The Dreamer's POV

"Haa… haa…"

Drius Xander's breath had grown more ragged throughout the course of his duel with the shadowy figure before him.

Despite the boost he got from his Items, which made him far stronger than he thought was possible within such a brief moment, he still found himself nearing his limits.

'Unbelievable! Even though I'm about three times stronger than before, I'm still barely keeping up!' Drius thought to himself as he forced a fearless smile on his face.

His Wooden Blade was already coated wih [Wind Blade], which created a sharp torrent of wind around his weapon. This would get around the disadvantage of having a blunt weapon, but it also gave him more reach.

Still, that wasn't enough.

His [Crimson Ogre's Dance] had allowed him to somehow keep up with the moves of the black entity he faced, but it wasn't strong enough for him to land decisive hits. Even enhanced, he could only get a few shallow cuts in.

Not to mention, the shadow was growing more alert and adept in the fight thelonger it progressed.

[Flame Burst] was also ineffective, and as much as Drius was tempted to use his [Grand Blazing Attack], he feared that doing so would only waste his energy reserves.

'My opponent is faster than I am. If I take time preparing a huge Spell, it'll react quickly, either attacking me before I complete it, or successfully evading it.'

With such a tricky opponent, he had to rely mostly on his skill—the battle prowess he had obtained from his countless years of experience as a fighter.

However, every fighter had their limit.

'We've been fighting for hours now and I see no end in sight.' Drius thought as he straightened his posture and strengthened his grip on his blade.

This Black entity he was facing wasn't just stronger and faster than him, but… it also didn't seem to tire.

Even after their constant grueling combat, Black—as it was called—kept functioning the same way as it always did.

It required no rest, displayed no weakness, and constantly adapted to Drius' moves. The Grand Knight felt cornered at this point, and despite being stronger than ever, he still felt weak.

'There's no way around it. I just have to do this!' Clenching his teeth, he narrowed his gaze on his ready opponent.

Drius had tasted weakness countless times before—especially when he just started out as a warrior.

This wasn't his first time fighting a seemingly unbeatable foe.

Besides… he had no right to even think of stopping now. Not after he had finally been given the chance to grow even stronger than before in order to better protect his Young Master and the rest of the Lyma Family's legacy.

He couldn't let go of such an opportunity to grow.

To evolve and break past his limits.

"I… I…"

Drius' eyes shone brightly as his feet pressed on the earth and he prepared to charge once more.

'Luke… Young Master Theo… I won't disappoint you!'

Everyone had a role to play. His duty required him to keep getting stronger for the one he swore his fealty to.

"... I won't fail!"

A powerful roar surged from his breasts as the earth cracked, sending him surging forth in the direction of his adversary.

~WHOOOOOSSSSHHH!~

The winds whipped Drius' face, and everything around him seemed to become a blur, except for the target.

Using his [Wind Surge], Drius launched himself even further, increasing his speed and the force he carried with him.

His line of attack was predictable. In a few seconds, he would close the distance between his adversary and make the perfect strike.

~WHOOOOOSSSHHH!~

… At least, that was what it seemed like.

Once Drius neared Black, he deftly raised his blade and swung it in an epic arc. The power he had built up from his powerful advance built up perfectly, ready to be released towards the targer.

However…

~FWISH!~

… Drius wasn't the only skilled one on the battlefield.

Black wasn't only faster, but he had successfully predicted the trajectory, speed, and range of the incoming blade.

In response to that, he acted quicker than Drius and parried the wooden blade, causing it to fly out of the skilled swordsman's grasp.

In a whirring motion, the Wooden Blade flew upward, leaving Drius wide open.

By all accounts, this was very bad.

A swordsman without his blade was as good as dead. With Drius' rythm offset, and his only weapon thrown from his grasp, he was more than vulnerable.

But… there was one factor that couldn't be overlooked.

"Hehe… as expected."

At least, when it came to someone like Drius…

'You knocked my sword away! Perfect!'

… HE WASN'T JUST A SWORDSMAN!

And right now, without his blade, and with him in such close proximity to his target, all the conditions were now set for his ultimate attack.

"[Grand Blazing Attack]"

Squeezing the last bit of his Energy into the smoldering hot flames that had formed around him, Drius leaked out a smile as he stared at the closed-in Black.

The pressure was immense.

The tension was high.

One would think this was an intense battle that determined life or death.

In that split second, an eruption of a much larger scale than Drius had ever been able to produce, occured, sending flames consuming everything in their path.

~BOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!~

The echo filled the hall, and this final act of desperation from Drius served as his last grand act.

However…

"U-urgh…" Drius collapsed on the floor, his Wooden Blade also landing not too far from him.

His vision was blurry, and the muscles in his entire body ached immensely. He had pushed everything to their limits just to succeed in that attack.

He had nothing prepared after that. It was his entire assault plan.

"Impressive. Very impressive." His standing adversary muttered, nearly a quarter of its shadowy body damaged by the flames that had cost Drius everything.

It turned out Black was able to evade being consumed by most of the attack's veracity despite being caught by surprise and being so close in range.

It shocked even Drius, who had staked everything on that attack.

His plan… had failed.

"Next time… I'll win." Drius mumbled, feeling his heart squeeze in frustration.

He had definitely gone further than ever in this fight, and he knew that would make him far stronger than before, however he wasn't satisfied.

More. He wanted more.

Enough not to be burden to Theo, and to be just as useful as Luke.

He wanted to be depended on too.

With that frustration fueling his aching body, Drius Xander rose to his feet and struggled to remain upright.

For a moment, he just stared at Black—an indomitable warrior who knew not pain nor weariness, utterly devoted to its master—and experienced a brief feeling of envy.

However, once that moment passed, Drius bowed slightly, offering thanks to the dark entity.

It was awkward, but Drius ensured to maintain his coutesy as a Grand Knight.

"I appreciate the duel." He murmured.

"Likewise." Black did the same, which strangely made Drius pleased.

Once he was done, Drius felt the last vestiges of strength within him fade away, and he found his body collapsing to the ground.

"... rius!"

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"Drius…!!"

He heard the combined voices of Luke and Theo, and he thought he saw their blurry images draw near to him.

That brought a smile to his face.

'I… I will make sure to grow stronger for all of us!'

And then everything faded to black.

*n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

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[A/N]

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter

Thanks for reading.

Cheers!