Chapter 1426: Close Combat Arts
"Aeh..." Merina hesitated for a few seconds as she stood there, her eyes wide, facing what looked like a small mountain standing before her. Her heart pounded in her chest. Then, finally, she summoned her courage, straightened her back, and began waving her arms in fluid, elegant motions like the ebb and flow of ocean waves.
BlopBlop
Her hair started swirling around her head like a crown of liquid threads, and from within it, strange gooey bubbles began to emerge — viscous, shimmering, and pulsing faintly. Those bubbles clumped together, fusing and morphing until they formed a tiny dragon made entirely of translucent slime. The miniature creature flapped its wings, twisted in the air, and began to spiral around her rapidly, circling like a guardian spirit. Then, she lunged forward with fire in her eyes.
"Here I come!"
Yaaawn Vanier let out a slow, uninterested yawn. His posture didn’t shift in the slightest — as if none of this was worth the energy.
WHOOSH! The slime dragon launched forward with surprising momentum, a trail of droplets flying behind it, with how small it was, it still look dangerous.
"Hmph!" With a casual flick of his hand, as if dismissing an annoying mosquito, Vanier sent out a wave of force — and the little dragon exploded into a gooey mist, spraying slime across the field. But... it didn’t end there.
"...?!" Vanier’s calm expression twisted for a moment. He furrowed his brows, glancing down at his arm. It began to feel... heavier, slower — as if something was coagulating within.
Fwoosh! Seizing that precise moment of confusion, Merina dashed forward like a blur. In her hand, she now gripped a sword sculpted entirely from the same glowing, jelly-like substance. Without hesitation, she leapt into the air and aimed a powerful downward strike at Vanier’s head.
"You’ve played long enough!" Vanier’s other arm darkened rapidly — its color turning into a deep, almost black hue — before he launched it upward to counter.
Suddenly, his aura exploded outward. It multiplied, intensified — no longer just strength, but a bloodthirsty presence, suffocating and heavy, one that could make even veteran warriors step back.
But Merina didn’t flinch. She gritted her teeth and brought her slime sword down with all her might.