PREVIOUSLY-
Lacelux began spinning around Vincent until a cyclone of metal spun around Vincent, acting like a wall of defence.
Vincent cracked his wrists, a relaxed, predatory grin pulling at his lips. He tilted his head slightly as his eyes drifted to his right.
'Caught you.'
-x-
A chain shot towards right, passing through empty air.
"You are too tricky, aren't you?" Vincent's canines flashed as Featherblade rained from above like an obsidian comet.
BOOM!
The tornado exploded in all directions as a crater splintered where Vincent had been standing.
[Iron Sky-net]
Lacelux spread out like a spider's web, chains wrapped around columns, covering the space in beautiful geometry.
However, both Vincent and Nvyhar were nowhere to be seen. For a moment, total silence enveloped the arena, the type where one could hear a pin drop.
WHAM!
Suddenly, in a blur of motion, Vincent's kick clashed with Featherblade. Both Nvyhar and Vincent flew from the contact, landing softly on the huge chains that now circled the place like an anaconda.
"You have grown weak, Vincent."
Nvyhar sighed, his arm still trembled but his expression remained fixed.
'Vincent', his gaze softened, 'We are sorry. But you don't know how strong of a man you are.'
Vincent spat some blood; his hands ran through his hair. An action that seemed amusing for a five-year old.
"Okay, old man. Time to end this."
Nvyhar only nodded.
[Murder Call]
A tidal wave of black crows exploded across the arena, screaming and shrieking—ripping air, bending mana, and crashing like a black tsunami.
However, before the crows could go any nearer, chains from all directions pierced the crows.
FWOOSH!
Once again, Featherblade shot through Vincent's shadow, aiming for his nape. Vincent turned, narrowly dodging the stab.
But Nvyhar lunged again, the sword slicing through the air in a horizontal arc.
Vincent ducked, twisted, and fired a kick.
Nvyhar blocked—but too high.
Vincent's eyes sparkled. "Oops."
CRACK!
A downward heel struck Nvyhar's ribs—bone gave like brittle candy.
The old man coughed and staggered.
Taking the opportunity, a chain shot towards Nvyhar—Featherblade deflected it. Too late.
WHAM!
Vincent launched up.
Midair:
Uppercut.
Cross.
Spin kick.
Knee to the jaw.
Nvyhar flew.
Vincent followed like a missile.
He twisted—descending with godly precision.
Nvyhar saw it coming and baited him.
Just as Vincent's foot neared—
GRAB!
WHAM!
The old man snatched his ankle midair and powerbombed him into the floor.
[Namebreaker Bind: Vincent Duskrane]
Wisps of jet-black energy wrapped around Vincent like vipers.
[Ultimate: Black Hollow Palm]
Nvyhar's palm slammed into Vincent's chest—releasing pure void.
Everything disappeared. Light, sound, mana—gone.
Vincent floated in pure silence. Like death. Or philosophy class.
But he smiled in that void.
Again.
A second strike neared.
Vincent raised his arms. Or so he thought.
Featherblade tore through Vincent's shoulder, its blade glinting in the emerald flames of the surrounding obelisks.
'Got you!'
Vincent smiled as metal slithered across the place like a venomous serpent. Lacelux hit Nvyhar in multiple spots, at the same time.
Pain cracked through Nvyhar's bones as his back arced in agony.
"Fuck!" Nvyhar staggered back, pulling Featherblade out of Vincent.
Inside the void, Vincent closed his eyes in concentration.
[CONTINUUM OPENED]
[CONTINUUM- THE AFFECTIVE CALCULUS]
[LAYER 4- HARVESTING]
[Gain energy from target's psychological conditions]
His senses were blocked by a foreign energy, stopping any information from getting to his brain.
Vincent channelled ether through the blocked channels, pushing out the foreign energy in his ears before Nvyhar attacked again.
Vincent dodged at the last moment as Featherblade made yet another crater on the floor.
'Haa… Haa…' Nvyhar panted, his whole body shook with pain, yet his stance remained coiled.
'Another strike. Just one more' he gritted his teeth, 'This is my last battle. I should enjoy this to my fullest.'
His fingers curled tighter around Featherblade. Black streams of smoke slithered across Featherblade, the blade began growing in size until it was the size of a lance.
[Weapon Skill-Corvus Dictum]
Thousands of crows encircled Vincent as darkness crept again. Their beaks hammered not his flesh, but the edges of his sanity. Their cawing became a monolithic, crushing wave of sound that obliterated all other awareness. Their feathers numbed his senses as all he saw was black.
Air and space got ripped apart together as the thunderous sound of Featherblade's sonic shriek pierced the arena. It wasn't a thrown object; it was a singularity of vengeance, a black spear that left a distorted trail of nothingness in its wake, aimed for the center of the crow vortex where Vincent stood paralyzed.
The thousands of claws and beaks around Vincent increased their auditory assault. The sensory input—the panic, the pain, the cold terror—should have broken his mind entirely.
This is not mine, Vincent realized.
The core of the [LAYER 4- HARVESTING] ability snapped into place. The psychological desperation wasn't a threat; it was a vast, overflowing fuel tank thrust upon him. Every flicker of Nvyhar's own exhaustion and every ounce of fear the ultimate was designed to induce in Vincent, was instantly converted into razor-sharp focus and kinetic potential.
The feeling of being crushed under a black tidal wave vanished.
Time slowed down as Vincent calmly looked at the incoming Featherblade.
'That is a terrifying speed.'
[Weapon Skill- Nimrod's Shackles]
Hundreds of floating cracks appeared in the arena's space. Lacelux seamlessly flowing through each.
WHAM!
Featherblade stopped inches before Vincent's nose as dozens of chains wrapped around the lance, stopping its descent.
However, before Vincent could breathe another sigh of relief, Featherblade disappeared.
"Hello, boy." Nvyhar lunged from behind, swinging Featherblade in a horizontal arc.
Chains wrapped around Vincent as he absorbed the impact of Nvyhar's blow.
Vincent's body flew like a ricocheted bullet. But—his lips curled into a devilish smile, canines shining.
'Caught you again.'
Before Nvyhar could retreat, Lacelux wrapped around his limbs and Featherblade, refusing to loosen its grip.
Nvyhar's body exploded, turning into crows before materializing again as the crows merged. But Lacelux gripped him again like shackles refusing to leave its prisoner.
Nvyhar tried to escape multiple times, but each time he materialized, Lacelux wrapped around him in a fraction of a second.
[Weapon Skill- Thread Sever]
The chains began pulsing faintly with violet energy. Nvyhar tried to escape, but nothing happened.
"What is this, Vincent?"
Vincent calmly walked towards Nvyhar, "As long as Lacelux is around you, you cannot access your skills."
"Hahahaha!" Nvyhar cackled, "Skills you say? However, skills and transcendent powers are different."
Multiple Nvyhar materialized on the ground. Each looked the same, Featherblade in each Nvyhar's hand.
A blur of black moved towards Vincent as Nvyhars attacked from all directions.
Vincent sank into a low, coiled stance, weight forward, chin tucked. His lead hand high. Rear hand near his jaw. Every line of his body is focused on explosive forward projection, reducing targets while maximizing the spring for a rapid, overwhelming offense.
[Ultimate- CQC]
His outline warped. Vincent reduced to a streak, and the distance between them collapsed. The Nvyhars collapsed to the ground mid-lunge.
Some has their skulls caved in, some had their torsos hallowed while others had craters blooming across different vital points throughout their body.
"Quite the genius, aren't you?" Vincent walked closer, stopping just before the chained Nvyhar.
SNAP!
With a snap of Vincent's fingers, Nvyhar's expression changed. Vincent saw it, a momentary freeze — Nvyhar's eyes widen just a fraction, then narrowed again.
"What is this?" Nvyhar tried to move his limbs, but Lacelux remained firm, "How did you do it?"
A faint smile played at the lips, small and off-centre — more pressure than warmth. Vincent strode closer,
"Simple problem, simple solution." Vincent shrugged one hand tucked casually into a pocket.
Nvyhar's mouth parts slightly; words failed to form. Then—
"Hahahahaha! Good one, kid." Nvyhar looked down at the nonchalant child before him,
"Now, finish me."
However, Vincent slowly raised his hand.
"I surrender."
[ God of Madness (B) has surrendered.]
[God of Crows (A) has won the deathmatch by default.]
The chains disappeared as Nvyhar slumped to the ground. Nvyhar gritted his teeth.
"Why?" He slapped the ground angrily, "Why do you humiliate me further?"
Vincent just sat beside Nvyhar, "Stop whining old man."
He removed the ring from his hand. A purple portal suddenly appeared beside Vincent. He threw the ring inside; his hand searched for something in the mysterious space before taking out a bottle of wine from the portal.
"Here," Vincent uncorked the bottle with a flick of his fingers, the portal closed behind them, as if it never existed in the first place.
The fruity aroma wafted the air as Nvyhar chugged down wine as a thirsty man lost in a desert.
"Kya!" Nvyhar licked his lips, "Now, this is what we call wine!"
Vincent leaned closer, "Tell me old man, what do you want me to do?"
Nvyhar calmly set down his wine. His eyes turned to the arena's ceiling, then at Vincent.
"When I die, take my core and mould it into a #@^er. Take my essence, it will choose my successor."
Vincent rubbed his forehead, "And then train whoever you pick as successor?"
Nvyhar only nodded.
Vincent let out a tired exhale, "Are the others also planning the same?"
Nvyhar did not meet Vincent's gaze.
"Vincent," His lips trembled as Nvyhar slowly wrapped his arms around Vincent, "Good bye. I am proud of you."
Vincent calmly tapped his arm, "Me too, old man. It was a pleasure meeting you."
Nvyhar's slowly turned into dust, disappearing without a trace. What left in its wake a pair of cuffs with crows engraved on it and a prism that held a black marble inside.
Vincent slowly gathered the materials, putting them carefully in the mysterious dimension. His steps turned towards Nvyhar's crumbled throne.
His gaze locked on it for more than it should. A wide smile crept across his face, "Went out with a bang."
Then, tears started streaming down Vincent's face as he broke down into cries. The dam of tears began to break.
"AAAAARRGH!" Vincent screamed at the top of his lungs.
-x-
NEXT DAY-
Location- Duskrane Castle, Duskrane County
Date- 26th, Month of Zephyris, 2007 A.G.
All eyes turned to Edward and Alexander.
Amelia looked at Edward and asked gently, "Honey, have you thought of a name?"
Sophie turned to Alexander, raising an eyebrow. "Darling, did you decide on a name for the baby?"
The two dukes stepped forward together.
"We want our father-in-law to name them," Alexander declared. Edward nodded in agreement.
The room fell into stunned silence. Even the maids holding the babies stared in disbelief.
Sophie was the first to recover.
"Whaaat! I thought you were just taking your time to come up with something beautiful!" she exclaimed.
"Ed, I don't think that's a good idea…" Amelia said calmly, glancing sideways at Thomas.
"Why?" the duo asked in unison.
Henry sighed, his face solemn. "You don't know our father's naming sense, brothers-in-law."
Everyone—from Olivia to Orianne—nodded grimly.
"Come on now," Alexander chuckled nervously, "how bad can it be?"
"I've definitely improved," Thomas huffed indignantly.
Henry stepped forward, a hand raised as if delivering a eulogy.
"Let me tell you about Father's dark history," he said gravely. "He has a… peculiar obsession with middle names."
He shivered.
"When I was born, he almost named me Fistorius Warflame Duskrane. Mother had to intervene at the last second."
Sophie burst in, her voice rising. "He wanted to name me Isolde Moonkicker Duskrane! Like—who even wants to kick the moon?"
Amelia blushed, mumbling softly, "He proposed Genevieve Dragonfist Duskrane for me… It sounds like a bar brawler in a tavern."
Henry nodded solemnly. "Thankfully, Mother saved us from a lifetime of mockery."
Edward chuckled weakly, "But maybe he's changed?"
Henry gestured to Orianne. "Orianne, tell them what he wanted to name Vincent."
She sighed, "Cornelius Hoof Duskrane."
Vincent stared at Thomas, visibly horrified. A look of deep disappointment spread across his face.
The dukes both paled.
Thomas, however, looked at them with wide, pleading eyes.
Edward hesitated, then stepped forward. "Maybe… just one last chance?"
Alexander nodded slowly.
Olivia pinched the bridge of her nose. "If you insist."
Thomas clapped his hands together. "Thank you, sons-in-law. You understand me more than my own children." He cast a look at Henry and the others before straightening up with mock dignity.
He examined the babies closely. "Brown hair and green eyes—he is clearly a Leonhart. And this one, black hair with green eyes—he's a Tigranclaw."
He stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Hmm…"
Suddenly, his eyes lit up with excitement.
"Yes! I have found the perfect names!" he proclaimed. "They are—"