Soulbound: Dual Cultivation

Chapter 434: The Duel 2

The moment Kael Dravok made his move, the nature of the battle became unmistakably clear.

There was no probing, no testing and no restraint.

Every single attack he unleashed carried the full weight of lethal intent, as though the very idea of holding back had never crossed his mind. The ground answered to him with violent obedience, splitting, rising, and collapsing in relentless succession, each strike aimed not to pressure, but to end.

Lucas understood it instantly.

One mistake would be enough.

He did not even consider meeting the attacks head on.

The first wave alone had told him everything he needed to know.

The sheer density of power behind Dravok’s control over earth was overwhelming, far beyond anything Lucas had faced before. It was not just strength, but dominance, a crushing force that turned the battlefield itself into a weapon.

Another surge came.

The ground beneath Lucas twisted violently, a jagged formation erupting upward with brutal speed, aiming to impale him from below.

Space distorted and he vanished.

His body shifted through space, reappearing several meters away just as the attack tore through where he had been standing. The air rippled faintly around him, the aftereffect of his spatial movement barely settling before he had to move again.

There was no time to breathe.

Another attack followed immediately.

Then another.

Dravok did not pause.

He did not hesitate.

He simply kept coming.

Lucas moved again, his figure blurring as he slipped between positions, dodging, evading, never staying in one place long enough to be caught. His control over space was precise, efficient, but even so, the pressure was mounting with every passing second.

Because he knew.

If even one attack connected fully...

It would be over.Not far from him, the Ice Belle moved.

And unlike Lucas, she made it look effortless.

Her figure glided across the battlefield like a streak of pale light, her movements fluid, almost graceful, as though she were dancing through the chaos rather than surviving it. Where the earth rose to strike her, she was already gone, her speed carrying her just beyond reach every single time.

There was no wasted motion.

A faint trail of frost followed her steps, marking her path in brief flashes before fading just as quickly, her presence elusive, untouchable.

Dravok’s eyes flicked toward her briefly, a faint irritation crossing his scarred features, but his attacks did not slow.

If anything, they intensified.

The ground trembled harder.

Cracks spread wider.

The battlefield itself began to warp under the sheer force of his control.Lucas reappeared again, this time a little farther back, his chest rising slightly heavier than before.

A bead of sweat rolled down his temple.

Then another.

His breathing remained controlled, but his body was beginning to tell a different story.

The duel had only just begun, and already...He was sweating. Not lightly, not from exertion alone....But from pressure.

Real pressure.

The kind that pressed against his mind, his instincts, forcing him to stay sharp, to stay alive, to keep moving without a single lapse in judgment.

Another spike of earth shot toward him, faster this time.

He twisted his body mid-step, slipping sideways through space just as it passed, the edge of it grazing his sleeve, tearing the fabric cleanly.

Lucas landed, his feet barely touching the ground before he pushed off again.

He could not stop.

Not even for a second.

Across from him, Dravok watched.

And for the first time, a faint, cruel smile began to form on his lips.

"You’re running already?" he called out, his voice carrying easily despite the chaos. "I expected more."

Lucas said nothing. He simply moved. Again and again. But inside...

He understood something that made the situation far more dangerous than it already was.

This pace was not sustainable.

And yet, slowing down was not an option. Because the moment he did...He would die.

The battlefield remained in constant motion, the ground never truly settling as Kael Dravok continued his relentless assault, each strike blending into the next with terrifying precision. There was no rhythm to exploit, no pause to seize, only an unending barrage that forced Lucas into a continuous cycle of evasion.

But not everyone shared his approach.

The Ice Belle’s expression had begun to change.

At first, she had moved as she always did, calm and untouchable, slipping through danger with effortless grace. Yet as the seconds stretched on, a faint crease formed between her brows, subtle but unmistakable.

This...

Was boring.

Her eyes flicked briefly toward Lucas.

She saw it clearly.

The constant movement, the tight control, the way he never stayed still for even a fraction too long. To anyone else, it would have looked impressive, even overwhelming, but she could see deeper than that.

He wasn’t keeping up comfortably.

He was surviving.

Barely finding space to breathe between attacks that came faster and heavier with each passing moment.

Dravok wasn’t just attacking.

He was suffocating him.

Her gaze shifted back to the Celestial.

"...Annoying," she muttered under her breath.

Another wave of jagged earth tore through the ground toward her, sharp and fast, but this time, instead of simply evading...

She stopped.

Just for a fraction of a second.

Her foot pressed lightly against the ground. And then she moved forward.

The shift was sudden.

A burst of speed far beyond what she had shown before, her figure cutting through the space between them like a streak of pale light. Frost surged beneath her feet, spreading outward in a thin, shimmering layer as the air around her dropped sharply in temperature.

Dravok’s eyes narrowed.

He had expected another evasion.

Not this.

She closed the distance in an instant.

Her hand rose, a sharp formation of ice condensing around it, compact, dense, and violently cold, the surrounding air cracking faintly under the pressure of its formation.

Then...

She struck.

The attack came fast, precise, aimed directly at his center, carrying far more force than her earlier movements had suggested.

For the first time in the duel, Dravok reacted.

His arm came up immediately, his body shifting just enough to meet the strike head on.

The impact landed.

A sharp, cracking sound echoed through the valley as ice collided with reinforced flesh, a burst of frost exploding outward from the point of contact, the ground beneath them fracturing slightly under the force.

For a brief moment....

Everything stilled.

The attack had caught him off guard.

That much was clear.

But....It wasn’t enough.

Dravok stood firm, his arm holding her strike in place, the ice around her hand beginning to fracture under the pressure of his defense.

His expression did not change.

If anything, it hardened.

"...So you do know how to attack," he said, his voice low, unimpressed.

A faint pulse of energy surged through him.

The frost around his arm shattered instantly.

The Ice Belle was forced back, her body sliding lightly across the ground as she created distance again, her feet carving thin lines of frost behind her as she stopped.

She looked at him...Really looked this time.

Her eyes sharpened with interest. Because now...It was no longer boring.

That single moment, brief as it was, shifted everything.

Lucas saw it.

The instant Dravok’s attention was drawn, the fraction of time where his offense stalled, where his focus narrowed onto the Ice Belle alone.

That was all Lucas needed.

A sharp surge of Qi burst through his meridians, no longer held back, no longer reserved for escape. Heat followed instantly, rising from within him like something that had been waiting, something that demanded release.

Fire answered.

It ignited around his hands first, then spread, coiling along his arms in violent streams, bright and furious, crackling with intensity as the air around him warped under the sudden spike in temperature.

His eyes locked onto Dravok.

And then he vanished forward.

He closed the distance in a blink, reappearing within striking range before the Celestial could fully reorient, his palm already thrusting forward as a concentrated burst of fire erupted outward.

The attack was fast.

Explosive.

And it did not stop there.

Lucas did not pause to observe the result.

He pressed in.

Again.

And again.

Fire surged with every movement, each strike flowing into the next with relentless momentum, his attacks no longer measured or reserved, but overwhelming, aggressive, driven by a sudden shift in tempo that refused to give Dravok even a moment to recover.

A second burst followed the first, larger, hotter, forcing Dravok to raise his arm to block, the flames crashing against him with enough force to push him a step back.

Then a third.

Then a fourth.

Lucas moved with a pace that bordered on reckless, his spatial ability weaving seamlessly into his offense now, allowing him to shift angles mid-attack, appearing from different directions, striking before Dravok could fully stabilize.

Flames tore across the battlefield.

The ground blackened beneath them.

The air itself seemed to ignite, heat waves rippling outward as Lucas unleashed everything in rapid succession.

For the first time since the duel began.

Dravok was forced to defend.

His arms came up, his stance shifting, his control over the battlefield momentarily disrupted as he absorbed the sudden onslaught. The earth that had once obeyed him without question now lagged behind his reactions, unable to rise fast enough to counter the speed and intensity of Lucas’s assault.

A blast of fire struck his side, forcing him to pivot.

Another came from above.

Then from behind.

Lucas did not give him space.

Did not give him time.

Did not give him control.

The roles had reversed.

Even if only for a moment.

From the distance, the shift was immediate and undeniable.

"He’s pushing him back," Lira whispered, her eyes widening slightly.

Selene leaned forward, her focus sharpening.

"He didn’t wait... he took the opening."

Henrietta’s lips parted slightly, surprise flickering across her face.

"That speed..."

Even Princess Nyx’s gaze narrowed, her attention locked onto the exchange.

"He’s forcing him to react," she said quietly.

Back at the center, Dravok’s expression darkened.

The flames crashed against him again, forcing another defensive movement, his body adjusting, bracing, absorbing, yet unable to fully break the rhythm Lucas had imposed.

Lucas reappeared once more, closer than before, his hand already igniting with another concentrated burst of fire, his breathing heavier now, but his eyes sharp, unwavering.

He did not slow down.

He could not afford to.

Because he knew...This moment would not last.

But as long as it did...

He would make it count.