Even now, Ligno’vsh hadn’t used her Soultrait. The powers of her Curse were the only things Lig utilized.
No, that wasn’t entirely true. Michael noticed something he hadn’t paid much attention to before.
‘She adjusts her fighting style way too fast. I barely switch to another fighting style, and she’s already adjusted. Even if her Cursed Seals reinforce her reaction time, she shouldn’t have a better reaction time than I have with Spirit Eyes’ Prognosis. I can analyze where she’ll move before she takes action.’
Michael figured that Ligno’vsh Soultrait allowed her to analyze his fighting styles quickly and create suitable counters in no time.
Despite not knowing the name of her Soultrait, Michael could tell he was in the right direction. It was a Soultrait that allowed Ligno’vsh to adjust quickly in combat. Her martial arts were also fairly strong. The force of her kicks and punches wasn’t something Michael could endure easily. However, the worst was Lig’s control of curse power. It was incredibly high and gave Lig access to do a wide variety of things with her Curse.
That was how she ended up replicating an aura made of curse power. The curse power revolved around her and destroyed everything in its wake. Lig wasn’t affected by the curse power, and she didn’t have to focus too much on the aura either. Her mind wasn’t pressured enough to affect the attention lingering on Michael and every move he made.
She shot forward and appeared before Michael, her curse aura enveloping him. Michael’s skin prickled, and he could have sworn that his skin threatened to be torn into shreds if not for its high resilience. For a moment, he thought Ligno’vsh had the same curse power. He wondered if her Curse could replicate the cursed power of the World Serpent and the Wolf Curse, but that didn’t make much sense.
Lig’s control of her curse power was too great for her to use two replicated powers this well. In the first place, the Wolf Curse was several times stronger than the curse aura enveloping him. The curse aura tore on every inch of his body, trying to tear him apart, but it wasn’t powerful enough to actually turn him in to shreds. The Wolf Curse was capable of that.
Michael focused back on the battle. He transformed the Aethyr into a shield and a thin longsword and played around a little bit, switching Aethyr’s form as he pleased to block and alter Lig’s attacks. Her attacks, however, were far more ferocious than before. Every punch accompanied a trace of highly compressed curse power. Spirit Eyes determined that the curse power in her punches and kicks had been altered, converted to something far more destructive, but Michael didn’t have enough time to analyze everything in detail.
Michael was pushed back, but applying a Soul Tear and two Enhancement layers on Spirit Eyes helped him predict Lig’s attacks faster. He learned to adapt to Lig’s rapid adjustments and readjusted almost immediately. Both Michael and Lig adapted to each other’s actions. They fought fiercely but rarely managed to land a blow.
Michael predicted where Ligno’vsh was going to change his move all of a sudden, but Lig had already predicted that. She released a burst of compressed curse power into his face, replicating a fierce punch. Michael sensed the curse power coming for his face a quarter of a second before he was struck. That was enough to utilize Cosmic Stride and vanish from Lig’s sight. The curse power struck an earthen wall instead.
Michael released several azure fireballs alongside a congregated mass of darkness. The fireballs exploded first, causing minor damage to the curse aura, whereas the mass of darkness exploded in a burst, spreading darkness in all directions. Lig shot forward and leaped outside the darkness confinement, only to see dozens of Qi Swords around her. A dazzling light filled her surroundings, forcing Lig to close her eyes right before the Qi Swords plunged down, ready to pierce through her.
The first Qi Sword was about to strike when the curse aura intensified. Lig groaned in pain as she urged more curse power to fuel the aura. The Qi Swords were destroyed, mercilessly shattered rather than disintegrated, and Ligno’vsh opened her eyes again. Her eyes weren’t as black as the moonless night anymore. Something about them had changed, darkish-crimson threads passed through her eyes. Rage filled her entire being.
[She is losing control of her Curse.] The World Serpent noted, [She is weaker than expected. To think that she cannot even control the Behemoth. But then again, it would have been great if your willpower was as weak as this girl’s. Hmm…maybe not. That wolf bastard would be in charge of your body in that case. I guess you are better than that bastard.]
Michael didn’t expect the World Serpent to start talking to him, but he didn’t dislike it. The only thing he disliked was that the World Serpent seemed to be playing with his mind. It urged him subconsciously to activate the Serpent Seals and get moving.
However, Michael was not yet willing to use the Major Seals of his Curses. He was ready to use them but didn’t want to use them just yet. The timing was off. Furthermore, Michael had yet to play with Extraction and his other Soultraits.
Michael had previously forgotten that he was supposed to impress the Nest Leader. He enjoyed the spar with Ligno’vsh and would continue to experiment with his new powers until Lig would collapse.
Ligno’vsh was about to lose control of her body. The Cursed showed signs of overwhelming her. Michael was curious how much Lig’s fighting style would change once the Curse took over. Would she be stronger, or would her fighting style be filled with wild, instinctive movements?
It was an exciting thought, but Michael soon understood it didn’t matter. Lig still had control of her body, and contrary to his beliefs, the internal fight between her and the Curse empowered Lig. Her skin burst open, spilling blood in all directions as her power skyrocketed. However, the torn skin regenerated almost instantaneously. Michael wasn’t given much time to use the opportunity against her.
Suddenly, she was much stronger and faster. Even her Soultrait seemed to have been overclocked, granting her even better control of the overall situation.
The onslaught of attacks continued. A barrage of attacks followed another. Michael was pushed back, but Spirit Eyes was fully activated. He didn’t sustain a heavy injury, but the bruises covering his body were growing more in number every second.
Michael was under a lot of pressure. He was forced to use every bit of power coursing through his body to keep up with Lig. However, his physical strength – augmented by Sacred Constitution, Enhancement, Heavenly Beast Physique, and Foundation Break – wasn’t enough. Michael had to use his mind as well. He had to change his fighting style every few seconds. He had to modify the adjustments made by Ligno’vsh.
It was tiresome, and his back was previously drenched in sweat, but the corner of his lips curled upward.
He was overjoyed. The spar was exciting. It was exhilarating how strong he’d grown and how powerful the Curse Users in the Nest were.
This was going to be exciting.
‘Are you ready?’ Michael asked in his mind.
The response he received was not great, but it was more than enough. The World Serpent hissed while the Wolf Curse growled at him.
‘That is nice to hear. It’s lovely to have you guys back. Let’s go for it!’
The spar was yet not over.
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