Chapter 11: - I Never Taught a Demon!
Edge sighed as the sounds behind him died down. He was about to turn around and check the identity of the corpse when he suddenly sensed danger. He quickly dodged forward just when a dagger sliced his afterimage's neck in two.
"You are not human?" Edge stood straight after he turned around but had a serious look on his face. No human has ever taken his [Thousand Cuts] and survived.
"Guess." Zex answered playfully. He was in a good mood. His HP was 816 and even if there were a thousand critical hits of 2… he was able to survive because most of the damage was towards his heart, which he just found out has an insane defense as compared to the rest of his body. The barrage netted a total damage of 362. Not even half his total HP.
He had 32 Hp when he was at level 0 as a human. Even those elites he killed had around 400 HP when he sneakily used [Evil Eye] on those in his direct sight. His opponent's surprise was understandable.
The principle of the original [Thousand Cuts] was simultaneously hitting numerous parts of the target's body, delivering a shock to the target's defense mechanisms. A normal human has 5 large vital organs: the brain, the heart, the kidneys, the liver, and the lungs.
However, arteries that when cut open would result in heavy blood loss or damage to tendons and nerves that would render a limb or sensory organ unusable would be considered vital targets.
Among all of that, the brain and the heart are the most dangerous organs to lose for a human, therefore, Edge's version of the [Thousand Cuts] was mostly concentrated on the head, the neck, and the chest. Even to Zex who had high defenses, these cuts were extremely deadly, and no amount of regeneration could completely keep up with the damage. He was saved just because his heart was now that of a demon.
In a sense, Zex was rejoicing in the fact that he transformed into a demon not so long ago. Or else, he would not have been able to overpower those elites, much less survive this deadly attack.
Not only this, but he found something very interesting he could learn. He wanted to capture this guy at all costs.
Edge, seeing that he would not be getting an answer, finally took a combat stance as he unleashed a [Blade Aura] once more from his body.
Zex used Evil Eye on Edge and saw his stats for the first time as he only used it on the other pursuers earlier to avoid the chance of being detected. Observing Edge's expression, he found that his using the skill went unnoticed.
Name: Edge
Level: ???
Race: [Human]
Age: ???
Class: Angel of Death
Buffs: [Blade Aura Lvl 5]
Debuffs: [None]
Primary Attributes:
Strength - 146
Vitality - 71
Constitution - 70
Resistance - 62
Agility - 151
Dexterity - 148
Intelligence - 70
Wisdom - 69
Spirit - 68
Charisma - 15
Luck - 45
Secondary Attributes:
Health = 568/568
Mana = 560/560
Stamina = 846/846
Concentration = 79/79
Resonance = 93/93
'A typical assassin build. However, him being a hero, his level would be around level 60 with that much HP.' Zex was not completely pleased as the system did not display everything… especially most of his skills. He inwardly cursed the [Lord of Evil] abilities having a certain fixation with the number 13.
'Then let's fight!' He assumed a battle stance once more as he released a [Blade Aura] of his own. The pursuers he killed also learned how to use this technique but they were leagues behind their teacher.
He could level up a lot right now as he had a lot of experience saved up. However, he didn't want to waste his exp to level up any of his [Farmer]. He was eyeing the subclass Edge currently has. Besides, he wanted to tap into his battle sense and smoothen out the edges against a master. If worse comes to worst, he still had his trump card.
The wind died down as if the world was holding its breath waiting for the two fighters to move. The moonlight that shone diagonally towards them left gleams on their faces.
Their eyes reflecting a glint from the moonlight were in contact as their breathing slowly synchronized to perfection. The auras they were releasing were being refined over and over again as if they were blades being sharpened repeatedly.
The Blade Aura that Edge was shrouded in had an almost solid form while the one Zex had was many times dimmer. The difference between the two was obvious. One held two physical daggers while the other was forming two of his own made of the same aura that covered him.
This was Edge's specialty. By concentrating his energy into perfecting his [Blade Aura], he could bend it to his will and transform it into any weapon he wanted. Zex on the other hand was a novice compared to him.
…
A shift of balance… and the first to move was Zex. This was not out of impulsiveness but respect. After all, if Edge was the teacher of those pursuers he killed, he too would be one of his indirect students the moment he learned those skills. Additionally, a side effect of learning those skills in such a way was that the records also included the feelings they had towards the one who taught those skills to them. Zex was suffering from this side-effect right now and felt like he was fighting his dear teacher.
Edge also felt the purpose of Zex's move but he didn't mind it at all.
He easily dodged the strikes of his opponent and counterattacked with a deadly strike each time he found a flaw.
However, every instance when his counter was about to connect, Zex made adjustments to avoid it.
'It works!' Zex was overjoyed to discover that the time dilation effects of [Evil Eye] were effective in battle. It felt like the battle was one of those martial arts exercises where the two opposing sides were attacking and defending at a slow pace that by the time one move has been completed, they have made dozens of transformations in between.
It was like a battle of rock-paper-scissors. Before the endpoint of the throw, players could change their choice of form at any moment as they read their opponent's form. If they slowed down the process while the same perception is intact, there could be more changes in between depending on how long the throw took to complete.
Zex was using that principle to counter the attacks of his opponent. He was thinking that this must have been how using the Sharingan felt like. [1]
However, despite this cheat ability of his, his body had suffered time and time again from the changes he made to the trajectory of his attacks so he could avoid critical damage while blocking some of the force of the counterattacks thrown at him.
What makes things worse was that even if he could do this, the reflexes Edge has shown made him realize that no matter how hard he tried, he would not be able to land a hit on Edge.
He tried mixing in feints here and there but they were all seen through by the master of weaponry in front of him. Although it would seem that they were on par with each other on the surface, Zex was unmistakably on the losing side.
After all, what could a man who has trained for only a few hours do against a man who trained his entire life?
The longer their exchange continued and the vastness of the variants of attacks and techniques they used, the more concentration Zex consumed. Edge on the other hand was highly confused. He was completely sure that the techniques his opponent used were the ones he taught those elites. But he could not recall a student who resembled the one he was facing right now, much less someone who possessed such a talent for combat. Zex, on the other hand, had no choice but to use those techniques since he has not learned any others. This fact also made him understand how much training his opponent must have gone through to achieve such a level of mastery.
In their minds, they were praising each other as their bodies clashed time and time again.
However… This was not a spar.
Blood sprayed on the battlefield as a deep cut could be seen on Zex's shoulder.
His concentration was now dangerously low and he could no longer keep up with the usage of [Evil Eye]'s time dilation. Earlier in the battle when he noticed that his concentration was rapidly being consumed, he decided to use [Evil Eye] sparingly, resulting in him being injured here and there while he never even gave his opponent a single cut.
Now that he suffered a huge injury and he could only use [Evil Eye] at critical exchanges, the battle turned very one-sided quickly as Zex could no longer defend against most of Edge's counterattacks.
He was considering the use of [True Name Liberation] but hastily put the thought away as he stared at his opponent with even more respect. This was unlike the anime he watched where when one side suffered a heavy injury, the other side would stop his attacks. They were still clashing. His opponent was still moving in for the kill as his wounds were accumulating more and more.
'Consistency.' Zex had this word in mind as he was looking at his opponent.
With a flashy brandish, he pushed Edge away as he jumped back. He then used some experience to heal his wounds and took a deep breath.
"Impossible! A Demon? I have never taught a Demon!!!" Edge was astonished and angry at the same time.
[1] Sharingan - an ocular technique unique to the eyes of the Uchiha clan in the anime and manga, Naruto. The Uchiha clan can use chakra to stimulate their eyes into achieving feats like reading the opponent's chakra flow, cast illusions, and increase their perception speed, among many others.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Zexekiel
Zexekiel Edge: How are you gonna defeat me?
Zex: With experience! *Literally eats experience*
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