Sunless was very wary of this Lilith who seemed to have joined Nephis's cohort. not just because of the Profane and Monster like feeling she gave off that was worse than even Beastmasters. no, it was because she was the only one who could remember him.. and that should not have been possible..
Nevertheless, Sunny was a Warrior and a Killer. One of the 5 Strongest Saints, and accepted the Duel.
Not because he was a Battle Maniac.. well, maybe he was a little bit, but that was not the point.
Lilith Knew Sunless had been starved of Human opponents since being forgotten.
And Sunless, despite being wary. I really needed this spar. not only because it could potentially give him a better understanding of Lilith's Transcended Battle Art, thanks to [Shadow Dance]. But also a possible edge against her should she try to pull off Anything bad in the future of this war.
The duel took Place in Godgrave, outside the Nameless Temple.
Even with her Ability to see in Shadows and True Darkness, she could not see very far while inside the Shadow God's Domain Fragment. that was to be expected though,
Being able to see a few meters from herself was already plenty good considering she did not have an affinity to shadows and darkness whatsoever.
…
Sunless summoned his Black Odachi summoned from the shadows, Lilith simply summoned [Void Skin] into the form of a Dark Green silk veil wrapped around her body in a carefree manner.
Sunny was a bit Startled, Despite being in a Relationship with Nephis, Lilith was just like Effie, Always able to get Arise out of him. (Pun inteded).
But he quickly composed himself and noticed that Lilith was Barefoot and also did not summon a Weapon.
"Are you going to fight without a Weapon?"
Lilith replied with an easy and pleasant voice.
"I only have one weapon and it's not good to use it in a spar as I would damage your soul cores and mind. Regardless, I mainly fight hand to hand. it just feels better for me."
…
Sunny did not complain and appeared behind her, his sword ready to cut her neck.
But Sunny's sword descended and cut off Lilith's head.. of course, it was a Lie, Lilith had played a [Mind Trick] on him. and made him think that he had killed her, hoping to stun him for a bit.
She had even made sure to make the movement of the shadow in the illusions perfect so he could not feel the illusion..
Just like that, she kicked behind herself in a spin-kick, directed at his temples..
But something did give Lilith away. Lilith had assumed that Sunny, who was cut away from Fate and the Spell could not hear the voice of the spell. but she was wrong.
Lilith had not known Sunny was an even better [Weaver] then her Echo. and so did not know that Sunless had made the [Handy Bracelet] that announced his kills.
And the [Handy Bracelet] had been quiet..
Sunny understood he was in an illusion and therefore it broke apart. just in time to barely dodge Lilith's kick.
Lilith immediately went in and tried to Overpower the Lord if Shadows, and she had succeeded.. if only he did not simply used [Shadow Step] and appeared at her side.
Delivering an upward slash at her right arm.
Lilith dodged and regained balance. this time she put distance between them.
'Im at a disadvantage since he uses a sword.. I could go in and just heal, but in a battle of attrition he would win. He is surrounded by his own Domain and must be recovering Essence incredibly fast.. its not like i can just summon the [Marvelous Pill Holder] and eat blood pills to take my essence back..'
'Should I summon [Blood Moonlight] and just use it as a normal weapon.. I do want to test his Transcended Battle Art..'
While Lilith was thinking, Sunless and Herself were engaged in a tight blow to blow fight, standing close to each other as he Attacked with his massive Odachi while the Agile Lilith evaded, dodged, parried, or simply stopped his blows before retaliating with her own..
Hundreds of moves shared in less than 5 Seconds.. But both of them were unsatisfied…
Sighing Heavily, Lilith summoned the [Blood Moonlight] in the form of a Silver Scythe that had beautiful and elegant adornments.
Lilith did not activate any of its enchantments, simply wishing to spar.
And so, minutes passed…
and they were much more excited and happy.. but also incredibly Frustrated.
In the first 15 minutes, Lilith had an incredible Upper Hand, her Transcended Battle Art was an incredible work of art.
No less beautiful than His or Nephis's own…
But it was also much more Vile. Her attack was Powerful but graceful, Tricky but simple, Flowing but Corrupted, and most of all it was Never Ending.
Since the moment Lilith had summoned her weapon she had not deflected, parried or even fully avoided his own attacks.
Lilith discarded her own flesh and blood to keep attacking, simply helping her injured quickly enough not to matter.
Lilith had been close enough to winning when she almost cut of Sunless's Left Arm. but, just then. using [Shadow Dance].
He understood the core of her Transcended Battle Art. and so, the battle Reversed.. but not even for a Minute.
because Lilith also decided to activate the [Huntress] attribute to see all of Sunless's weakness in his techniques.. which made it so they were now fighting at a standstill.
Sunless with [Shadow Dance] could predict Lilith's movements and counter them.
And Lilith with [Huntress] could see [Shadow Dance]'s Weaknesses, making his Counter-attacks and defences less effective.
Sunless could not think, he could not afford it. He was grinding his teeths behind Weaver's Mask.
Lilith on the other hand was smiling calmly while sweating, her breathing as calm as ever.
If Sunless could think or speak, he would praise her skill.
but all Sunny knew at the moment beside the fight was that he was Happy.
Happy because this was the first duel fight with a human he had since becoming a Saint that did not disappoint him.
Even his fight with Nephis in the Nameless Citadel left him bitter and resentful.
Bitter because he could not keep fighting her and Resentful because Nephis did not have a sword she could use her True Battle Art with. since her sword had been tempered by the King of Swords
This fight with Lilith though.. he did not hold back. He could not. and so did she.. no, they were both holding back quite a lot.. but not their skill. and since it was a spar. that was what mattered..
Sunless also understood that a good way to advance in [Shadow Dance] was to keep fighting Lilith, who could see it's weaknesses apparently
***
After 43 minutes the spar had ended.. It was a Draw.
Lilith had finally led the battle to a point where her scythe could decapitate the Lord of Shadows. and of course, Sunless predicted it too late but still managed to pin his blade on her neck..
It was a Draw.
Lilith spoke a single word while grinning..
"Marvelous.."
And just like that. she summoned back her [Blood Moonlight] , dried herself up, Changed outfit with [Void Skin] and went back to her tether in Bastion, inside Morgan's bedroom.
…
Sunless also took a shower and analyzed their battle in his mind for hours.. learning so much..
"This spar was incredibly useful.. i'm no longer rusty while fighting humans…"
***
…
Lilith went into the Ivory Tower and knocked on Nephis's door.
Lilith knew that she was sleeping with 'Master' Sunless.. it was not stalking.. just observation.
Anyhow. she waited for the startled couple to dress up and say to enter.
After Master Sunless hid in Nephis's shadow, I got into the room and looked at the bright star, wearing her white tunic Memory.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your sweet dreams. anyhow."
"I have something that could help you understand how to achieve Supremacy."
…