Chapter 6 - A Dance With Death

Lucas kept on parrying as he stepped backward skillfully. He avoided getting slashed into pieces and he was also thinking hard, on how to defeat the both of them. "Seems like these two have some kind of teamwork. One finishes and the other continues his move", he concluded.

He suddenly felt an increase in his strength, which was new to him. "What is this feeling? I've already activated the strength buff, but why do I feel an increase in my strength even after that? Is it a hidden buff?", he thought as he stepped back. Little did he know that he had awoken his aura.

"This might be the edge that I need to defeat these two", he thought as he did two backflips, and got ready for another fight. He activated the silver sword and moved swiftly. He spun and held both of his blades together, and came close to the neck of one of the beetles. He quickly switched them skillfully, making his increased speed not slow down and the increased strength helped him cleave the head off in an instant.

The beetle that spewed acid was shocked at the human which was running away, now coming to fight. He had also killed off one of its people. "SCREECH", it gave out a loud battle cry and moved towards Lucas, ready to see him dead. Lucas used the newfound strength that was surging within him to defeat the next beetle.

He moved swiftly towards the beetle, ready to slay it. He then tried to do the same thing to slice the head off its shoulders cleanly. The beetle quickly withdrew its head into its shell, making him only slice the air. But the sound that was made when slicing off gave chills to everyone in the arena.

Lucas got pissed off. Just as he was about to lose to his emotions, the words of his Master came into his head. "Emotions can make or break a person. Take control of them. And use them wisely." He charged his anger into his body, and he felt another surge of strength. Without thinking, he activated both of the swords at the same time. He moved in a swift motion towards the beetle and left the crowd awestruck.

The place he dashed from had small craters left behind. He threw his silver sword towards the head of the beetle, and it moved sideways. It looked at Lucas, mocking at his failed attempt. Lucas smiled widely. He flicked the index finger of his left hand, and using the dark blade in his right hand, sliced the head into three pieces. The sword which he had thrown came back to his hand, and he stood there, panting hard and out of breath.

"Round three has been cleared. Time taken: 00:15:49. Round three will commence after fifteen minutes", said the voice from above. Lucas sat down to clear his head. He also wanted to recover his stamina a little bit. "Good thing there is a time break. If I were to face off the Legendary beast right now, I'm sure I would end up dead", he thought as he took deep breaths, calming his adrenaline-pumping heart.

"Seems like the next one is going to be rough. Our little brother has improved a lot, don't you think, Kate?", asked Sam. He was watching Lucas's match with keen interest. He also saw the growth that he had shown from the past couple of years. "I just hope some miracle happens and he can hold off against the legendary beast", she said with her fingers crossed.

"But what kind of aura is that? He just awoke it in the middle of a fight! And it increased the second time", Sam exclaimed. "If I am not mistaken, it is the Weapon Master's aura. This aura is very unique and is also very hard to awaken for an individual. This type of aura helps in two things. Blacksmithing and combat. That's why this is sought by most of the people around the galaxy", she said.

Sam nodded his head in interest. "Seems like he will make a big name for himself when he goes out. Hope nobody figures out the connection between us though", he said. Kate also nodded her head in concern.

"The final round will commence now", said the robotic voice as the gates opened up. Lucas saw a Praying Mantis walk towards him, sharpening its forehands as sparks flew. After it entered the arena, Lucas's eyes got filled with excitement and there was nervousness hidden beneath them. The screen above began to show the details.

[Legendary Level Beast: Humanoid Praying Mantis]

[This is not a normal legendary beast. Although it looks like a normal Praying Mantis, don't get fooled by its stature. It has become humanoid, thus making it stand at the apex of the legendary tier. It can use the wind element very skillfully. Beware of its ability to camouflage]

"The first one was a half humanoid one. Thus it was quite difficult, yet manageable. But this is a full humanoid. If I have to win, I have to give it my all", he thought as he quickly took his stance to defeat it. The Mantis that stood in front of him was the same height as he was, and it suddenly vanished. "Camouflage? This soon?", he exclaimed. He looked around to find where the mantis was.

He felt a cut on his left arm. He turned swiftly to cut the mantis but didn't feel anything. "Good reflexes", came a voice. "The mantis can talk?!", thought Lucas. "Not talk. But use telepathy", said the mantis. The moment he knew this, he knew it was going to be tougher for him to slay the beast.

The mantis, using its camouflage, began to stack damage on Lucas. It slashed left, and then to the right. After a few times, Lucas began to see the pattern and moved accordingly, parrying all the strikes that were given to him. The mantis jumped backward and revealed itself. "Now let's see how you'll behave when I move faster", said the mantis and disappeared again.

Lucas closed his eyes and began to meditate. "Channel your emotions. Clear your mind", he kept repeating as he felt a slight change in the wind next to his right side. He activated the silver sword and quickly parried the strike, and his heart began to beat wildly. He knew that from this moment onwards it was a dance with death.

The moment he acknowledged the fact that it was 'do or die', he tried to find the strength that he felt during the battle with the shell beetles. He looked deep inside him, but he couldn't find it. "If I am pushed to the limit like last time, it might happen again", he thought as he stood there, waiting for the next strike from the mantis.

He felt four attacks coming from all directions. "I can't dodge them all. But maybe, If I move fast enough, I can avoid critical damage", he thought as he moved his body to the left, then to the right. He then ducked down and made a jump, hoping he could avoid the fourth strike. But he didn't.

The fourth strike hit him on the right side below his ribs. The armor had a dent just from the one strike that it had blocked. Just as he was about to lose hope, he felt the same surge of strength he felt during the last round. "Now, I can finish this", he said as he opened his eyes.

He looked around but he couldn't see the mantis. He didn't lose his hope as he had pushed his hearing to the extreme limit. A slight change of wind came and he lifted both of his swords, stopping the strike from the mantis. "Good, Human. Now, it's time to finish my hunt", it said.

It then moved swiftly, grazing his left cheek, and blood began dripping. Suddenly, he felt his cheek turn numb. "Paralyze. I'm not losing to you. I am winning this one, even if it's a dance with the Grim Reaper himself", he said. The mantis chuckled slightly and jumped backward.

Lucas used this moment to close the distance between them and activated both of his swords like last time. He slashed the swords downwards, finally drawing some blood from the mantis. He quickly shifted to a side slash and made a sign of a plus on the mantis's body. The mantis looked at Lucas in surprise.

It quickly camouflaged itself and moved to the back of Lucas, and sliced through the armor. The armor fell off and Lucas rolled to the front instantly. The blades of the mantis missed his head, and Lucas wanted to use this moment to stab the mantis. The mantis sidestepped as he stabbed, and pierced both of his blades through his stomach.

"Is this it? Am I done? I am not going to accept this!", he thought with bloodshot eyes. He stood up slowly and gripped his sword. He looked at his boots and saw that the cooldown was over. "One last attempt. I will connect", he thought as he stood with bloodshot eyes.

He felt a new surge of strength, more than the last round. He then activated [Dash] and disappeared from the view of the Mantis. He appeared in front of it, right out of thin air. Then, he stabbed through both of the shoulders of the mantis. "Not yet", he thought as he pulled out the dagger from his waist. He quickly activated [Surreal] and a second dagger appeared.

He wanted to stab through the head but the mantis camouflaged, disappearing from his view. His attack went in vain and he fell to the floor. His consciousness began to fade. "Is this death?", he thought as laid in a pool of his blood. Just then, he heard a 'ding' in his mind.

[Checking DNA]

[DNA has been verified]

[Host has been identified as a direct descendant]

[Initiating Awakening]

"What is this?", he thought as he passed out, losing his consciousness.