Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 603: Decoy

Asher stared at Debro from the water body he stood on, a river, his mind churning on how Debro had been moving and countering him all this while, every motion of the man replaying within his thoughts with analytical intensity.

Asher couldn’t help but sigh mentally, a quiet acknowledgment of the overwhelming difficulty before him. Debro seemed like a perfect counter, this man’s control over Friction Manipulation was so refined and absolute that it had touched space itself, bending even intangible aspects of reality to his will.

But still, Asher didn’t give up, the time remaining on his Star Form was only two minutes, he couldn’t afford to marvel at his enemy’s control or hesitate in the face of such overwhelming ability. Debro immediately descended from the sky, landing upon the water with a booming force, tearing gigantic water splashes upward as though a meteor had struck the river. Despite the disturbed current and chaotic waves, Asher stood unbothered, unmoved, as he met the man’s approach with calm intensity.

Black eyes met purple ones as energies hummed around them, the air itself vibrating under the pressure of their power. The next second, they both vanished from where they stood, water tearing backwards under their feet as they pushed forward, the river parting momentarily beneath the sheer force of their acceleration.

Despite knowing Debro could control friction, Asher still ran forward without hesitation, his resolve firm, the moment he got close, he felt the same drag, the same resistance that threatened to reduce his velocity to zero as Debro’s own speed simply skyrocketed in contrast, creating an overwhelming imbalance.

As Debro’s katana was about to slice through his neck, Asher vanished from where he stood, his body appearing midair above Debro, his rapier flashing downward as he slashed without mercy, his timing precise and lethal.

Debro frowned as his senses screamed at him at the incoming attack, but he had already committed to an earlier motion, instead, he manipulated friction again, using it to reduce the speed of the incoming attack, canceling the momentum at the same time, neutralizing the threat with calculated efficiency.

Asher frowned as he saw his attack fail once more, the frustration building, but he didn’t have time for that as Debro had simply waved his hand again and another thunderous, compressed heat explosion roared out with deafening proportions, covering tens of kilometers in destructive force, water splashing violently against the heat as steam rose, thick clouds forming as water droplets hung in the sky like suspended beads of destruction.

Through the steaming haze, Asher rushed forward in a blur, closing the distance with mad determination, his rapier screaming towards Debro’s neck with lethal intent, but again, Debro simply increased the air resistance Asher felt, halting his speed abruptly, then unleashed his own attack as he tried to cut Asher in half from the waist with brutal precision.

The next moment, Asher vanished again, this time appearing behind Debro, but this time, he didn’t catch Debro off guard. Debro had seen Asher teleport so many times that he now sensed the spatial fluctuation at the new location he was teleporting to.

With that spatial awareness, he immediately turned towards Asher’s new location, his katana descending like a sledgehammer towards Asher’s neck, merely inches away from decapitation as Asher’s eyes widened in pure shock.

Debro’s eyes flashed with victory, but the moment his blade was about to sink into Asher’s flesh, another Asher immediately appeared behind him through teleportation, his rapier flashing with lethal force, but this time, Debro didn’t sense the spatial fluctuation, the only thing he sensed was his own death as a chill ran down his spine as Asher’s attack raced towards his neck with unforgiving precision.

Debro’s eyes widened in shock, he couldn’t understand what he was seeing. There were two Ashers, he couldn’t comprehend how such a thing was possible. He had already rendered himself immune to Asher’s illusion skills, so how was he now seeing two Ashers at the same time, both real, both lethal, both existing within the same moment.

Besides, he couldn’t even react as he had focused all his thoughts and energy upon the Asher before him, his attention locked, leaving no room for adjustment. There was no time to dodge or use his friction ability to reduce the momentum and friction behind the second Asher’s attack, he couldn’t even use any form of explosion either from friction manipulation or Astra energy manipulation, there was simply not enough time to respond.

His battle experience screamed as he made a decision on the spot, a choice born from countless battles and refined instinct. The Astra energy under his feet vanished, the support that had been allowing him to stand upon water was gone, and in that instant, he sank into the water beneath him as the river swallowed him whole, escaping the lethal strike through an unorthodox yet effective method.

Asher’s rapier flashed through the air as he missed his target, but not completely, although Debro had dodged at the last infinitesimal moment, Asher’s rapier still tore through a portion of his neck and face, blood splattering into the air before splashing into the river, dyeing it red for a brief moment.

The Asher that Debro had nearly decapitated had merely been a decoy. At that moment, when the steam from heat and water meeting rose, Asher had created a clone to fight Debro, while he himself hid under the river, outside of Debro’s senses, concealing his presence with precision. The moment Debro went for the kill against the clone, Asher acted at that exact moment, striking with lethal intent.

Although Asher could have allowed the clone to fake his death and make Debro lower his guard, he didn’t rely on that, as someone like Debro, with his battle experience, might have been able to differentiate immediately.

So, Asher gambled on this precise moment, but it seemed this moment wasn’t enough as Debro didn’t dodge through any magical means, but by simply allowing himself to sink into the water, a simple yet ingenious solution that spoke volumes of his combat intellect. Truly, warriors of this level were anything but easy to kill, their adaptability making them terrifying opponents.

Missing his attack, Asher clicked his tongue in annoyance, frustration flickering within him, but he had just over a minute now, there was no time to waste on anger or regret. The next moment, he landed on the water, rampaging lightning erupting in his palm with violent intensity, and he immediately plunged it into the river, since Debro was there, he might as well be fried to death, turning the entire water body into a weapon.

But the moment he was about to plunge his hand into the water, Debro shot out from the river, his body streaking into the sky with explosive speed, he knew Asher had the lightning element, and he could already predict what Asher would do next in response to him diving into the river.

And with a sonic boom, Debro ascended into the sky, leaving compressed wind tearing backwards in his wake as droplets of his blood also splattered behind him during his ascent, marking the only evidence that Asher’s attack had not been entirely in vain.