Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

"You are not the only one who has improved since our battle."

Rodrick declared and cast his spell. He was using a school of spells that required him to perform a series of hand signs corresponding to that spell. The berserker threw his weapon in Altashia's direction and ran towards her chasing the weapon while performing hand signs.

Altashia narrowed her eyes when she saw Rodrick's actions. She didn't retreat. Instead, she raised her hands and used her mastery of the element once again.

This time, instead of hands, the wind-element mana manifested as grey-coloured chains. The corners of each of the links in the chain were lava red. The grey links with lava-red details looked like the chain had just been made by the forger after taking the links out of the blacksmithing forge.

Altashia had displayed that she could combine her mastery of wind with her mastery of fire with this move. Most of the spectators in the first row felt a dangerous sensation when she launched her attack.

A swarm of chains that had sprouted out of nowhere approached Rodrick and his weapon with the same ferocity they were approaching Altashia with. Several chains were aimed at the weapon. The other swarm of chains headed straight for Rodrick.

Just then, a giant water snake appeared behind Rodrick. He had used the water below the platform to expedite the casting process while adding more ferocity to the animated spell. With the amount of water that had been used to create the water snake's body, it wouldn't be easy to get rid of the spell.

Kiyeeeeee!

The water snake had an umbrella-like fin around its neck that was raised when it released a sharp cry. The chains that were directed at Rodrick changed their direction and headed for the dragon instead. However, the sheer density of the water snake's body prevented the mana-generated chains from pinning it in one place.

On the other hand, the weapon that Rodrick threw released sword slashes on its own when the chains were about to wrap around it. The sword slashes released this time were even more ferocious as they cut through the chains like they were cotton threads.

The broadsword released a different kind of mana signature that didn't belong to a human or any other living entity for that matter. Yet one could feel that it bore some resemblance to the mana signature Rodrick had.

'That's a transcendent-grade artefact. Controlled by an Ace ranker, no less. My my! Even if the consciousness of that weapon is at an infant stage, it has indeed been awoken. It is a huge achievement for the boy. Altashia needs to step up her game soon.'

Layla spoke in Eren's head. Eren narrowed his eyes and watched Al's next moves with keen interest. He was collecting data on his opponent after all. He needed to understand her and her capabilities first before even thinking about challenging her to a duel.

Altashia saw that both her chain attacks were ineffective in stopping Rodrick's advances with his weapon. So she tried to retreat to create a distance between herself and her opponent.

That's when the second water snake appeared from behind her. By the time Altashia realized something was approaching her from behind, it had already caught up to it.

The water snake at the back seemed to have gulped Altashia's body first. Trapping her in its stomach. The weapon Rodrick threw penetrated the snake's body without any resistance, aiming at the now-trapped Altashia. Meanwhile, the first water snake and Rodrick arrived on either side of the second snake with vigilance. Rodrick executed another two water snakes and was ready to attack Altashia no matter where she appeared.

Splash!

The snake that had gulped Altashia started exuding fiery red light, which spread from its stomach to its entire body at crazy speeds. It wasn't long before the snake cried in pain before its body burst like that of a water balloon.

Instead of a temporary escape, Altashia chose to destroy the snake without worrying about her mana consumption. When she came out of the snake's belly, the spectators saw that she was still fine and not even drenched in water. But a large volume of steam could be seen coming out of her skin and clothes.

The weapon attacked on its own while the remaining dragon opened its maw and shot a high-pressure stream of water in Altashia's way. Meanwhile, Rodrick started making some more hand signs. The mana signature he was releasing at this point was even more intense than before.

"Miss Altashia, you'd pay dearly if you keep on underestimating me."

Rodrick said out loud while increasing his speed of making hand signs. Altashia, who was busy dodging the attacks of the sword and the water snake, heard that and looked in the berserker's direction while narrowing her eyes on him.

***********************

Rodrick had changed his attack style since he had fought Altashia. He had compromised on his berserker's way of handling things and decided not to approach the warrior girl like the last time. It had put him at a disadvantage of not being able to use the explosiveness of berserker attacks. But at least it prevented him from suffering major injuries like last time.

Saying that Altashia was proficient with her scythe would be an understatement. Her weapon mastery was as impressive as her progress in the way of the elements. At close range, she was able to defeat Rodrick easily. He couldn't fill that large of a gap even with his transcendent-grade weapon due to his limitations.

Rodrick had lost badly in his previous battle against her. And he had to admit that she was a superior ranker than him in more than one area of expertise. If he was any other ranker, he wouldn't have challenged Altashia unless he was sure he could beat her.

But as a royal, he needed to keep up appearances. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to survive the politics and members of his own family coming for him. This duel was no different than a battle for survival for him.

That's why Rodrick decided to put Altashia at a disadvantage from the very beginning while facing some adverse effects of using a different battle strategy. Using his wits and planning, the guy was trying to win over the prodigy.

Rodrick decided not to let Altashia exert her full potential in the battle. He put her at a disadvantage by not allowing her to use her weapon to its fullest. The spells he cast on her would be able to deal with her weapon just fine.

Even if she could destroy his spells, the elemental and surrounding advantage he had would allow him to cast the spells all over again. Plus, he knew about the peculiarity of her attacks. The flying weapon flashes released by her weapon were able to catch fire at her behest. So keeping his distance from her would give him enough room to dodge those time-bombs of attacks.

With this approach, the battle would then be about endurance. The ranker who could keep on fighting till the end while keeping their mana consumption in check would win.

Rodrick placed his bets on not letting Altashia use her superior weapon mastery and her preference for close-range combat to put her at a disadvantage. Plus, she did not have her demon beast with her in this fight, which could allow her to use long-range attacks effectively.

AN: If you think Eren's dream of beating Altashia is far-fetched at this point, you are not alone in thinking that, Lol. She is the real deal, unlike the seemingly mediocre boy who is relying on his past experiences. A genuine prodigy in the VEH-verse. The butcher needs to do something extreme to beat her anytime soon. ;)

Also, I am aware that the battle may seem a bit stretched. I'll upload a new chapter with the battle's conclusion shortly.