice. However, Regis's deadly stroke hit nothing. Oscar had escaped a moment earlier and was already in the air.

Regis glanced up, and their gazes met. Regis gnashed his teeth and lifted his swords.

Oscar saw himself reflected in Regis's snake-like eyes. The imposing figure of a ghostly man with antlers riding atop a deer, staring down at him with two pairs of moonlight eyes from the man and beast, was a chilling sight even to himself.

'Double True-Frost Execution'

Both blades turned into the beautiful, large icy swords that devastated the stage. Regis exhaled a long breath of white air. Leaning forward in a semi-crouch, he was ready to meet Oscar above with both quickdraws.

'Twenty seconds.' Oscar blinked. He enlarged the lances on his arms back to normal and formed two more on his deer's antlers. The Eirin around his body glowed brightly under the encroaching night sky.

'Quartet Lance'

With a fierce shout from his lungs, Oscar continued downward with his four lances. Regis's two large, icy swords flashed, bringing the winter storm with them: hail, ice, and more assaulted Oscar's body. None bothered him as he kept his eyes focused on his target.

The clash of lances and swords instantly blew away the storm and silenced the air. Only the clean silver metal and blue ice remained after the deafening shockwave. The Ein and Eirin crackled between the blades of ice and lances of metal, and Oscar and Regis put forth all their might.

'Shattering Wave'

Oscar clenched his teeth and willed every speck of Eirin contained in his body to explode from his lances. The stream of Eirin spheres around him started to flow like a river of bubbles into the lances. His time was almost up, so he put everything into this last attack.

Even the antlers of Eirin atop his head disappeared, and he felt his body about to lose control of itself. Nothing was responding to his commands, not even a pinky finger. The powers of Eirin continued to flow to his lances.

A blue sphere appeared on the tips of each lance and popped, not in a loud explosion, only a slight pop one would hear from soap bubbles. It was silent and unassuming without the usual fierce display of a 'Shattering Wave.' Then, suddenly, Regis's ice blades shattered into nothing without warning, and in an instant, not even a tiny flake of snow or ice remained from the invisible destructive force.

Regis paled. His snake-like eyes quivered. His prided swordsmanship was reduced to nothing. In a desperate cry, Regis screamed out in a rush, "I give up!"

Instantly, the barrier formed around him and teleported him out before the silent calamity could strike. The stage trembled and cracked where he stood. Such awe-inspiring power would have reduced Regis to shreds without his quick surrender.

Then Oscar fell back first, surrounded by his friends and teammates, a look of awe and shock across their expressions. He let out a grin and laughed.

"I can't move."

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