Chapter 143: Yves vs Twins [2]

The night had been quiet.

The sound of crickets and the gentle breeze were the only things filling the forest.

That was until—

BOOM!

A loud explosion shook the forest.

The force released by the blast sent the surrounding trees swaying wildly.

Right in the middle of the devastation, three figures were fighting without stopping.

Well...

That was me.

Getting jumped by my siblings.

Ana came from my left and kicked toward my ribs.

I brought my left hand down and slapped her leg away.

I immediately tried to counterattack, but the air screamed behind me.

My reflexes kicked in.

I ducked.

Arnold’s katana sliced through the exact spot where my neck had been a moment ago.

At the same time, my own katana was already thrusting toward his stomach.

But my attack was interrupted when Ana moved like a snake and kicked me directly in the chest.

BAM!

I was sent flying backward.

I twisted my body in midair and performed a backflip before landing smoothly on my feet.

I wasn’t injured.

I had managed to block most of her kick at the last second.

For a brief moment, the three of us stood still.

A single leaf slowly drifted down between us.

It touched the ground.

And the twins disappeared.

Dust erupted from beneath their feet.

My senses were heightened to their limit, so I had no trouble detecting where they were coming from.

Arnold appeared directly above me.

His katana was already coming down in a brutal vertical slash meant to split me in half.

I smiled.

With sickening speed, I darted to the left.

Arnold’s blade slammed into the ground.

BOOM!

A deep cut was left in the earth.

At the same time, Ana became a streak of light blue as she rushed toward me with a wide smile.

Arnold was already moving again.

I couldn’t help but admit it.

The twins’ fighting style and teamwork were insane.

They moved as if they knew each other like the backs of their hands.

There was no need for instructions.

No hesitation.

They attacked and defended as if their minds were synchronized.

Whenever I broke through Ana’s defenses, Arnold was already there to force me back.

Whenever I tried escaping in one direction, they immediately moved in opposite directions, attempting to corner me and prevent me from creating distance.

It was a great tactic for overwhelming a lone opponent.

Keep attacking from both sides.

Take away their escape routes.

Give them nowhere to run until they eventually break.

But I wasn’t just any opponent.

The twins were relentless.

They stayed on my ass without giving me a moment to breathe.

Yet I never felt overwhelmed.

No matter how many times they attacked from opposite directions, I always managed to block, dodge, or parry their attacks.

That was because my senses were heightened as hell.

The darkness around me allowed me to detect anything approaching from any direction.

So whenever that snake Ana tried attacking me from behind or from a blind spot—which I didn’t have—I immediately stopped her attempts.

It made her frown from time to time.

Not only that, but my physical speed and reflexes helped me slip past their attacks.

That made me especially dangerous to fight at night.

Arnold, however, possessed ridiculous physical strength.

Whenever he swung his sword, the air seemed to part around the blade.

Sometimes the ground cracked simply from the pressure released by his swings.

I avoided his attacks as much as possible.

If even one of those landed cleanly, it wouldn’t be pretty.

I was confident in my body’s ability to tank attacks, but there was no reason to be stupid and test that confidence against Arnold’s strength.

Despite the twins failing to land a single clean hit on me, they never complained or lost their temper.

They simply kept looking for smarter ways to restrict my movements.

That showed me something.

Despite being incredibly arrogant, they didn’t allow their emotions to control them.

They remained calm.

Focused.

I wanted to make them lose their cool.

But I knew it wouldn’t be easy.

And honestly?

That worked for me too.

It wouldn’t be fun if I won that easily.

"Can’t help but admit, youngest, you’re holding up pretty well!"

Arnold moved in zigzag patterns before suddenly rushing toward me.

Our katanas collided.

Clang!

The force of his strike pushed me backward several steps.

"You thought I was joking when I said I’d win?"

Ana attacked immediately after him.

Her blade slashed toward my neck.

I raised my katana and parried the attack upward.

Then I twisted my wrist and swung diagonally toward her chest.

But like a snake, she twisted her body and dodged the blade before jumping backward and creating distance.

"I’m surprised you didn’t fall during our first clash."

Ana giggled.

"And your swordsmanship isn’t bad for someone who started training only two months ago."

I rested my katana against my left shoulder.

"There is still a lot I have to learn."

I grinned.

"But what I know should be enough to beat you two."

"Ahh..."

Arnold laughed.

His voice echoed throughout the forest.

"I love how confident you are!"

"Confidence?"

I shook my head.

"Sure, it might play a part."

My eyes narrowed.

"But what really drives me is the thought of cutting off your limbs and beating you until you beg for mercy."

The temperature seemed to drop.

The shadows around me stirred.

"You should try your best while you can."

I lowered my katana.

"Otherwise, you’ll lose."

With those final words, I disappeared.

Both twins immediately took defensive stances.

But it wouldn’t matter.

"Where is he?"

Arnold’s eyes moved left and right as he searched for me.

"I can’t sense anything."

Ana frowned.

"It’s like his presence was suddenly erased from our senses."

"I’m here."

My voice came from directly behind Ana.

Her katana immediately swung backward.

But there was nothing there.

"What the...?"

Ana’s eyes widened.

"I swear I heard him behind me."

She looked at Arnold.

"Did you hear him too, brother?"

Arnold nodded.

"You better find out where I am..."

My voice came from one direction.

Then another.

Then another.

It sounded as if I was speaking from everywhere at once.

The twins immediately positioned themselves back-to-back.

They slowly changed their positions whenever they heard my voice.

"Why are you hidi—"

I appeared directly beneath Arnold.

My fingers curled into a fist.

"Who says I’m hiding?"

BAM!

My fist slammed into his stomach.

Arnold was sent flying backward.

Ana was already upon me.

Her katana swung toward my neck.

I weaved to the side.

The blade sliced through empty air.

It had come dangerously close to severing my neck.

I shifted my weight onto my toes.

Then launched myself forward.

A burst of speed carried me across the distance between us in the blink of an eye.

Ana’s eyes widened.

My katana left a black arc through the air as it thrust toward her stomach.

I was inches away from piercing her flesh when—

I felt something.

A sudden light illuminated the left side of my face.

It grew warmer.

And warmer.

My survival instincts screamed.

Mana surged through my body.

I blurred backward.

Dozens of meters disappeared beneath my feet.

A massive golden-red fireball flew past the spot where I had been standing.

It continued forward before crashing into the ground.

BOOM!

A blinding explosion erupted.

A small crater formed where the fireball landed, and the earth around it became scorched black.

Shit.

I almost had my head burned off like a match.

I looked toward Arnold.

His katana was wrapped in golden-red flames.

He pointed the blazing blade directly at me.

"Thanks, brother."

Ana sighed in relief.

"He almost got me there."

Arnold simply nodded.

The flames surrounding his blade pulsed.

Then—

Five enormous fireballs appeared above him.

They floated in the darkness, illuminating the forest with a crimson-golden glow.

The air distorted around them.

It almost seemed to groan beneath their heat.

Oh.

That’s going to be a problem.

"You seem to be using the darkness around us to hide your presence."

Arnold smiled.

"So that’s your ability?"

His eyes narrowed.

"Then there’ll be no more shadows for you to hide in."

It seemed he had already figured it out.

And I hadn’t even used Shadow Step yet.

"Burn."

The five fireballs launched toward me.

They left blazing red streaks across the night sky.

They crossed the distance between us in the blink of an eye.

I dodged the first fireball.

It slammed into the ground behind me.

BOOM!

The explosion erupted.

I immediately Shadow Stepped away from the blast before the flames could reach me.

The remaining fireballs followed.

I continued using Shadow Step to evade them.

One moment I was here.

The next, I was thirty meters away.

Then another twenty.

The explosions illuminated the forest temporarily, turning the darkness into flashes of crimson and gold before the shadows returned.

"He can use the shadows to teleport!"

Ana shouted as she rushed toward me.

"Kill the shadows! Light up the entire area!"

Arnold raised his free left hand.

Mana gathered around his palm.

"Living Sun."

At first, it was nothing more than a tiny flame.

Then the flame took the shape of a sphere.

It floated upward.

Higher and higher.

Then it began expanding.

The light grew brighter.

And brighter.

Until the entire area was illuminated.

There were no shadows left.

It was as if a miniature sun had appeared above the forest.

My eyes widened.

Fuck.

Arnold launched another fireball.

It moved with insane speed.

I instinctively tried to Shadow Step.

Nothing happened.

There were no shadows around me.

Shit.

I couldn’t dodge.

The fireball reached me.

BOOM!