Lucien moved.
'Old man, lend me your strength!' Hero shouted inwardly.
No warning.
No wasted motion exerted, his feet took off from the ground, and shifted.
His figure blurred, not fast in a reckless way, but precise, every step placed with the intent to kill.
The broken sword in his hand cut forward in a clean arc, not wide, not exaggerated.
Efficient.
Hero barely raised his arm, his palm solidifying.
—Clang!
Boom!
The impact rang out, but the force behind it drove straight through his guard.
His arm trembled as pain shot up his shoulder, his body forced a step back.
Lucien didn't follow blindly.
He watched.
Adjusted his posture.
Hero twisted his body, trying to counter with a strike to the ribs.
Lucien's palm intercepted it midway.
—Boom!
The counter landed instantly, driving into Hero's chest.
The force compressed the air around them, and Hero was sent sliding across the ground, his back tearing through loose debris.
He coughed.
Blood.
"Too slow."
Lucien's voice came calmly as he stepped forward again.
Hero grinned through it, wiping the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. "You talk too much for someone using a broken sword."
Lucien didn't react.
His eyes flickered once, reading.
Hero's stance.
His breathing.
The slight delay in his left side.
Then he moved again.
This time.
Faster!
The sword cut downward, but halfway through the motion, it shifted. The angle changed abruptly, targeting Hero's shoulder instead of his head.
Hero tried to retreat.
Too late.
—Shing!
A clean cut tore across his shoulder, blood spraying as he staggered back.
Lucien stepped in immediately, not giving space.
Palm.
Elbow.
Sword.
Each movement chained seamlessly into the next.
Hero raised his guard again.
—Boom!
Another strike broke through it.
His body lifted off the ground this time, crashing into the side of a building. The wall caved slightly under the impact, cracks spreading outward as dust exploded into the air.
Around them, the crowd had already scattered.
"What kind of monsters are these?!"
"Run! Don't look back!"
"Foundation Building monks are fighting!"
People fled in every direction, some tripping over debris, others dragging the injured with them.
Shops collapsed as shockwaves spread, rooftops cracking under the pressure of each collision.
The street.
Was no longer intact.
Hero pushed himself off the broken wall, his arm hanging slightly lower than before.
"Damn…" he muttered, rolling his shoulder as blood dripped down his sleeve.
Lucien approached again, unhurried.
"You rely too much on that borrowed strength."
His tone was cold.
"You don't know how to use it properly."
Hero let out a short laugh, though his breathing was heavier now.
"And you talk like you were born strong."
Lucien stopped a few steps away.
"No," he said simply. "I learned."
Then.
He vanished.
Hero's pupils shrank.
From the side.
—Boom!
The hit landed before he could fully react.
His body spun, slammed into the ground, and rolled several times before stopping. The earth beneath him cracked, fragments lifting slightly before settling again.
He tried to stand.
Lucien was already there.
A foot pressed down on his chest, pinning him momentarily.
Hero's eyes widened.
Then he twisted violently, barely slipping out before the follow-up strike crushed the ground where he had been.
—Boom!
The street split open further, a shallow crater forming under the pressure.
Hero staggered back to his feet, chest heaving now, his body covered in cuts and bruises.
Lucien stood straight, looking down at him.
"You're improving," Lucien said, almost as an observation.
Hero spat blood to the side.
"Don't sound so disappointed."
For a brief moment, silence returned between them.
The air was thick with dust, the surrounding buildings partially collapsed, the ground uneven and fractured.
Then.
Hero stepped forward again.
Despite everything.
Despite the injuries.
Lucien's gaze sharpened slightly.
"…Still coming?"
Hero grinned.
"Until one of us drops."
Lucien raised the broken sword again.
This time.
No hesitation.
The battle surged forward once more, the street unable to withstand their clash as each exchange carved deeper destruction into the surroundings.
Lucien stepped forward again, unhurried, his figure cutting through the dust like a shadow that refused to scatter.
Hero rushed in to meet him, forcing his battered body forward. His fist came fast, too fast, fueled by unstable bursts of borrowed strength.
—Boom!
Lucien caught it.
His palm closed around Hero's fist just enough to halt it, the energy dispersing outward in a controlled ripple that cracked the ground beneath them.
Hero's teeth clenched.
Lucien tilted his head slightly, studying him.
"You're wasting it," he said calmly. "Power without control… is just noise."
Hero's grin twitched, strained. "Funny… coming from someone swinging a broken sword."
Lucien didn't reply.
He simply shifted his wrist.
—Boom!
A short, compressed shock exploded from his palm, sending Hero flying backward again. This time, Hero's body slammed through a stone pillar, the structure collapsing in fragments as he tumbled across the ground.
Dust surged.
Debris scattered.
The street was no longer a street.
It was a battlefield carved open by impact after impact.
From afar—
"He's getting crushed!"
"That other one… he's not even trying!"
"No—he is… look carefully!"
"Run! We need to get further away!"
Panic rippled through the remaining crowd. Some dragged the injured, others stumbled over broken ground, while a few, too stunned, could only watch.
Hero pushed himself up again.
Slower this time.
Blood dripped steadily from his chin, his arm trembling as he forced it back into position.
"…Damn monster…"
Lucien approached.
Step by step.
Each footfall steady.
"You're reaching your limit."
Hero laughed hoarsely. "And you're still talking."
Lucien stopped just outside striking distance.
His eyes flicked once, taking in everything.
Hero's breathing.
His stance.
The instability.
Then.
He moved.
Gone.
Hero's pupils shrank.