...…

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Shin and Demon's figures kept on appearing and disappearing everywhere. Their silhouettes circle around the whole arena while creating some metal sparks every time their weapons clash against each other.

They were also using some of their skills and combat techniques from time to time – which was also the reason why a lot of sword waves and magical spears were flying in every direction.

Shin, who was supposedly at a great disadvantage in this fight, managed to hold himself by relying on his Battle Genius Talent to compensate the gap on their martial insights.

At the same time, he was also utilizing the unpredictability of his 'Mondi's Style' legacy skill to force Demon to become cautious of his surprise attacks.

He kept on changing the forms of his left-hand sword to make it hard for Demon to completely adjust with his battle style. He even used the original sheath form that he had every time Demon managed to sneak past his defense.

Moreover, Shin was also using the sword spells from the 'Regan's Method' legacy skill to catch his opponent off-guard.

But unfortunately, Demon was not easy to deal with. Even if Shin mixed his attacks with the unpredictable sword transformation and odd sword spells from his arsenal, Demon was still able to calmly respond to any kind of predicament that he was thrown in.

Every time Shin changes the form his left-hand sword, Demon would immediately change his battle style corresponding with it. If Shin threw the sword waves from his skill set, Demon would materialize a bunch of spears made from mana to counter it. And if Shin used the unpredictable sword spells from 'Regan's Method', Demon would just counter them with his specialized mana powers.

Due to all of these, the battle was pretty much in a complete deadlock state. Though, from the eyes of the spectating experts, Shin would lose this battle if this state went on. It was more like Shin was trying to stay alive than planning to win this match.

Moreover, his concentration was bound to get exhausted first if he didn't manage to find a way to break this stalemate.

"Tsk! Looks like I have no other choice but to gamble it all," muttered Shin before creating some breathing space for himself.

After that, he took a deep breath and thought to himself. "I don't want to use this yet since it will consume a lot of my concentration. But I guess this is the only way for me to defeat this guy."

Then he immediately changed the form of his left-hand sword once again, activating the 'Abyssal Form' of the Mondi's Style.

Seeing that whip sword that Shin was currently holding, Demon couldn't help but smirked while saying. "Still using that sword? I already showed you the weakness of that weapon!"

After that, he immediately started rushing towards Shin to lessen the distance between them. Whip swords were mid-range weapons after all; and it was best used in that optimal range. So, if Demon managed to get near Shin, the advantage of that sword was going to suffer greatly.

Though, that thought was immediately cut off the moment Demon heard Shin next words.

"Shadow Reaper: Grimrace."

Demon instinctively stopped after hearing those words. He didn't know what it was, he was sure that a huge threat was coming. And that was when he saw the A Shadow Elemental Spirit materialized behind Shin.

That Elemental Spirit didn't hover behind Shin for long as it immediately fused with the whip sword that he was holding on his left hand. After that, the sword suddenly changed its appearance while emitting some blade smoke from its pitch-black blade.

'Elemental Spirit Possession (Shadow): Soul Eater'

Then Demon saw that Shin's left arm suddenly turned into blur which sent him a shiver that ran through his spine.

Given that, he instinctively leaned to the side after sensing an unforeseeable attack that was coming after him.

Swoosh!

That was when he felt a sharp metal cut through the air and brushed past right beside his cheek. Due to his sudden movement, Demon needed to reestablish his center of gravity to get a betting footing. But before he could even make his move, a sharp blade of a sword suddenly appeared right in front of his eyes.

Seeing that, Demon immediately used one of his lifesaving skills to get away from his spot as soon as possible. But when he appeared at his next location, Shin suddenly swung the [Soul Eater] towards his direction – making its blade extend and send it flying towards Demon with a great speed.

"So, you are finally showing your hidden cards? Then let me respond with it accordingly," muttered Demon before waving his free hand in a circular motion.

The moment he did that, a bunch of jade-colored mana gathered in front of him and created a circular barrier that blocked the trajectory of the incoming blade.

'Class Fighting Style: Mana Manipulation: Jade Aegis'

Bang!

The whip blade couldn't advance further due to that jade-colored shield. But the moment its tip bound after the collision, Shin suddenly made a quick flick of his wrist, making the whip blade move with spiral movements.

Then he made a moment flick which led to another waving movement to the extended blade of his whip sword.

Pak!

The whip blade suddenly turned straight due to the tension created by Shin's previous actions. At the same time, he also transmitted a bunch of fire elemental mana on the [Soul Eater] before releasing it on the tip of the whip sword, creating a bolt of fire.

'Legacy Skill: Regan's Method: Burst Link'

Swoosh! Bang!

The jade mana shield in front of Demon immediately shattered by hat bolt of fire. Alongside a small explosion, a cloud of smoke suddenly blocked his line of sight which forced him to continuously hop backwards.

Swoosh!

But the whip sword suddenly broke through that cloud of smoke and chased after him like a sly snake chasing after its prey.

"Don't make me laugh. If you keep on attacking like that, then you are going to leave yourself with some openings," said Demon before sending a bunch of mana spear towards Shin's direction.

Though, when they reached the range to the whip blade, it suddenly moved in a spiral motion for another time and defected the mana spears to the side. But as if he was already expecting that, Demon sent an even larger mana spear and let it fly in the space created by the spiraling blade.

'Class Fighting Style: Asura Spear'

Swoosh!

That particular mana spear flew towards Shin with a great speed while leaving a trail of jade-colored light behind that drew a straight line in the air.

Seeing that, Shin immediately pulled the [Soul Eater] backwards and made the spiraling blade wrapped around the jade mana spear, entangling it.

'Weapon Skill (Sword: Crippling Punisher): Dark Embrace'

Bang!

An explosion was created as the [Soul Eater] crushed the mana spear completely.

After that, Shin quickly retracted the blades of his whip sword before throwing a powerful swing on his front with the [Yamato] on his right hand.

Bang!

"Got you!" said Demon as his jade spear was blocked by Shin's previous swing.

Then he pulled his spear back while taking a couple of backward steps. After that, he quickly threw a very powerful thrust at Shin while enfolding the tip of his spear with a pitch-black flame.

'Spear Demon Skill: Dark Purge'

Swoosh!

Seeing that, Shin immediately executed his 'Mystic Movements' combat technique to dodge the incoming attack. And while he was doing that, he suddenly released the [Soul Eater] Elemental Possession before calling before changing the form of the whip sword into another sword with a straight and narrow blade but had a pointed tip and sharp edges.

'Legacy Skill: Mondi's Style: Conviction Form'

At the same time, he called out the name of his other Elemental Spirit, making the crimson speck of light that circled around him to transform into a humanoid figure behind him.

"Blood Reaper: Vladimir."

After its brief appearance, that crimson figure suddenly fused with the rapier that Shin was holding on his left hand – painting its blade with blood color.

'Elemental Spirit Possession (Blood): Blood Thirster'

After that, Shin quickly threw a powerful stab with his new rapier while targeting Demon's exposed chest.

'Extra Skill: (Modified) Heart Seeker'

Shing!

Shin managed to pierce his opponent's chest with that swift stab. Though, that 'opponent' that he hit was just an afterimage left behind by Demon after activating another lifesaving skill from his arsenal.

Then Demon reappeared behind Shin before turning his jade spear into a bunch of blurs as he kept throwing a consecutive stab with a great speed.

'Spear Demon Skill: Talons of Hell'

Shu! Shu! Shu!

But Shin managed to respond with it on time.

The moment he realized that he didn't hit anything from his previous attack. He quickly turned his body around while borrowing the momentum of his previous movements. At the same time, he also threw a bunch of consecutive stabs on Demon, using the [Blood Thirster] on his left hand.

'Extra Skill: Multiple Stabs'

'Advance Combat Technique: Crimson Revolution'

Shu! Shu! Shu!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Starting with that, the battle was thrown into another deadlock once again. Though, Shin was one who was getting the slight advantage this time with the help of his 'Elemental Spirit Possession'.

But even if that was the case, he still didn't let his guard down as he knew that Demon would surely have a trump card of his own.

What's more, he also couldn't let this match drag for any longer since he himself knew that he couldn't maintain his current state forever; sooner or later, his concentration would surely crumble which would lead to his defeat.

Given that, Shin stated making some plans inside his head while finding the perfect opportunity to execute them properly.

...…