The Moonlight Swordsman

Chapter 382 Gravity counterattack

Thick clouds of dark red smoke burst from the containers and quickly engulfed Yoji. Acting fast, he created a magic circle to consume the obscuring smog. In an instant, the billowing clouds were sucked away, and visibility was restored.

After a moment of relaxation, however, Yoji became alarmed.

Now, all around him, Aizel's lightning clones had materialized from the fading smoke. 

Dozens of identical, electrified shapes surrounded Yoji, preventing him from getting away. They were moving as one, raising their crackling hands to round Yoji in a lightning barrier.

Gritting his teeth, Yoji's eyes bounced from clone to clone, tracking their choreographed moves.

From another magic circle, glowing barriers appeared around him just as the lightning bolts erupted towards him.

As Yoji fortified the enchantments against the attack, lightning pounded the shields from all directions. 

Aizel, on the other hand, was still out there, no doubt planning his attack. Grim and focused, Yoji turned his eyes skyward again. 

Sekki transformed into a blazing obsidian blade, bursting with destructive might. Small, concentrated detonations continuously sparked along its sharp edges.

"Let's see if I can overpower you," Aizel muttered. 

In a flash, he appeared before Yoji, blade drawn back. Quick as a flash, he slashed Sekki against Yoji's defense. 

The built-up explosions all triggered at once, blasting the shield with merciless force.

Yoji's defenses were magnificently destroyed because they were unable to withstand the concentrated attacks. 

The residual detonations sent both combatants flying backward, skidding painfully across the platform floor.

The intense recoil temporarily stunned Aizel as she crashed into a pillar. Yoji dragged himself to his feet across the broken ground, smoke curling from his robes. 

For a heartbeat, they stared each other down, the platform ablaze all around them.

Abruptly, an overwhelming pressure crashed down upon the platform, smashing both Aizel and Yoji into newly formed craters.

They fell heavily, sucking the air out of their lungs. They raised their heads groggily, blinking through blurred vision.

Across the fractured floor, Soren rose slowly from where he had fallen earlier, cracking his neck. 

In his hand, his white sword trembled and hummed with hardly restrained force. 

Soren's eyes locked on Yoji.

The intensity of the pressure increased, pressing the two warriors further into the ground.

They could only watch helplessly as Soren began stalking toward Yoji, his sword leaving cracks in his wake. 

Damn it, why I can't move my body. What type of pressure is he releasing? I can't even cancel it out with my imagination," Aizel thought meanwhile, struggling on the ground.

The enormous pressure pinned Yoji to the ground, yet he still managed to cast numerous magic circles.

He dug his palms in and carefully pushed himself upwards against the crushing pull of gravity, gritting his teeth the whole while. 

Yoji engaged one of the dark magic circles with a mighty shout. A pulse erupted outward, dispelling all mana in the area.

The impact should have been enough to shake up even Soren's control of gravity magic. But the immovable force that had pinned Yoji before was still there.

Soren's white blade hummed with force as he came closer. Yoji's face contorted in shock. His final attempt to nullify the magical effect failed.

That sword definitely is not normal," Aizel thought meanwhile, looking towards Soren. 

Soren reached Yoji and slashed down with his quivering sword. 

Yoji blocked the attack with his own blades by crossing them over his head at the last second. Sparks flew as the weapons clashed in a deadly shriek.

Two magic circles beneath Yoji rotated quickly, adding to his defense. However, the force of gravity increased regardless of their efforts to counteract it.

Yoji sank closer to the ground, knees threatening to buckle.

He bared his gritted teeth in an effort to keep Soren's sword from cleaving through his own.

Soren bore down mercilessly, face emotionless. The platform fractured deeper under their deadlocked weapons.

Veins bulged on Yoji's neck as he just barely held on, arms shaking violently. 

"You... are really.. something else," Yoji murmured. His daughter's image and the queen's promise flashed for a second.

A blazing golden magic circle emerged beneath Yoji as he sank lower against Soren's sword.

In an instant, the enormous gravity pressing down abruptly disappeared. Soren, taken aback, made a small misstep.

Aizel took advantage of the unexpected situation by launching himself out of the crater.

But just as suddenly, an even greater gravity took hold, slamming Aizel down once more.

"Fuck this shit!" he yelled.

Now it was Yoji's circle exerting pressure through Yoji's sword locked on Soren's. Yoji swung up with all his might, sending Soren tumbling backward.

Now it was Soren who was driven to one knee under Yoji's relentless gravity manipulation. The tide had turned yet again. Aizel struggled helplessly against the newest force. 

That magic circle, can it counter or steal other magic or skills?" Aizel thought, trying to stand up once again.

Soren shook his head rapidly, the force of gravity increasing around his sword. 

The opposing forces clashed — one generated by Soren and his sword, the other propelled by Yoji and his sword, amplified by the magic circle.

Soren slashed through the air with his sword, sending out two crescent-shaped slashes that were incredibly powerful due to the force of gravity.

Yoji swiftly countered with his own gravity-infused slashes, the two forces colliding to create intense pressure at the point of impact.

Amidst the mounting tension, Yoji and Soren charged at each other, their collision setting off a nonstop exchange of blows.

The gravitational force was evident in the craters left behind by each impact. The tremendous force of the crashes blasted debris over several platforms.

The battleground transformed into a chaotic spectacle of destruction. The continuous, gravity-infused attack left craters where the blows fell. Lightning flashed across the sky as storms gathered strength, echoing the ferocity of the fighting below.

The platforms bore witness as the two combatants exchanged blow after striking in a dance of gravity-infused blows. 

I need to do something quickly," Meanwhile AIzel thought, who was still lying on the ground.