Kaiser of the New World

In the bottom of a massive hole where the courtyard of a proud and noble castle once stood, seven flashing lights flew around, their shine reaching the top of the cavern and lighting up the area.

It was like a disco hall, if that hall was playing the sound of swords hitting against each other rather than music someone would dance to.

Kai felt his blood heat up, his mind going into overdrive as he continued his vicious assault on Ezekial. His sword was like a Ruby blur, wherever it was swung it would strike true.

But the same could be said for Ezekial's own blade, as wherever it was swung, it was always able to block Esurient.

Kai kicked up some dust, attempting to temporarily disorient Ezekial in an effort to gain the upper hand, but the blue haired swordsman simply swung their sword in a wide arc and blew it all away, also making Kai dodge backwards in the process.

Each clang of the sword made Kai's bones tremble, but it also made him try harder, it meant he was doing something right if he hadn't already fallen to Ezekial's blade.

His body moved with unimaginable finesse, courtesy of the skill granted to him by his current transformation. His arms had a mind of his own, moving in angles that Kai didn't even know he could do.

The full potential of Wristology was also brought out. He could twirl his sword to attack potential weak spots, twist his hands in abnormal angles to block attacks that most certainly should have cut his skin open.

Ezekial would swing his sword, Kai would either block or dodge it. Kai would swing his sword, Ezekial would either block or dodge it.

It was an unimaginable sight. Kai, an eighteen year old novice when it came to weilding a sword, was somehow managing to stand his own against a Sword Saint who had trained for thousands of years.

He had no idea how it was possible, but he didn't care, all he cared about was buying time. That was all that mattered.

Time.

Seconds passed, but it felt like hours in their fight. They would exchange multiple blows in a single second, so it only made sense.

But as seconds passed, one thing became increasingly obvious.

While Kai was able to hold his own against Ezekial, he was not able to land a single blow, while Ezekial would definitely be able to injure Kai if they remained patient.

But that's where Kai had Ezekial beat, as while Kai needed to buy time, Ezekial had to use this time to prevent the Plague Harbinger from reaching Castillian.

Ezekial's expression slowly grew darker. His train of thought was the exact same as Kai's. He knew that he was the one on the timer, so he had to end this as quick as he possibly could.

The flames behind him grew even brighter as Kai began to struggle a little more. It became increasingly obvious that the flames weren't just for an incredibly overpowered attack, but they also boosted his stats.

It really was the most overpowered skill that Kai had seen thus far.

While Garden of Ethania had been incredibly strong, the Demon's aura had effectively countered it, rendering it completetly useless in the moment.

And sadly, Kai did not have a skill that would be able to counter Equilibrium if Ezekial decided to unleash it.

... Not yet anyway.

Slowly but surely, Ezekial started to gain the upper hand on Kai. His attacks sped up, his momentum increased, Kai was slowly losing ground.

Gritting his teeth, Kai racked his brain for anything that he could possibly do to not lose. He had one skill available, but he had to use it at the correct moment, otherwise it would be useless.

After blocking another one of Ezekial's attacks that would have surely cut off his arm if he hadn't reacted at the last second, Kai thought to himself how great it would be if he knew how to dodge and deflect better.

Suddenly, a lightbulb lit up in his head as a small grin crawled up his face.

With refined movements, Kai made use of the technique Ezekial had taught him back when he was fighting those rhino bear beasts and deflected their next attack at a different angle to the previous attacks.

Using the force of the attack, Kai let himself be launched backwards, only this time he didn't have to turn himself to a human ragdoll and roll along the ground, he simply activated Flight at the last moment and steadied himself.

Ezekial was growing increasingly agitated, especially now since Kai had effectively used his own technique against him.

"What, already growing tired?"

Kai grinned madly.

"No, but I sure as hell will be after this."

Not giving him another second, Ezekial launched himself at Kai, leaving an afterimage behind.

But to his surprise, Kai remained completetly still.

And even more surprisingly, he actually closed his eyes.

Kai's perception of the fight shifted. After realising that relying on the moment wasn't working, he knew that he had to rely on the future instead.

The very close future, less than a second ahead.

Focusing on Ezekial's soul using Soul Sense, Kai saw a vision pop up in his mind.

Not one vision, but three.

Each vision was a possibility of the future. There was one where Ezekial aimed for his neck, another where he aimed for his dominant arm, and in the final one he aimed for Kai's torso.

Realising that his proficiency with this ability wasn't enough to accurately and perfectly predict the movements of such a high leveled opponent compared to himself, Kai cursed and completetly cut out two of the visions, relying entirely on the one that seemed most probable.

Ezekial lifted their sword, aiming to cut off Kai's head in a single strike, only they couldn't help but frown at the last second when they watched Kai lift up their sword and block it with their eyes closed.

Ezekial bounced backwards, hesitating for a split second. Had they really just deflected his attack without even looking at him?

Believing that it was just a fluke, Ezekial attacked again, and again... and again.

But somehow, Kai managed to deflect them all without opening their eyes. In fact, it wasn't just that they were deflecting them, they were actually gaining speed.

Each passing second, Kai got more and more familiar with choosing the right possible outcome. There was a tell that he realised, Ezekial would always attack in a way that would end the fight as quickly as possible.

Entering a state of flow, Kai's mind and body became one.

He wasn't even sure what was actually happening. His subconscious mind had taken control, moving his body before his actual mind even had time to comprehenend the glimpse into the future that he had gazed upon.

It was like he had become disconnected from his body, a spectre watching something else control him.

And yet, Kai couldn't help but be in awe.

If he continued to get stronger, would he be able to fight like this without needing to use multiple boosting abilities? Would he be able to reach this level of swordsmanship without having to rely on a temporary skill and the ability to glimpse a second into the future?

Kai wasn't sure.

After all, he was only able to see a second into the future, that was all.

Becoming increasingly agitated, Ezekial put more weight into his swings as the flames behind him grew even brighter, their heat intensifying. Now, they had become roughly the same size as a football, and they were only growing bigger.

Ezekial scowled. This wasn't how things were meant to play out, he was a damn a damn Sword Saint! This- This bumbling fucker was not meant to be able to block a single one of his attacks, let alone hundreds of them.

The worst part was, Castillian needed him. While they may have been king, he only rose to that position because he had Anastasia by his side. Even though Ezekial didn't want to admit it, his King was weak.

That was why he had to he strong. A King's strength came not from himself, but rather from the people he surrounded himself with.

And Ezekial was the strongest of the strongest.

And yet, his sword couldn't reach the boy he was fighting.

"You fucking disgrace! Open your eyes and fight me without your- Your trickery!"

Kai did not open his eyes, he only haphazardly grinned, having to keep his concentration lest he accidently slip up.

"Trickery? What trickery? This is all me."

Roaring in anger, Ezekial's sword began to shine with the colour of the seven flames behind him.

He had been planning to save this after he had put Kai out of commission and went to track down the Plague Harbinger, but he now knew that was no longer an option.

So it was time to unleash the attack he had been charging from the very beginning of this fight.

Lifting his sword above his head, Ezekial's entire body began to glow as the seven flames behind him expanded, reaching the same size as a beach ball.

The flames reacted, coating his body and his sword with their strength. Then, Ezekial's sword descended as he roared:

"Equilibrium!"