The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

"Are you a member of the Undying Flame Sect? I've never seen anyone with your abilities while being a fabricator. The only one I can think of with such strength is Orden from the Earth Core Academy." Regis asked. It wasn't their turn yet, so they had idle time to talk. Regis seemed interested in Demon. It was natural to assume Demon's affiliation from how he killed the other three factions and to be confused about who he was.

"You don't talk at all….Shouldn't you show proper respect if you are indeed one of us? I am one of the leaders for the Middle Elite Exalts. Take off that mask and identify yourself." Regis's snake-like eyes flickered with icy malice. His Ein emanated a fierce killing intent. He was prepared for a fight, void of fear and apprehension.

Facing Regis's hostility, Demon felt nothing. Perhaps the pressure would have built if it were Oscar, but Demon was not Oscar. Demon faced Regis and said without emotion, "I recognize you as Regis Hyrin, the swordmaster. What's the purpose of revealing my identity? This game wants us to kill each other, regardless of faction. You would strike me down as a fellow member of the Undying Flame Sect."

"PLAYER TEN'S TURN"

"True. But, at the very least, I should get your name and face regardless of faction. Someone as strong as you has contributed enough by killing off the others, making an easy pathway for me to progress. So are you on my side?" Regis drew closer, stopping before the barrier between platforms.

'Contribution? Easy pathway? If that's how you see it, I'm already ahead in one way.' Demon sat down and closed his eyes in meditation, ignoring Regis for the second time. Regis's cold remarks about his behavior didn't faze him as Demon reflected on how Oscar won during the Desert Realm duels.

The Demon Deer Eirin Mantle was too showy and would render him useless to complete the game afterward. For this battle, he had to consider the costs to himself. Regis's power had grown since the last time Oscar fought him. Demon needed every second more to absorb the Ein and train. The risks of fighting against Regis were far too high.

"PLAYER ELEVEN'S TURN!"

Neither paid attention to the other players. Regis continued to watch Demon, and Demon delved deeper into meditation. The other players had no more uses. A few squares away was the end goal, a square platform with a flag hoisted as a beacon in the red sea of magma and death.

Everything had gone as Demon wanted. He became the last wall, blocking Regis's path to the exit. Thanks to the unexpected teleport square, his plan went smoothly and accelerated. Reaching into his pocket, Demon felt the thin augment cards, preparing for the moment of battle.

"PLAYER THIRTEEN'S TURN!"

Finally, the time had come.

Regis rolled his dice and approached. The pathway to the exit was a single lane, like a straight bridge atop the magma. Demon exited his meditation, seeing the ice swordsman on the platform before his.

"You're the only one left in my way. I don't know if you're with the Undying Flame Sect. From what I've seen, asking you to concede is impossible. Before we fight, tell me your name." Regis refused to take the step forward for the time being. He was very persistent in knowing Demon's name.

Was it some form of honor? Struck by an ember of interest, heating up from the gut, Demon tilted his head in confusion. "By what criteria am I judged for you to want my name so badly? There is no meaning for you to know my name."

"PLAYER THIRTEEN! ADVANCE WITHIN THE NEXT MINUTE!"

Regis ignored the announcement. He smiled, an unsettling display with his snake-like eyes. "We might be enemies, but as a swordsman, I must remember the names of those I think of as strong. There are some I've come to remember during my time here. The most notable is someone who came from nowhere."

"Oh? What was their name?" Demon asked. He had an inkling of Regis's answer.

"Some bastard from the Blue Ocean Pavilion. He's only a grade four. I was hoping to meet him and fight again." Regis sighed. The timer was ticking down, forcing him to move onto Demon's platform. "It's odd. You give off a similar feeling. You're not him, but there's something about you…."

'He's quite perceptive. I should be drastically different from Oscar, but he still feels a similarity. I wonder in what ways we're similar.' Demon thought as he got to his feet, clenching his hammer. The countdown to the start of the battle began, and Regis assumed his familiar quickdraw stance; this time, he did so with both blades extending into long ice swords.

"BEGIN!"

At the signal, Demon stayed where he was, not rushing in or slowly walking toward Regis. He knew Regis's range from all previous battles, including Oscar's. If he stepped forward, the frigid temperatures would assail him, followed by Regis's instant quickdraw swords.

'Then let's prepare….' Demon took out his various augment cards: alacrity, defense, strength, copy, and overlay, holding them between his left fingers. At this time, Regis followed suit and activated his arguments for sharpness and strength. Regis' face shuddered as Demon didn't use his augments.

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They had no time limit, but Regis had been tricked into using his augments while Demon had the leeway to pick and choose during the battle.

'Everything's gone according to plan. All that's left is to kill him.'

Demon entered Regis's range with a forceful stomp, wanting to unnerve or stress Regis. Unfortunately, Regis showed no reaction after his initial shock, clenching his blades to the point of bleeding. Demon understood Regis's thoughts. Yes, this battle would be settled in an instant.

Either he or Regis would die when he decides to attack for real.

Demon gripped his hammer and lowered his stance, imitating the crouching start of a beast. He felt the freezing air threaten to turn his body into a block of ice if he relaxed his Ein. With a scraping of his feet, Demon sprinted, readying to bash Regis's head into a bloody pulp like the others.

A blue, icy gleam entered his peripheral. Regis released his first blade, sending the platform into a harsher chill. Demon kept an eye on this with his Prinstyct, unable to see its path because it was the anima, not the armament.

'Alacrity'

Right before the sword could reach him, Demon activated his first augment card, ducking below the incredibly sharpness-empowered sword. The freezing Ein around the blade failed to do anything to his unfeeling body. With one quickdraw done, the other released at the opportune moment.

The second quickdraw released to slice Demon as he was in an awkward position due to his dodging. Even with the burst of alacrity, he couldn't make up for horrible footing. But it wasn't worth worrying about. Demon activated two more augment cards: defense and strength.

The shrieks of ice and Eirin pierced through Demon's ear as his hammer, infused with Ein, deflected Regis's second quickdraw. With a single final step, Demon cleared the distance between him and Regis. Finally, he reached close range. His victory, however, wasn't secured. Regis's competency in swords made him a fearsome foe to fight evenly against Demon Deer Eirin Mantle.

'Your Ein is stronger than mine, but I'm using Eirin combined with the augments. I should have evened the scales with this.' Demon bashed his hammer repeatedly, clashing and clanging against a pair of icy blades. The boost of alacrity made his swings light, the increase of strength boosted his Reis, and the defense diminished some of the brutal icy air.

Every piece had been gathered. However, Regis's swordsmanship was still unbreakable, leaving shallow cuts which froze instantly on Demon. Demon followed Regis with his Prinstyct, exchanging blow for blow. Hammer stuck against sword. He lost count of how many times he heard ice ringing and dull metal clunking.

All of this within a few seconds.

"Where is it?! Where is your anima?! This weapon isn't the anima! What about your spells? Don't tell me you're holding back because of some idiocy!" Regis unleashed his arsenal of Hyrin sword techniques. His slashes formed into serpents of frost, intent on biting their prey to death.

'Steel Prison'

Oscar hadn't mastered this spell yet, and Demon didn't either. However, it worked enough to contain the serpents for the moment and to obscure Regis's vision before crumbling apart on its own. Demon used Silver Burst; his speed went beyond the norm with the boost of alacrity.

…….

"Shit!" Regis couldn't keep his Prinstyct on the enemy due to the weak beams of steel that encased him. He wondered what this crazed madman was thinking. His respected enemy still had two cards left to play, the overlay and copy. What could the fabricator do with those?

Freed from the weak prison, Regis smiled, feeling the heat of the battle. He hadn't felt such against an opponent, not since the one who defeated him in the Desert Realm. Again, he was reminded about Oscar. Something about this stranger reminded him of Oscar.

'Their fighting styles are different. They use different armaments. Though, their elements are the same, which isn't a lot to go on.' Regis scanned the area, searching for his enemy. Realizing he couldn't find him, Regis buckled his knees and focused his Ein behind him.

His two swords hit something. Regis turned to see the fabricator fall back, a large frozen cut across his chest, nearly splitting him in two. Regis smiled and shouted, "I commend you! Nice trick!"

He turned with an improvised quickdraw stance, seeing another fabricator. Regis swung his two blades, and the fabricator was cut twice. He clicked his tongue at how none severed his enemy's body, only inflicting more deep frozen wounds. It was enough.

"You dodged well; however, you're done. Let me put you to rest. Be grateful to fall before my swords." Regis truly respected his adversary to have pushed him to this extent, although with the boost of augments. Suddenly, he heard a sound to his right, shocked at the third fabricator.

"What?!" His hands moved fast and sliced the third fabricator apart. His heart sank, and his mind thundered with alarm as it dissipated. 'Was this one the copy? Then that means the other two are..!'

"The first one was me," An evil whisper came from behind.

Regis wanted to move. He had to move. But his timing couldn't be worse off after already attacking. It felt too slow. First, his back stung, then a searing pain followed into his lungs and heart, and finally, a silver tip protruded out of his chest. It was over….

…….

"Thanks for being the fool," Demon said.

"Y-you took my attack?" Regis's words were messy, warped through the blood flooding his throat, but still understandable. "How can you get up…from such a wound?"

"Pain is foreign to me. Next time, make sure to sever the body before moving on. Although, I never gave you a chance to do so." Demon withdrew the Silver Lance. Showing it once to the audience wasn't an issue. He rubbed the long frozen wound across his chest. This will take some time to heal.

"What was the overlay, and what was the copy? How can the second one be hurt?" Regis asked pleadingly, wanting to know the reason for his defeat.

"My anima. I overlaid an illusion of myself on the anima and used the copy for the third. I acted as a distraction for the first to let your guard down and to make you believe I couldn't be the first one." Demon explained as his deer anima, disguised as himself, disappeared. "Now, take your knowledge in peace."

Regis fell to the floor, staring up at Demon. His eyes widened. "The feeling of that lance….y-you!"

"Realized it? Too late," Demon didn't give Regis another chance to say anything and crushed his head with the hammer—another gruesome kill to add to his list. Demon looted Regis, taking away his prized sword.

"PLAYER ONE HAS WON. HE CAN ADVANCE THREE MORE STEPS."

"Three steps…." Demon struggled to his feet, sensing his body couldn't keep up. The wounds were too great, slowing him down. Despite the advantages of feeling nothing, he couldn't go beyond what the body would fail to do. The battle against Regis required him to use everything and sacrifice much self-harm to win.

'How would you have done it, Oscar? The augment card for overlay from the slain Blue Ocean Pavilion member was the difference that made this match. Even with the full force of Eirin and spells, would you have won without the mantle?'

Forcing himself, limping across the platforms, Demon reached the exit platform. He won this game.

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