339 Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

'Fast… too fast…'

Caster was moving with astonishing speed, his figure turning into a blur. His Flaw was a cruel one, but the power of the Aspect Ability he possessed was also incredible.

In fact, Sunny had never met anyone with an Ability as powerful as this, with the exception of himself and Nephis. Even the greatest warriors on the Forgotten Shore would have had no chance against it. Gemma, Effie, Seishan… all of them would have been easily killed by the deadly scion of the Han Li clan.

Perhaps only Harus could have fought him to a draw.

But even then, Sunny wasn't sure. Not only did Caster possess a terrifying Ability, but he was also one of the most skilled swordsmen of their generation. He also had a whole arsenal of Memories hidden away inside his soul. Surely, he had a way to fight while blinded.

…That's why Sunny did not waste any time trying to destroy the Memory lantern illuminating their surroundings. Instead, he just trusted his sword, and met Caster's attack with his own.

Two swords collided in the air, and in the next moment, Caster flew past Sunny and slowed down, eventually coming to a stop. A drop of blood fell off the tip of his jian.

Sunny staggered.

'Curse you…'

The sleeve of the Puppeteer's Shroud was torn, and there was a shallow cut on his shoulder. He had managed to deflect the strike aimed at his heart, but wasn't fast enough to avoid being wounded after all.

On Caster's face, there was a dark expression. Looking at Sunny, who was still alive, he grimaced and spat:

"Not bad. This is going to be entertaining, at least."

Hidden behind the mask, Sunny grinned.

"Oh, yeah. I'm having a lot of fun myself, thanks."

Of course, that was a lie.

Back in the Academy, Caster had been the only person to defeat Nephis. Granted, all of them had been much weaker back then. Neph also had not used her Aspect Ability, while Sunny was using his to augment himself right now.

Because of it, the gap in speed between the two of them was not completely lethal. And yet, he was incomparably slower. In terms of pure physical ability, Sunny had no hope of surviving this duel.

…But he already knew the secret of how one had to fight against Caster. He had learned it from Changing Star herself, during that short and fateful spar.

A year ago, Nephis had been in a similar situation, and yet almost defeated her swift enemy. She had anticipated Caster's moves instead of reacting to them, and due to that, his speed advantage had been made less severe. This was what Sunny had to do now.

Of course, to achieve such a feat, one had to possess an intricate understanding of the underlying laws of combat and a true mastery of both their mind and their body.

Luckily, Sunny was one such man. He had obtained clarity a long time ago, and spent every waking hour sharpening his skill and instincts. His mind had entered into the state of flow, making his perception stark and all-encompassing, his thoughts quicker. His intuition was enhanced by the knowledge of the essence of battle.

…That gave him a chance to win.

A moment later, Caster attacked again, and Sunny jerked the Midnight Shard sideways, blocking the ghostly green jian at the last possible moment.

'Up…'

He had begun to chain the next move even before the two blades collided. A split second later, the Legacy brought down his sword in a downward slash, aiming at Sunny's head. However, it was deflected…

'Thrust at the neck…'

…once again, sliding down the length of the tachi and biting Sunny in the shoulder. This time, the leather pauldron of his armor held, but just barely.

Almost instantly, Caster pulled the jian back and then immediately thrust it forward, aiming to cut the enemy's throat. The Midnight Shard awkwardly pushed the gleaming blade away, but not fast enough — another shallow cut appeared on Sunny's neck, seeping with blood.

'Damn it!'

Infuriated, Sunny tried to counterattack, but was forced to concentrate on nothing but defense. Dozens of strikes rained on him in a span of a couple of seconds, filling the echoing expanse of the Crimson Spire with the clangor of steel. More and more cuts appeared on his body — none of them were too deep or dangerous, but that didn't make them less painful.

No matter how cunning and perfect Sunny's movements were, he couldn't make up for his lack of speed completely. Months of training, hundreds of battles, countless hours spent gaining insight into the inner workings of swordsmanship... Caster had done all of that, too, and then some. And he was so much faster.

But, somehow, Sunny was still alive. Not only was he alive, he wasn't even seriously injured… yet.

At some point, he feinted a block and dodged the blade of Caster's sword instead, then whipped his empty head forward, as though trying to punch the Legacy in the head.

At the last moment, however, a ghostly stiletto appeared in his hand.

…Only to be thrown aside by a powerful hit of the jian. Sunny barely managed to save his arm from being severed at the wrist.

Sparing him a contemptuous glance, Caster snarled:

"Cretin! Have you forgotten that I was there when Changing Star gave you that Memory?!"

Sunny gritted his teeth and lashed out with the austere tachi, buying himself a moment to regroup.

"I guess it slipped my mind!"

With that, he suddenly hurled the Moonlight Shard at the Legacy, then followed it with a fearsome thrust of his sword. Caster easily dodged the stiletto, deflected the tachi, and kicked him in the stomach, sending Sunny staggering back with a pained moan.

For a fraction of a second, he was wide open.

His enemy did not miss that opportunity, turning into a blur as he lunged forward. The gleaming jian flashed through the air, and at the same time, Sunny suddenly spun and twisted his body.

The two of them almost brushed against earth other as Caster flew by.

A moment later, Sunny shuddered and bent over, blood streaming from a deep wound on his side.

The Legacy turned around and smiled cruelly, a hint of satisfaction reflecting in his eyes.

"...Not so boisterous now, are you, worm?"

Sunny groaned and slowly straightened his back, pressing one hand against his bleeding side. His voice sounded strained and solemn:

"Ah, yes. That… that didn't go exactly as planned."

Then, he titled his head and raised his other hand, staring at the object dangling from a torn chain that was gripped in it.

Suddenly, Caster's hand shot toward his neck.

"You…"

Sunny grinned and dangled the sandglass charm in the air.

"Wait… wow! How did this thing get here?"

Caster's gritted his teeth, and the stolen Memory immediately began to radiate a subtle white glow. He was trying to dismiss the charm and return it to his soul core.

…Before that happened, however, Sunny caught it and clenched his fist, ruthlessly shattering the crystal hourglass into tiny pieces.

Caster's eyes widened.

"Bastard!"

As his shout resounded in the darkness, the shards of the precious Memory flew to the ground, turning into sparks of light and disappearing as they fell.