The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

Gail's never-breaking smile unnerved Oscar. Something must have broken within her to become this deranged and sadistic. Aunt Rosett once said his own master, Draven, underwent a procedure to handle the increasingly life-threatening power of Reis, forever changing his demeanor. Or was she this way from birth?

"Not making a move? Are you waiting for me?" Gail asked. She tiptoed on the webs, jumping from one strand to another. Her green skirt and sky-blue hair fluttered around, appearing like a fairy with the deep, red, vibrant flames burning behind her.

Oscar smiled fearlessly, hiding the pain wracking his body. Eirin, mixed into his Shattering Wave and Ripple Shroud, shook his heart like a baby's rattle. Gail's words were only half right. It's not that he wanted to stay still but that he couldn't move forward while recuperating.

'Thankfully, our previous encounters made her slightly wary, and her strange nature makes her want to stick and watch.' The heaviness and numbness in his body faded away. He regained control of himself and good timing as well. A spider leaped toward him, expanding its maw. Without a glance, Oscar dismembered the spider with his deer anima, keeping his gaze fixed on Gail.

Gail disappeared. He used his eyes and Prinstyct to the max and could barely catch even the slightest whiff of her movements.

'Right!' Oscar shifted, facing right. His bulwark scraped against Gail's kick. A hidden knife extending from her toes gleamed red from the flames. Oscar heard the screeching of sharp winds surrounding her foot. This devastating attack revealed Gail's armament, the steel shoes.

Gail's kicks stabbed like spears and swung like swords. Oscar's sturdy blocks prevented her attacks from reaching through. She jumped up, kicking downward as though she was running up a stairway. Oscar blocked each deadly blow. When she flipped back to one of the strands, she vanished again with the whistling of the wind.

Her sudden disappearance didn't confuse him this time. Oscar had prepared for this. His deer anima was always behind him and stared at the angles he couldn't see despite its hooves being stuck in the webs. Through his shared connection, he saw Gail appear to his left, and Oscar spun on his Eirin-infused feet.

Gail moved in with her hands, extending some fingers and enclosing the others. Blood spurted from Oscar's forearm. Impossible! He had his bulwark up and blocked her sharp, wind-covered hands while keeping Edureisclad active. Yet somehow, he suffered a wound.

Oscar threw out a wild swing with an Eirin Lance to gain some distance to think. His lance hit something hard, and a narrow cut formed on its surface. It wasn't a deep cut, but it gave Oscar an idea of her attacks' sharpness. Gail was flung away back into a group of poor spiders, cutting them apart. Her innocent smile and wide eyes remained despite the shower of green blood.

'Calm down.' Oscar let out a deep breath. He noticed his bulwark had several cuts on it as well. Given enough time, she might destroy his precious armament created by Aunt Rosett. The sharpness of her attacks was unnatural.

Maia's flames and Orden's hammer continued to move to destroy the incoming spiders. Oscar gazed at Gail. She moved fast and fought with the sharpest attacks he had ever encountered. But Oscar felt better. His previous attack confirmed a few things. She lacked a good defense, and her physical strength was nothing.

It made sense. She must have grown as an assassin and focused solely on the techniques to be one. How foolish. Oscar gripped his bulwark and walked slowly, canceling his deer anima.

"SCREECH!" The loud cry of a tarantula drowned out all others.

Oscar glanced toward the source, feeling a sense of dread. Out of a large hole, large legs extended out. It was the largest tarantula Oscar had ever seen. Even more shocking was the small green token perched atop its head. The soft glow from this token, accompanied by the engraved image of a tree, was enough to confirm it.

One of the tokens finally revealed itself. Oscar wanted to grab it right away. It was a surefire way out of here, and although he felt somewhat bad for Orden, they were enemies in the end. Gail was the only one blocking his way.

"Wow! A token! How lucky!" Gail clapped her hands. "I guess I can't stay and watch. Bye!" Gail waved her hand and leaped off.

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From the boost of Eirin Silver Burst, Oscar flashed right to her side. Her damned smirk was still there. He wondered if she felt anything other than the cruel delight she displayed while watching them squirm. He clenched his fist, wrapping his arm in Eirin Lance.

Gail displayed remarkable flexibility, twisting her waist. She dodged his attack, but the force of the blow forced her back down to the webs. Without a single word, she rushed toward him as he fell.

"Die," Gail said cutely.

Oscar tightened his bulwark to his arm. His fists formed smaller lances, and he remembered the sensation of fighting against Demon. He fought like Demon, matching Gail blow for blow. Her dagger kicks matched against his Eirin Edureisclad legs, and her sharp hands screamed like a banshee against his gloves.

Gail vanished and reappeared. Oscar countered. They moved along the web. Spiders were either cut apart or riddled with holes. Oscar and Gail entangled in fierce melee combat, practically stuck to each other, covered in green blood. He met her delighted yet empty gaze as if she felt nothing.

Blood splattered down to dye the white web. Oscar felt a cut here and a cut there. His body was riddled with small cuts. Only by moving right at the moment he felt pain was he able to prevent any deep wounds.

Oscar was frustrated again at Gail's terrifying speed. She wasn't blocking his attacks, dodging them by a hair's breadth. But he expected this. From what he knew so far, her shifting movements could only be used every few seconds, and her feet and hands were unnaturally sharp but not sharp enough to slice his bulwark and lance. The mystery remained about what cut him then.

His blood provided the answer. He hadn't let himself suffer what he called trial by thousands of cuts for nothing. Oscar's red blood and the spiders' green blood dripped down from Gail's hands. Oddly, it moved cleanly in thin air as if it had something to cling to and dripped between her hands.

"So that's the true form of your weapon. That's your anima?" Oscar asked.

Gail's eyes shifted down to her hands. Oscar saw the mix of blood give form to the weapon she held. It was a strange weapon that resembled a long measuring ruler with sharp tips. The edges coated in blood revealed how sharp they were. It answered the question of why her hands behaved strangely. They were gripping this anima.

"Not bad," Gail chirped, not bothered by her anima being revealed. "So what? What can a person who can't even hit me do?" Her voice was shaky from laughter.

"This," Oscar rushed in. Once again, they entered a fierce exchange of sharp blows, ringing through the air.

"Damn! That large one is moving!" Orden shouted.

"We have to deter it with our spells. Give it your all, you beast." Maia ordered.

The tarantula queen moved onto the web. Oscar didn't spare the queen a single glance while fighting against Gail. He left it to Maia and Orden to fight it off.

As more and more cuts were carved through his skin, he didn't falter, as the damage was within his limits. Oscar waited under the flurry of wind slashes. He had only one chance. Gail's laughter echoed out as her attacks gleamed in the darkness. Oscar charged his Prinstyct, eyeing one final chance.

He let out a jab. Gail, in her usual smile, shifted away. Oscar felt relieved she didn't change her attitude. A person like her was too predictable and easy to manipulate. Oscar turned his cut-ridden body. He saw the last visages of Gail's next move, finally catching up to her.

With a single step, he placed himself open to her stab in an awkward position. As her blade pierced through his skin, Oscar felt the area heating up like a scalding flame was searing into him. Boldly, he clenched his muscles with all the force of Adamasreis, not allowing her anima to hit his organs.

'You think you're fast, and you're probably correct. But if it's for an instant, I can surpass you with all that I have.' Every fiber of his muscles, from the tip of his toes to his fingers, exploded with power. For a single instant, he swung from his awkward stance.

Her right arm flew off from the elbow down as Oscar tore it off. The arm fell onto the web, entangled more and more as it sprung up and down.

"Huh?" Gail's smile quivered as sweat beaded down her forehead. Despite her best attempts to hold up her innocent expression, cracks broke out. She unsummoned her anima, leaving a void in Oscar's body, and leaped back.

Oscar saw her shaky remaining hand clutch around the afflicted right arm, holding back the blood flowing down. Her smile widened into a twisted, crazed smile with wide eyes of shrunk teal pupils. He regretted being unable to kill her, but his range for that speed was about a few inches.

"With this, you've lost half your advantage. Try wielding your anima like before with one hand." Oscar chuckled. The screech of the queen grew louder as it suffered more burns and hits from Orden's hammer.

"YOU! ARE FUN!" Gail cackled. Her smiling face sent more chills, and his heart sank. It was the most unpleasant depraved face he had ever seen. He could not deny Gail was beautiful, but this was a horrific sight.

"Try escaping now," Oscar rushed in.

Gail smiled with an open mouth. Tears and cuts formed on her legs right before she vanished. Oscar only caught her direction and gazed at the queen tarantula. Gail grabbed onto the token.

"If you survive this, let's play some more!" A green light swallowed Gail, and she vanished into nothingness, leaving only the remnants of her laughter.

"She still had something like that?" Oscar drank a healing elixir to heal his wounds. Out of nowhere, the queen moved toward him. Oscar groaned. There was no other choice as he was too tired to deal with this after fighting against Gail. His body glowed brightly. Spheres streamed from his body and formed antlers atop his head.

"Demon Deer Eirin Mantle"

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