Blades clashed again.
A sharp shockwave cracked the earth beneath them.
Nicolas skidded backward.
Vlad let out a sigh, more annoyed than angry.
"Stop being a nuisance," he said. "You're not even a challenge. I haven't even used my Domain, forget Sanctuary and World. You think you can beat me like this?"
Nicolas didn't answer.
He was breathing heavily. Every inhale was a struggle.
Blood ran down his forehead, soaked through his clothes, pooled beneath his feet.
But his sword was still in his hand, and his feet refused to give out. His knuckles turned white around the hilt, and the cracked ground trembled under his feet, not from fear, but from the gathering pressure of his aura.
"You've been strengthened, sure," Vlad continued. "But zero multiplied by five hundred is still zero."
Then he was gone.
Nicolas sensed the attack and turned just in time to raise his blade.
It caught Vlad's fist, but the sheer force sent him flying.
