“Wind!” Hadjar said.
He felt kinship with the wind again. As if gliding across the area, he blurred into a lunge. Behind him, afterimages froze in various poses, as if not one Hadjar, but ten of them, had stretched out in a line, rushing to their doom.
Once he came close to Sankesh’s titanic attack, Hadjar... did nothing. He simply merged with the swirling force of the sun disk and, in the same graceful manner, skirted the Technique. Neither the disk nor the two whirlwinds of fire could touch so much as a hair on his head.
A moment later, the disk cut down a stone pillar. Despite being sixteen feet thick, it couldn’t resist the Spirit Knight’s attack. The destroyed stones tumbled into the abyss, and Sankesh couldn’t understand what had just burned his chest. When he looked down, he saw a wide cut running from his right shoulder to his stomach. Deep and bleeding heavily, it had nearly exposed the white ribs beneath. Sankesh turned. Behind him, a few yards away, stood Hadjar. Dark blood ran down his thigh and side, and he pointed to his chest, at the terrible V-shaped scar that had been left behind when he’d healed from Sankesh’s first attack.
“We’re almost even,” Hadjar said with a beastly grin. “Wind!”
Leaving behind a dozen afterimages, Hadjar charged once more into the melee.
Chapter 416
Sankesh struck out with one crushing blow after another. However, each time, the waves of golden light hit only Hadjar’s afterimages. He seemed to be nowhere and everywhere at once. He moved so fast that Sankesh couldn’t even see him properly. Several black blades attacked him, but only one of the five was real. The others, after getting close enough to his body, scattered into wisps of dark mist.
Many cuts appeared on Sankesh’s torso, legs, and arms. Unlike the first one, when Hadjar had managed to take his opponent by surprise, these cuts looked like superficial scratches. Every time his sword touched Sankesh’s skin and muscles, Hadjar felt as if he were attacking a wall of iron instead of flesh. Sankesh’s Technique for Strengthening the Body was far superior to the one that Hadjar had. Even so, despite feeling like a hungry puppy trying to tear a grown wolf apart, the willpower in his blue, inhuman eyes didn’t fade or dull. Even if there was an impregnable fortress in front of Hadjar, he would never give up on trying to capture it!
“Nonentity!” Sankesh roared as another sword slash seared a line of pain across his back.
He spun his halberd again, but didn’t send any sun disks flying. His pride would never allow him to admit this, but he’d wasted more than half his energy during their battle.
And his foe was merely a Heaven Soldier at the initial stage!
This battle had to end. In addition, Hadjar needed to learn that he could never truly injure Sankesh, who was far stronger than him!
Sensing his enemy’s approach and seeing his afterimages, Sankesh suddenly plunged his halberd into the stone floor. The energy, guided by his will and weapon, hit the ground and exploded into a flaming, golden ball.
Hadjar, who hadn’t expected this, didn’t have time to change the direction of his attack. His quick, but insignificant compared to his opponent’s, slash struck the wall of golden fire. For a moment, the darkness and the light struggled, but it was impossible to stand against or cut through such powerful light.
Hadjar was lifted off the ground. The wave of fire sent him hurtling a dozen yards through the air and then he slammed into a column. It cracked and began to crumble. Hadjar, who’d climbed out of the hole he’d made in the stone, collapsed on the floor. Behind him, another ancient pillar flew into the abyss, followed by a blue crystal.
Shaking his head and trying to recover his wits, Hadjar caught a glimpse of the glowing energy bush in the center of the altar start to dim. With great difficulty, Hadjar stood up. Sankesh didn’t try to attack him again. He stood there with his halberd stuck in the stone. His whole body was covered in his own and his foe’s blood. There was a terrible cut across his chest.
Hadjar looked even worse. He could barely breathe, and each breath produced a flash of pain. His broken ribs were cutting into his lungs. His Technique for Strengthening the Body had drained a huge amount of his energy, but it still hadn’t managed to deal with the wounds that the Spirit Knight had inflicted on him.
“I hate to admit it, Hadjar,” Sankesh’s voice was calm despite his heavy breathing, “but Serra wasn’t wrong when she called you Dragon. I’ve fought many opponents, but you’ve outshone them all. As just a lowly Heaven Soldier, you’re able to withstand a battle against me while I’m not holding back my power. I respect you for that.”
Sankesh raised his fist, covered it with his hand, and bowed slightly. Hadjar wasn’t surprised to see that the man knew the greeting of the Land of the Immortals.
According to Ramukhan, Sankesh had gone to the northerners as a completely inept practitioner, and had returned as one of the most powerful warriors that the Sea of Sand had ever seen. It was easy to guess that this was due to an unusually good stroke of luck, which the young slave had been able to turn to his advantage. Maybe he’d found the Technique of some Immortal. Maybe he’d met the Shadow of an Immortal, which had then given him its Legacy or the rank of ‘honorary disciple’. Or maybe... there were a hundred other reasons Hadjar could think of. None of this, however, detracted from the fact that Hadjar…
“I respect you as well.” He gave the same greeting. “You followed a path that would’ve broken many warriors. Your power is your own, not borrowed.”
Hadjar respected Sunshine Sankesh for what he had achieved, especially because he’d done it all with his own two hands. He hadn’t been born into a wealthy clan or sect. He hadn’t been a disciple of a prestigious school and had no innate talent. It was only through sheer willpower that he’d gnawed his way through all the obstacles and challenges that fate had thrown at him. Just like Hadjar… But also the complete opposite of Hadjar …
Just like the light and darkness, they could see themselves in each other, but they also saw how different they were.
“Not long ago, I wanted to kill you, Hadjar Darkhan. Maybe because I wanted to prove to myself that I’m the strongest, but now... the world I want to build isn’t just for the strongest. Only one person can be the strongest. My world is for the strong. You’re strong. You’ve earned the right to be part of my new world.”
Hadjar didn’t follow the logic.
“I already told you once, Sunshine,” Hadjar said, “and I’ll say it again: I won’t be part of any new world because it won’t exist.”
Sankesh’s eyes flashed with anger and fury, but with an effort of will, he managed to contain his rage. Somewhat.
“Stop playing the hero, Darkhan!” Sunshine roared. “Why are you still fighting against me? Why are you planning to throw your life away? Look at your sword and cloak, they’re almost gone. Don’t try to deceive me, I already know that this incomprehensible power that allows you to fight at the level of a peak Heaven Soldier will disappear with them.”
Sankesh was right. The cloak on Hadjar’s shoulders had gone down to his ankles at the beginning of their battle, but now it barely covered his shoulder blades. The black sword in his hands was so translucent that it was hard to tell if Hadjar was holding a weapon or if it was just fog.