Reincarnated as the Final Villain's Vessel

Chapter 266: A Strange Person

Those blue eyes stared at me with disappointment, well, or it looked like he was thinking about his bad life choices, before they turned into something else.

"If only I’d known this I wouldn’t have chosen to attack you... well there wasn’t another option anyway, everyone’s busy today." I barely heard Theo’s voice because of the noise behind me.

Everyone’s busy?... does he mean the others are under attack.

Well, it’s not like this wasn’t accounted for...

Whether Luminar’s movements on our side, or Auerlion on the other side where Kyle and Ellen are, all of it was within the range of our calculations, even the reckless Erebus.

Yeah, here he is standing in front of us after a surprise attack... it’s only because of his illusions, and out of everyone he picked me, maybe Kyle could see through the illusions too by now, but it doesn’t matter anymore.

He balanced his long sword, and moved his charred fingers in pain, but it’s obvious his hand can be used easily.

Then he raised his eyebrow in a question. "No words for me?"

I stared at the social media star, did he like chatting with his opponents or what?

Instead of wasting time with him, I pulled out my second sword. "You can chat later, maybe at a café instead of a flying island."

"But you kicked me out and embarrassed me when I tried to talk to you a few days ago?... do you know how painful that was for me, millions watched it, Caius... millions." He was blaming me, like a little kid whose parents refused to give him candy... though I don’t understand what that has to do with our situation now, is he trying to get revenge?

I almost rolled my eyes at the drama. "Come on... I barely know you and you stop me suddenly out of nowhere, point the camera at me and act in a disgusting, fake way."

Theo gasped like he’d been stabbed in the heart with a knife. "F!... fake!?"

"Please, don’t call my streams fake just because you don’t like them... life is about taste, Astroweild, and a lot of people like my taste!" He spoke like he’s explaining a philosophical thesis.

Wait, why are we talking nonsense right now?

I stopped going along with this bastard, the essence flowed through my arms and wrapped my swords, making them shine in the shadows of the sunset, and it was the same for Theo’s sword.

For a moment we stood there, staring at each other from a distance of a few meters.

And the next moment that space vanished, and the sound of the clash boomed.

The purple grass was destroyed, and the muddy soil scattered under our feet, the bones of my right hand trembled under the weight of Theo’s sword, while a deafening metallic echo rang out.

Neither of us had an offensive ability, whether his illusions or my sense, but he was faster than me and stronger than me... an Awakened at Rank 4 who’d achieved Fusion unlike me.

So, he had the upper hand now, his sword above mine pushing it down and my feet sinking into the ground.

Our essence collided and cancelled each other out, flying off in shining sparks, I gritted my teeth under his weight.

The bones of my arm trembled from the impact of the blow, I felt like they’d bend at any moment like metal eaten by rust.

Okay, I’ll admit it... this bastard was stronger than me.

But the strongest shouldn’t win!

With my other sword, while the momentum of the blow was still pushing Theo toward me, I stabbed at him only for him to step back, the sharp edge tearing his leather armor and leaving a wound on his left side.

He clicked his tongue, his eyes tense as he muttered in a barely audible voice. "Skilled... very skilled."

Again, our swords collided, the resulting shockwave spreading in every direction and shaking the trees, their black leaves ringing like thousands of bells hanging in the wind.

And again, I felt my bone would break from the clash, if I hadn’t been angling my sword so I don’t take the full force of the blow at once, I doubt I’d have escaped a fracture in my forearm or a dislocated shoulder.

Theo tried to cast another illusion and pull back but he was met with a beam of essence that almost pierced his body from this close distance, that’s when he decided not to try that again.

He swung his sword in a horizontal arc toward my left arm, but with my other sword I blocked its path, the force of the blow twisted the sword in my hand and made me stumble to the side.

Taking advantage of that, Theo kept going and spun, raising his leg in a kick that landed on my shoulder.

I heard a cracking sound from there like the bones and the joints had folded into each other before I flew to the side, I crashed into a nearby tree with my other shoulder, the big trunk groaning like it’s about to fall.

I got my footing back in a moment, just in time to dodge his sword heading toward me, it passed right beside me and stabbed into the tree, like it’s made of butter.

This gave me a moment to heal my broken shoulder, at the same time taking advantage of him being stuck, I kicked and my foot landed in his palm that was there just in time.

Damn, he was very fast... this is why I had to achieve Fusion.

But like the time before the essence exploded in his palm, which made him fly off in the other direction, his sword cutting through the wood like jelly.

He lost his balance for a moment, bending over and groaning because of his hand that was charred even more, his little finger even broke apparently.

Taking advantage of this, I was already on him, my shoulder still shattered, so with my other hand I cut vertically and my sword met his, raised in a clumsy defense.

Sparks of raw essence flew in the air, the roots that form the floor of the forest tore apart under us.

Theo let out a pained grunt, his grip tilting downward and his sword sinking into the ground for a moment.

My damn shoulder still hadn’t healed, but I can move my elbow, and with the sword slipping my palm was aimed at him.

I couldn’t compress the essence and fire a beam at him before he got himself back, so I simply fired a small ball at him.

The essence wrapped his body in an impenetrable layer and so did mine, the ball hit his chest directly and the air came out of his lungs in a gasp mixed with a curse.

His body flew backward through the forest, and since I was right in front of him, I was definitely affected by my own attack.

But not as much as him, I was thrown only a few meters and felt my internal organs rattle from the shock even though the layer of essence protected me from any external wounds, and him too... except for a big hole in his armor and some charred skin on his chest... but not a big one.

Not enough to stop him.

More than twenty meters away, Theo carried himself up again, the shattered shining layer faded from his body, and his good hand tightened on the grip of his weapon.

"Cough... cough!... that was crazy! You’re crazy, damn it... let me admit it, you have amazing fighting skills." He tried to ignore the pain as he smiled like he’s enjoying this fight... maybe he is enjoying it, he’s a stranger person than I expected... I’m praising him by the way.

Taking the time to heal my shoulder, I spread my hands a little in a mocking gesture. "And you’re very bad, I feel like I’m dueling a kid who picked up a sword for the first time... well, a ridiculously strong kid."

I couldn’t see his eyes clearly from this distance but I’m sure he blinked in disbelief. "Huh?... a kid?... stop mocking me, I’m not that bad."

I shook my head in amusement. "You are."

I mean he’s really bad at fighting, maybe he always relied on his ability and attacked from behind a veil of illusions... you know that type who sits and watches the others fight like he’s a genius mastermind, growing a lot of arrogance and bragging along the way.

He opened his mouth and closed it in disbelief before he opened it again. "H... how can you say that so bluntly."

I almost raised my hand to scratch my head. "What?"

Theo clicked his tongue. "Tsk... I almost shed tears when you said my swordsmanship is like a kid’s... do you even know how much that hurt my heart, I don’t usually get criticized, everyone loves me especially women."

I almost sympathized with him now, but my shoulder finally healed, so I rushed at him without hesitating. "I’ll buy you some ice cream so don’t cry."

His eyes widened in surprise. "Wait... weren’t we just having a conversation, h—"

I cut off his words halfway, our swords clashing again in a metallic scream that carried across the dryness of the forest.