Arcane Era-Chapter 55: Armament’s Apotheosis

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Water shot from the gun, blasting towards Theo like a missile.

The ball of water neared its target with expert precision, threatening to blow him off upon impact. However, Theo was prepared for the imminent strike. He had readied his blade and taken his stance, his eyes wide open as the shot was fired.

WHOOSH!

Dodging by just a hair’s breadth, he tilted to the side and dashed forward—eyes calmly focused on his opponent.

The Head Intermediary noticed this and was shocked.

He fired more shots, but Theo kept reading his eye movements, also observing the direction the weapon was pointed at, in order to properly avoid all of the blasts. It wasn’t easy, and it constantly taxed his mind, but by doing so he was guaranteed to evade all of his enemy’s attacks.

’It’s not so different from my fight with Arlet...’ Theo reasoned as he systematically closed the distance between himself and his opponent. ’Arlet’s lightning was faster, but his reaction time and course correction was slow because of the blinding effect of the lighting. This guy doesn’t have that weakness, but his water blast is considerably slower than Arlet’s.’

As a result, it didn’t take very long for Theo to finally tear through the barrier of distance and reach him.

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"Heh!" The Head Intermediary grinned, his broad smile making it clear to Theo that he had anticipated this development.

It was a trap.

WHOOSH!

The man suddenly became a blur as he vanished from his position, and replacing him was a bubble-like ball that neared Theo. Due to inertia, Theo couldn’t stop himself in time, and the bubble reached him at the last second.

Then, it popped.

VWUUM!

Instantly, a massive body of water shrouded Theo’s body, covering him in a ball of liquid—similar to what had happened to Kaycee and Liyah back when they first encountered the Heart Head Intermediary.

The water currents assailed him from all side, feeling almost like he was being forcefully submerged deeper and deeper into a bottomless pit. The ball of water floated in the air, assaulting his entire body with both chill and pressure.

’Looks like it’s now or never!’ He growled, his grip on the weapon clenching harder than ever before.

As soon as he willed it... the weapon began to glow.

"H-huh? That is...!"

Theo’s eyes were closed as his mind seemingly fused with the weapon’s will and a smile formed on his face. His lips moved in slow motion, his voice silenced and transformed into bubbles that danced within the bubble.

No one in the world could hear his words.

But the blade could.

"Thgil R’ebas!"

The moment Theo called out the name of his Armament, it responded by activating... blooming into its true form as it offered power to Theo.

In essence—Apotheosis.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

The bubble of water instantly burst as the blade shone bright amber—a culmination of yellow, orange, and pure white, as everything danced at its edge until the actual sword vanished and only pure energy remained.

The hilt maintained its solid metallic sheen, but everything else had dissolved into pure energy.

The plasma edges of the blade hummed slowly, its light reverberating as Theo’s feet landed on the ground, with water splashing all around him. The droplets began to evaporate in the presence of the burning light, unable to withstand the growing heat.

Even Theo could feel the rising temperature, his cold body rapidly feeling warmth.

Before long, it would start to burn.

’I have to end things before then!’ With a glare of determination, he quickly kicked his feet on the ground and slid forward, his gaze on the stunned man who couldn’t believe his eyes.

"That is—!"

Raising his water gun, he shot several shots at Theo, at the blade, at anything his eyes could see.

He indiscriminately fired all his shots, hoping that one would land on his target and blow him to bits. However, he was in for a rude awakening.

Not only did the immense heat of the blade cause all of his water bullets to lose their intensity, but a single strike from Theo was enough to evaporate batches of water bullets at a time. And with Theo’s speed, coupled with his heightened perception, it wasn’t a difficult task to slash through the liquid projectiles.

In fact, he did it with ease.

Normally, the water bullets would have shattered an average weapon, or caused an immense recoil if one attempted to slash through it that the opponent would have to be pushed back. However, Theo’s weapon was made of pure energy, and it exuded immense heat that made the balls of water feel like jelly anytime he cut through them.

Like a hot knife through butter, the saber of light kept dancing and slicing through the balls of water, creating fireworks of evaporating liquid as Theo advanced.

Such ease... such grace...

This wouldn’t have been possible without the Armament awakening into Apotheosis.

It consumed more Ne’sh, but so what?

Theo supplied it all the Ne’sh it needed, recharging it and using it at the exact same time, while also detecting the direction of the projectiles and slashing them. This level of multitasking was not ordinary at all, but neither was Theo.

His eyes were wide open, shining bright amber as his body danced in the light and his feet kicked the ground beneath him.

Victory was assured!

WHOOSH!

The moment Theo reached his target, he brandished his blade, ready to strike.

However, at that point, the Head Intermediary activated his movement-type Armament and decided to retreat. His body became a blur as he shifted backwards, gliding away from his opponent and the fatal harm he would have received had he remained still.

Unfortunately for him... Theo predicted this as well.

Right before the Head Intermediary activated his Arcane Instrument, Theo had already changed his grip on the blade, choosing to wield it like a spear he desired to throw. And so, once the Head Intermediary slid backwards—the only possible destination he could have really opted for, thus making it predictable—the saber of light was sent forward with all of Theo’s strength.

WHOOSH!

It pierced into the air, firing like a bolt of light as it chased after the blur who wasn’t aware of being chased. After all, he was moving too quickly, so his eyes could not process any visual information while he was in this state.

And so, once he finally stopped moving—his smile wide in relief—he received an unpleasant surprise which took the form of a burning blade through his chest.

SQUELCH!