Solitary Sword Sovereign Part 2

Natural Enemies

The blizzard reached full power as Francis had decided to dispatch her foe. From her shift to getting the blizzard to full strength, this all took time to describe, but it only took her seconds to perform.

Will had also made his own preparations in the meantime. He wasn't just standing, he knew what spell she was about to use and had planned his own counter.

'Frozen Asgard. You and I are destined to be enemies for as long as I live.'

Will was no hero and considered himself at least half a villain, if such a thing existed, but he could not stand those who slaughtered indiscriminately.

'Frozen Agard members are sent to small worlds to carry out mass slaughters, just to strengthen their disciples Killing Intent and to make them more apathetic. To think this is true to such an extent.'

Will started to feel anger as he witnessed Francis' imposing figure.

In the control room, Odin smiled because he could tell what Will was thinking. The Frozen Agard Arts were made by him, how could that mask hide Will from his eyes? Not to mention that Modus had given Odin administrative privileges to observe everything about Will at all times.

'Now that he hasn't been releasing Intent, he is more focused on receiving it. A full cup cannot receive water. He has been releasing copious amounts of Intent, but that conversely weakened his ability to sense it. Now that he is restricted in output, he can focus on his senses and input. He should be bothered by that girl's sundry Intent. What action Will you take, now that your emotions have been stirred young one? Are you angry? Disgusted? Disappointed?'

Adelda, like Odin, had access to Will that others did not have and could tell that he was bothered. His pulse sped up and a tiny amount of the desire to kill emanated from him. But it was all contained within the membrane. Will was not trying to hide anything from Adelda anyway. He could hide thoughts, but he could not hide anger when he rarely got angry in the first place. Will had little experience in suppressing his anger and he did not intend to start today.

'This is an important moment. What action will you take as a mage when you are angered?'

Will was a person that was slow to anger. So much so that Adelda had barely seen him battle enraged. This tolerance was a quality that Bloodlust users never possessed. One of the many things about Will that confounded her.

Normally gifted Bloodlust users are fueled by their temper and act on whims. Will does have plenty of anger but he does not bring it out often, nor does he act on it frequently. He can easily ignore provocations and doesn't have much pride in terms of station or power. But he has a lot of rage within him. How will he express it?'

When Francis was satisfied by her spell, she pointed her raised staff at Will, 'Niflheim Collapse!"

The blizzard concentrated its mass until it was the size of a house within a split second. Then its mass disappeared and appeared above Will.

Adelda was pleased by the display, 'She used Bifrost Shift on a spell. Incredible flexibility in casting. But...'

The storm, infused with truth and Killing Intent, descended as if it brought a frigid Ragnarok with it. Few people in the crowd thought Will could escape the sudden attack, as many had expected it to be launched or thrown. But having it teleported to Will's position directly made a great difference as it used up a lot of mana and caused great mental strain.

'She is able to do this thanks to the armour.' Mulled Will as he got ready to take action.

Frozen Asgard Armour: Valkyrie's Guard had energy amplification and mental power boosting traits among others. It wasn't for defense but was more for support. Frozen Asgard Armour by itself only provided energy amplification, but the Valkyrie's Guard strengthened the mind, one of the three vessels to a greater state. It was a temporary boost that would leave one mentally exhausted and was a forbidden technique, but it had wonderous effect when used in conjunction with Higher Senses such as Intent.

'Your Intent quantity and quality are high, but your control is sad. There is a great disadvantage to getting used to indiscriminate killing.'

The place Will was standing was blasted to Valhalla as aftershocks of the blast sent frigid mana all over the grounds. The entire floor froze over. It was covered by a dense sheet of ice centimeters thick.

'Even if he evaded that laterally, the ice will invade him.'

The reason she had added Truth to the attack was to give it the 'infection' attribute. Truth was highly contagious and when imbued into attacks it could make them spread and infect other organisms as a foreign energy. This meant that her frigid mana could infect anyone that came into contact with her ice.

Before the icy mist from the blast could clear, gasps from the crowd alerted Francis.

'These gasps, it's not because they are impressed, is it shock?'

The observers should not have been shocked by my actions, they should know the power of Niflheim Collapse. Which means...'

Francis tapped the ground with her staff, blasting away the mist in the arena with her overbearing mana. What greeted her sight was a beautiful spiral of ice extending to the heavens.

The coliseum had no roof and seemed to extend to the stratosphere, allowing Will to create an upward spiral. His figure stood tall above the spiral pathway, like an Aesir gazing down at Midgard.

Will's simple robes flapped in the wind as his form stood unharmed.

'A chantless Valhalla Path with three dimensional movements, this is incredible.'

This was the true reason the crowd had gasped. Valhalla Path was very difficult to execute with two dimensional movements already. Even if Francis had focused on it instead of Bifrost Shift, she would have only been able to do it chantless above level 125.

'It doesn't matter how much Intent you use if you don't control yourself. It's like she was telegraphing her attack to me.'

Bloodlust made others very sensitive to Intent. Flowing Tide Restriction had placed a limiter on many of Will's abilities, but he could still execute passive abilities with ease. The more Killing Intent an opponent released the easier it was for Will to understand them and their movements.

Before the spell shifted, Will could already sense a great danger above him, because Francis Killing Intent coagulated above his head as well. Will was not sure how she would attack him from above, but she still gathered his energy and prepared Valhalla Path for three dimensional movement just in case.

'Now it's my turn.'

Will raised a palm as a large spell matrix gathered in the skies above. It took up half of the free space in the stadium and caused World Energy to gather up in a frenzy.