CLEAVER OF SIN Chapter 694: Soup

Asher’s body momentarily ceased its movement, as if granting Williams’ senses a brief respite to return to the present. Williams breathed heavily, his chest heaving, his dark eyes fixed on Asher’s location. Sweat poured from him, his attire shredded from head to toe, not only damp with perspiration but also stained with his own blood, testament to the brutal and merciless injuries that marked his form. His nerves screamed with pain, urging him to abandon this madness, having endured enough. Yet, Williams simply found his footing, his breath steadying. He knew, without a doubt, that Asher had afforded him a precious few seconds to recover his wind, and he adjusted his breathing accordingly, forcing his battered physique into a short, albeit temporary, state of recuperation.

"Your next lesson will be something entirely new to you: feints," Asher’s voice cut through the air as he remained motionless, waiting. As the ten seconds elapsed, he dissolved from his previous position, his rapier a blur, whistling towards Williams’ eyes with deadly speed and unerring accuracy, its path unwavering.

Williams failed to react to the incoming strike; he perceived it as a feint. Asher had, up until this point, avoided targeting vital areas. Therefore, an attack aimed at the eye must be a diversion, its true objective likely a less obvious, more cunningly concealed part of the body.

With this deduction, he moved, his sabre slashing outwards towards his anticipated point of impact. To his astonishment, the metallic clang never materialized. Instead, the rapier’s tip halted mere inches from his eye, Asher having arrested his assault with absolute, terrifying control and precision.

"Just because I declared the lesson to be about feints doesn't mean every attack will be one. It’s your task to discern which is which. While your earlier assumptions were correct—I haven't targeted vital organs during this spar—ultimately, it was a trap, and you fell for it like a child," Asher explained, his tone level and almost detached.

With Thorne’s words still hanging in the air, Asher struck again, his rapier, Virelass, darting forward like lightning, aiming for Williams’ shoulder. But Williams reacted, and just as their blades were poised to clash, Asher shifted his attack's trajectory; the shoulder strike had indeed been a layered feint.

His rapier sliced through Williams’ other shoulder as easily as a knife through soft butter. Without pause, he twirled the rapier in his palm with practiced dexterity, slashing towards Williams’ neck. Williams responded, but Asher again redirected his sword's path, that too having been a feint. This time, however, Williams had anticipated it, swiftly adjusting to counter Asher’s feint as the attack now headed for his thigh instead of his neck, his instincts sharpening under the intense pressure.

But the very instant he prepared to block, Asher’s rapier vanished as if it had never been present.

'A double feint,' Williams thought, shocked. He was struggling to keep up with a single feint, only for Asher to execute two with such fluid mastery, as if such intricate deception were second nature.

With that realization, pain flared in his elbow as he felt the sharp bite of metal tearing through his skin, another clean strike landing with effortless, ruthless accuracy, leaving no room for error or hesitation.

Asher shook his head. Williams possessed no understanding of feints, and thus, he decided to cease the lesson. The young man would need to master the fundamentals on his own before he could effectively engage with such advanced techniques; anything more at this stage would simply overwhelm him beyond comprehension.

Before Williams could even process the unfolding events, a foot hurtled towards his head. He froze, questioning his perception, bewildered as to how Asher’s rapier had transformed into a foot. Then, with bone-jarring force, Asher's foot slammed into Williams’ temple with devastating power, leaving no opportunity for defense.

The impact snapped Williams’ head backward. The sheer momentum of the blow wrenched him sideways, his head appearing to drag his body along. In a swift motion, his form careened into the Astra energy barrier Finch was concealed behind, a resounding boom echoing through the confined space from the violent collision.

The brutal impact jolted Williams out of his Zone state, his consciousness teetering on the edge of oblivion, yet his sheer willpower kept him from succumbing. The moment his eyes darted towards Asher’s position, he saw another foot rushing towards his chest. He instinctively dove to the side, evading the attack with every ounce of his remaining strength, determined not to fall just yet.

Asher’s foot slammed against Finch’s Astra barrier. The barrier vibrated precariously, threatening to shatter, yet it held firm as a compressed circular wind ring erupted from the point of impact, warping the surrounding atmosphere.

Asher’s gaze lingered on Finch momentarily before he shifted his focus to Williams, speaking, "Just because you and your opponent are locked in a weapon fight doesn’t mean they can’t switch to another part of their body. This was never a weapon lesson or a weapon spar to begin with. Don’t expect your opponent to fight you with only their weapon without switching to something else." His tone was calm and instructional, devoid of any strain or exertion.

Asher proceeded with a slow walk. He could perceive that Williams had reached the apex of his learning capacity; the boy was physically hanging on by a thread, though his spirit yearned to continue. However, biology could not be overridden by mere willpower, so Asher resolved to conclude the session before the boy completely succumbed to the cumulative stress.

Asher closed the distance once more, this time at a reduced speed, his rapier a blur. Williams reacted instantly to block, but before he could parry or employ any defensive maneuver, all he perceived was a liquid, akin to hot soup, splattering across his face, instantly blinding him.

The sudden assault left him stunned and disoriented. Seizing this moment of vulnerability, Asher delivered a knee strike to Williams’ sternum with ferocious power. Williams’ body careened into the wall, then slumped to the ground feebly. His fingers lost their grip on the sabre, and the weapon clattered noisily to the floor as Williams sat without a vestige of strength, completely depleted.

"And lastly, don’t anticipate your opponent to be conventional; prepare for them to resort to unconventional or even dishonorable tactics. If we were in an outdoor setting, I would have utilized sand, pouring it into your eyes. Since there is no sand here, I had to resort to soup," Asher explained as he approached Williams, who was slumped against the wall, gasping for breath with each labored inhale.

Reaching Williams, Asher crouched down and said, "Always expect the unexpected, Williams. That is the final lesson for today." He stated this calmly, his words imbued with a quiet finality that signaled the conclusion of the rigorous yet enlightening engagement.