The Exalt [Cultivation Fantasy]

An explosion of light knocked Oscar and everyone else away from the center of the main hall. For a brief moment, he caught sight of Adam fighting against Caen, the Lord of Brightburn, and a mysterious man, wearing the same clothing as the unknown assailant who used Reis. The sudden intrusion of these mysterious enemies stumped Oscar.

He had known since the start from when he met Sevon and Adam that their main focus was an unknown enemy. Oscar did not know the enemy because the two never spoke in detail, but he never imagined the enemy was also Reis users. Again, several golden rods spread like drizzling rain, embedding themselves all over the walls and floors. Dodging the downpour of golden rods, Oscar and Erden made their move, beelining straight for the unknown enemy.

"Who are you?" Oscar asked, golden drills wrapped around his hands. The enemy merely smiled and responded with golden drills of his own. While time was of the essence, he also wished to know the true identity of these mysterious intruders. His hands felt hot as the spinning drills constantly scraped against each other. Shockingly, the enemy also used Eirin, or Vis, as Adam called it.

Something felt wrong. Oscar wondered if it truly was Reis and Eirin. Everything about the stranger and the way he used their spells suggested so. But Oscar was unconvinced. Only two, Adam and his master, summed the total of his experience against Reis users, yet, the odd feeling of something out of place persisted.

As he and Erden continued to fight, their blows glancing off each other and the air rippling from the devastation of their attacks, the strange enemy grew redder, veins popping all over their arms, neck, and head. Oscar received a heavy blow from a large drill and staggered back.

"You're a fine Reis user. It appears that we will have new materials to work with. Our leader will be pleased to hear that. It's hard to nurture such evolved users. They take so long and too many resources." The man grinned with bloodshot eyes. His body appeared to visibly expand as Oscar heard the sound of bones cracking and muscles tearing.

"Materials? What the hell are you? Who are you?" Oscar never released his guard. However, he kept the man talking. Of course, the battles around him continued to get more desperate, but his assurance came from Sevon and Adam. Those two planned to fight with just them from the original plan before meeting him and Avril. Oscar paced around the small space carved out from their deadly duel. "You're not truly a Reis user, are you?"

"Interested? Too bad. What use is there in talking to a dead man?" The man grunted. The ground imploded under his feet. Oscar could see the visible heat waves rising from the man's body. His entire body had gone red, with veins showing everywhere. A pair of red gauntlets manifested on his arms.

Oscar dodged to the side, a blur of red and gold smashing into the wall behind him. His right arm had noticeable cuts, clean and straight. He cursed at how the man used invisible Reis movements to launch himself like a cannon. His Prinstyct could only catch slight glimpses of Ein movement, which helped him to move beforehand.

Before he could retreat to reassess the situation, the man sped again into a deadly charge like a bull's rush. A bramble of sapphire metal antlers grew and took the impact of the man's gold rush. Oscar realized why he had been cut so cleanly, even through his Edureisclad. Many gold blades protruded from the man's curled body, filled to the brim with Eirin.

Even Erden's metal antlers were cut in several places. Without a hint of movement in Prinstyct, the man freed himself from the antlers, entered Pseudo-Guise, and sought to enter melee combat. Seeing the gauntlets with small golden drills spinning from their knuckles, Oscar didn't lose his nerves and happily complied.

The man's blows were heavy and piercing. Oscar parried and deflected, but his hands were getting numb. Despite the physical boost from Blood Transmutation with a beast's strength, Oscar felt the blows add on. Eirin and Reis, together with a Grade Seven Exolsia, was a strong combination, but it didn't explain the strangeness of this power. The man slipped, weaved, and countered him and Erden with such agility that the man's joints should have cracked.

Sensing danger, Oscar rolled off to the side with Erden. A second man intruded on the battle, destroying what little remained of the well-polished floor.

"Hey, Evan. What's taking so long? Your enemy is tall but shouldn't be a hassle." The second man smiled and laughed mockingly. Blood dripped down from his mace, and Oscar could barely contain his rage at seeing several bodies behind the enemy.

"Something's weird about this man. Do you want to give it a try? Do it, Edd." Evan shouted in anger. His breathing grew more ragged as he coughed out blood. "We should be sturdier than a normal Reis user. Yet, he stands there without so much a wince or flash of pain from his heart."

Hearing that, Oscar turned to Erden with gratitude. He almost felt like laughing to mock them to give it another try. It was the same strategy Demon employed against Adam to near success. The same one he tried to use against Edd until Evan interrupted. He would have lost a long time ago if it were the old him. He glanced from Edd to Evan with a cold expression. One of them was strong enough be a long nuisance, and now he had to deal with two of them.

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'The invisible Reis movements can't be used all the time. But it will be hard to keep track of both of them, even with Erden's help. What's more is their strange outlandish strength, agility, and flexibility.' Oscar dared not move his gaze away from these two, even as the battles grew more intense.

'Switch with me.' Demon finally spoke. 'Those two will run you ragged, wasting your Ein. Even with Ein Awaken, you've been steadily losing more and more of it.'

'How great would it be if you could just come out and fight together in a three-on-two? That would be a huge help. The only other way is to use the full Guise.' Oscar sighed and waited for the two enemies to make their move. Then an idea struck him like lightning, flashing through his mind. 'Wait. There is a way.'

'That can work. But can our body handle the strain?' Demon wondered.

'Your body has properties of a beast now. It should be able to handle it. Go for it.' Erden seconded the idea.

After concluding his thoughts, Oscar saw a large shadow descend on him. It was Evan's large mace. He dodged and tried to counter with a drill-tipped kick. Suddenly, from the floor, dark spikes expanded out from where the mace rested, intent on skewering Oscar from the bottom. He could avoid this as well. However, to his irritation, Edd joined in from another angle.

'Switch!' Oscar shouted in his mind.

His kick, still extending out, retracted instantly with a loud snap. Instead, Oscar's body spun along the spikes with his buckler, and he kicked upward with a large golden drill, scraping against Edd's shoulder.

"Evan!" Edd shouted.

"No way out now!" Evan took advantage of Oscar's wide motion, unleashing a ball of swirling darkness as he swung his mace from the other end.

'Switch.' Demon said.

Oscar regained control and swiped his drills along the dense black ball, using its spin to hurdle himself past the mace's swing. Erden joined him and kicked Evan from behind, forcing him toward Oscar. If not for Edd's sudden charge, he nearly drove his drill into Evan's head. Dodging and retreating again, Oscar breathed out with a smile.

Evan and Edd were well-coordinated, filling in the gaps in their defense and attacking from the blindspots created by each other's actions. Anyone could be drawn in and trapped like a fly in a spiderweb, except for him. Oscar noticed their gazes growing warier from their previous exchange. He couldn't help but laugh. All this time, he had rejected Demon from acting, but the true way to utilize him was like this.

Switching in the middle of a battle to confuse and trip up their Prinstycts and instincts was a success. Sure, they could see his intent, but not when Demon suddenly switches and vice-versa. The attacks, which he thought could work, could turn into feints from Demon's whim.

Oscar no longer felt the need to wait. He rushed in without fear, with Erden and Demon on his side. Due to their connection, they coordinated well as a trio. Evan and Edd tried to catch him, but Oscar and Demon continued to rotate control, shifting the intent, Ein, and movements, confusing the two. Edd would try to counter, realize it was a feint, try to block, find it wasn't a feint, and suffer greatly. Erden's continuous strikes also kept pushing them into uncomfortable situations.

Evan and Edd became naught but playthings within Oscar and Demon's hands. Oscar was untouched by their combinations of metal and darkness. That wasn't the only problem. Their heavy blows were getting weaker, and their strange agility became rigid. Blood dripped from their orifices as their skin started to tear.

Whatever was happening, Oscar knew they were dying and refused to let them go so easily. He stabbed Evan in the stomach and severed Edd's arm. He didn't kill yet. There were still questions he needed answers for.

"So, who are you?" Oscar asked in a tired voice. Switching with Demon constantly drained his body and wrung his mind like a wet towel, barely able to discern things around him.

"So we ran out of time first…what the hell are you? The leader will certainly be pleased to know someone like you exists. Someone without the issue of the heart." Evan smiled maniacally, not what a person on their deathbed should do after a loss.

"Be mindful of your surroundings. Haha. We will come for you. Soon, you will serve our purposes…." Edd cracked something in his teeth, as did Evan, and their body started to melt.

"Shit!" Oscar wanted to do something but was helpless to do anything. He watched in frustration, his eyes trembling at the sight of the truth melting away. "What the hell are they?"

"So, you finally know now," Adam's voice cut his thoughts short.

Oscar turned to Adam and saw a similar melting corpse and the Lord of Brightburn, impaled on his own lance. Adam had several injuries, some quite severe and requiring medical attention. Adam tossed Oscar an elixir and drank one himself. "It's a grade-three rejuvenation elixir. It will help heal your wounds."

"What are they?" Oscar drank his fill and stood up, his injuries going away. "They were like Reis users, but not entirely. And why were we referred to as materials?"

"This conversation regards all Reis users. I'll speak when you have my little sister with you. You should fetch her while I clean up here. She's probably lost control in her rage." Adam cleaned the blood off him.

"Avril, angry? She did seem unsettling before, and you said it kicked in earlier. What the hell did you do?" Oscar stared with malice.

"She has some deep-rooted trauma. I understood that from when we first met. So, to help her not become a burden, the Elder put a hypnotic spell on her. Anytime she witnesses or runs into something that may throw her into her trauma, instead of pain and sorrow, she will feel anger." Adam sighed.

"Are you a moron?" Oscar punched Adam in the face. He ignored the pain in his knuckles.

Adam cracked his neck and sighed. "I told the Elder it wasn't a good choice. I thought you would notice it soon, but you kept her away from her trauma for a while. Anyway, don't keep fighting me. Go and find her." Adam readjusted his hair and bowtie and left.

"Goddamnit!" Oscar rushed out, riding Erden. He went in the direction Avril had run to before and stopped at the sight of blood vines and roots entangled around mangled corpses. Along the way were several balls of ivy, spurting flowers drenched in blood. Cutting one open, Oscar stepped back from the squirming mass of flesh.

He ran down the bloody street and found a figure. She was dressed in butler clothes with short indigo hair. He shouted, "Avril!"

Avril turned. Her mask was off, revealing the scars on half her face. These scars were from burns, cuts, and frost, encompassing everywhere from her right forehead to her cheek. Oscar knew from the bloody look in her eyes that she was in the throes of anger, and he held his hands up, ready to fight her.

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