Fin cracked his knuckle against his cheek before doing some light stretches and refocusing himself as he''d underestimated Ares for long enough now. The desire to rip Ares limb from limb had clouded his judgement and, while ridding himself of this desire wouldn''t massively increase his skill level or anything, it ought to at least prevent him from falling for dumb tricks going forward. He kept reminding himself that he held the cultivation advantage and that it was the kid in front of him that was going to have to work hard under the current circumstances even if he was decently powerful. Fin had even correctly assessed that Ares didn''t initiate attacks all too often against more powerful opponents as he preferred to provoke and counter attack. As such, Fin took things slowly because he still had some time here. It''s not like the assault on the rest of the Federation would stop just because of what happened here, hell the others wouldn''t even know about it. The main issue, though, was that there was no one here to distract the sailor guards so they would be free to go deal with the pirate crew in the other places and the number advantage, in the Federations'' favour, would get steeper quicker. To that end, it was imperative that Fin won here somewhat fast but rushing it was also not the way to go as every mistake he threw himself head-first into would cost him even more time. No more charging blindly at this kid!
"Aqua Slicer." Fin had a solemn tone to his voice as he summoned water blades that rested on his arms. Interestingly, unlike a normal version of this art, Fin seemed to have a sharp aqua blade running along the length of his tail too and that was incredibly deadly as it looked flexible. If the blade could curve and bend along with the tail then it effectively became a third weapon that he could wield in unconventional situations. At the very least, Ares would struggle to attack this guy from behind now thanks to the defence it provided. It also meant Fin could extend any attack pattern by throwing his tail into the mix without getting it chopped off by a disintegration coated scythe. Ares could try but his magic looked to be sturdy enough to resist it or at least save the tail underneath it from harm even if the Aqua Slicer would lose out in direct competition.
Despite this, Ares remained unphased. He''d expected Fin to have some magical tricks up his sleeve and had taken that into account when determining if he stood a chance or not against the pirate or not. The outcome Ares predicted wasn''t based off Fin''s magic, it was entirely a matter of what Ares saw in him as a combatant regarding level-headedness, technique, and application of strength. Fin was lacking in all those regards and so Ares wasn''t afraid of a mere sharp tail in the slightest. A prodigy at early transition realm would maybe be harder to fight than this guy and it was why cultivation wasn''t always everything. Cultivation stages and realms could be made up over time but it was generally better to forgo that stuff and focus on once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to better yourself in ways that weren''t always visible at a glance. Things like pressure, finding rare resources for areas of improvement like body tempering, or attribute-adding resources that spiced up your commonly used arts. Very rarely was a prodigy considered as such for no other reason than the speed of their cultivation, there was usually something else that made them stand out. Point in case, Ares existed and his cultivation was just sort of average at best. Below average would maybe even be the more fair assessment but he was still only really at this point thanks to the trailblazers from earlier as well as his spectacle match with Mako that defied common logic and raised his stages a decent chunk thanks to dedication cultivation. Without either he would basically be near enough an entire realm lower than where he was right now and so he wouldn''t even be just ''below average'', he would be downright pitiful! And yet here was a peak transition realm cultivator, unsure of how best to approach a mere ''kid''. Only terrible cultivators, or narrow-minded fools who thought they''d seen it all, treated cultivation as some kind of numbers game... And yet, people like that were rife throughout the universe...
Though Fin was willing to make the first move again, he chose to do so this time with caution. Unfortunately for him, he was a bit too cautious and it appeared as nothing more than hesitancy in Ares'' eyes. You couldn''t be overly quick against Ares but being this slow was just giving him breathing room to do his own thing and he had plenty of arts to throw around if his opponent wasn''t interested in getting up in his face and stopping him! "Gamble." Ares used a modified version of Gamble so that he could perform it with the scythe instead. This was tricky to make work because it was the same art a base level and the modifications were really just on the fly adjustments to the size and shape of the weapon being used. In this way, he was somewhat mimicking Dominus who could defy art boundaries and use the arts of one weapon pillar aspect with a weapon that was completely different. Dominus felt like he was watching a child grow and would have shed but a single tear in appreciation had he a body with which to do it.
This was typically a skill reserved for people who were truly talented to discover somewhat later on in life so for Ares to have figured it out this quickly was impressive. Sure a lot of it had to do with Dominus'' presence inside Ares, as his mastery sort of leaked into the guy, but it was also fairly evident that Ares'' fondness and affiliation for the scythe was playing a large role. Dominus had seen people like this before, people who gravitated towards one particular weapon. Ares was good with them all, sure, but his scythe proficiency was off the charts when looking at how little time he''d spent with it compared to other weapons he felt comfortable with. Normally, people who were this good at using specific weapons were destined to become exemplars and Dominus actually couldn''t help but be a tad jealous. He''d always been partially interested in learning the scythe but that damn stooge Charon was a real roadblock. It looked like Ares would be able to, though, as the Primordial barrier was just the thing needed to keep Charon at bay while Ares grew to be someone who could outclass him. Ares would need to be quick but he could become proficient in the time he had before Charon arrived, so as then have a fair duel, Dominus was sure of it!... Little did he know the old bag o'' bones was already on his way here to TEACH Ares but that was for another time. Specifically, Charon was on course to arrive outside the barrier sooner rather than later, thanks to some rich guy reducing the cost of teleporting to and from his central hub, but actually getting inside the barrier, however he planned to, was another matter entirely. According to his own rough estimate, that he''d given to Davey back during their trade deal, it was roughly a year until he could worm his way inside and, even then, he might not be able to stay for too long without being slingshot back out. Maybe he had some kind of trick up his sleeve that he''d been keeping in reserve because this was definitely fast for someone who shouldn''t have even had access at all. Anyway, by that point, Ares would be in Vraizon already and maybe have had a few adventures here and there. Charon would arrive perfectly in time to boost up Ares'' strength by a decent amount before he started interacting with the wider world outside the barrier and that would be a very fortuitous encounter.
But that was all getting off track and the main thing of note here was that Ares'' scythe wielding capabilities were phenomenal right now. He was harsh on himself, and constantly demanded he do better but, really, nobody else in this domain could probably pull of what he had. And not just with a scythe either, even master swordsmen would struggle to use regular sword arts with anything else and they''d been practicing for how long? The best most of them could do at this stage in their lifespan, typically, was cast Sharp! Furthermore, the sword was almost always the starting point for training to do this as sword arts were usually flexible. Wind Blade, an art Trew had used once or twice before, was a brilliant example because the trick to it lay in the slashing movement, not the weapon itself. Though it was a sword aspect art, Ares could learn it for his scythe if he wanted to! This was usually what Dominus would recommend to anyone interested in upping their weapon pillar game, ''focus on sword arts that are easily applicable in a wide range of scenarios as they''ll be the easiest to convert into tools for other weapons''. It was good advice too and definitely something he would one day teach Sadie when she was a bit better at the basics. Sadie wasn''t Ares, a boundless prodigal talent with advantages practically leaking out of him, she was going to have to take the long route. She could do it though!
Then there was Rox... Rox was an interesting one because he didn''t really use weapons and yet Dominus had taken an interest in him regardless because of his unique talents. Maybe Dominus could try and get some weapons into this thing''s hands at a later date as well? It was worth a shot!... Though he didn''t realise it, by exploring this avenue, Dominus would turn Rox into something utterly mind blowing as it would be revealed in due time that this creature could copy literally any open pillar art in existence with little more than a glance... Rox was seriously a special mimic! Perhaps Ares, a fundamental champion, being the first person it copied really altered its internal wiring somehow and bugged the creature out. Either way, it was definitely going to be a pretty major ace up Ares'' sleeve and a real valuable comrade. Not that Ares didn''t treat him as such anyway as he''d already proven his worth many times over. Ares was even going to start letting him out of the Primordial Blade soon but he still wanted the thing to be a bit more accustomed to living like a normal person. Also, preferably, the ability to speak consistently without needing to chant was something else Ares wished for but he had ideas to solve that problem that would be enacted a bit later after his trip was over with.
Fin had no idea what to do from here. Ares'' gamble left the kid in a weird position that made him look somewhat reminiscent of a low hanging spider and, honestly, Fin didn''t much like dealing with spiders. He and Ares had that in common but Ares probably had it far worse in terms of the scale of disgust. Anyway, they were too busy trying to kill each other to bond over their dislike but that was probably a good thing for Ares as water spiders were very real and very ugly creatures. That aside, Fin took a second or two to evaluate his options before firing off a Water Bullet as a check to see what Ares had up his sleeve with this unusual art. In return, Ares flicked himself an inch to the side, dodged the Water Bullet, and fired an Echo right back at Fin. In this manner nothing much really happened as both individuals had neatly avoided their respective incoming projectile-based attack and the situation had returned to what it was not even two seconds ago. For Fin, this was disastrous because yes, he had some time available, but that clock was steadily ticking and this damn kid knew it! Though this kid seemingly had it in him to start an offensive and go on the attack, he was downright refusing to because the pressure was on Fin to make a proper move.
Fin was in this kid''s web and had to struggle to get out but he also didn''t want to move and potentially alert him, paying the price for acting rashly. Fin kissed his teeth and decided to make a bold move, pseudo copying whatever the hell it was Ares was doing by using his own tail as a way to lift himself up and off the floor. Whatever it was the kid was doing with ''Gamble'', Fin was follow suit and do it too if it ended up being a good idea! Of course Ares held the advantage here, because his version was an art and had mana imbued in it, but Fin figured he could make up for that with the sheer cultivation difference between them putting in a lot of work... But still Ares waited. Even when Fin was right in front of his face, and the snarling animosity oozing off his sharp features could be felt viscerally in every fibre of his being, Ares did not move for love nor money. He preferred to go second and setting himself up with a Gamble was the only concession he was willing to make on that end because it served to make his original strategy even more potent. Ares wouldn''t do this in a normal fight but this was not a normal fight and stalling this guy was a valid option. Sure Ares wanted to train but making the right decision against the right opponent was also a form of brain training as he was holding himself back from making a dumb decision just because he could. Doing the fun thing was not always the correct choice and so Ares was going to be stubborn even if his own body craved movement. The only problem here was what happened if Fin gave up thanks to Ares'' passivity and tried to run as Ares might be brave enough to chase this guy into the water if that happened! He wanted the metaphorical bounty that was on this guy''s head as he was worth some solid blood money no doubt! Ares wasn''t going to say that out loud though because needlessly putting himself at a disadvantage was silly against a peak transition realm cultivator and then he really might have to use one of his hidden tricks to come out in one piece.
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Again, Fin was getting antsy and finally chose to bite the bullet, making a move first much as Ares wanted him to. He felt terrible giving into this kid''s ploy but what else could he really do after being cornered like this? He wanted revenge so running wasn''t an option he was entertaining right now. While still holding himself up with his tail, he threw his right arm at Ares'' with a curved punch. It was aimed so that even if Ares dodged it the Aqua blade ought to hit him and cause an injury. A gash at bare minimum was what Fin was hoping for but what came next almost left him frozen in awe because Ares was really just showing off now. Fin knew of pressure deflects, he just hadn''t pinpointed the last one when it struck him in the face because of the unique method of using it. This time, however, he would see it up close and personal as Ares twisted his body over the incoming punch and pushed off the Aqua Slicer beneath him with his bare hands! The kid threw up a deflect on his palm to ensure his plan wouldn''t face any obstacles as he used Fin''s own arm as a stepping stool to propel himself over the guy''s shoulder with the scythe in tow. Fin was momentarily baffled, struck with disbelief and had to recover his mental awareness in order to even try and move and dodge the inevitable incoming attack from behind. Pressure deflects were hard! And this kid just threw himself at an extremely sharp blade so that he could deflect and bounce off it?! Did this kid have all of his screws loose or what?! Even Fin could barely deflect things when he was standing still and a slow object was meandering towards him, to be able to use it the way this kid just did made Fin wonder if this kid was cracked out on cocaine!
Fin shook his head and regained his lost composure as he remembered what it was the kid had done via Gamble and tried to copy it. He had a rough guesstimate of how Gamble worked and, though he respected it, he figured he could manage a weaker but still functional version of it even though he was being put on the spot right now. He had limited time to fling forward and away from the kid behind him but doing so would put him safely out of counterattack range, if he was quick enough, so he put all his reservations to the back of the mind, ignored the chill running up his spine that was indicative of Ares readying himself to strike, and flicked his shoulder and tail forward. He winced as he did, as he was nervous things would go terribly wrong, but to his surprise it worked flawlessly and felt incredibly smooth. Copying the kid had been the right idea as not only did he escape his previous position but he felt like he''d gained a brand new tool to play with in the future. It was a solid defensive tool even if just being used in a reactionary way let alone what he could do with it if he sat on the thing pre-emptively like Ares did. This kid had a neat art and Fin wanted to fully steal it! To think a peak transition realm cultivator had to steal an art from some sensory enhancement twerp... If the art wasn''t so incredible he would be ashamed! Then again, the kid was admittedly pretty incredible too and was becoming a real problem child with how often he was getting the better of Fin... But Fin was getting distracted as he still needed to turn around and continue the fight. Ares would inevitably get up and start chasing him so Fin couldn''t get lost in his thoughts like this.
Just as Fin landed with a shaky step, as his landing wasn''t perfect due to the impromptu nature of his use of this ''art'', he turned around and nearly had a a panic attack when Ares came crashing down towards him from above...
FUCK!
Fin took a micro second to analyse the situation and came to the conclusion that he''d been somewhat played here. When Ares launched himself off Fin''s arm and shoulder, he hadn''t flung himself behind Fin at all... He''d used that momentum to push himself directly up into the air, not throwing himself in any direction really. This was a predicative measure taken so that when Fin amateurishly copied his Gamble, and flung himself away, Ares wouldn''t be too far away to launch a follow up attack. If Ares just went sailing behind Fin then Fin could escape in the manner he just tried to by throwing himself in the opposite direction but... Ares had played with that notion and set up this trap by not committing to any direction and just throwing himself straight in the air, giving him a solid foundation to dive right after the guy. Sure this meant that, had Ares guessed wrong, his attack would have taken far too long to land as he would have been too high up in the air to actually do it, but it also meant that no matter where Fin flicked, so long as he did, Ares could crash down on him like a ton of bricks afterwards! This was what randomly copying the master of an art led to! Trying to use Ares'' own handcrafted and well developed art against him?! Was this sharkin an idiot?! Regardless, what he definitely was, was MAD!
This fucking KID! Fin, in a fit or rage at having been made to look a fool multiple times in a row now, instinctively threw out an attack to try and clash with Ares. The kid''s angle of attack wasn''t particularly great, thankfully, and so he was basically forced to stick with it. Sure Ares had the momentum advantage, as gravity was on his side, but Fin felt like he could still block the attack comfortably enough and back up to create space. It wasn''t a pleasant outcome, as his arms were going to suffer a bit here and be somewhat shaky for a while, but it needed to be done as the alternative was just getting cut in half! As such, he swung his Aqua Slicer with immense brute force behind it in a horizontal slash.
"Gamble."
"What?" Fin''s reaction to Ares'' second Gamble was accidentally spoken aloud as he couldn''t restrain himself from blurting out the first thought that came into his head. What was this kid trying to do here?! If Ares lodged his scythe into the boat beneath him again then the Aqua Slicer would tear through it and he''d come crumbling down. At that point, Fin could win without any sweat and just lean down to kill the fallen Ares... So why was he doing this? Did he have a death wish? Was he throwing himself into Fin''s jaws for the fun of it? Was he actually really just a dumb kid who''d finally made a mistake? Fin wanted answers and so he paid a great deal of attention as he watched the scythe come barrelling downwards directly in front of him but something was looking off about this as Ares'' swing was incredibly slow... Unnaturally so... Was Ares even going to make it in time before the Aqua Slicer cut HIM in half?! At this rate, probably not...
Fin''s confusion didn''t get the better of him as he doubled down on his swing but, a split second later, he finally added everything up in his head and he genuinely couldn''t believe what was about to happen to him. The slow timing of the scythe had been intuitionally adjusted because the ''platform'' it was aiming for wasn''t the boat beneath him and it certainly wasn''t stationary. Ares wasn''t going to Gamble off the floor, that was far too simple a trick to pull off here...
THIS BASTARD IS GOING TO GAMBLE OFF THE TOP OF MY AQUA SLICER?!
Much like how Ares used a deflect to bounce off the Aqua Slicer blade earlier, he was going to somewhat repeat that feat by shoving his scythe tip onto the blade, which required precision that Fin believed was completely impossible, and then use that as a raised platform to flick himself forward off. If successful, Ares would catapult himself cleanly over both Fin''s attack and guard, giving him free reign to launch a deadly attack without impediment. Fin wasn''t even sure if he''d be able to live if that came to pass but he would definitely sustain an massive injury at the very least if it did... He had to seriously pray this kid wasn''t actually able to follow through on this threat otherwise he was SCREWED! Surely Ares couldn''t? Surely this was an impossible task that went beyond what a living creature was capable of? Mid crash down to earth, a swing of the scythe so precise the very tip landed squarely on a centimetre wide, moving, wet blade, and then to pivot all of his weight and momentum in milliseconds without the scythe slipping off the Slicer?! NO!? Fin outright didn''t want to accept this! There was no way in hell this worked! Ares would slip off the blade and fall flat on his face on top of it and / or go sailing straight into Fin''s waiting jaw! This was the only outcome Fin would tolerate!...
Clink
...
...
...
And yet...
There Ares was, almost motionless in mid air above him. What a splendid sight it was... Fin, distraught and upset at this though he was, had to give it up for the kid who''s current pose was like something sculpted to perfection in a museum, He was like some kind of transcendent angel who''d descended from above and rested on Fin''s blade comfortably, like Fin''s entire aggression up until this point was meaningless and could be dismantled with the greatest of ease like he was no more than a child throwing a tantrum. This was a true cultivator and Fin developed a feeling inside him that let him know, plainly and simply, he was fucked here. This was the defining moment of this fight and he couldn''t top it or prevent what came after it. The morale was all coming up Ares and his tail was shaking. He''d been royally outclassed and, as Ares flung himself forward into a spinning slash with the scythe, he wanted to turn tail and run!
Screw this!
Getting revenge was one thing but dying pointlessly to this monster was another. This kid was barely even using his destructive magic and Fin didn''t want to know what more he could do with it. This had all gone terribly wrong and this kid was a living nightmare, not worth fighting at all! He defied commons sense in every way and that last stunt he just pulled might actually be the greatest thing any Sheryashkan had ever witnessed. A Gamble into a second Gamble before falling down, the second of which was done atop an opponent''s moving weapon? Was this guy a gymnast God in a previous life or something? Why was this even happening? Fin could practice this bullshit for the remainder of his life and never even succeed a single time in a safe and easy to practice environment. This kid pulling that off in actual combat was the final, devastating blow needed for Fin to realise this prodigy was the real deal. There were experts and then there were inhuman devil spawn like this that were a cut above the rest and to be trifled with. Fuck, Fin felt old just looking at this damn kid and yet he himself was only in his mid thirties! Was time really this cruel!? Was the new generation all hyped up on illegal medication?! Was it literally just this one random guy who was taking the world by storm?! Fin didn''t care anymore, he just wanted to take this next attack, live through it, and get the hell outta dodge! He would signal a retreat so that the rest of his comrades didn''t have to suffer at this hands of this maniac but, honestly, whoever was lost this day was going to have to just suck it up in the afterlife. Ares was an existence that was just utterly unfair and shouldn''t have existed at all. He was the Federations'' cheat code and Fin didn''t wanna play this game anymore. The odds were not even! Fin would get news on this guy and then proceed to avoid him at all costs for the remainder of his life! Now the only question left was, how hard was this next slash going to hit him?'' In order to flee back into the water, he needed to not die here and that scythe was inching dangerously close to his face and brain!
This was going to be rough...