Earth's Alpha Prime

Chapter 181.9: First Segment. (Part-9)

Seath didn't get why his opponent seemed so confident despite just being at Tier-2. Still, to be on the safe side, he didn't be careless and rushed towards Dante as soon as the match began.

He intended to take out Dante with pure physical attacks in order not to waste his Spirit Energy.

Meanwhile, Felarial attentively watched from above to see how Dante would deal with Seath.

As the Tournament Manager, Felarial had access to video records of Dante's performance in the previous Rounds.

Although he couldn't find anything in Round-2 with an ink-black fog covering the entire battlefield, he had seen Dante defeat a Tier-3 High-Phase Monster despite being at Tier-2 High-Phase.

If it were anyone else, Felarial would have found it hard to believe, but since it was Dante, whom he concluded to be a Holy Son of Fate, that didn't come as a surprise to him.

Although he didn't know about Dante's Innate Talent, from what he had noticed, Dante seemed to possess the ability to predict the enemy's movements and attack patterns.

When that ability was taken into consideration, along with the high damage output of the <Great Titan Bow> and the Growth-type Equipment in Dante's possession, defeating stronger opponents could be considered a norm.

Under Felarial's expectant eyes, Dante made his move, and the card tattoo on his forearm shone before turning into a deck of illusionary white cards.

Each illusionary card in the <Deck of Fate> had a random buff effect, and when he used it, the cards drawn would grant him the buffs best suited to the situation he was in.

Due to his Growth-type Spirit Equipment being an Uncommon Grade one, the cards he could draw were limited to two.

A pair of illusionary white cards swooshed out of the deck and dispersed into Dante's body, bringing a smile onto his face at the buffs they granted him.

<Friction Control Buff>: Grants User the ability to adjust friction on one's own body for a duration of 20 mins.

<GRAVITY Negation Buff>: Grants the User to move unhindered by the Gravity for a duration of 20 minutes.

Although the buffs didn't enhance his stats, their application would make his movement unpredictable beyond measure.

Moreover, Dante didn't need to expend any Spirit Energy to use those temporary abilities for 20 minutes straight.

When Seath was just a few meters away, Dante slid his feet instead of lifting them to move from his spot.

In less than a second, he slid 100 meters across the Stage, and the way he manoeuvred appeared as if he was skating on ice.

Seath couldn't believe his eyes for a moment. Never did he expect his Tier-2 opponent to move at a speed that surpassed his own. Moreover, the way Dante moved was nothing he had ever seen.

Before the shock on his face could fade, Dante pulled out his bow's string as he aimed at Seath.

Aura gathered into the shape of an arrow in a split second before being shot. For every 10 meters, the Aura Arrow crossed, and its size grew.

Despite the window to dodge the arrow being pretty thin, Seath instinctively moved to his left, but to his dismay, the arrow still reached him.

To escape the direct impact, he crossed both his swords to block it, but that didn't help much against the arrow that grew to 10 times its own size.

Seath was sent flying before colliding into the Stage barrier, losing half his Health in one go.

Only then did he realise underestimating his opponent was a grave mistake. He no longer dared to hold back and activated a 'Time Draft' right away.

Just as he did, another Aura Arrow entered his view, and when it was just a moment away from hitting him, Seath used <Draft Glitch>, and the arrow passed through him.

He didn't stay in the same spot and unfolded his wings before taking off from the Stage.

Seath flew around without pausing even once, fearing being a stationary target.

Similar to him, Dante didn't stay in a single spot as he skated all over the Stage while shooting with his bow.

Still, Seath had to use <Time Velocity> without rest to accelerate and decelerate his own time to dodge the impeccably accurate Arrows.

Even then, he had to use Draft Glitches once in a while to dodge the inevitable ones.

Using all those skills at once had a heavy toll on his Spirit Energy. If that continued, he wouldn't even last more than a minute.

So, he decisively closed in on Dante to defeat him before his Spirit Energy could run out.

Seath's actions didn't bring any surprise to Dante. After all, he was able to see through his opponent's every move beforehand through his 1st Innate Exclusive Skill, <Fate Sequence Perception>.

<Fate Sequence Perception>

Able to perceive Fate Halos and Fate Sequences of any existence within a limited duration and range around the Host. (Fate Sequence duration and Fate Sequence Range depends on the User's Tier.)

Cost: 0.01 Fate Stat per minute. (Constant)

- Perception Range of Fate Sequences & Fate Halos at Tier-2: 10,000 meters.

- Duration of Fate Sequences & Fate Halos at Tier-2: 100 seconds.

- Automatically activates <Fate Sequence Perception> when the Host is in danger.

The virtual trajectory of Seath's every move for the next 100 seconds played in front of Dante.

Even the Time Drafts that Seath placed in secret didn't escape his attention.

Seath chased after Dante while shooting Sword Aura projectiles, but just as they were about to hit Dante, he would always evade them by a hair's breadth. That too, without even looking back.

If it were once or twice, Seath would have accounted it to luck, but for that to happen every single time could no longer be a mere coincidence.

So, he didn't continue doing the same and closed in on Dante to deliver one last attack with all he got.

When he was less than 10 meters away, he pointed both swords at Dante and extended the Sword Aura on them so that at least one could pierce even if his opponent dodged one. That last strike would decide the victor of the 2nd Bout.