Lightning Is the Only Way

"Why did we stop?" the older person sent to Manuel with his Spirit. Then, he noticed that Manuel was watching a cloaked person on the street, and his eyes widened. The man hadn't noticed that another person was here since he only kept track of his surroundings with his Spirit. Of course, Gravis was invisible to the Spirits of others. "Is it because of him?"

Manuel continued looking into Gravis' eyes. "Yes, it's because of him. I think he's the person that has assassinated Skear's group."

The eyes of the older man narrowed as he also watched Gravis. "Skear's group wasn't weak. This person might be the tempering you were searching for."

"No," Manuel sent back.

The man furrowed his brows. "What do you mean with no? Is he too weak? Did he have help in the last fight?"

Manuel never took his eyes off Gravis. "The opposite. I can feel his power. My instincts are telling me that if I were to fight him, I would die. This is not tempering. This is suicide."

The older man took a deep breath. He knew that Manuel had supreme fighting experiences and his instincts were extremely good in gauging an opponent's power. Without further ado, the older man concentrated on one of his rings and sent a message to his master. He didn't doubt for a second that Manuel could be wrong.

"Together, we have a chance," Manuel sent to the older man again. "It won't be easy, but if we win, our wills will become more powerful."

The older man continued looking at Gravis. "You know that I'm not interested in tempering myself anymore. I value my life, but if you want this fight, then I will lay my life down for you. Giving my life for an increase in power for you is reason enough."

Manuel still didn't move. "You know that I don't want you to sacrifice yourself. Yet, I feel this burning sensation inside myself. I want to fight him."

Gravis furrowed his brows. They had been watching each other for several seconds now, and Manuel wasn't doing anything. Gravis decided to take the initiative.

WHOOM!

Gravis released his Spirit so that the two people could feel it. The eyes of the older man opened in surprise while Manuel continued looking at Gravis in concentration. "He's only in the initial stage?" the man sent to Manuel, who slightly nodded in response.

What was happening? Manuel was sensing incredible danger from someone a whole level below him? Was that even physically possible? Manuel was an Ascender's Talent, and those were the strongest geniuses that existed. If the man didn't have unwavering trust in Manuel's instincts, he would never believe that Gravis could be a danger to himself.

"I think I know who that person is," Manuel sent to the man.

"Who?" the man answered.

"Do you remember the stories about an Energy Gathering disciple at the sixth stage killing an elder level figure in the Middle-Continent? I think this could be him. The timeframe fits," Manuel sent.

The man took another deep breath. "Those stories were real? I thought someone was just seeking attention."

SHING!

A saber appeared in Gravis' right hand, and the other two people grew even more vigilant. Gravis was getting bored by now. He had mentally prepared himself for this fight, but it just wasn't happening. 'Well, if they don't start, then I will.'

"I will start now!" Gravis shouted and readied himself in a battle-stance. The two men also took out their weapons. Just as expected, both of them were using thin, long swords, similar to the previous group.

BZZZZZ!

Lightning appeared around Gravis' body, and the two people shot towards Gravis, involuntarily, of course. His lightning magnetized everything metallic on their bodies. On top of that, they were very close to each other.

BOOM!

Gravis pushed the mixture of Spirit and will into his saber but didn't use any Energy or lightning. Like this, his strike would become more powerful than usual but wouldn't use up many resources. Gravis immediately slashed towards them, and a grey crescent appeared, shooting straight towards them. The man's eyes widened.

BANG!

Manuel kicked the elder on his side with his full power, making the elder and himself fly into two different directions, evading the slash. The elder felt pain in his left shoulder due to the kick, but nothing was broken. Manuel had saved his life. The elder grew angry at his lapse in judgment. Even though he had trusted Manuel's instincts, he had still taken the situation somewhat lightly. That had nearly cost him his life.

He quickly readied himself with his sword and watched Gravis, who was charging right at him. Gravis had chosen the elder first because the elder had less combat experience than Manuel. With enough pressure, the elder would make a mistake. By now, the elder was on the ground, making it easier for Gravis to attack him.

BANG!

The saber hit the sword as it blocked the attack. Yet, Gravis used the saber's loaded point to release a fully-loaded lightning bolt that shot right towards the elder, bypassing his sword. At least, it would have, if it weren't for Manuel.

BANG! BOOM!

Gravis got violently pushed to the side, making the loaded attack shoot off in a different direction. Gravis didn't know what pushed him like this, but at least this attack didn't injure him, which meant that this attack could only be used for disrupting the opponent's balance. If it could, Manuel wouldn't have used it only for this. Meanwhile, the bolt exploded on a dead tree far behind the elder, incinerating everything in its surroundings.

The elder narrowed his eyes again and gritted his teeth violently. He had been saved again by Manuel. He hated this feeling! Ignoring everything that happened behind him, he loaded his sword and shot a fully loaded attack at Gravis, who still hadn't regained his balance. This was a fully loaded attack from a person two levels higher than Gravis, and he couldn't block this with normal means.

BOOM BOOM CLANK!

A massive cube of gold appeared before Gravis, and the attack sliced right through it. Behind the cube of gold, a Lightning Board appeared angled in such a way that the slice would have to penetrate the foot-wall and the board itself, which it did. Lastly, the slash hit Gravis' blocking saber, and Gravis got shot into the distance. Yet, due to the additional materials weakening the strike, his saber wasn't damaged, and Gravis wasn't hurt.

After flying for around ten meters, Gravis regained his balance by using his magnetism with his items. He stopped flying barely above the floor and quickly returned to his upright position. The elder was surprised that Gravis managed to block his fully powered attack.

Meanwhile, Gravis quickly checked up on Manuel to see what he had used to make him lose his balance. What he saw was Manuel holding some metallic object on a stick. It looked like a metallic funnel, with the wider part pointing towards Manuel and the smaller part pointing towards Gravis.

Gravis quickly realized what this was. This device would funnel the sword force into the bigger opening, increasing its pressure and shooting it out faster and more powerful than before. Of course, this attack wouldn't be dangerous without any additional Energy, yet it was enough to make Gravis lose his balance. 'Sure enough, he has lots of combat experience,' Gravis thought.

'But that's exactly what I want!'