CLEAVER OF SIN

Chapter 880: Abnormal [GT Ranking Bonus - ]

The crowd found themselves enveloped in a silence that had become all too familiar at this point. With each battle, Asher displayed something increasingly ridiculous and unbelievable. During his first match against Amara Charlton and Lawrence Shade, he defeated both of them with a single attack each, barely taking a step and ending the entire battle in less than a minute.He hadn’t even drawn his rapier.

Then came the second match. He displayed such outrageous hand-to-hand combat that it seemed as though it had always been his true specialty, as though the rapier had merely been a decoration all this while. He had even revealed a Martial Body Technique, matching and surpassing everything geniuses like Isaac were said to have ever achieved.

Then came this battle. They had expected him to win. They knew he would.

But Asher refreshed their understanding once again by showing them just how refined his swordsmanship truly was. He didn’t simply swing his rapier while relying on elemental affinities or Astra Energy to amplify his power.

Even those who were unawakened and those who had absolutely no understanding of swordsmanship could tell that this boy... no, The Dominator... was simply too abnormal.

Of course, they had seen him use his rapier to cut down everything in his path throughout the previous two rounds. But this particular battle demonstrated the difference between a mere sword user and a true Swordmaster.

They had seen him swing his rapier sideways, simultaneously defending against a technique while launching an attack with that very same movement. They had seen him cleave a colossal tsunami in half with a single swing. They had seen him reduce half of the battlefield to ruin with yet another effortless slash.

They couldn’t help but ask themselves a single question.

Could someone truly achieve all of this in just two years?

Advancing into a high Life Rank they didn’t even know existed. Possessing outrageous swordsmanship. Possessing outrageous hand-to-hand combat abilities.

Possessing overwhelming combat experience and battle IQ. Possessing the ability to adapt on the fly to every single opponent.

It wasn’t even about winning anymore. It was about the demonstration. It was about how he achieved victory.

It was almost numbing as Asher continuously displayed different methods of overwhelming his opponents.

It was simply too... maddening.

They couldn’t help but wonder... Could the Stars truly grant someone such monstrous talent?

Their eyes gradually rose toward the sky, their gazes settling upon Arianna Haellight as they began questioning whether their earlier theories had ever been correct. They had believed Asher and Arianna might stand as equals, with one of them eventually securing victory in a single decisive exchange.

But now, that assumption no longer seemed true.

They couldn’t help but wonder whether Arianna Haellight could truly match such a man. They wondered whether she could stand against such a monster.

They couldn’t help but ask themselves another question...

Could the Stars really create two individuals possessing talent of such an absurd level?

One male. The other female.

Some of them couldn’t help but wonder just what kind of monstrous geniuses those two would give birth to if they ever married.

No one cheered for Asher. They remained silent, patiently waiting for the next student to step forward. They couldn’t help but wonder what kind of display The Dominator would put on this time.

How would he utterly dominate his next opponent?

Their hearts stirred as they watched the greatest winning streak in the history of the Inter-Empire Competition unfold before their very eyes.

A few unrealistic expectations even began to surface within their hearts and minds, that Asher might actually defeat Arianna Haellight in the very same overwhelming fashion he had dominated everyone else before her.

Finch sighed as he noticed that neither Acker Holloway nor Arianna Haellight had moved an inch. With that, he rose to his feet before calmly jumping down onto the battlefield.

People couldn’t help but speculate about how Finch’s absurd luck would help him this time. For some unknown reason, almost no one believed Finch actually possessed a Good Luck ability. Instead, they simply believed he was an unbelievably lucky individual.

But what could luck even do against someone like Asher?

Could luck truly function in a direct one-on-one battle?

Asher touched the Worldshaper’s Relic, recreating the same vast dry canyon where he had first met Xal’Thar.

As the entire battlefield materialised, Finch merely prepared himself to surrender immediately, seeing no reason to suffer unnecessarily. Although he possessed a Flag capable of increasing his chances of victory, he didn’t believe something like that would actually work against Asher.

Sadly... it wasn’t the White Flag.

"Begin," Thomasinho’s voice echoed through the speakers.

Just as Finch was about to speak, Lior’s voice echoed within his mind.

’You don’t have to fight. I’ll take him on myself,’ Lior said.

’You sure?’ Finch asked, already convinced this Emovira was about to see his own winning streak come to an end.

’I just want to test my swordsmanship. I’m not delusional enough to think I can win without the Flag,’ Lior replied.

Although he possessed the After Damage ability, an attack first had to land before it could activate, hence the name "After Damage." If he couldn’t injure Asher even once, then the ability was nothing more than a decoration.

’Your funeral,’ Finch replied.

’Don’t worry about it,’ Lior answered with an amused smile.

Their entire conversation lasted barely a single second. Lior’s body flashed as he stepped out from Finch’s soul, he still retained his Goblin form. Unlike many others, he possessed no flashy abilities to display, nor had he created any Katana Techniques, this battle would simply be pure swordsmanship against pure swordsmanship.

Seeing Lior appear before him, Asher remained expressionless, although, deep down, he was slightly wary. Not because Lior was stronger than everyone before him or anything of the sort, but simply because Finch possessed a Flag. And considering that guy’s absurd luck, Asher had no idea what ridiculous ability that Flag might possess.

For a brief moment, Asher was tempted to strike first and end everything before Finch could pull off something unexpected.

But the very next moment, he shook his head with an amused smile. He genuinely wanted to see what Finch had prepared. And he would simply adapt on the fly.

After all... that was what battle was all about.

As long as it wasn’t the White Flag, Asher remained both confident and curious.

Lior frowned. He had already drawn his sword, yet Asher’s rapier remained sheathed.

"Aren’t you going to draw your weapon?" Lior asked calmly.

This was the first time he had spoken before the eyes of the entire world. Yet he had no reason to conceal his intelligence. Rank 6 Emovirae and Mark-Class Monsters were fundamentally different from ordinary Monsters and Emovirae.

Naturally, quite a few people reacted with astonishment. They had heard stories of Monsters and Emovirae speaking like Humans, but very few had ever witnessed such a thing with their own eyes.

"I don’t take orders from Monsters," Asher replied, knowing full well that Lior wasn’t actually a Monster.

Finch simply shook his head before walking toward the edge of the battlefield. Reaching the barrier, he folded his arms across his chest and leaned against it. He had no part to play in this battle. Though he was curious to see whether Lior could somehow perform a miracle once they eventually used the Flag.

And when Lior inevitably lost, he would simply forfeit and leave the arena.