Elric took a deep breath before looking at Vexion with a grin.
"Find new ways to engage in battle... right? Let's see."
Five daggers appeared from his shadow vault — two settled into his left hand, three into his right. Without hesitation, he hurled all five with as much force as he could muster. Vexion merely watched them fly toward her, curiosity flickering across her face.
Elric smirked.
'Daggers cast shadows too.'
Shadow Leap.
The moment the blades scattered through the air, he forced Shadow Leap to its limit. Vexion calmly took two steps to the left, one to the right, dipping her body slightly. The first four daggers sailed harmlessly past. She tilted her head. The fifth whistled by her cheek.
Elric's smile widened.
"Good enough."
His body erupted from the shadow cast by one of the flying daggers, a blade already driving toward her neck. Instead of reacting to the dagger, Vexion smiled.
Two shadowy hands burst from beneath her feet, wrapping around her legs. At the same moment, another shadow twisted into a spear-like tendril aimed directly at her chest.
Vexion gave a small nod.
"Much better. Stop worrying about failure. Overwhelm your opponent first."
A pulse of invisible force exploded outward.
BOOM!
Elric was blasted backwards. The force was nowhere near as violent as before.
'She's holding back. Then I'll take everything I can from this.'
Before he'd even regained his footing, his body dissolved into shadow once more. He reappeared beside her. Another dagger thrust toward her ribs. Vexion simply stepped backward. Her own shadow morphed instantly — a black dagger shot upward aiming for her back.
Elric's eyes narrowed.
'Not enough...'
His shadow suddenly formed a massive hand behind him. It slammed into his back. His speed doubled. The extra momentum drove him toward Vexion like an arrow. For the briefest moment it looked as though he'd reached her. Then—
An invisible wall stopped him cold. His dagger froze mere centimeters away. Vexion never even turned around. Another pulse of force erupted.
BANG!
Elric was launched across the plateau once again. As he tumbled through the air, he caught sight of Vexion rising effortlessly into the sky, invisible vectors carrying her with astonishing speed.
'Force. Some kind of vector manipulation. I can't even get close.'
He steadied himself before diving into the shadow cast by a nearby mountain. His figure disappeared completely.
Another invisible blast swept over the area moments later. It struck nothing.
Hidden within the darkness, Elric frowned.
'How do I deal with that ability? I can't approach. I can't land a hit.'
High above him, Vexion sighed.
"He's hiding again. I thought after watching Lexa he'd understand. Some people can track hidden enemies. He's assuming this is all my skill can do."
She clicked her tongue. "This is going to take longer. And I wanted to return to Master sooner."
Standing calmly in midair, she allowed her aura to spread. Tyrant's Dominion. Dark crimson mana poured from her body, sweeping across the mountains without damaging a single stone. Farther. Farther. Then—
"Battlefield Pressure."
The aura suddenly grew heavier. The crimson haze no longer carried only fear — it carried weight. The mountain itself seemed to groan beneath the pressure. Every creature within its reach instinctively wanted to kneel.
Deep within a mountain's shadow, Vexion felt the slightest disturbance in the surrounding mana.
"There."
Hidden in the darkness, Elric's pupils contracted. The moment the pressure reached him, his breathing became heavier, his heartbeat accelerated, and even controlling his mana became noticeably harder. A flicker of fear gripped his chest.
'Another skill. Damn it. I did it again. I hid.'
He finally understood. She wasn't trying to flush him out. She was teaching him.
'I can find you. Think of something else.'
Unfortunately, he had no idea what that "something else" was. He leapt rapidly from shadow to shadow, yet every movement felt sluggish, the oppressive pressure weighing on both his body and mind.
'Ninety percent. That's all I can manage.'
The instant he emerged from another shadow, a hand of invisible force seized his arm and swung him.
BAM!!
His body slammed violently into the mountainside. Blood burst from his mouth. Pain exploded through his ribs. Before the force could pin him again, he summoned his shadow.
"Wraith."
His clone emerged instantly. Unlike him, it ignored the pain. It sprinted toward the scattered daggers lying across the battlefield. Vexion watched it approach. The clone retrieved a dagger and threw it. A simple flick of her fingers — the invisible force knocked it aside effortlessly.
At that same moment, Elric felt the force restraining his leg loosen.
'Now.'
The mountain's shadow suddenly came alive. Darkness surged across the ground like an enormous tidal wave, a towering shadow tsunami swallowing everything in its path.
Hidden behind it, Elric grimaced.
'I can't truly manipulate shadows. Shadow Forge is forcing this shape. It's horribly inefficient. But it'll have to do.'
Vexion nodded approvingly.
"Flashy. But you're thinking. Good."
She calmly extended one hand.
"Move."
An overwhelming vector condensed before her palm. The approaching tsunami split apart as if striking an invisible mountain, the massive wave curving around her body, unable to touch her. Then something gripped her ankle.
Her shadow .it had reached her.
A faint smile appeared on Vexion's lips.
"I see. The tsunami was never the attack. He forced me low enough, so my own shadow could reach me. Excellent. Now you're finally thinking like an assassin."
The shadow clone Vexion had ignored suddenly appeared behind her, two daggers gripped tightly in its hands.
"That thing really is pitiful..."
Before the clone could even attack, Vexion slightly increased the pressure of Battlefield Pressure. Its movements, already sluggish, became even slower. She casually glanced over her shoulder. Invisible vectors closed in from every direction.
CRACK!
The clone was crushed into a distorted mass before exploding into countless strands of shadow. It dispersed without accomplishing anything.
Watching the clone disappear, Vexion finally understood.
Master's voice echoed through her mind.
"The reason I asked you to train him is because even if you were the same level, even if you were weaker than him, he still wouldn't win. This is what's called a 'bad matchup.' His biggest flaw isn't his skill. It's that he runs too much. When you're at a heavy disadvantage, just generally, there are only two choices. Escape or commit everything before your opponent can establish control. Overwhelm them before they understand how their advantage suppresses yours. Once you realize he can't do either — beat him senseless."
Vexion couldn't help but smile.
"Eventually he'll ask, 'How do I win?' When he does, tell him this."
Master's shameless grin appeared in her memories.
"You don't fight battles you can't win. It's stupid. Run. If you know you'll lose, what are you trying to prove? Dying?"
His tone became more serious.
"After that, start over. Limit yourself. One fighting style. Five percent of your strength. Increase it little by little. Assassins are annoying. Their entire style revolves around guerrilla warfare. But because of that, they keep asking the same stupid question. 'Why can't I find an opening?' Instead of asking, 'Should I even be looking for one?'"