Eclipse | COTE x Danmachi

Chapter 5 (Glint)

Gingerly closing his eyes, Aleus heaved out a painful breath before opening them with lightening speed and rolling on the muddy ground, dodging a stream of undulating flames just in the nick of time. 

Or so he thought. 

A small patch of hair on the back of his head withered and fell down in tandem with the blazing flame on his jacket. Taking it out and throwing it to the side, he ran and dodged another blast of fire magic that seemed to have originated from underneath his feet. 

'The difference is too overwhelming. I can only dodge...'

And he wasn't wrong. Lefiya weaved one spell after another—albeit dim in potency—tailored for a Level 1—as all he could do was jump around and get injured a few times.

"Good, good. I like it. Even though he was just blessed he can still make it so he isn't killed." Loki spoke with an ecstatic smile, extremely content with something. Behind her smile were numerous evil intentions, although she kept them from resurfacing. 

She was in an extremely good mood ever since she blessed Aleus with her Falna. 

"Wohoo, let's go, Aleus-kun! Try to get hit as well. It is good for you." She screamed with a wide grin at him. 

"No, thanks." Aleus replied, mildly overwhelmed by everything going around him. Most of his brain power was being used in dodging and cooking up a counterplay to at least land one hit on Lefiya. However, the difference between a Level 1 and a Level 3 was too much, even for the "former" perfect human to overcome.

 Bending his back, he arched to an unnatural extent, the blade of wind blowing just above his head, the tempestuous force making him fall to the ground. 

'Wait, wait... isn't his perception sharpening? He shouldn't have been able to sense it, let alone dodge it. I did make it blunt but...hm, too fast. Maybe I should add just a little more...'

【Unleashed streak of light, bow limbs of the holy tree. You are an expert of the bow. Shoot, sniper of the fairies. Penetrate, arrow of absolute accuracy — Arcs Ray! 】

Mana concentrated, more potent and harder, more refined and deadly as the mana projectile aimed for Aleus. 

'Too fast...'

The projectile blurred before his eyes and struck his shoulder, piercing it, however not entirely. The sharp end tore through the flesh and tendon, however, it stopped just before it could drill into the bone, avoiding any more damage that could've resulted in a long-term damage. 

Although elixirs existed, Aleus was still a high elf. Be it a spar for his own benefit, there were places where regular elves drew the line around High Elves. 

"S-Sorry Aleus, I didn't mean to—" In a state of worry and self-deprecation, she stuttered, however, her words came to a standstill as Aleus raised his hand, stopping her speech midway. 

Seeing the heavy amount of blood drain from his shoulder, her first guess was that he wanted her to close her mouth and end the battle, however, the look in his eyes was something that was not the look of a quitter. It almost felt like he was having an epiphany. 

"Don't stop. Keep going." Aleus replied, his eyes almost gleaming. Mana swirled around him as he stood up and closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them with a refreshed look. 

"Hooh? Is he catching up? About time he understands his magic slot." From a distance, Loki watched him and then a piece of paper in her hand, a sly grin gracing her face. Her slit eyes seemed to almost disappear due to the wrinkles around her eyes, her fingers tracing a certain aspect of Aleus' stat sheet. "I wonder how long he will take to realise the other thing."