Sword Saint's Reincarnation
Book 2 Chapter 21: The Basilisk (2)

The earthen dome around Gerard crumbled as the Basilisk's throat swelled again. Gerard was revealed behind the curtain of falling earth and rock. A blue Magic Shield surrounded him as he donned a calm expression and lifted his staff. A moment later, a wave of the poisonous green smoke flooded out of the Basilisk's mouth. This time, unlike before, it moved much faster, looking like a focused stream instead of ordinary smoke.

The smoke flowed toward Gerard, destroying all signs of life in its way. At the same time, thin strands of smoke separated from the main stream and dissolved in the atmosphere, granting their surroundings a slight green hue. The rippling earth rose in the shape of shackles that tried to wrap themselves around Gerard, forcing him to move to avoid them.

It was then that Rylan's sword arrived.

Stormcaller Sword Style, Fourth Movement: Tempest Break.

It was as if he was being supported by a storm's wrath. His mana resonated with the world as it completely covered both his body and his sword. It crackled like lightning while being as carefree and swift as the wind at the same time. This contradiction forced itself to become real, supported by his will and skill alone. It made him much faster and stronger than ever before in this life.

The lightning-like mana focused on the edge of his blade, then extended itself around it, as if drawing another blade on top of it. It was as if there was an ethereal sword made of mana around Rylan's weapon, extending its range and effectiveness. A moment later, it reached the Basilisk's back.

The sound of a thunderbolt echoed. The blade furiously sliced through the Boss' scales and kept going. The packed muscles were forced to give way to the ferocious attack as blood flowed freely, boiling in mid-air and evaporating before touching the ground. The scale around the wound cracked and fell as Rylan's mana flowed through the Basilisk's body. But he wasn't done.

With a serious expression, Rylan endlessly channeled his mana into the Sword Art. The goal was simple - he needed to sever the creature's spine. There was no merit in extending this battle for the sake of pushing himself further. Not when he wasn't the only one fighting and at risk.

As if it could sense his feelings, his mana flowed into the Basilisk's body even faster, causing as much damage as it could to anything that it touched. Scales fell and muscles were shredded, but he couldn't stop.

The Basilisk raised its head and let out a pained shriek for the first time in this battle. Even more of the green smoke flooded out of its mouth. Because of its position, the smoke fell around its body and started to envelop it. Rylan glanced at the wave of smoke rapidly approaching him from above and narrowed his eyes. Instead of backing off, he only kept going. Simultaneously, he held his breath. It would be a disaster if he breathed in the thin strands of smoke that had melted into the atmosphere.

The Sword Art tore through everything in its way, even though it had been slowed down by the layers of muscle and scales.

There.

A flash of bone under the severed muscles and destroyed blood vessels. However, the smoke was almost upon him. Making a decision in a split second, Rylan channeled as much mana as he could into the blade then jumped backward, using the Basilisk's body as a springboard.

The ethereal sword around his weapon disappeared, as did the mana around him. It was almost disheartening, to feel so much power leaving him. Rylan clicked his tongue as he watched the Basilisk thrash around with a loud hiss, covering itself in the green smoke.

If only I had Aura.

The Stormcaller Sword Style's Movements after the Third Movement were especially reliant on Aura for their full effects, just like powerful spells required a high amount of mana. If he'd had even a meager amount of Aura, he'd have been able to split the Basilisk in half.

The smoke flooded the space, making him jump backward again. Trees withered and died as it touched them, then collapsed into ash. The Boss continued to thrash around wildly. Its tail slammed into the crumbling trees, hastening their destruction. Rylan backed off with Drifting and kept his eyes on the tail’s wild movements.

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At the same time, he saw Gerard flying straight upward, covered by a melting Magic Shield. Gerard rose until he was above the canopies of the trees that were still alive, then pointed his staff at the Basilisk as the Shield around him disappeared. The atmosphere moved. It flowed and then sped up in the shape of a fierce wind, which pushed the green smoke away from Rylan’s position. The Basilisk continued to spew out more of the poisonous fog, but the wind conjured by Gerard caught the smoke as it left the monster’s mouth and pushed it in the opposite direction from Rylan.

The Basilisk stopped hissing and closed its mouth. As Gerard pushed the remainders of the smoke into the forest, the Boss came into full view. Rylan evaluated his opponent. The Basilisk’s outer layer was now a mess of shredded scales and crimson blood that flowed unceasingly from its wounds. Some spots had been completely destroyed to reveal the damaged muscles underneath.

Naturally, the greatest wounds were on its back, where the Sword Art had landed. There was now a gaping injury that spanned several meters of the monster’s circumference, to the point it was a wonder that it hadn’t been split in half. Cracks and cuts covered its back and sides.

The Basilisk shook its head and stared at Rylan, but he only looked at its neck instead, inwardly nodding to himself. Even without Aura, the Fourth Movement supported by his current stats wasn’t something that a Boss at this level could shrug off.

He cracked his neck and grasped his surroundings. Because of the Boss’ smoke, the area around them had been completely cleared of trees and obstacles. They were now in an immense clearing that was covered in ash and withered pieces of wood. Behind the Basilisk, there was another large stretch of destruction, since it was where Gerard had pushed the smoke towards.

Rylan perceived the movements of Gerard’s mana far above and grinned.

“Let’s do this,” he said loudly, staring at the Basilisk’s neck.

He shot forward and closed his eyes. Now that there were no trees and Gerard was using Fly to stay out of his range, he could fight freely. At the same time, he appreciated his father’s decision. From what they’d seen so far, the Basilisk lacked ranged attacks apart from its smoke, which wouldn’t be able to reach Gerard’s position, apart from its deadly gaze. It had been the best possible course of action.

He didn’t doubt his father’s ability to support him from that distance. Even if an ordinary Mage would have needed to be extremely careful not to hit him along with the huge Boss, Gerard could do it. No, it was possible because they were the ones fighting alongside each other.

Rylan’s muscles tensed up powerfully as his mana circulated to every corner of his body. He stepped on the air, approaching the Boss rapidly. Instead of mindlessly charging at him, the Basilisk recoiled with a hiss. He perceived its mana sink into the ash-covered ground, but he didn’t stop.

Rocks suddenly shot out of the earth like arrows. They varied in size, some as small as a fingernail, others the size of his head. The smaller ones pierced through the air much faster than the others. Rylan let out a breath, his sharpened senses grasping his surroundings. The rocks had shot out from all around him by the hundreds. He decisively stepped on the air and jumped upward.

The rocks went through the place where his body had just been. They immediately slowed down, only to speed toward his current position in a flash. Rylan raised an eyebrow. He used Snowfall to dash closer to the Basilisk, but the rocks continued to follow him like an avalanche. He looked at the Boss, avoiding its eyes. The monster was slithering toward him. He willingly stepped inside its range, aware of the rocks still following him.

The Basilisk seamlessly transitioned into a tail swipe. The muscular, bleeding tail barreled toward Rylan, but he only jumped out of its range with Snowfall. He floated in the air during the brief lull between the Basilisk’s attack and the rocks’ arrival, tensing up his body powerfully.

Stormcaller Sword Style, First Movement: Thunderbolt.

Rylan accelerated as he flowed into a thrust attack. His blade landed right on a wound on the Basilisk’s neck, sinking into it. Instead of continuing on, he abruptly spun, dragging the sword along with him. The blade tore through the side of the Basilisk’s throat as he moved behind its head. A moment later, the rocks arrived. They crashed against the Boss’ front, making it hiss and shake its head.

Without missing a beat, Rylan attacked again and dug into another wound. The moment he retreated to avoid a burst of poisonous smoke, a large Fireball fell from above. The Basilisk barely had the time to move its head to get it out of the way before the Fireball landed on its body and devoured it in flames.

The battle became a dangerous dance. Rylan advanced and retreated as necessary. There was no need to discover how much damage a single tail swipe would cause or how the green smoke would affect him. He only needed to finish this. Gerard offered support with ranged spells that sought to inflict as much pain as possible instead of damage. Flames scorched the monster’s open wounds without cauterizing them, and blades of wind constantly tried to hit its eyes.

Even as the Boss tried to move away and retreat into the cover of the enormous trees, both he and Gerard worked against it. More and more of its blood flowed. The moment he was about to use Tempest Break again.

The Basilisk stared at him with a hiss. Its mana moved differently. A System window appeared in front of him.

[You have been affected by Petrifying Gaze. You will gain one stack of Petrification every five seconds under the Petrifying Gaze.]

[At twenty stacks, you will be petrified.]

He hadn't looked into the beast's eyes.