The Black Necromancer

As Seth and Grokus confronted each other, so did the others. Nero crossed swords with Rainer. As a God whose essence revolved around swords, cutting and sharpness, there were very few that could match up to his expertise in swordplay on his level.

Rainer's talents also lied in swordplay, but it did not solely revolve around this concept. That was why he did not blindly try to beat Nero with his swords. Instead, he utilized his extensive knowledge of spells and techniques to try and one-up Nero.

"Tch!" Nero clicked his teeth in irritation as Rainer once again slipped through a spatial tear that the latter had used his swords to create. The leader of the Nameless Order appeared behind Nero and was about to slash down when his senses screamed at him, prompting him to hurriedly jump away and put some distance between the two of them.

CRACK!

Like broken glass, the space around Nero suddenly cracked and tore apart. This was despite their being no outward release of pressure from Nero. The sword centered summon stretched out his arm and his swords vanished. Instead, over his right palm which was stretched out, a small, red portal that was no larger than the surface of his palm hovered.

A strange keening sound whispered through the chaotic air before a blood red sword that was about two fingers wide and as thin as paper, slowly emerged from the portal and hovered above Nero's palm.

"This is my sixth strongest sword. Not many have seen this and lived." Nero's voice was low and threatening but Rainer was not moved. In his long years of living, he had faced all sorts of enemies, and had come across death multiple times. The fear of death did not exist to him.

As Nero's fingers wrapped around the hilt of the sword, his large body suddenly began to shrink down. From the nearly three meter size he was moments ago, he had shrunken down to just below two meters, adopting a much more normal human stature. His armor also changed until it shrunk down around him, forming a slim, and much more fitting cover of light armor that was like a second skin to him. A black mask covered the lower half of his face, only leaving his burning eye sockets open.

"This sword's name does not come from Datar. I managed to learn it when I left Datar with my Master on a mission. I was inspired by a sword there, and chose to adopt its name when I got the chance. This is the Crimson Dawn, a manifestation of my ferocity." Nero said and twisted the sword. Just that slight twist caused the space around him to rend and tear apart, as if claws were digging through space and ripping it into pieces.

Unlike how Nero said that the Crimson Dawn was a manifestation of his ferocity and how the sword's mere movements ripped space apart, Nero himself was the definition of calm and deliberate. There was no hint of ferocity in his movements at all.

Before Rainer could form a response, Nero vanished from his senses. By the time he picked up on him again, Nero was already standing behind him and the Crimson Dawn was arcing through the air, almost on Rainer's neck.

Swish!

Boom!

Rainer twisted his body and brought up his swords, crossing them above him and blocking the descent of Nero's sword. However, even though they blocked the physical body of the sword, a powerful spiritual wave rushed out of the sword and slammed into Rainer's body, sending him flying away with injuries all over his body.

'What?! How? It tore through the protective barrier around me?!' Rainer's mind was doubtful as he stopped his motion and prepared to counterattack. Nero vanished again and this time, Rainer was more prepared. However, he still could not keep up with Nero's incredible speed and could only react after Nero had come to a stop beside him. However, instead of last time when Nero had taken his time to swing his sword, he did not pause and unleashed a flurry of attacks at Rainer.

Rainer gritted his teeth as cuts exploded all over his body. He blocked what he could, but each strike that slipped past his defenses dealt severe blows to his body, mind and spirit.

'Is this the power of the Master's strongest summons?! I can barely even hold my ground!' Rainer realized with dismay that he would not be beating Nero today.

On another side of the battlefield, a dark shadow blazed through the starry sky of the Celestial Realm. The shadow was just a blur that was barely traceable, but for a master manipulator of lightning, keeping up with the shadow was nothing to Kaladin.

Arcs of lightning traced the sky that had darkened all around their battlefield. None of them had struck Oris yet, but they were constricting his movements and forcing him to dance along to Kaladin's tune.

Oris' mind was churning as he thought of a plan to escape this surefire defeat. Even if he lost, he did not want to lose in such a shameful manner.

'I know this does not apply to Obsidian Skeleton Mages because of their darn sturdy bones, but in this case, I have no choice but to try and close the distance between us!' Oris realized and did not waste another moment before turning his trajectory and rushing at Kaladin.

As he blazed through the sky and reduced the distance between them with every passing moment, his black feathers bloomed with black flames that carried a special spatial quality to them. Everywhere the feathers passed, they roused the power of space, reinforcing the space around Oris, while destabilizing it at the same time.

This created a sort of illusion that made it seem as if the world around Oris was a watery scape, wavering and swimming.

His defenses were boosted by a great degree, while the lethality of his moves shot up sharply!

Kaladin noticed this and let out a deep chuckle.

"Come!" He opened his arms as the lightning he had been gathering in his Divine Spark suddenly burst, turning him into an incarnation of lightning!