Samuel's severed limb had landed six meters away, still smoking from the impact.
Samuel stood on one leg in the crater.
His sword was planted in the rubble beside him, its blade sunk deep into the broken stone.
His hand was wrapped tightly around the hilt, blood ran down the side of the sword.
Samuel's grin was gone.
His eyes stayed on Ace.
The physical trauma wasn't of much concern to him. At this moment, his ego hurt more than any wound on his body. His legs could be healed quickly with his connections, but losing a limb to a person that ascended minutes ago wasn't something light.
He hadn't expected to be hit.
His teeth ground together.
"You're better than I estimated."
Ace's smile widened slightly, despite the pain visibly running through his own body.
"You're better than I estimated too."
The two of them stood in their respective craters, both bleeding, aura diminished, but still very much on their feet.
Neither of them had truly won.
