Magical Soul Parade

Chapter 319: Strength of a Noble Xiph

Dana struggled to accept the logic of it. Even for a Master rank Arcanist, rapid attunement like this was a feat of extreme skill that was rarely attempted. It was a one-time-use technique that required absolute control over elemental mana because the metal would usually shatter from the internal strain the moment the power source was cut.

And yet Finn was an Ossuarist, which meant he didn’t have mana. He had to be imbuing the sword through his soul mass. He was likely using a human or a beast elemental soul mass with a high affinity and funneling that power into the iron, maintaining its physical structure with his own soul strength. He was doing all of this while fighting a Noble Xiph who wasn’t giving him a second to think or breathe.

That realization changed Dana’s whole perception of the battle in an instant.

This wasn’t a duel to the young man. This was a play! He was using a princess of the Mechanus empire to test his own limits and practice his elemental channeling in a real-world scenario!

Even Nova seemed to have come to the same realization.

She suddenly stopped her attack and dashed away, widening the distance between them. She stood on the far edge of the platform, breathing heavily. She stared at Finn with an expression that was hard to decipher. There was shock, a sense of futility, and a burning defiance all mixed together.

Finn stayed in the same position. The iron sword in his hand was humming with a low, vibrating drone of air particles that pulsed outward in steady cycles. The fact that he hadn’t stopped the spell effect basically confirmed what Dana already knew. He had been attuning the weapon the entire time.

"So you finally figured it out," Finn said. He looked at her with a calm, questioning gaze. "I was wondering when you would notice."

Nova didn’t speak. She just looked at him with eyes that were a mixture of defiance and a growing despair. Finn’s gaze seemed to ask her what she would do next. He was questioning whether she would despair now that she saw the vast gap between them. He was asking if she had the resolve to continue a fight that was so clearly one-sided. He was essentially asking her what her next move would be.

At this point, the crowd had grown into a massive population that filled the sky. People were floating on artifacts and beasts, circling the platform. Every eye was fixed on the girl in the center of the ring, waiting for her response.

Finn was just about to release his hold on the iron sword and let it shatter, assuming the match was over. From her downcast expression, he didn’t think she had anything left to give...

But then, all of a sudden, the air around Nova shifted drastically.

Finn looked up immediately, a ravenous, hungry smile spreading across his face.

"That’s what I thought!" he yelled, his voice full of a new excitement as he readied his stance once more.

The look on everyone’s face changed in an instant. The aura from Nova’s body began to surge at a frightening pace, as if a massive tap had just been opened within her. The clothes on her body began to sizzle and smoke, and her eyes took on a deep, incandescent orange glow that looked like molten metal.

She parted her lips slightly and visible steam emanated from her mouth. The sweat on her skin was evaporating instantly, sizzling against her body as her temperature rose to intense levels.

Her breathing became ragged and heavy as she slowly raised her head to meet Finn’s eyes. The outer layer of her clothes burned off entirely, revealing a separate, black latex inner layer that covered her vitals like a second skin.

On her arms, legs, and the skin of her neck, complex markings became visible. They looked like tattoos at first, but they were actually networks of lines and glyphs that glowed with a deep orange hue. They all converged at the center of her chest, where a glowing white crystal was embedded in her flesh.

Finn’s eyes widened as he took in the patterns. A heavy sense of familiarity hit him as he looked at the way the lines flowed. Then he realized with extreme surprise where he had seen something similar before...

Earth!

These lines were circuit patterns!

The way they connected and branched across her chest and arms was unmistakable to him. A deep sense of anticipation filled him immediately. It was a pleasant surprise to see that the Mechanus nobility had advanced their artifact nurturing to such a degree.

They had begun to touch on rudimentary circuitry and were implementing it directly onto their own bodies to boost their physical and magical abilities exponentially. The energy waves coming off the girl were proof of the power they were tapping into.

Finn felt a gaze on him and looked up to a section of the crowd. He saw a young man about his age who bore a faint resemblance to Nova. The young man was being held back by an older gentleman dressed in unassuming clothes.

Her brother?

Finn looked away and focused on Nova again.

Even if her brother had tried to intervene, Finn would have stopped him. The girl was on the verge of a breakthrough, and this was a defining moment for her. He was going to allow the situation to play its course.

He got into a low, ready position, funneling even more power into the iron sword until the metal started to glow with a bright, emerald light. He could feel the air around the blade screaming as the attunement reached its peak.

In the air behind Nova, dozens of Nested Geometry mechanical artifacts began to decompact from their small forms. An array of mechanical weapons that Finn had never seen before unfolded and began to float in a lethal arc right behind her. They were sleek, metallic, and hummed with a terrifying amount of stored energy.

The last sound that was heard was Finn’s laughter through the noise of the charging energy.

"Fuck me! Are those fucking cannons!!"