Lila frowned. “That’s true… I’ve never seen him use anything other than his summoning abilities. But… he can’t really just fight without something, can he?”
Axel snickered, crossing his arms. “Yeah, what’s the deal with that? Alister’s a Summoner. Does he really expect to take Anzo on without a weapon? That sword of Anzo’s looks like it could cleave a mountain in half. What’s Alister gonna do?”
Ren, who was quietly watching from the crowd, adjusted his glasses and murmured to a nearby guild member, “You do realize Alister is much more than just a Summoner, right?”
Blitz leaned over and whispered to Axel, “I mean, I’m starting to wonder if we’ll see something totally insane today. It’s Alister… He’s definitely going to surprise us with something.”
Anzo chuckled loudly, flexing his fingers as he gripped his great sword’s hilt. “Don’t worry, I’m sure Alister’s got some fancy tricks up his sleeve, he has those claws he used whan we faced the hydra. I just hope he doesn’t think he can catch me off guard the same way he did that overgrown worm.”
Blitz smirked, recalling the moment vividly. “Oh, I remember the claws. They were impressive.” She glanced at Alister, who was flexing his hand.
“Something about his dragons, I think? He can summon those claws using their power, right?”
Axel, arms crossed, chimed in, still skeptical. “Yeah, but can he really fight with that thing? It’s cool and all, but we’re talking about Anzo here. That great sword is something else.”
Ren, who had been quietly observing the conversation, adjusted his glasses, a look of curiosity in his eyes. “What are you all talking about?” he asked.
Axel turned his attention to Ren. “Remember when we went for the raid? Alister’s hands-” Axel made a vague gesture toward Alister’s hands, “-changed into these dragon claws. It looked impressive, but we’re not sure how that’s supposed to help him win this fight. It’s not like he’s using a sword or anything.”
Ren narrowed his gaze as he ponderd the information. “Hmm… You don’t say,” he murmured, adjusting his glasses as if weighing something in his mind.
Anzo, never one to shy away from a challenge, grinned as he casually made his sword hover beside him, spinning it lazily in the air. “Forget just the claws,” he said.
“Our team leader has other sick moves up his sleeve. You guys haven’t seen everything.”
As if to prove Anzo’s words, Alister flexed his hand once more, and in an instant, his scales began to materialize, wrapping around his arm like an armored gauntlet.
His claws extended, glinting menacingly in the sunlight as he spoke calmly, “I don’t know. Why don’t you get over here and find out?”
With a small gesture, he beckoned Anzo closer with a flick of his finger, a challenge clear in his eyes.
The crowd watched in awe. Whispers began to ripple through them, some speculating about the strange gauntlet-like formation that had appeared on his arm.
“Is that some sort of dragon ability?”
“Really? He can grow scales? Won’t it be more accurate to say it might be due to a magic item?”
“No think about it.”
“Dragons are mythical creatures. It wouldn’t be surprising if he could harness their power somehow.”
“Although dragon relics are super rear thay are always very powerful… Now here is Alister commanding living dragons, of course he’ll get his hands on a magic item or two.”
Ren stood still, adjusting his glasses once more, his mind turning.
“So, that’s the power of a dragon,” he thought aloud, his gaze focused intently on Alister. “Can it really only cover his arms, though?” he said, as if trying to understand the mystery of Alister’s true strength.
Anzo’s grin spread wide as he shifted his stance, the mana around him crackling. “Here I come!”
He waved his arm, sending his sword spinning through the air toward Alister. The massive blade whistled as it cut through the air, heading straight for Alister.
The crowd gasped as Anzo’s sword hurtled towards him. All were on the edge of their seats, eager to see how Alister would respond.
Alister’s expression remained calm, unfazed by the sword’s trajectory. He flexed his hand again, the gauntlet of scales tightening around his arm.
Alister’s pause while seeming unfazed as the sword spun hurling towards him unsettled the crowd.
“Is he just going to stand there?”
“Why isn’t he doing anything?”
“Won’t he get cut in half at this rate?”
The sword continued its deadly arc, speeding toward Alister’s unprotected body. Some in the crowd even flinching at the sight of the massive weapon flying straight at him.
“He’s crazy!”
“He’s just going to stand there and take it?”
“There’s no way he’s going to survive that.”
But just as the sword was about to collide with Alister, something incredible happened.
With a swift, almost casual motion, Alister raised his scaled arm and backhanded the sword away. The sword’s massive blade collided with his gauntleted hand, sending a shockwave of energy through the air wait a massive.
CLANG
The crowd fell silent as the sword, now deflected with ease, flew sideways, crashing into the floor of the sparring ring with a deep THUD, embedding itself deep into the earth beneath.
“The… Hell…”
“Did he just… deflect that?!”
“How did he… What the hell just happened?!”
“Impossible… he didn’t even seem to try!”
Ren adjusted his glasses thoughtfully, his sharp gaze studying Alister.
“The scales… they are rather sturdy, but besides that how was he able to react on time.” he said, almost to himself, as if the sight had only solidified his earlier thoughts.
His thoughts raced, ‘In these split seconds, a single mistake could have cost him not only his arm but his face, but I doubt Anzo would have gone that far, but still he was able to deflect the attack with pin point accuracy.’
Axel, who was almost certain Alister would be getting chopped into pieces, exhaled with relief. “What the hell… Nearly had a heart attack thinking that would land.”
Blitz, equally stunned, leaned forward with wide eyes. “That was… insane. How the hell did
he do that?”
Anzo’s eyes glinted with respect and a touch of excitement, his grin fading slightly as he observed Alister’s calm demeanor.
“So that wasn’t even a challenge for you huh?”
Alister smiled a bit as he said, “Did you actually think it would be?”
The crowd continued to murmur in shock.
“Is this really the same guy who summons dragons?”
“Did you see that? The way his arm just blocked the sword without even flinching!”
“How is that even possible isn’t he supposed to be a Summoner.”
Blitz then said, “I guess we now have a logical explanation for when Anzo said Alister landed
the finishing blow on the boss monster… I mean look at him go.”
Ren suddenly smiled. “No doubt… this fight just got a whole lot more interesting.”
Anzo suddenly smiled as he said, “Not really… Was simply testing the waters is all.”
“Let’s see how well you handle this!”
Anzo roared as he pulled back his sword and charged in, swinging the sword on rapid arcs, each strike coming faster than the last.
Each aimed at Alister’s head or torso. The speed and intensity were overwhelming, meant to force his opponent into a defensive position.
But Alister was no amateur. He countered each strike, his gauntlet-clad hands meeting the sword with powerful swipes, deflecting the blows with the grace. His movements were fast,
almost too fast to follow.
Anzo grin widened. “Not bad, but you can’t block forever!”
Alister spoke while in the middle of their little spar, “You do know the way you are fighting
you are leaving yourself with multiple openings, no?”
“what?”