My Devourer System: Rise of the Bastard Son

The cheers of the crowd drew more people. Soon the flattened ruins of Castaway Valley were alive with roars. In between the voices of people, the rapid clang of metal was like music.

Duran's body flickered with blue light. He flashed behind Lucen and thrust his sword forward. Lucen deflected it, hopping away, and activated [Starfall].

His spear turned into a white bolt of light and shot towards Duran. It was too easy for his half-brother to dodge; he simply teleported to his original position.

But Lucen was ready for him and was already there, fist streaking for his jaw. Duran weaved the blow and slashed upwards. Lucen stepped forward and grabbed his wrist, but Duran teleported away.

Lucen knew Duran was going behind him, and already summoned his spear back. Duran appeared behind him, sword raised, but sensed the spear's return and ducked.

The spear missed his head by mere inches and reformed in Lucen's hand. He spun and swung the spear at Duran's jaw.

Metal rang as his swing was blocked. They glared at each other, then exchanged a set of fast attacks, filling the air with sparks.

Duran's blue sword traced deadly lines over the air. He fought carelessly, simply teleporting away if he got into trouble. On the fifth attack, his sword would speed up, and he would teleport behind Lucen to surprise him with the fifth strike.

Lucen already knew how Duran's sword enhancement technique worked. What he didn't quite understand was his teleportation.

The categories of Divine spells were: Enhancement, Healing, Buffs, Seals, Defense, and Armaments. What category would teleportation fall into?

Duran's sword slammed into his, sending multi-colored sparks flying, and he pushed into Lucen. But to his surprise, Lucen held his ground.

Duran wasn't as physically powerful as Thomas. But he most likely had tempered either his soul or mind. Which was interesting considering he became a Knight barely a few months ago.

To the crowd, they both moved so quickly that attacks couldn't be seen. But they understood that Duran was faster; his form disappeared in dizzying bursts. It looked like Lucen was losing.

Lucen's class had arrived after the match began. Set frowned deeply; they were both his brothers, and both in a completely different league.

"Lucen's actually keeping up," Helie said, eyes wide. "He's matching a Knight blow for blow."

"How is he even following those attacks?" Kon gaped. "Duran is too fast, and the teleporting… Divine magic activates so quickly."

"Forget the speed, how is he blocking those attacks?" Hither asked. "That ringing… each blow is so heavy."

Duran's body enhancement technique made his movements blink and disappear. Lucen would watch him rear up for an attack then he would disappear and reappear with his sword coming down.

If not for Lucen's [Mana Sense], he would have thought Duran teleported. He raised his spear and deflected the blow.

Duran's teleportion left brief signs of were he was going. Lucen had to be completely aware or he would miss it.

Duran's blinking body and teleportaion spell would make for a frightening and unpredictable opponent if Lucen was less skilled with [Mana Sense].

"Lucen has also been pretty exceptionally physical, like the Garin or the Bronze Giant," Elle added. "The Bronze Giant lifted adults as a baby. After tempering, Lucen will probably be even stronger."

"The Bronze Giant didn't have second sight, too," Ymir muttered, struggling to follow their battle.

Lucen was almost ready to win. He could follow the teleport points Duran created with his mana sense. He used [Sinking Sand], and jabbed hard at Duran.

As expected, once Lucen overstretched, Duran teleported behind to dodge his attack. His feet sank into the dirt. Lucen hard pivoted, partially activating [Starfall] to speed up his spin.

His spear whistled through the air to slam into Duran's jaw. He needed to get him before he could teleport again.

The spear was inches from Duran when a golden disc appeared by his head. Lucen instantly recognised it as the spell Koril used when he fought the Tyrant Bull wolf.

His spear bounced off the disc, and Lucen felt his body lurch as his force was reversed. He jumped to avoid falling and partially activated [Starfall] to move mid-air.

But Duran wasn't counterattacking. He pulled himself out of the sand trap, clicking his tongue. "I guess we were both hiding spells to surprise each other."

"Pulling out all the stops for a Squire?" Lucen landed, his shoulder ached slightly. "I'm honoured."

"So, halfblood, why don't we make this interesting." Duran raised his sword. "No more spells, just skills."

He didn't like that idea. Duran was planning something, but Lucen didn't quite get what. He must have realised his advantage with high-level spells wasn't working.

"That would be too easy for me," Lucen replied. "Let's continue like this."

Duran laughed. "Your loss, I guess."

A bolt of golden light flared over Duran's shoulder. The air hissed as an arm formed from golden light appeared over his shoulder—a third arm holding a hulking great sword.

Lucen swallowed. That was somewhat unexpected. He prepared to use [Serpent's Call].

Duran teleported above him this time. In a flash of blue light, he was above him; the great sword came down first. The ground shattered, and Lucen was forced to jump away.

The moment Lucen's feet left the ground, Duran teleported behind him. He slashed horizontally while the great sword came down from above. There wasn't much room to escape.

Lucen activated [Starfall], sending the spear upward to deflect the great sword while he dodged Duran's black blade.

This great sword spell was most likely the High-rank version of Set's [Radiant Sword]. He enchanted the spear with [Serpent's Call]. But too little mana went into the spell as he was trying to stop it from draining him.

The white bolt of light formed a small snake's head and slammed into the edge of the golden sword. It was deflected just enough for Lucen to squeeze by. But the sword shattered the ground beneath his feet and unbalanced him.

Duran grinned madly and teleported above him again. He brought his Wyrm blade down at Lucen's left shoulder to sever it.

Lucen spun and gritted his teeth, letting the sword dig into his forearm. Blood splashed over his face and the crowd's noise died away. Lucen threw his fist at Duran, cursing.

Duran frowned; they were too far away, the fist couldn't possibly hit him. What he didn't know was [Will's Breath], now [Serpent's Call], enhanced the range of attacks, not just power.

The air whistled and glowed, slamming into Duran's nose. With a loud crack, Duran was sent sailing through the air before crashing hard into the ground.

Lucen didn't pull the sword out of his arm yet, too many eyes focused on him. It was easy to use [Blood Rebirth] in a chaotic battlefield; here, people would ask why his grievous wounds healed in seconds.

Duran seemed to be out cold. Lucen put just enough power in [Serpent's Call] to not kill him by mistake. But his face was red and squashed; he must have broken a lot of bones.

Ymir ran to Duran, sliding beside him and quickly casting a healing spell. Melanie came over and used her water healing spell on his arm after he pulled out Duran's blade.

Duran was knocked out, so the blade disappeared from his hand the moment he touched the handle. He got a few moments to study the runes while it was in his hands. He didn't recognise the type of mana they corresponded to.

Nathaniel shook his head disappointedly. "Lucen wins."