Chapter 1298: Original Martial Arts
'H-how did he...?!'
Stefan knew he didn't have the luxury of time based on what had just happened now.
It was too dangerous to be in such close proximity with the enemy. Stefan instantly realized that and did the only sensible thing he could at that moment.
Right now, his priority was getting away from him as soon as possible.
'Blue!'
Blue warped space, whether to cause teleportation or shred his targets into bits under spatial pressure.
Stefan knew the latter wasn't going to work on his opponent, so he opted for the former.
First of all, his 'Blue' established a spatial barrier between the two of them—one which Stefan knew wouldn't nearly be effective enough.
Once the barrier was established, space around him began to shift and warp.
All of this happened within the same moment, and Stefan vanished from where he stood almost instantly.
~VWUUUUSSSHH!~
The moment after creating distance between the two of them, Stefan opted for the safest option.
"Violet."
Immediately, a massive pulse reverberated all over the immediate space that Stefan occupied.
The pulse began to travel even further, spreading its influence all across the expanse beyond.
Its effects were simple.
'Magic Distortion.'
The instant he did this, all the Magic around him would be distorted by an instant overload of Nether.
If the Spell in question was made up of Aether, having an overwhelming wave of interfering Nether would make it fail.
Conversely, having a Nether-based Spell didn't exclude it from the effects of Violet.
Having too much energy overloading a Spell that required a certain energy output would inevitably halt the activation of the Spell.
In essence, Violet was Stefan's Spell-killer.
'The natural enemy for someone so skilled with Magic!'
However...
'What's happening? Where is he?'
Despite using his Spell-killer, Stefan still had trouble locating his opponent.
'If he takes me by surprise again, there's no telling what he'll do.'
~VWUUUUUUUUSSSSHHHHH!!!~
He sent another round of 'Violet', but there was still no effect.
"Excellent use of your power, young man. But you made a fatal misjudgment."
Hearing the voice of his adversary echo all around him made Stefan all the more unnerved.
Where was he? How was this man not being affected by the power of his Original Magic? Stefan had so many questions, but he knew he had to keep his focus sharp.
'I even increased the range and intensity of Violet's effects. No Spell should even be able to pass the conceptual stage before breaking down.'
Those were the rules.
Yet... why was this happening?!
"What the hell did I misjudge this time?!" Stefan yelled in pure desperation.
Stefan's roar was met with sheer silence.
Nothing responded to him, save the echoes of his words. He heard his own voice and shrunk back, feeling disgust at the desperation he displayed in that single question.
The weakness he sensed truly reflected his current state.
"Well..." The same voice echoed once again.
This time, Stefan did his best to pinpoint its origins.
It ended in failure
The sound seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere, all at once.
"... The thing is..."
At this point, Stefan had given up on trying to find the source of the voice.
Instead, he prepared himself for the slightest hint of his opponent's position.
The moment he found him...
'I'll rush him and leave him with no time to react.'
Stefan reckoned he would need to use 'Yellow' when that time came.
He just had to wait for—
"... Spellcraft isn't a Magic Spell!"
The voice came from all around Stefan, but at that very moment, someone had appeared right in front of Stefan.
His face was mere inches from Stefan's, and his appearance was so sudden that the latter could not fully comprehend what was going on despite it being right in front of him.
Almost as if a veil had been removed from his face... like scales had just fallen out of his eyes... Stefan could see the man in front of him.
However...
"E-eh?!"
... Before he could even think of reacting...
"Spellcraft is a technique."
... The man in front of him already had a strike incoming.
~BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!~
Stefan felt his brain shake from its position as the blow landed on his jaw.
His perception of reality became a fog, and everything suddenly turned into a blur.
'W-what just happened...?'
He couldn't comprehend it. He couldn't sense it. His brain and body were still trying to acclimate to the current state he had been put in.
"In my past life, I had no Magic, but I ended up creating the ultimate Magic Technique."
Stefan could hear all those words, as if they were echoing ripples drifting through the air. However, he couldn't completely comprehend them.
"I know about its principles inside and out that it's easy to activate and deactivate its effects. Whether in cloaking, or diffusing, or interfering... its uses vary exponentially."
Stefan felt his body recovering, and his senses returning to optimal capacity.
He had already decided; once he was back to full power, he would obliterate the man standing before him.
"But I won't use Spellcraft to beat you. I can't. Instead... I'll use what I learned in my past life."
Stefan felt his body returning to his full control, and he could see his victory in sight, all amidst his opponent's rambling.
"I guess I'll have to thank Gawain and Lilith for this."
~VWUUUUUUSSSSHHHH!!!~
Stefan's body finally recovered from the initial damage dealt to him, and his power overflowed in sheer abundance.
He had never felt so alive, and his intentions could not have been more obvious.
'Haaaaa!!! I'll destroy him! Finally I can—!'
~BAM!~
Right as he was about to complete his thought, Stefan felt his brain jiggle once again.
His entire senses nearly shut down, and he found himself in the same position as earlier.
~WHAM!~
Another strike rendered his entire body paralyzed. He couldn't feel any part of himself at all.
~BOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!~
The last strike was a kick that sent Stefan's body flying backwards, but before he could move too far, he was dragged by his long hair, and another punch was sent straight to his face.
"Guark!"
Blood and teeth, mixed in with saliva gushed from his mouth, but Stefan could not even feel any of it.
All his nerves seemed to be in shambles, and he could only powerlessly watch as his body was being violated through the most unexpected means.
Martial Arts.
"This is one of her Original Martial Arts Techniques: [Beating The Shit Out Of You]."
Before Stefan could begin healing, or even completely process what the man before him was spouting, more hits had landed all over his body.
"You are being bombarded by kinetic energy that messes up with your own kinetic energy, causing an imbalance in motor and neurological actions."
In simple terms... Stefan couldn't move or think properly while being inflicted with such attacks.
"I was never able to replicate it until now because I didn't have Magic, and I also didn't have such a physically capable body."
~WHAM!~
~BAM!~
~BOOOM!~
More hits landed on Stefan as this man dished blows without any mercy.
At this point... Stefan began to wonder...
'Is this the end? Will I die here?'
The answer was already pretty clear to him at this point.
—Probably yes.n/-/).-)/(-)-1)/n
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Thanks for reading, everyone!
Man, this guy is really giving it to Stefan. I wonder what would happen if he met Jared and Lewis.
Well, he is technically... nah!
Forget about it.