Point-of-View: Shiro Blanc

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"Guess I'm the only one left now, huh? You ready to go or do you need to take a break?" Inquired Shin, stepping forward with a grin.

"Nah, no need for a break, I can still go all out for a bit if I need to, so I'm good," I replied, flexing exaggeratedly.

"If you say so," He smirked confidently, "I'd advise you to use that scary-looking, super strong form you used against Skylar right from the start, I should warn you that I'm pretty powerful."

"Appreciate the advice, but don't tell me how to fight. So, what's your fancy weapon called?" I inquired, as we stepped onto the area we'd been using to fight.

"Oh, mine is nothing special...just the most powerful Legendary Arms in the previous world we were in...Excalibur."

"For real? Alright, then, let's see what you got, Saber," I replied with a look of intrigue.

"Huh? Ohh, I love that anime!"

Oh, he got that reference...well, not that I've actually seen it myself, I only knew because of Kuro's memories. Well, whatever, it doesn't matter.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Come at me!" I taunted with a smirk, as Belia activated the barrier and I entered Demon Mode.

"Alright, you asked for it!" He grinned, drawing out his sword and sprinting towards me rapidly.

What the-...holy crap, he's insanely fast! I hurried formed a thick bone sword and blocked as he closed in and unleashed a powerful downward slash at me, but it was useless, he cut through the bone and the blade continued on down, cutting into my right shoulder and slicing through me, leaving a deep vertical slash in my right side.

I sprang back and used Teleport to go up in the air, healing myself while charging up Obliteration Magic blasts in my hands. Okay, I doubt he can fly, I'll heal myself and-...suddenly, he was right in front of me, his sword poised to swing across at me horizontally.

Did he just...jump?

I quickly flew back and fired Repulsion at him, he responded by rapidly swinging his left leg outwards, kicking the air and sending himself zipping away to the right. He can kick hard enough to create bursts of air pressure to propel himself? This guy...he's more or less on Kuro's level in terms of sheer speed, while his physical strength is even greater, he's definitely faster and stronger than me...but I have more tricks up my sleeve.

I fired out a barrage of Obliteration Magic blasts at him while staying on the move and keeping my distance, as he landed back down on the ground, deflecting and avoiding my blasts. He's batting away some of the blasts with the flat side of his blade...interesting, it looks like all of their weapons are impervious to Obliteration Magic.

I then stopped firing and formed a long and wide bone blade, using Alchemic Magic to maximize its density. I then began to swoop down, before using Teleport to instantly close the gap and swing the blade down with as much force as I could generate. He swung his sword up in response, striking and shattering my blade like glass.

I then fired out Repulsion at him, blasting the shattered bone shards towards him and sending him stumbling back as some grazed him and a couple got embedded in his right shoulder, though he was able to deflect most of the shards away with his sword.

I used Teleport to slip behind him, but he responded immediately, spinning around and swinging his blade straight down at me, which I narrowly evaded by springing back and flying up.

He's good, he's easily the fastest and strongest of the six summons, he's seriously powerful...but I'm pretty powerful in my own right, I won't let him beat me that easily! I unleashed a barrage of wind-enhanced fireballs and lightning bolts down at him, which he kept narrowly evading and deflecting with his sword. Tch, I still haven't landed a proper hit on him...this is annoying!

I used Teleport to suddenly appear right in front of him and fired an Obliteration Magic blast at point-blank, but he didn't even flinch, spinning himself across to avoid my blast and then swung and slammed the flat side of his blade against my right bicep, fracturing the bone severely as I got sent sent flying across to my left and crashed onto the barrier wall with a resounding impact, cracks appearing in the barrier from the point of impact.

He then raised his blade as it began rapidly glowing with a bright, golden light...uh-oh, that doesn't look good. I'll counter with my strongest attack...I formed an Obliteration Magic blast between my hands while charging fire, lightning and wind into it, causing it to swirl and crackle violently, while the air around it shimmered like a desert mirage, sweat running down my face as the blast intensifed.

As my blast magnified and grew in power, his grip around the handle of his sword tightened slightly, indicating that he was about to fire the attack he'd been charging up at me.

"Alright, now, take this...Final Execution!" He exclaimed, swinging it straight down.

"I don't think so...Obliteration Overkill!" I responded, firing out my blast in a massive beam of pure power.

The two attacks met in an instant, a devastating shockwave bursting out upon impact, I opened my wings to steady myself, when suddenly...his attack cut through and dissipated my attack, before continuing on towards me, a massive, golden light...

Before I could use Teleport, I found myself outside the barrier...just in time to see the barrier shatter and the ground near the spot I'd been in had widely and deeply split open, massive cracks spreading out from the split. He collapsed onto one knee, looking a bit unsteady, before shaking his head to regain his bearings and standing back up with a groan.

The stronger their attacks, the more stamina they consume...that explains why most of them used what were likely their most powerful attacks early on in the fights, they had gotten into the habit of trying to end their battles as soon as possible. The reason was obvious, their stamina drains a lot faster than most, so the longer a fight drags on, the more they lose their advantage.

If this had been a real fight, would I be dead right now? That seems likely...that attack was so bright that even if I had been ready to use Teleport, I'd have had trouble finding a visible spot to warp to. There's a good chance that it'd be capable of killing Kuro, as well...provided he doesn't gain another power boost.

"That was amazing, that's easily one of the most powerful attacks I've ever seen!" Remarked Belia with a gleam in her eyes, as Shin walked towards us.

"Yeah, well, none of us have ever seen Shin lose a fight after he gained Excalibur, you actually put up a half-decent challenge," Chimed in Ren, glancing at me.

Tch, don't patronize me. I should act like the loss doesn't matter that much to me...

"No question, he's definitely strong," I replied with a smile, before turning to Shin and adding jokingly, "Hey, what gives? I thought for sure that you'd yell out 'EXCALIBUR!' when you swung your sword down."

Ugh, acting all friendly makes me sick, but if I'm doing this, I'm not going to half-ass it...

"Oh, uh...sorry to disappoint you," He responded with a sheepish laugh.

"Well, anyway, now we know how strong you all are, and I have to say, I'm impressed. Had it been about two or three years ago, you'd have all been the strongest people in this world by a distance. As for the present, Shin is definitely on par with the strongest in this world, and the rest of you should be able to hold your own against most, with the exception of a small handful of people," I surmised, before adding in a cheerful tone, "Why don't we head back and relax? I mean, this is your first day in a new world, so you should take it easy."

"That doesn't sound too bad right about now," Remarked Dwayne with a thoughtful expression.

"Yeah, some relaxation sounds great, as it happens, we were all starting to feel a bit burnt out in the previous world we were in, we were so strong that we had a constant influx of missions or job requests from various clients, we rarely ever got time to chill," Added Shin with a wistful sigh.

Is he trying to boast? No, it doesn't seem like it...huh, somehow, unintentionally boasting like that is even more annoying than regular boasting...

"It was the worst, we were making a ton of money thanks to that but we never had any free time to spend the money on ourselves other than essentials like food and stuff," Said Kyle with a grimace.

Oh, boo-hoo, wipe away the tears with the 'ton of money' you made, why don't you? I then started to walked towards Silvland, prompting them to do the same...actions are louder than words or whatever. As we began to turn and head back to Silvland, Belia suddenly stopped us...

"Wait! Actually, if you don't mind, I'd like to go a round with you Shin. We know that you're strong, but I want to see your upper limit to know exactly how strong," She suggested with a friendly smile.

She was keeping her expression straight, but I recognized that gleam in her eyes...she was too excited to contain herself. Well, I'm not going to stop her...after spending this much time with her, I'd learnt that it's easier to deal with her if I just sit back and watch her set the world on fire instead of trying to get involved everytime she inevitably sets herself on fire...I'm happy to just watch and see how she deals with it herself...

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