Soulbound: Dual Cultivation

Chapter 436: The Duel 4

The moment that brief distance opened, it was already closing again.

Lucas did not allow it.

The Ice Belle did not allow it.

Whatever space Dravok had forcefully carved out for himself lasted no longer than a breath before both of them surged forward once more, their presence crashing back onto him with even greater intensity than before.

This time, there was no hesitation left in either of them.

Lucas had already made his decision.

If this battle turned into a contest of endurance, then he would drag it there himself. If Dravok wanted to overwhelm them with raw power, then Lucas would deny him the very foundation needed to sustain that dominance.

No rhythm.

No control.

No time to think.

Only pressure.

Relentless, suffocating pressure.

He moved first.

A sharp spatial shift brought him directly into striking range again, his palm already igniting with compressed fire, far denser than before. The flames no longer flared wildly but burned tighter, hotter, controlled to the point where their destructive force was concentrated into every strike.

He thrust forward.

Dravok raised his arm to block—

And at that exact moment, the Ice Belle appeared on his blind side.

Her movement was silent.

Almost nonexistent.

One second she was out of range, the next she was there, her hand sweeping forward as a crescent of condensed ice carved through the air toward his exposed flank.

Dravok twisted, forcing his body to respond to both threats at once.

He blocked Lucas.

He diverted the ice.

But in doing so—

He gave up ground.

A single step back.

It seemed insignificant.

It wasn’t.

Lucas saw it immediately.

So did she.

They pressed harder.

Another exchange erupted instantly, faster than before, tighter, more aggressive. Lucas no longer allowed even a fraction of distance to form between attacks, his spatial ability chaining movements together seamlessly, appearing, striking, disappearing, then reappearing from another angle before Dravok could fully stabilize.

The Ice Belle mirrored that intent in her own way.

Where Lucas was force and pressure, she was precision and disruption.

Her attacks did not aim to overpower directly, but to break timing, to force hesitation, to create openings that Lucas could exploit instantly. Every strike she launched carried a purpose, cutting into the flow of Dravok’s defenses, making it harder for him to settle into any consistent response.

Fire and ice did not clash.

They synchronized.

The battlefield itself reflected it.

One moment, flames scorched the ground, warping the air with unbearable heat.

The next, frost spread across the same space, cracking the earth with sudden cold, destabilizing the terrain Dravok relied on.

It was not just a physical assault.

It was a systematic dismantling.

They were attacking his control.

And that... was the most dangerous thing they could do.

Dravok felt it.

Every time he tried to assert dominance over the battlefield, to bend the earth fully to his will, something interfered. A sudden burst of heat that disrupted the flow of Qi through the ground. A sharp freeze that fractured his constructs before they could fully form.

His control was still superior.

But it was no longer absolute.

And that was enough to create cracks.

His expression hardened further, the earlier confidence now completely gone, replaced by something colder, sharper, more focused.

"You think this is pressure?" he said, his voice low, steady despite the chaos around him.

Lucas didn’t respond.

He attacked.

A burst of fire forced Dravok’s guard up again—

And in that instant, the Ice Belle slipped through.

Her palm struck forward, not with brute force, but with a piercing cold that seeped deeper than surface impact, aiming to disrupt his internal flow.

Dravok reacted faster this time.

His hand shot out, catching her wrist mid-motion.

For a split second, they locked.

Cold met resistance.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

His grip tightened.

Then—

Lucas appeared.

Right behind him.

A concentrated blast of fire slammed into Dravok’s back before he could fully turn, forcing him to release the Ice Belle and shift forward to absorb the impact.

The ground beneath his feet cracked violently.

He slid.

Not far.

But enough.

Steam exploded into the air as heat and cold collided in rapid succession, the battlefield becoming harder to read, harder to control, harder to dominate.

Lucas landed lightly, his chest rising heavier now, sweat trailing down his face, but his eyes remained sharp, focused, unyielding.

He could feel the strain.

It was building.

His body was working harder.

His breathing was no longer as steady.

But his reserves...

Were still deep.

Still waiting.

Still holding.

The Ice Belle stood a short distance away, her expression calm, though her eyes carried a sharper edge now, a quiet intensity that had replaced her earlier indifference completely.

"This is better," she said softly.

Lucas exhaled once.

"...Don’t slow down."

"I won’t."

Across from them, Dravok straightened slowly.

The cracks in the ground around him spread wider, deeper, as his presence began to rise again, heavier than before, more oppressive, more dangerous.

For a moment, he said nothing.

Then—

"You’re forcing it," he said, his gaze moving between them, colder now, more calculating. "Both of you."

A faint pulse of energy spread outward from him.

Stronger.

Denser.

"You think not giving me time will win you this fight."

His foot pressed into the ground.

The entire valley seemed to respond.

"But all you’re doing..."

The ground trembled violently.

"...is speeding up your own exhaustion."

Lucas narrowed his eyes.

The Ice Belle remained still.

And yet—

Neither of them backed away.

Because they understood something just as clearly.

If they stopped now...

If they gave him even a moment to fully reclaim control...

Then everything they had fought for so far—

Would collapse instantly.

So they moved again.

Together.

Faster.

Harder.

Refusing to give him even a single breath.

For a brief stretch of time, it had felt as though they were closing in.

As though the pressure they imposed was beginning to take shape, beginning to matter.

But that feeling did not last.

Dravok’s foot pressed deeper into the ground.

And this time...The earth answered differently.

Not in fragments.

Not in rushed reactions.

But in full.

A deep, resonating tremor spread outward from beneath him, low at first, almost subtle, but growing rapidly into something far heavier, far more controlled. The cracks that had formed across the battlefield did not simply widen this time.

They connected.

Lines that had once been broken and scattered now aligned, forming a vast, interconnected pattern beneath the surface, pulsing faintly with his Qi.

Lucas felt it instantly.

His eyes sharpened.

"...He’s stabilizing it," he muttered.

The Ice Belle did not respond, but her gaze dropped briefly to the ground, her expression shifting just enough to show that she understood.

They had been disrupting his control.

But now...He was reclaiming it.

Not piece by piece.

But entirely.

Dravok lifted his head slowly, his scarred face calm once more, the earlier irritation gone, replaced by something far more dangerous.

Composure.

"You’re persistent," he said, his voice steady, carrying across the battlefield with quiet authority. "I’ll give you that."

Lucas moved again, refusing to let him finish.

A burst of fire surged forward—

But before it could reach him—

The ground rose.

Not as a simple wall.

But as a layered structure, dense and reinforced, forming instantly with a level of precision that had been missing before. The flames crashed against it and dissipated, unable to break through in a single strike.

At the same time—

The Ice Belle struck from the side.

A sharp wave of ice cut forward—

And was met with the same result.

Blocked.

Completely.

Dravok didn’t even move.

"You were right about one thing," he continued, his gaze shifting between them. "Pressure does matter."

The ground beneath Lucas shifted.

Violently.

He vanished just as a cluster of jagged spikes erupted upward, faster than before, sharper, more controlled.

But they didn’t stop.

They followed.

Each time Lucas reappeared, the ground beneath him reacted almost instantly, as though it already knew where he would be.

His movements grew tighter.

More restricted.

The space he had been controlling—

Was shrinking.

The Ice Belle moved to intercept, her speed still incredible, her figure darting across the battlefield to break the pattern forming around Lucas.

But this time—

She was met head on.

A pillar of earth surged toward her mid-movement, forcing her to twist sharply, her path disrupted in a way it hadn’t been before.

Dravok stepped forward.

One step.

And the entire battlefield shifted with him.

"You relied on breaking my rhythm," he said calmly. "On denying me time."

Another step.

The ground trembled harder.

"But you forgot something."

Lucas reappeared again, narrowly avoiding another attack, his breathing heavier now, his movements no longer as fluid as before.

Dravok’s eyes locked onto him.

"I don’t need time."

The next attack came—

And it was different.

Not a single strike.

Not a simple eruption.

But a chain.

The ground split open in multiple directions at once, jagged formations rising in rapid succession, not randomly, but in a calculated pattern that cut off movement, blocked escape routes, and forced Lucas into narrower and narrower spaces.

Lucas moved.

Again.

Again.

Again—

But each movement brought less room.

Less freedom.

The Ice Belle attempted to break through, her attacks striking at the structures forming around them, but the density had increased, the control behind them far stronger than before.

Cracks formed.

But they did not shatter completely.

Dravok raised his hand slightly.

And clenched it.

The battlefield responded.

A massive surge of earth erupted upward beneath Lucas, far larger than anything before, forcing him to react instantly, his body twisting through space to avoid being caught—

But even as he did—

A second strike followed.

Faster.

Closer.

More precise.

He barely avoided it.

His foot touched the ground—

And he slid back slightly, his balance disrupted for the first time.

Sweat dripped down his jaw.

His chest rose heavier now.

Across from him, Dravok stood still.

Completely still.

And yet—

Everything moved for him.

"This," he said, his voice low, controlled, "is the difference between us."

Another wave of earth rose, not rushed, not chaotic, but perfectly timed, forcing both Lucas and the Ice Belle back simultaneously.

They separated.

Not by choice.

But by force.

The pressure that had once been on Dravok...

Had returned.

Stronger.

He had taken back control.

And this time—

He wasn’t giving it up again.