Indeed, Asher had discovered a limitation within Blue's Nullification ability.

Asher was not a man prone to short-sighted thinking. From the very moment Blue revealed the nature of his power, an ability capable of rendering energy usage and abilities completely useless, Asher's mind had begun to work endlessly. If abilities and energy could be nullified, then what about something else entirely?

What about Techniques?

That was the question Asher had posed to himself. And the moment Blue's blade passed through his neck without resistance, Asher had received his answer.

Blue's Nullification ability did not affect Techniques.

The realization struck like a silent thunderclap. But if Asher were any other eighteen-year-old Wargrave who had come to this conclusion, it would have made no difference whatsoever. Wargraves were neither taught nor permitted to learn Techniques. They were only allowed to develop their own, and doing so was notoriously difficult. After all, Wargraves did not settle for just any crude or half-formed method. Their standards were sky high.

So even if another eighteen year old Wargrave had uncovered this flaw in Blue's ability, they would still die all the same. Knowing the weakness meant nothing if one lacked the means to exploit it.

But Asher was not just any eighteen year old Wargrave.

He possessed a talent so rare that anyone within Crymora would sell their soul for it and still fail to acquire it. He was the Heir of the Star, a boy who had fused with a Star Core Fragment. His potential was not merely extraordinary; it was absurd, both literally and metaphorically.

Although Asher had not formally learned a single Technique prior to this moment, he had witnessed numerous assassins perform countless Techniques within just the past few minutes. Even during his True Awakening, assassins had unleashed various specialized movements, phasing abilities, and combat applications before his eyes.

Asher had not learned them at the time.

But that didn't mean he hadn't understood them.

His mind, enhanced by his talent, his bloodline, and the Star Core Fragment fused within him, allowed him to perfectly remember every movement, every shift of the body, every subtle manipulation involved. And once remembered, learning them became literally effortless.

Minutes ago, before his direct confrontation with Blue, one of the assassins had avoided Asher's fist by phasing through it. Asher had instinctively observed the technique's structure, its activation window, and its limitation.

In this very next moment, he had replicated it, then he had perfected it.

That was how he had phased through Blue's attack.

Anger boiled within Blue's mind as realization dawned upon him. He couldn't comprehend how he had not yet managed to kill the boy standing before him. Every instinct screamed that this battle was spiraling beyond expectations.

Yet Blue was an assassin, one of the best of his rank. And assassins knew their own Techniques better than anyone else, especially their weaknesses. The phasing technique Asher had just used was no exception. A flaw Asher himself had already exploited earlier.

Which meant Blue already knew how to counter it. In the next instant, Blue moved.

His short sword and clenched fist shot forward simultaneously, one aimed at Asher's throat, the other at his chest. Two attacks launched in perfect synchronization. Blue knew the Tenth Sun couldn't phase through two attacks at once. That limitation was the Tenth Sun's end.

Or so he believed.

But Asher had already foreseen the attack.

His Battle Intuition screamed warnings into his consciousness, predicting Blue's movements before they even occurred. With the aid of Instinctive Adaptation and Optimal Movement Efficiency, his body responded flawlessly. He didn't attempt to block, he knew that would be fatal.

Instead, he evaded.

The tree they stood upon collapsed under the sheer force of their motion, splintering apart as both figures tore through the air. With bone-shattering impact, they crashed onto the earth below. The ground shook violently, sending ripples through the surrounding terrain.

Their eyes snapped toward one another instantly, black meeting purple.

For a fleeting moment, time itself seemed to slow.

Then they moved.

Shockingly, impossibly, Asher was faster.

His hand tore toward Virelass, resting at his waist. In one smooth, hissing motion, the rapier sang free from its sheath, its edge flashing as it slashed toward Blue's neck from the side.

Blue reacted immediately. His arm blistered upward to intercept the strike, and for the first time in what felt like an eternity, metal met metal.

The clash was violent.

A shower of sparks erupted outward, illuminating the space between them in brilliant flashes of light. Without hesitation, Blue shifted his stance, adjusting his center of gravity with masterful precision. Utilizing his superior physical strength, he grabbed Asher's rapier with his own short sword and hurled him upward into the air.

The moment Asher's body soared fifteen meters above the ground he vanished before he reached the apex.

He had already perceived Blue's intention, to finish him midair, Asher acted. Space warped, and he disappeared before Blue could close the distance and activate his Nullification ability.

'What kind of ridiculous talent is this?' Blue thought grimly as he moved.

He watched Asher use Techniques that the assassins who had pursued him mere minutes ago had employed. To Blue, there was only one explanation.

Asher had learned them on the spot.

The realization filled him with both awe and fear.

Awe at such an absurd bloodline and talent. Fear because Blue had already revealed far too much. If Asher survived and was allowed to grow stronger, retaliation would be inevitable. Worse still, if Asher reported this incident to the Duke, a full-scale war could erupt, one born from Blue's personal failure to complete a single mission.

Blue's eyes snapped toward Asher's new position. But before he could even move, Asher erased the distance between them. He appeared beside Blue in an instant, his rapier thrusting toward the assassin's ribcage with lethal intent.

'He can teleport?' Blue wondered briefly.

The thought was dismissed immediately. Even if the Tenth Sun possessed such an ability, it should have been impossible under these circumstances.

'Another Technique,' Blue concluded.

And he was right.

Asher was using a movement Technique he had learned from Hillary, the Knight who had once come for his head during his True Awakening. Asher had memorized it then and improved it effortlessly. Blue failed to recognize it simply because it wasn't an assassin's Technique.

It was a knight's.

Without wasting even a fraction of a second, Blue reacted. His blade screamed upward to meet Asher's rapier once more, but then something impossible happened.

Asher's rapier phased through Blue's short sword as if it were nothing more than thin air. And with a sickening, flesh-tearing sound, Virelass sliced through Blue's body like a hot blade through butter.

Blood spilled. Flesh tore. Bone sliced.

For the first time since the battle began, Asher Wargrave had drawn blood.

_______

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Golden Gachapon, please?

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