SWNOVELXO Chapter 435: Arkhe City Duel
The Duel Begins
Leon activated Shell Reverb: Echo of Origin, then instantly layered Karmic Loop to counter the ambient disruptions from the Harmonia Crater's field.
Garridan struck first—not with a blade, but with a wave of controlled vibration, conducted through a downward slash of his baton.
The air crashed like a giant bell had been struck.
Leon barely deflected the sound using a redirected echo pulse, but the tremor knocked him back two steps. His body tingled. Tempo Lock was trying to destabilize him already.
"Keep your rhythm," Garridan warned. "The Tower doesn't forgive stuttered climbers."
Leon smiled through the pressure. "Good. Neither do I."
He charged forward, using Tripart Echo in a burst—three attacks, one real, two from stored rhythm.
But Garridan didn't block. He conducted.
With a flick of his baton, he pulled a tone wall into existence, each echo strike bouncing off a perfectly timed frequency wave. Then Garridan countered with a deep pulse that warped the arena floor.
Leon dropped to a knee, but not because he was losing—because he was syncing.
Then he activated it.
Storm Sync Pulse.
Lightning laced his body in arcs—not wild, but directed. He wasn't just syncing to the sound now. He was conducting it with voltage.
His next movement shattered the tone wall.
Even Garridan's eyes narrowed.
Leon didn't give him time to respond.
He struck in three directions, using Shell Reverb: Absolute Return to chain impact against delayed vibration. The platform behind Garridan broke apart, forcing him mid-air. Leon blinked behind him, channeling one last echo that pulsed with Storm lightning.
The final blow struck—pure resonance, wrapped in timed tempo, stormforce, and intent.
Garridan fell to one knee.
A second passed.
And then… he laughed.
A deep, satisfied, echoing laugh.
[Duel Result: Challenger Leon Aetheren – Victory Confirmed]
Rank 95: Garridan the Iron Requiem – Acknowledged Loss
Transfer of Title: Declined
Leon Aetheren promoted to: Rank 95 – Provisional Sovereign
Leon exhaled, stepping back as the field stabilized.
Garridan stood, brushing dust from his robes. "You didn't overpower me. You outplayed me. That's rarer than you know."
Leon nodded. "The climb isn't just power. It's awareness."
Garridan offered a handshake. "Then go higher. Find the ones who've forgotten how to listen."
Leon accepted the grip.
Behind him, the Sovereign board updated silently.
[Leon Aetheren – Provisional Rank 95]
• Status: Officially Recognized by 2 Sovereigns
• Challenge Rights Unlocked: Rank 94–91
Arkhe City – Return to the Observation Hall
The team regrouped at the Observation Hall, where challenges were posted and registered. News of Leon's victory over Garridan had already begun to spread. Not because Garridan lost often—he didn't—but because he rarely acknowledged defeat, and never did so easily.
Yet this time, he had.
And that meant every Sovereign in the Tower's mid-90s now knew Leon Aetheren wasn't just another ambitious climber.
He was a threat.
Observation Hall – Rank Board Projection
Leon stood before the hovering pillar of light as Naval activated the interface. Four names shimmered into view:
Rank 94 – Keira Vox, the Mirage Fang
Assassin-class, Realm Walker, specializes in illusion threads and spatial folding
Rank 93 – Torkhal the Ironwheel
Mobility fighter, gravity user, never fought the same pattern twice
Rank 92 – Lin'dra Murell, the Redshift Dancer
Dual-style: light manipulation and speed-tuning; fights like a blur
Rank 91 – Doyan of the Bleeding Wind
Rogue Sovereign, once declared unrankable, accepted position after seven consecutive wins
Roselia crossed her arms. "All four of them are wildcards. If Garridan was a duel of rhythm, these are brawls of chaos."
Milim nodded. "You'll need more than tempo."
Leon studied the names quietly. "I won't take them all on at once. But I'll start with the one who moves fastest."
He pointed at the glowing name: Rank 92 – Lin'dra Murell.
Kael raised an eyebrow. "You sure? She's a specialist in speed syncing. Not many climbers keep up with her tempo."
Leon turned, eyes steady. "That's why we're going. If I want to stand among the real climbers… I have to fight those who don't slow down."
Location: Cradle of Blur – Domain of Lin'dra Murell
Leon and the team arrived at the Cradle after a half-day glide through distortion currents above Arkhe. The landscape was bizarre—like a frozen mirage. Trees shimmered between states, rocks floated slightly, and time itself seemed out of step.
But at its center was a pure white platform surrounded by refracted light. That was the Velocity Field, where Lin'dra fought.
She was already there, stretching calmly, short crimson hair whipping in the wind. Her weapons were thin crystal-threaded chakrams that hovered near her shoulders like earrings waiting to become blades.
She gave Leon a lazy smile.
"You're the one who beat the conductor."
Leon nodded. "Leon Aetheren."
"Lin'dra Murell. Rank 92. You're aiming to rise through the blur?" She tilted her head. "Then let's see if you can even see me."
[Duel Challenge Accepted – Rank 92: Lin'dra Murell, Redshift Dancer]
Terrain: Refracted Arena
Status Effect: Time Skim – Reality updates once every two seconds
Rules: Victory by full incapacitation or submission
Field Hazard: Vision delay, auditory distortion, light sync manipulation
The Duel Begins
Leon activated Shell Pulse: Storm Sync Pulse, letting his senses attune to the distortion field. Light warped around him. His vision blurred, then corrected. Every movement Lin'dra made had an echo—an afterimage.
Then, she vanished.
Her first attack came from behind—a whirling slice of air that cracked across his back before he could fully react. He spun to counter, but Lin'dra was already gone again, flickering between shards of refracted space.
"She's skipping visual frames," Kael muttered from the spectator platform. "She's faster than the local reality can process."
Leon focused. Karmic Loop. Tripart Echo. Absolute Return. All layered, not to attack—but to stabilize his sense of sequence.
She reappeared mid-air, chakrams glowing red.
Leon caught her next strike not by speed, but by timing the inconsistencies in space.
They clashed once. Twice. Then again—each time with more accuracy.
Leon wasn't matching her speed. He was syncing with the gaps between her accelerations.
Lin'dra narrowed her eyes. "You're reading my rhythm."
Leon didn't answer.
Instead, he stepped forward—and triggered Storm Sync Pulse: Secondary Mode.
Lightning laced his footsteps.
The ground stabilized. Time bent his way.
Lin'dra charged again—but this time, her afterimage split into four. Each moved on a slightly different timing frame.
Leon stepped forward and triggered Shell Reverb: True Fracture.
A delayed pulse detonated behind his earlier position, catching two images. He spun low, disrupting a third. Then timed a pulse through Echo of Origin—and nailed the real Lin'dra in mid-dash.
She skidded backward—knees bent, mouth curling into a grin.
Then… she dropped her chakrams.
"I surrender."
[Duel Result: Victory – Leon Aetheren]
Rank 92: Lin'dra Murell has acknowledged defeat
Transfer of Title: Pending Confirmation – Provisional Rank 92 granted
System Message: Rank 91–89 challenges now unlocked
Lin'dra approached, brushing her hair back. "Most people chase my image. You timed the silence between. Haven't seen that in decades."
Leon nodded once. "I don't chase. I listen."
She smirked. "Then don't lose the rhythm. Rank 91 won't fight clean."