Chapter 22: Remember
Chapter 22: Chapter 22: Remember
"The kid got some nice treasures." In the distance, Zezel commented. "Not a bad defense. If not for that robe, the battle would've been over already. Did I overestimate him?"
Raven came to a sudden halt, feeling a sharp pain. He was bewildered by the sudden speed that seemed to have materialized out of thin air. It was almost as if his brother had the ability to teleport.
Despite Weiss convincing himself he didn't know Raven, a strange feeling continued to weigh on his heart when he attacked. It was as if his instincts were telling him to resist.
At that moment, he set aside his emotions and focused on his actions. Swiftly, he repeated his previous move and reappeared behind Raven with lightning speed. To many, it was impossible to track his movements.
However, after suffering once with the same attack, Raven understood that to fight his brother, he couldn't rely on his eyes.
He had to rely on his instincts instead, the same instincts that helped him face the Ice Wolves when he didn't have any items.
He shut his eyes tightly the moment his brother vanished from sight. Without wasting any time, he swiftly turned his body around, positioning his sword behind him.
To everyone's surprise, Raven successfully blocked the attack as a loud metallic sound echoed across the area.
Weiss was surprised by his opponent's skill. It was rare for someone to be able to block his attacks and anticipate his moves so quickly in a battle.
Without hesitation, he quickly stepped backwards. However, Raven seized the opportunity and launched another attack.
Weiss frantically tried to deflect the attack, but Raven's Sword felt way too heavy for him to deflect, especially since his Sword was the lowest grade. He relied on his speed, and not on his strength at this moment after all.
The situation became even more dire when the Nameless Sword made contact with Weiss' blade, causing it to shatter instantaneously, as if it was nothing more than delicate glass.
The force of the impact was enough to send Weiss flying back, especially since he had already lost his balance.
No matter how strong Weiss was in the future, he wasn't the same at this point in time. The mirage could only do what Weiss was able to do in the second stage. However, there wasn't much. As soon as his sword broke, it was as if the battle was already over. However, Weiss still didn't give up.
He swiftly got up, bringing out two small daggers that he always kept with him for emergencies.
This time, he didn't attack from behind. Instead, he attacked straight from the front.
His movement skill was frantic and chaotic, having no proper order in it. However, that was also what made this movement so scary, since no one could predict it. Moreover, a few afterimages were also created as Weiss lunged at Raven.
Raven let out a deep breath. He felt bad using the power of money to defeat the shadow of his brother. However, he couldn't do much else.
A blood red arc flashed as Raven once again relied on his instincts.
He felt some resistance to his sword, as if his Sword had hit something... Something akin to flesh.
Weiss' painful groan echoed. Both his hands were sliced. His hands and the two dagger fell on the ground as Weiss landed on his knees.
If it was a real battle, where he and his brother had the same equipment, the outcome would've been slightly different. However, that didn't matter at the moment.
Raven placed his Sword on the ground, sitting before his brother.
Usually, a warrior had to be killed for the shadow to disappear. However, when they were made completely incapable of fighting back, it was the same thing.
Weiss' shadow remained on the ground. He had lost the battle and his body had started disappearing. However, for some reason, he wasn't upset. If anything, he felt happy.
It was as if this was what he wanted. That was also why he didn't use all his skills in this battle, since there was always that resistance deep within his heart.
"Can you tell me who you are?" Weiss asked, revealing a beautiful smile even as his body started disappearing.
Now that he was killed in this trial, his shadow was disappearing forever, being free from working like a slave in the Second Trial for an eternity.
A single tear fell off Raven's eyes. He reached out his hand, placing them on his little brother's hair, roughing them up.
Weiss didn't know why, but he felt really calm at the moment. His eyes also got wet for some reason as a scene flashed before his eyes.
In that scene, Raven was there, messing with his hair. On the other hand, he was getting angry, telling his brother to stop messing with his hair. There were also his parents nearby, who were laughing.
A tear droplet fell from his eyes. However, his smile only widened as he spoke one sentence, "You're awake..."
"You have memories?" Raven asked, taken aback.
He only heard that these were shadows who shared similar personalities but were different from the real person, possessing no memories. These shadows were just like puppets created by trial. That's why, he was stunned to hear his brother speak.
Unfortunately, Weiss didn't answer. His figure became even more Illusory, until Raven's hand passed through him.
"I'm so glad... Brother..." Weiss' last words echoed in the surroundings as he completely disappeared, as if he was never real.
However, even as he disappeared, Raven remained on his knees. It was as if his heart had almost stopped. His mind was filled with chaos and all his thoughts were messed up. How was it possible? That doesn't make sense! Why?!
Another tear fell off his eyes as he felt like the Bloodline Trial was messing with him!
"If you're done with that emotional mess, shall we begin?" Zezel chimed in, sarcastically laughing. "I'm getting bored here. What a boring fight that was."
He stepped forward, excited for the battle. It had been a really long time in the Second Trial.
Unfortunately for him, Raven also didn't want to stay here longer! He wanted to find the Guardian and ask him about it! For that, he had to end the trial soon.
He stood up, picking his sword again. However, at the same time, something about him changed, that even made Arze frown!
He had finally used Berserker…