Silence permeated the entire Colosseum for a moment as blood splashed, and Kensei's leg below his knee was chopped off before falling onto the Stage.
Before everyone could recover from the shock of an unexpected attack, another one that looked like Seath popped up behind the knocked-away Kensei and delivered a powerful Sword Aura Extension attack from behind.
It wasn't just the spectators; the Tournament Manager didn't see that coming either.
He knew Seath had a Time Innate Talent from the subtle use of Time Element in the previous Rounds. But the ability Seath displayed against Kensei was something most Time Element users find hard to comprehend.
If Kensei hadn't reacted as quickly as he did, it wouldn't have just been the leg but his life. Then he would have been penalised by the System for not being able to save the participants.
What he was worried about wasn't the System penalty, which would be reduced rewards for conducting the Tournament at most.
However, if Kensei had died, the Earth's Alpha Chosen would have held him responsible, and the chances of them joining the Red Elven Empire would have been next to none.
So, before Kensei could face any more danger, Felarial intervened in the ongoing fight, "You are in no state to continue. I suggest you give up the Bout. The longer your leg remains separated, the harder it would be to reattach it."
With each higher Grade Physique, the mortal aspect of one's body grows more distant, which was why there wasn't any blood pouring out from where Kensei's leg was chopped off. The blood clotted in a matter of seconds, saving him from blood loss.
As long as the body parts remain intact, reattaching them with a simple healing-type skill was a norm in the System assimilated Universe.
Since the Earth's Team has a Light Innate Talent user, Andrea, Kensei's lopped-off leg could be reattached without a hitch.
With Felarial's intervening in the fight, Seath refrained from attacking Kensei. If his opponent gives up, that will save him the trouble of expending more Spirit Energy and Stamina.
That would let him move on to the 2nd Bout and choose an Earth's Alpha Chosen weaker than him. That gave him a ray of hope for winning against the Earth Team.
Seath pushed those thoughts back when he noticed Kensei didn't respond to Felarial and looked at his severed leg with no trace of pain on his face.
After a moment of stillness, Kensei sheathed his Sword and held its hilt with both his hands before placing the scabbard's tip on the Stage to support himself.
He then closed his eyes without sparing a glance at either Seath or Felarial. The surroundings once again regained silence.
That continued for half a minute before it turned awkward. Felarial noticed something unusual with Kensei and chose to wait, but unlike him, Seath was fed up with waiting any longer and closed in on Kensei to knock him out and win the 1st Bout.
Just as Seath's fist was a meter away from landing on Kensei's face, several streaks of Sword Aura flashed and darted onto Seath.
Seath was alarmed at the sight of Sword Aura that had traces of violet shade in them. The power it exuded exceeded Stage-3 Aura and was close to the Stage-4 Spear Aura that Vral showcased in the 1st Match.
If he were to be hit by those streaks, it would be an instant defeat or, worse, his death.
At such a close distance, he had no other way to dodge them except for his other top Time-related Skill, <Draft Glitch>.
<Draft Glitch>: Allows the User to glitch through the SpaceTime Continuum for the duration of a one-tenth second at the expense of a Time Draft of the User's choosing.
Upon activating it, Seath's existence itself vanished for one-tenth of a second, making him practically invulnerable to any attack for that brief moment.
But there had to be at least a 'Time Draft' in place for it in work since every activation of 'Draft Glitch' uses a Time Draft to fuel it.
Since there were already seven Time Drafts present, one of them was exhausted for him to glitch, and the Sword Aura streaks passed through him.
Only then did he notice that they weren't streaks, but Aura solidified into mini swords.
Seath's eyes widened at what that signified. It was something he had been striving to achieve ever since he faced the bottleneck from reaching the peak of his Minor Sword Mastery (Lv.30).
Only by solidifying the Sword Aura could one's Minor Sword Aura transition into a Major one, and Kensei was amidst that process.
Seath distanced himself from Kensei, but those tiny swords followed after him without rest.
With every passing second, their size grew, and the violet shade on them turned darker and darker. The danger sense that accompanied them rose along as well.
In no time, Seath had to use <Draft Glitch> once more to escape a certain defeat, and that didn't stop until he exhausted the remaining 6 Time Drafts.
He had to continuously expend 1% of his total Spirit Energy to create a Time Draft every next second to keep using <Draft Glitch>.
The spectators were stunned by the sudden turn of events, and that didn't exclude Felarial. He was even more so because, unlike others, he could recognise a budding Sword Intent when he sees one.
With Stage-1 <Minor Sword Mastery>, one could use Sword Aura. It could then be extended beyond the bounds of a Sword upon reaching Stage-2 <Minor Sword Mastery>.
Being able to launch the extended Sword Aura into projectiles represents reaching Stage-3 <Minor Sword Mastery>.
When it comes to Stage-4 <Major Sword Mastery>, the Sword Aura could be solidified, enhancing the attack power to a new height.
The Solidified Sword Aura has numerous functionalities, as it can be used even without a Sword. Beyond that, at Stage-5 lies the Sword Intent.
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