Earth's Greatest Magus

Spllaattt!

Crimson liquid splattered in the air like a fountain as the silver sword in Olivier's hand penetrated through. Emery immediately felt a sharp sensation of pain swiftly followed by a wave of weakness.

"Arrgghh! Back off!"

[Repulsion]

As his mind instinctively cast the spell, Emery once again managed to send the master swordsman away from him. Immediately after, he put his hand on his chest and radiant green glow appeared as his [Nature's Blessing] took effect, closing the gaping wound.

The wound Olivier inflicted him was certainly a painful one. Fortunately, he managed to shift his body so the sword didn't pierce through any of his vital organs.

However, that didn't mean he escaped unscathed. His lung was punctured by Olivier's sword, causing him to have difficulty breathing, while blood continued to spurt out from the gaping wound on his front and back.

While he was waiting for his innate [Undecaying Flesh] to kick in, Emery cast [Primal Flora]. Dozens of summoned flesh-eating flowers quickly emerged from the ground and under his will launched at his opponent, obstructing and restraining him for the time being.

Alas, ten seconds was all it took for Olivier to take care of the horde of the summoned plants. Pieces of their bodies were strewn all around where he stood, not a single one retaining their original shape. Nevertheless, those plants had given enough time to let Emery back on his feet.

"Are these the best you can do?" Olivier asked in a calm tone as he nonchalantly walked over the plant remains. He brandished his sword, showing that he was ready for another round.

Emery took a moment to spit out the remaining blood that had filled his lungs before saying, "No. Let's try again."

Last night, Emery had had a lot of practice on how to deal with Olivier's extreme speed with his friends and Zach's help.

Through their numerous spars, he discovered Zach's style to deal with the Sword Saint's time magic, which was by taking full advantage of his monstrous endurance and extraordinary strength. It was a full on offense that gives no thought to one's defense, a choice he took to fight against time.

However, Emery had prepared a different way, one that suited him and his fighting style better.

Facing his opponent, the determination on his face grew firmer. One hand holding on his Savage Sword, while the other went ahead and prepared his strongest gravity spell. The air shook as the might of the spell was unleashed once more.

[Gravitational Pressure]

Immediately after, he used his powerful Spirit Reading to perceive every inch of the area enveloped in the spell, while simultaneously assuming his stance with his Savage Sword brandished forward.

Standing right within the edge of the affected area, Olivier threw his gaze around as the spell influenced his body and a feeling of heaviness appeared. He then gazed at Emery,

"Is this all?"

Once again, the Sword Saint placed and ran his two fingers across the blade of his sword, aiming its razor-sharp edge at Emery as shiny gold energy enveloped his body. In the next moment, his figure disappeared as he dashed with a booming sound.

[Sonic Thrust]

Since he knew what was coming, this time Emery was prepared. He could feel his opponent's figure rushing into the affected area, shattering every layer of gravitational force within it as he closed in on him as fast as lightning. At the same time, he stepped sideways to dodge the attack.

Spllaaattttt!

Blood splattered into the air again as a chunk of Emery's arm was severed and blown away by the attack. Emery immediately squeezed his severed arm to reduce the profuse bleeding, enduring the excruciating pain through gritted teeth as he told himself confidently. "Almost!"

Blood continued cascading down from his severed arm, yet Emery once again brandished his sword as if nothing had happened. With all his concentration on his opponent, he said loudly, "Again!"

What followed were several more clashes against the Sword Saint, in which Emery barely avoided each of the attacks the latter sent. His opponent's weapon continued to land on his body, riddling it with wounds.

Fortunately, Emery had practiced enough against sudden and swift attacks, so he could still avoid being fatally injured.

The only problem he was currently facing was that he had not expected the speed at which the Sword Saint's attacks moved to be this overwhelming.

Emery decided to take a risk by taking off all the buff spells he had, [Jade Skin] which didn't give much help to Olivier's attack and even [Slipstream] spell that enhanced his speed.

What he needed right now wasn't a higher movement speed, but a faster reaction speed instead. Therefore he took out all and focused his entire concentration on his spirit reading, dodging the upcoming attack. Just before Olivier shot at him once more, Emery closed his two eyes.

With it, he placed his attention on his [Gravitational Pressure] spell, or rather, the area affected by it. He looked for and followed every layer of gravitational force that was broken by Olivier's sword, tracking and analyzing its trajectory.

Then–

CLANKK!!!

A metallic sharp sound rang through the air as Emery managed to parry Olivier's seemingly unstoppable [Sonic Thrust]. The blade of the silver sword was held by his Savage Sword's, stopping him in his tracks.

A surprised look appeared on Olivier's face, as Emery successfully stopped him, it meant he was currently in the center of the gravity spell. As expected, he quickly found himself unable to move freely as a formless gravity force pressed down on his body.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Emery swung his sword and landed a slash on the shoulder. This however woke the Sword Saint from his daze, who hurriedly countered with another powerful battle art he possessed.

[Motion Stream]

The power within the battle art wasn't as strong as before, but it was still enough to knock Emery several meters back. Nevertheless, it didn't erase the slight sense of elation sprouting within his heart.

He could see Olivier had finally lost his calm, "Gravity magic is indeed the bane of time magic."

To Emery's surprise and confusion, he saw a certain sadness on Olivier's face as he said those words. It only lasted a moment, but it was definitely there.

He didn't have time to ponder because his opponent had gripped his sword once more, "Let's see which one will thrive..."

Olivier stabbed his sword into the floor, before he made a gesture with both of his arms. As Emery was wondering what his opponent was doing, his face changed drastically as he could feel something affecting the gravitational force in the surrounding area.

A powerful spirit force emerged followed by a thin light mist surrounding him as Olivier cast a spell.

[Temporal Shift]

Olivier pulled his sword out of the ground,"Are you ready?"

Just as Emery was about to answer, he saw Olivier instantly appear halfway through the distance separating them, almost like his eyes playing a trick on him. Emery quickly ordered his body to step away.

But then, to his surprise, he found himself back where he was before, as if he hadn't moved in the first place. Confusion immediately filled him, but he couldn't think about it as Olivier's sword was already swinging down into his shoulder.

Emery quickly swift into his [Repulsion] spell, to push the man back.

To his shock, Olivier already stood back exactly where he was, saying the same exact thing like before "Are you ready?"

It felt like an illusion that played tricks on his mind, but the wound on his shoulder proved it was real.

The Sword Saint showed a different expression this time, a contemptuous smile, "All of you gravity users will fall under my sword."