Edmun’s body shook.

Grey didn’t even take a look at the quest. There was not a single thing that was going to distract him from taking Calixan’s head.

His head tilted to the side as he looked toward where Calixan had appeared. A large amount of blood was ripped out of Edmun’s corpse, forming a spiraling corkscrew of crimson around his body.

[Blood Surge].

BADDUM.

A pulse of ruby shaped in the form of Grey’s body radiated out from him as the center, growing into a larger and larger silhouette until it vanished from the naked eye.

Circuits of red ran up, down, and across the length and width of Frantz’s spear as though it was trying to reject whatever energy Grey was trying to give it.

The world whined around him as though it might snap at any given moment.

His physical stats began to climb as though a raging tempest was fueling them.

And then he seemed to vanish.

Calixan was far more prepared this time. His breath was calm and even, his staff raised before him in an almost gentle posture.

Sir Ovaal felt threads ripped into his body and sink into his veins. Before he could restrain himself, he was launched forward as though a puppet, blocking Grey’s path forward.

There was a flash and Grey appeared to the side, only for Sir Ovaal to be whipped in front of him like some frantically swinging shield.

Grey’s own shield bashed outward, slamming against Ovaal’s nose and shattering it to pieces, but as a puppet might do, Ovaal’s leg swung out at his head nonetheless.

Grey’s head tilted the slightest bit, his spear flashing.

Ovaal’s leg was sent flying into the skies and he shrieked in pain.

Grey’s spear was so controlled, so precise he didn’t hit bone a single time. It was like he had carved around Ovaal’s hip bone, perfectly lining the curves and crevices until he ripped through cartilage and out the other side.

However, before he could flash by, Ovaal’s hip extended with tendrils of gold that caught the leg before it could go far, reconnecting it with a snap.

Ovaal twirled with a slashing kick at Grey’s head, his body spinning like a top. It was wild and hard to predict, whatever connections to Last Paladin Spirit Grey still had finding it hard to keep up with what was ultimately not a person’s intention at all.

No, there was a person’s intention, it was just filtered through too many layers and hidden away.

Grey dodged again, and then again. The spinning kicks became faster, veins of gold becoming more prominent on Ovaal’s body. The more they solidified, the more control Calixan gained and the stronger, faster, and more difficult to predict Ovaal became as a result.

A frightening cold flashed in Grey’s eyes.

Two droplets of Ovaal’s blood fell into his eyes and Void Gaze activated. The world turned to shades of grey and black and he suddenly accelerated forward.

He dodged out of the way of another kick, his spear flashing and carving it off the bone again.

It quickly reattached itself, but Grey’s body had flashed into puffs of darkness, sliding out of the way of a kick of Sir Ovaal’s other leg and then suddenly thrusting his spear forward.

He caught Ovaal in the groin, carving down, twisting his wrist, and then cutting up.

Ovaal’s other leg went flying, only for snapping tendril attachments to catch it as well.

Grey slid across the ground, streaking shadows following the soles of his feet as plumes of smoke.

Ovaal’s head suddenly twisted back to meet him, his torso still facing forward as an arm slashed back at Grey’s head.

Chi. Chi. Chi.

Grey carved him to pieces, flashing lines of white gold following his every strike as he cut and cut and cut.

Ovaal’s body exploded into pieces that were quickly caught by more tendrils. But this time, when they finally came to snap together...

[Branching Blood]

A look of sadness was the last bit of thought Ovaal could portray before he exploded into dancing arcs of a blooming tree of crimson.

Without even the slightest bit of hesitation, the branches of the tree grew and grew until—.

BANG. BANG. BANG.

Calixan’s eyes widened as he quickly moved to dodge. Every time he thought he settled into a new place, another crimson branch pierced down, intent to rip him to pieces. Fueled by a Vanguard’s blood, it was stronger than maybe any other single spell Grey had ever cast.

And it was beneath its shadow that Grey shot forward.

His speed seemed to gain traction beneath its shield, blood fuming from his pores as he pushed his body to its absolute limits.

His SPD Stat crossed 2000 as he sacrificed another more than 1600 Energy Units from his Helm Frame.

Calixan began to mumble under his breath, large amounts of Holy Energy beginning to accumulate around him as though to force the world into a deadly still obedience.

BANG.

He dodged again, timing it perfectly so that Grey appeared on the other side of a thick branch of ruby. The blood shone so brightly it looked more crystal than liquid, and from within it, he could just barely see Grey’s form.

He raised his staff, accumulating all the energy he had.

By now, he already knew exactly how Grey’s teleportation worked. So long as there were no shadowy footsteps behind him, Grey wouldn’t appear randomly.

Now, whether Grey stayed behind the branch, or came from the left or right. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

He was dead.

"Seal—."

PUCHI.

Grey’s spear ripped through Calixan’s chest, appearing behind the man as though he had always been there.

BOOM.

A line of gold tore through the space, as Calixan’s attack landed on nothing more than empty air.

"Not only are you a coward, but you’re an outright idiot."

Grey slashed upward, his spear carving out of Calixan’s head.

[Branching Blood].

Edmun’s blood boiled in Grey’s body and then shot out through the circuits of his spear, skewering Calixan until branches of blooming blood pierced out from his nose, eye sockets, and mouth.

"Fuck you."