Chapter 700 - Arte

Leonel's eyes flashed. 

With quick movements, his heavy spear disappeared, replaced by a twin set of spears he immediately speared into the ground on either side of himself.

CLANG!

The chains rang out, clashing against the polearm of the spears. 

Leonel leapt into the air, balancing the tips of his toes on both spears and pushing against them to stop the chains from closing in any more. 

Arte felt a strong repulsive force, stopping him from tightening the chains any further. He was shocked by Leonel's response, but his lip couldn't help but twitch when he saw the quality of the spears Leonel was using as foot rests. Where the hell was this freshmen getting all of these weapons from?!

Unfortunately for Arte, Leonel's unconventional response had a purpose. 

Leonel's palm flipped over, revealing a tall, sleek black bow. In the blink of an eye, he had released three arrows. They streaked across the slowly setting sky of dusk, reflecting the gorgeous violent and deep red hues of the sun above. 

Arte reacted quickly, releasing his grip on one hammer and pulling back on the other hard. 

The chains were finally free. 

A hammer shot out like a cannonball. Arte pulled back so hard that Leonel felt his footing quake. 

Sparks flew as the chains slid across the polearm of the two spears. The hammer wrapped around one edge, changing trajectory and shooting for Leonel's head as though it had a mind of its own. 

At that same instant, Arte roared. He raised his remaining hammer, continuously pulling back to give the other more and more speed. When he reached his peak, his arm flexed, swinging downward with all his might. 

BANG! BANG! BANG!

At the exact moment Arte countered Leonel's three arrows, sliding back further and further with every strike, the hammer had accelerated toward Leonel's head, having every intention of decapitating him. 

'How clever…' Leonel's eyes flashed. 

His own attack ended up giving Arte even more momentum. As he pulled back further, the hammer, linked to the chain, shot toward Leonel even faster. 

Leonel's gaze suddenly glowed with something other than coldness or surprise… It was excitement. 

He felt his blood boil. The whistling wind of the hammer shooting toward him making his nerves scream. 

Calculations ran threw Leonel's mind at a speed that was inconceivable to most. As clever as Arte's attack was, it had one fatal flaw. 

Leonel's feet shifted. The spears he balanced upon shook, pulling against the chains still sparking against them. 

The trajectory of the hammer shifted, flying over Leonel's head by barely an inch at the very last instant. 

It wrapped around the two spears, shooting back toward Arte. However, it was then that Leonel suddenly grabbed at the flying hammer. 

At that moment, it was flying at several hundred kilometers an hour, being just shy of the speed of sound. Trying to grab onto such a thing at that moment, even if you succeed, felt no different from courting death. And if you failed, the best that you could hope for was a lost hand.

However, as though it was the most normal thing, Leonel completed it all in a single motion. 

Runes flickered to life across his skin, a surge of bronze violet hanging around him as a halo manifested above his head. He looked like a Roman God, his eyes filled with a confidence that could topple worlds. At that moment, his image was imprinted into the minds of all those present. 

The instant Leonel grabbed onto the hammer his body shot forward. His reached out his free hand, causing one of the spears to shoot out of the ground and slam into his palm. 

Arte's expression changed, suddenly finding Leonel flying toward him at impossible speeds. 

Give up his hammers? That was impossible. Control it as he had been previously to change Leonel's trajectory? That seemed like the best choice, but at that moment, Arte found that his weapon wasn't responding to him. All the Force he tried to poor into it was blocked, countered by an opposing force that could have only come from Leonel. 

Arte's eyes widened, unable to wrap his brain around what was happening. 

But, Leonel didn't allow him to think for very long. The spear he grabbed didn't remain with him for long while. 

Using his momentum, Leonel's arm became like a canon, shooting his spear out like a harpoon. It flew toward Arte as though a star streaking across the skies. 

Arte's eyes lit with panic. The distance was too close and his hammer wasn't responding to him. Even if it was, considering the quality of Leonel's weapons, could he even block such a thing safely? 

Arte roared. "Absolute Control!"

His Force erupted, his hand stretching outward. He poured all his strength into his free hand, reaching out for the spear streaking through the skies. 

BANG!

Arte's arm ripped backward at an awkward angle, his shoulder popping out of its socket. He grimaced, his face turning pale. However, it was at that moment that Leonel reached him. 

A heavy spear appeared in Leonel's hand again. But, at that moment, Arte felt like falling to his knees. A heavy air suddenly wrapped around him, making it feel as though his own weight had multiplied by several times over. 

One arm held onto Leonel's spear, unable to produce any strength after its dislocation. The other was prepared to raise his hammer up and stop Leonel's charge. But, now, it felt heavier than ever, as though the weight of the world had fallen onto him. 

His timing was thrown completely off, he couldn't even counter when Leonel reached his range. 

Leonel shifted the blade of his heavy spear, streaking through the skies, he slammed the flat of it against Arte's chest. 

Arte felt his ribs cave in, all the air in his lungs shooting out at once. 

He shot backward like an arrow from a bowstring, crashing over a hundred meters away, unable to stand.