Azimuth: The Elden Throne (New Version)



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/BOOOOOM!/

"ARG!"

The moment he gave them the green light, Aura exploded throughout the training zone!

It was a mix of Vital power and Mana, pushing the surroundings away, including Dale, who could barely stand still as the ground beneath his feet crumbled.

Sand and dirt were thrown around with increasing speed, some of which fell right onto his face, but he didn't mind that, he merely spat whatever got into his mouth while he protected his eyes with his hands.

His focus was elsewhere.

'This… It was only for a moment, but the Devil started this standoff, the reflection only replied in kind.'

'Is it gauging its opponent?'

/SHUA SHUA!/

The wave of power was still ongoing, caving the ground beneath them, throwing rocks into the sky.

Dale couldn't believe there was such power inside him, and although he knew he could cause such destruction if he swung his blade while performing a technique, right now, the reflection wasn't even moving.

/Squint.../

He instead focused his gaze, trying to learn as much as possible.

/ROAAAARR!/

"?!"

After a few seconds of this standoff, the Devil finally had its fill, roaring loudly as it vanished from its location.

/SLAM!/

/BOOOM!/

A colossal impact soon shattered the Earth, finally sending Dale flying as the rock he stood on was flung up high.

/BOOM! CLANG! SMASH! BOOOM!/

"What's going on?!"

While he flew across the air, he heard the sounds of conflict, but due to all of the smoke and dust in the air, he couldn't see what was going on very well.

'This isn't why I told them to fight!' He thought angrily as he wished all of the dust to disappear

/Shuaa…/

And following his wish, everything on his way to the fight dissipated, giving him a clear view of what was going on.

That is, if he could follow their movements.

/CLANG!/

A terrific fight between a tall abomination and a Human, clashing their fists and destroying the world around them as they moved.

The Devil was fast and precise, but as its name suggested, it was more like a beast, without tactics or coordination.

Maybe that is giving it too little credit, the Devil had a tactic, to overwhelm its target and not give it a single moment to either breathe or think!

But its plans weren't working.

/Fwoosh!/

The reflection calmly parried its attacks, evaded a few, countered some, and attacked whenever possible, displaying an awe-striking scene to all onlookers.

Unfortunately, only Dale would ever see such a display. But maybe one day, he would be able to show this to others…

/SLAM!/

Taking a slight gap in its movement, the reflection slammed its two fists into the Devil's chest, sending it flying back like a canon.

/Jump!/

Without hesitation, the reflection jumped after the Devil, gathering reddish energy within its fists as it flew through the air.

It was about to initiate its own counterattack!

"..."

But Dale wasn't happy.

'The reflection… It'll lose at this rate.' Dale thought with a grim gaze

'Its Stats don't seem to fall off by much, and even if they do, it is utilizing them well enough to evade and counterattack.'

'The problem is that… The Devil is too resilient, the reflection can't cause any damage to it.'

'And even when it can, its fists are damaged but the sharp shards of the Devil's armor.'

'Besides, it's impossible this is the only thing the Devil can…'

/SLASH!/

"!"

Just as Dale thought of it, two streaks of reddish light pierced through the training space and into the horizon, creating two deep gashes on the ground several meters deep and wide.

"Woah…!"

'The reflection!'

Much to his surprise, amidst the dirt, his reflection still stood.

Having received the full brunt of the Devil's surprise attack, it had somehow reflected it out of its body by using its hands… But not without a price.

The back of its palms now had two bloody lines where blood fell quickly, too quick in fact.

/Sizzle…/

There was faint red smoke coming from the wounds together with a sizzling sound, causing his blood to bubble.

That didn't look to have come from the reflection… Poison? One of the Skills of the Devil?

Multiple even?

'How did it reflect that? I thought that was the end…'

/BOOOOOOOM!/

"?!"

Time and time again, his reflection showed Dale that his true potential was much scarier than he could have ever imagined.

Its chest grew increasingly hot, eventually exploding with red light, as if a powerful flame had ignited within his heart, burning his clothes as a literal pillar of fire rose from his chest.

/BADUM! BADUM!/

The beatings of his heart echoed in this sandy space, filling the air with a suffocating Vitality, similar to when they first arrived at the Cocoon of the Great Devil.

/SMASH!/

/BOOOOOOM!/

The reflection struck forward, with so much energy Dale couldn't even calculate…

And the Devil replied soon after, its claws vibrating in the air...

/ROAAAR!/

/BOOOOOOM!/

/BOOOOOOM!/

A series of massive explosions rang in the plains as the reflection released a barrage of energized punches against the Devil, thwarting all of its efforts and immediately pushing it into a defensive stance.

Throwing it around like a ragdoll, it gave the Devil not even a chance to retaliate.

/SMASH!/

The reflection punched and threw, eventually pinning the beasts against the rocky ground, pulling one of the Devil's arms with extreme violence with the intent of ripping it apart completely.

/ROAARR!/

It tried to resist, but the reflection's animalistic state was too much for it to handle, even with their size difference.

/CRUNCH!/

The reflection's hands crushed its obsidian armor, pulling, tearing, and punching…

At this rate, it would go past its muscles and pull out its bones too.

"^!@$#*&!@!!!!"

"WHA…?!"

The more he witnessed this fight the greater his shock became.

All of a sudden, with its body pinned to the ground, the Greater Devil exclaimed something with great strength, shaking the plains and Dale's Soul.

It was unlike any of its previous roars, it was something more coordinated, a phrase… With a meaning.

/Shine…/

"!"

Suddenly, above the reflection's head, a circle of reddish light formed.

It glowed in ominous light…

/FLASH!/

"Urg!..."

A powerful burst of light blinded him momentarily, causing him to squint his eyes as he raised his right palm above his eyes.

"Shit… Should I commission some dark glasses to watch this next time?..."

'What was that? Prime Force? It didn't seem like it.'

'Some sort of Devilish Magic? But I thought only Demons were capable enough of that.'

"Huh?...!!"

As his vision returned, Dale was given a harrowing sight.

A massive hole leading to unknown depths now stood in front of him.

There was no sight of either the devil or himself.

"What happened?" He asked as he approached the hole

Standing at its edge, Dale saw the hole's end, calculating it to be about a hundred meters deep, a great achievement considering digging a foot deep was already a daunting task.

But he quickly witnessed a big problem… Where was the reflection?

/Fwoosh…/

Just as he thought about this, the sand next to him gathered, taking the form of his reflection.

But when he saw this happen, his expression turned ashen.

"No… Shit…" He said as he turned his head to the side, a bead of sweat falling from his forehead

If the reflection was here, and he didn't see it at the end of the hole, then it could only mean one thing.

That it had died.

/Clench.../

"..."

Clenching his fists in frustration, Dale eventually thought about what had just happened.

'I don't see the body of the Devil, was it destroyed too?'

'Was that a suicide attack?'

'But what did it do? Those words it spoke, I thought Devils were more animalistic and barbaric in nature as compared to Demons and the like.'

'Is it because it's a Greater one? Because it mutated?'

'Where did it learn such a thing from? Instinct? Can you even learn a language through instinct?'

'I know too little about these creatures to form an opinion on this... How frustrating.'

With too many questions in his head, Dale knew no one would answer them right now.

"I could try and inquire Tina about this… She could have a solution…"

'And… Although it's a bit disappointing, I'm satisfied with this ending.'

'I never thought I would be able to put such resistance despite my severe lack of knowledge on anything and the fact I was unarmed.'

'I could try reacting to this fight once I've learned many new techniques, see who truly comes out on top.'

"Above all, what would happen if I gave the reflection Caldgolg?" Dale thought as he created the Devil and gave the reflection his sword

'How will it perform with this Legendary Armament instead?'

"Let's try this again from the start, this time, I'll prepare myself a bit more." Dale said as he pulled a pair of protective glasses from the side

/Clap!/

So he clapped his hands, the signal for them to start again.

/FLASH!/

/SLAAASH!/

"...?... Wha…"

/Silence…/

"What the fuck?" He asked out loud as his eyelids twitched

…

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Notes