The Insurrection of the Inept Hero

Deroc stood a few meters away from me with his hands on his hips.

A maid walked up to me and held a sword covered in a blanket in her hands. I stared at it for a second before turning it down.

"No need, I have my own."

I held my hands out. Lightning began to discharge from my body and Raiden appeared in my hands.

"Hmph, you think you can take me on with daggers? You should just use a sword. Well, you still won't be able to beat me with a sword since I am a Master Swordsman."

"I don't care about swords. These daggers will lacerate you an innumerable number of times before you even notice or feel it."

"Oh? You are that confident that you can defeat me?"

"Yeah… so let's get to it."

Deroc smiled and drew his sword which exuded a strange aura, but I ignored it as my anger directed my attention at Deroc.

"Nero, are you sure you want to do this?" Celestia asked, putting her hand on my shoulder.

"Just start it, I'm going to kick his ass."

"Nero, your anger is clouding your judgment. You are being foolish and not cautious."

"Just start it!" I yelled, causing lightning to flail around.

Celestia shook her head before backing off. She took a deep breath before raising her hand.

"I, Celestia Tenebri, will be a witness to this duel. Are you both ready?" She questioned as she looked at both of us.

"I'm always ready," Deroc responded.

Celestia nodded before turning to me.

My eyes were directed at Deroc, and only Deroc.

Son of a bitch… I'll make you pay.

"Ready?" She said before erecting a barrier. Then she looked at us one more time before dropping her hand.

"Fight!"

As soon as she said that, I shot forward and performed Thunder Beast Flash, leaving a trail of lightning behind me which Deroc was caught inside.

I turned around and suddenly, Deroc was bombarded with a barrage of countless slashes. I watched as he was encased in lightning when suddenly, I saw sparks. These weren't sparks from lightning or electricity, but from something clashing with another.

When the lightning dispersed, Deroc was standing there unharmed.

"Is that all?" He said before dashing towards me.

I activated Lightning Acceleration, my lightning beginning to discharge and accumulate faster. With my daggers, I launched Thunder Beast Storm, stabbing the ground and summoning a thunderstorm that flew towards Deroc while launching lightning everywhere.

Deroc didn't stop as he headed towards me. What he did instead was twirl towards me as he deflected the lightning emitting from the thunderstorm with his sword.

"Disappointing," he said before appearing above me and bringing his sword down. I quickly rose my daggers, blocking his attack.

He pushed his sword, pressing more weight on me. I was fighting back, trying to stand on my feet as his attack had sent me on my knees.

He was unmistakably strong, I'll give him that, but in speed, I have the upper hand!

Using Breakneck Movement, I escaped from him and created some distance between us. I threw my daggers in the air and began accumulating lightning around my fists before punching the ground.

Suddenly, metal rods erected from the ground. Deroc looked around and watched as lightning began generating from them.

"Huh?"

I jumped up in the air and grabbed my daggers before standing on one of the metal rods.

"Let's see how you handle my lightning!" I yelled before performing Thunder Beast Flash.

Each time I performed Thunder Beast Flash, I traveled through the lightning conjured by the metal rods on the field with Lightning Shift.

The more I continued to attack, the faster my speed rose. I noticed Deroc was beginning to struggle to catch up with my speed and that was good, however, the only problem was that he was still able to block my attacks. There was not a single scratch on him.

As the rods sank back into the ground, I launched Lightning Storms at him; small orbs of lightning that threw violent electricity everywhere as it traveled towards Deroc.

Since these weren't as effective as Lightning Storms, he was able to evade them with ease, but I anticipated that.

Once he turned his back to me, I performed Thunder Beast Flash.

Deroc quickly twirled around and swung his sword swiftly, blocking my attack.

As he parried the last slash, Deroc stood up and turned around.

"Futile effort, do you honestly think you can catch me off-guard?"

"I already did!" I responded as Deroc stared at me.

"Watch as I establish the Great Thunder Temple!"

I clashed my daggers together and the skies began to darken. Thunder plummeted down towards the ground and metal material erected from the ground. Then, it began constructing a temple-like structure made completely of lightning.

As the Great Thunder Temple was finished, it shot out waves of lightning. Despite it aimlessly shooting out lightning, it won't affect me as when I activate this skill, I am always in Lightning Shift, making me completely invulnerable. My speed is also boosted with the additional boost I receive from equipping Raiden. I am basically a speedster.

Let's see just how your confidence lasts now Deroc.

I watched as Deroc evaded and deflected the thunder fired from the Great Thunder Temple. This time, he was struggling for real.

I noticed that a lightning bolt had actually managed to scratch him, leaving a small cut on his left shoulder. Good, if this keeps up, I'll win.

Since he is distracted by my Great Thunder Temple, I'll attack him from behind. He can't block me and the countless waves of lightning at the same time.

I snuck up towards him until I was close enough to attack him with Thunder Beast Flash. Once that happened, I did exactly what I was planning on doing, but I wasn't done there.

After the first Thunder Beast Flash, I turned and did another one before turning around to do it again.

Deroc was unable to avoid it as it was a combo that had unpredictable timing. As a result, he received a flurry of cuts.

Good... exactly what I needed.

I back off and launched a Thunder Beast Storm at him which he took directly. The lightning from the Great Thunder Temple also struck the position where Deroc was.

To finish it off, I threw an Atomic Fission at him.

"Hmph... is that all?" I said before launching one more Thunder Beast Storm for good measures.

As the smoke settled down, I felt something penetrate me from my back. I looked down and saw a blade sticking out of my chest.

I blinked and everything was back to normal.

That meant-!

I turned around and blocked the incoming strike.

Clang!

"Ho? I'm impressed you were able to sense me coming up from behind," Deroc smirked. I shifted to the left and performed a reverse roundhouse kick. Deroc quickly vanished and appeared behind me.

He swung his sword but he was knocked away by a wave of lightning from my Great Thunder Temple which was still active.

What an idiot.

"Tch, this annoying thing," Deroc grumbled, staring at Great Thunder Temple.

Deroc turned to me and smirked, wiping the blood off his mouth.

"Let's play fair. Take that thing down."

"Why should I? This is a battle of skill, that is part of my skillset. If you want to continue complaining, go ahead, I'll just take the victory."

"Are you sure that you want to say that? I haven't even started to get serious yet, and if you thought that you had worn me down, you just wasted energy for no reason."

I clenched my teeth. Deroc continued to give me a confident gaze. I returned Raiden to Ethos Arsenal and canceled Great Thunder Temple.

"Oh? Is this a sign that you've given up because you know that if you continue further, you'll lose? Well, it's the best choice you have right now. Otherwise, I might have to get serious," He said boastfully.

I took a deep breath and smiled.

"No, I'm not giving up. I'll show you why you shouldn't have pissed me off. I recommend you get serious before I bash you into a pulp," I responded as I pointed at him and quickly muttered an incantation.

"Huh?"

"-sink in darkness. Shadow King Domain."

My aura exploded and began forming a dome that covered up the entire courtyard. When the domain was finished, the only thing around me and Deroc was nothing but black.

"Hmph, what a stupid trick," Deroc said.

"Oh? Is it now?" I responded before throwing a kick across Deroc's face.

He stumbled on the ground and attempted to get up but he couldn't as I had used Shadow Puppet on him.

He was frozen. He was like a marionette that I was able to control. With this, I have won.

I walked over to him and placed my foot on his head.

"Any last words?"

Deroc glared at me before snickering. That snickering eventually became a chuckle, which then became laughter.

"Wh-what are you laughing about?"

Deroc stopped and smirked before his body begun shining. I felt my foot burn and backed away. That's when I notice my domain slowly dispersing, the scenery around us returning to what it was before.

What is going on?

"I gave you a choice to surrender, yet you didn't listen. It's rather disappointing that you chose such a foolish option," Deroc said, his whole body emitting divine energy.

"This attack of yours, it's definitely something to behold, however, it is nothing against Altima."

...what?

At that moment, a bright light erupted. I shielded myself with an Aura Barrier, however, it was quickly destroyed and I felt my skin burn from the light.

When the light died down, the skin on my arms was scorched and I could feel the pain. Then I turned to Deroc.

He was now a figure clad in bright glowing armor and feathers. His armor was gold and green, his feathers white, and his eyes glowing green.

"No..." I shook my head, but Deroc chuckled and drew his sword.

"Now then... reflect on your actions."

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