Chapter 132: The Power of a Witches Magic
The moment Velvet stepped back, Ryuji lifted his hand with a welcoming smile, his eyes quite loose. He looked at the cool beauty with blue hair, then the fiery redhead and couldn't help but want to know.
"Nice to meet you, pretty sisters. I am Ryuji. May I know your names?" Ryuji asked, while his left foot shifted forward, his right hand grasping the wooden axe tight, keeping himself prepared. Now used to the brutal style of Velvet who would attack even during rest periods or after he fell to the ground.
'These two seem a little more reasonable, at least.' Though he complained. Ryuji loved fighting against Velvet because he could return to the past and truly see his mother's figure in Velvet when they fought.
But sometimes, a good old easy-going fight that just gave him the time to enjoy his martial path truly was a good idea.
Velvet, however, narrowed her beautiful eyes towards the young man she had met on a daily basis for five days and gave an amused smirk. It almost felt like a sneer at him as the blue-haired sister's staff began to freeze rapidly, forming a solid outer shell.
The next moment, she lunged towards him. It appeared that she really wanted to crush Ryuji with delicate steps the distance closed in moments. Her hands twisted the pole, eyes watching his movements before striking from above his head.
Ryuji didn't dodge but pushed his axe forward. The heavy pole behind the simple-looking wooden appearance slammed the freezing pole into the young woman's dainty hands. She jolted, eyes looking at Ryuji without feelings, a cold gaze before she twisted her arms, striking rapidly from both sides, using the end of the staff to strike.
He blocked calmly, pushing his axe slightly while using his forearm to block the other; with a harsh thud, his lips tightened. The pain of her blow sent chills down his arm while her assault continued.
She pulled back, taking several soft steps, before taking a defensive stance and watching Ryuji's body with a focused gaze. "Lapis." Her voice was cold yet contained a mysterious beauty. Though she didn't take long to attack again, this time her right foot leading, as she thrust the edge of her staff at Ryuji.
Without a choice, Ryuji could only twist his body and dodge to the sides. He tried rolling vertically using his speed while he kept focus after his attributes reached over sixty.
He discovered that his focus, strength, speed and other abilities linked to the attributes became more controllable. Ryuji could stop himself from losing to anger or rage and hold back when he needed to wait for a strike.
Or, like now, maintain the focus needed to strike back. His axe moved rapidly, going straight for her midsection after he returned to his feet, striking while looking forward into Lapis' pale and quiet eyes.
'She has great vision!' He realised mid-strike, but he reached out, his palm coated in flames, grasping the edge of her staff. However, the power of his attack lowered. She showed a shocked look for the first time, her eyes darting around before stomping on the ground.
A sudden crack sounded as several sharp spikes of ice shot upward from beneath Ryuji.
Smiling, Ryuji felt something inside him, as if he began waking up with knowledge and things he had always understood.
Molten flames formed on the sole of his left foot as he lifted and stomped down on her ice spikes. Though he felt a brief pain as the tip pushed against him, the entire spell shattered after he endured that moment!
This was close to magma something Ryuji had discovered days ago while imagining the magma from the dungeon he visited before. Although it was rare and would consume a lot of mana, he realised it had certain unique and powerful aspects! Especially against water, earth and ice magic.
Lapis had her eyes wide and tried to pull her staff away. But her mouth was about to open when Ryuji released his axe and threw a right hook at her face. His fist was covered in flames.
'This one is my victory!'
However, before his fist connected, a vast wall of fire burst between them, not giving him the time to breathe. The redheaded witch with twin tails lunged into battle and attacked him with a swift flurry of blows. Her vicious aura surged as flames danced with every punch and kick aimed at harming Ryuji.
Ryuji's movements were sluggish, taking a fist to his cheek. The flames caused a momentary pain before her knee followed into his abdomen. The redhead dropped her staff and mimicked Ryuji, throwing an elbow attack at his face.
In an attempt to defend, Ryuji covered his palms with a layer of rock. Then slammed against the young woman's attack. The impact caused his chest to throb in pain because of a sharp intake of breath before coughing out and finding time to move away.
At the side, Lapis struck down at his shoulder with her frozen staff, making Ryuji retreat a little further while focusing his gaze between the two.
'These two complement each other's weakness. Not just in magic but also in martial combat!' Ryuji noticed the defensive style of Lapis seemed to mesh perfectly with the violent and aggressive style of the redhead. Although he would gain slight advantages when Lapis stepped back or failed to notice him due to his attacks, the redhead could interrupt that chance swiftly.
'It must be years, no decades of training. These two are strong!'
"Ruby." The redhead spoke one word before her body rushed forward while Lapis created a ring of sharp ice around Ryuji, the size around five metres in diameter.
Gritting his teeth, Ryuji realised this was likely to test him.
Ruby attacked with her arms wreathed in flames. Her agile style reminded him of Erika's movements, although Ruby struck harsher compared to Erika.
The moment she attacked with a fist, the next elbow, kick or knee wasn't far off, forcing Ryuji to dodge around the ice ring. His left hand with slight burns when deflecting her roundhouse. However, despite trying to counter a few times. Lapis interrupted by controlling the sharp spikes of the ring to stab him or force him towards Ruby's attack.
'These two work so well together!'
Though Ryuji noticed, Lapis and Ruby's movements weren't flawless. Lapis would stare blankly and retreat after a rapid attack. Then Ruby appeared to lose focus if he stepped within her striking distance. Often raising her fists or kicks against open space, forcing him to pull back, revealing a frightened or fragile appearance.
"Don't hold back," Lapis said emotionlessly, while Ruby clicked her tongue and appeared uncomfortable with Ryuji stepping into her rage so easily. He twisted his hips and lowered them to dodge her punches and used his powerful legs to block her kicks, forcing Ruby back against the sharp ice wall.
Ruby clicked her tongue, gritted her teeth, and attacked Ryuji as Lapis moved slowly. Her body waved and stepped lightly on the ice wall's edges and threw a harsh strike aimed towards Ryuji's face.
She spun through the air as she jumped off the ice with a powerful double kick. However, Ryuji's eyes never left her body. His arms reached out as he used the demon lord's eyes to slow her down even a little and grasped her hips and left leg. Ryuji's grip was tight, smashing her off the ice wall before hurling her towards Lapis.
A gasp escaped Ruby's lips as she groaned from the pain. Lapis dropped her staff to grab Ruby from the air, her body taking several steps back. However, Ryuji attacked quickly. He used the ice wall as a springboard and leapt into the air above the two, his hands forming a hammer while magic swirled around his fists.
'No holding back!' Ryuji knew these girls didn't have malicious thoughts against him. Thus, he had no intent to kill them, but this was a fight and he must be serious and respect his enemy.
A huge flaming sphere formed around his hammer fist as it dropped onto the pair.
The ice ring Lapis conjured earlier vanished from the intense flames as Ryuji's fist exploded onto the floor. Although her hands clasped Ruby, who glared at Ryuji after the flames exploded, it ruined their clothes and left them both half-naked and regretful for taking it easy on him.
"Hey, get some clothes!" A shout appeared behind him as a bolt of lightning struck the ground. Velvet stood in between the pair as she turned to the two witches, her body flickering with smoke. "Are you two done playing around? Do you see how an amateur boy just defeated you?" Velvet said, looking at the two in their torn attire without an expression.
"Uhhh...." Ruby looked a little shy while Lapis glanced around in a daze. "Big sis... we..."
"Save it, and next time focus. He is not some pathetic knight. Use your full power from the start." Velvet seemed mad at the two witches, and it seemed they took it easy because it wasn't something they were passionate about. read this on m _v _l _e _m _p _y _r
Immediately after her words, the pair suddenly began to burn with intense magical power, Ryuji could see the mana around them seemed to become theirs. As if they were forcing it to obey them, even the mana that wasn't theirs.
A huge flaming aura covered Ruby while Lapis swirled with a freezing wind, her eyes glowing light blue as she added sharp tips to the staff.
In Ruby's case, her hands created flaming claws that were around ten centimetres long.
"Forgive us for not respecting you."
"Please, fight us again!"
The two bowed to Ryuji before both attacked without waiting for his response.
However, this time, he could barely sense their movements as Ruby attacked him head-on, and Lapis circled around his back.
The battle was on a different level!