The Rock Pig sizing him up was hardly the most fearsome opponent he'd ever faced. Its hide, like living stone, promised durability, but Lacerta knew he'd battled—and defeated—far deadlier foes already.
This witchbeast, however, presented a unique opportunity: it was the perfect test subject.
A subject for refining his 'magic.' More specifically, that final, overwhelming attack that had wreathed his katana in white light, only to leave the blade a shattered ruin. If he could learn to temper it, to regulate the explosive output or the sheer volume of mana he poured into the swing, this diversion would be more than worthwhile.
A flat, heavy foot dug into the mud, gouging a deep furrow. An instant later, the Rock Pig charged, a freight train of pure muscle. Its maw gaped, wide enough to swallow him whole. Unlike the razor fangs of a typical witchbeast, its teeth were flat, powerful grinders designed to crush rather than tear.
This would be no trouble, however. The flow of combat was second nature to him.
Lacerta: ["—Hoomph!"]
Lacerta leaped sideways in an instant.
His feet skidded on the slick ground, nearly sending him sprawling from just how uneven the surface was. Recovering instantly, he bent low and shot forward like a bullet, closing the distance as the cumbersome beast lumbered past.
With a sharp thrust, the longsword's tip bit into the Rock Pig's flank. The beast seized up, a pained grunt rumbling in its chest.
Lacerta: ["...Ah?"]
The blade sank less than halfway to what he'd expected, definitely impressive defense, even more than what he'd originally predicted.
As the beast twisted, its enormous head swung around to snap at him until Lacerta planted a foot against the ground and pushed, suddenly vaulting onto its broad back.
Rock Pig: ["———!?"]
Before the witchbeast could even consider bucking him off, Lacerta channeled a surge of strength into his leg. His sole smashed down on the creature's skull, slamming its head into the ground with enough force to drive its lower jaw deep into the mud while it writhed beneath the force.
Then, he slid down its side, tearing the longsword free as he landed and immediately leaping back to create distance.
The Rock Pig struggled to its feet, shaking its head with an air of annoyed intelligence. Its perception of the boy before it shifted from prey to enemy.
Lacerta paid it no mind.
Its hesitation was a gif after all, granting him time to focus, to recall the feeling of that ultimate slash.
Lacerta: ["I remember..."]
He murmured to nobody, raising the longsword into a high, ready stance. A shiver seemed to run through the Rock Pig, a primal instinct screaming that it was no longer the predator. Not that it was to begin with.
Closing his eyes, Lacerta began to channel his mana, chasing the memory. He had felt it then, drawn from the very air around him, a torrent of power converging within. When channeled, it was a raging river, unleashed in a single, devastating moment.
If that was the case, then he simply had to master the floodgates. He had to react faster, to cut off the flow before it could overwhelm the blade and exhaust him far more than what would be required.
Rock Pig: ["———!!!"]
The witchbeast, defying its own fear and natural instinct, launched into a final, frenzied charge.
From his core, Lacerta envisioned the flow. He focused it, willed it out of his body and into the steel in his hands.
Too much mana, and the sword would crack—or even shatter. Too little, and the attack would be feeble.
He needed the perfect balance, not too strong, not too weak.
It was a guess, an act of pure instinct on his part... but his instincts had never quite failed him yet.
—So simply put it, he slashed at the air with full confidence that he'd succeed.
And... succeed he did.
A blinding white light flared like a beacon in the mist, engulfing the longsword in his hands until it seemed more spiritual than actual steel.
The vertical arc met the charging beast, and the Rock Pig was bisected instantaneously through it's center. Even the surrounding mist was cleaved in two, the empty space lingering for a moment before the vapours swirled back in.
Lacerta: ["Whooo..."]
Lacerta breathed out, his stance unbroken.
The two halves of the witchbeast slid apart and fell with a wet slap in the mud, a brutal display of viscera and gore. The sight was grotesque, but nothing he hadn't seen before.
He lowered his sword, his gaze fixed on the blade. It was unharmed. Not a single crack.
Nowhere near as exhausted as what that attack did to me before... good. Of course, it's nowhere near as powerful as what I did then, but I definitely prefer less output considering the risk is me passing out with exhaustion.
With a final exhale, he slid the blade back over his shoulder, sheathing it with a soft click.
If worst comes to worst, I can always rely on a fully-powered slash like before.
Satisfied with his contingency plan, he turned toward where Akigami had been fighting. Had been was the more operative term, actually.
It came as no surprise to him in the slightest. She stood with a casual hand on her hip, watching him amidst a scattering of serpentine corpses. He recalled the ease with which she'd dispatched the first witchbeast; these two-headed snakes had seemed frail by comparison.
Lacerta closed the distance, his eyes sweeping over the littered bodies.
A smirk touched Akigami's lips.
Akigami: ["You seem to know magic pretty well for a swordsman already. Aren't you getting a bit greedy with wanting to learn more?"]
Lacerta: ["Yes. Yes, I am."]
His agreement was swift and his tone was flat. There was no reason to lie about something so obvious, yes, he wanted to get stronger, as fast as he possibly could.
Though, before he could vocalize that thought any further, his attention already snagged by an anomaly among the dead. One of the creatures was different. Unlike the others, which were cleaved apart with thin, but deep lacerations made by daggers, this one had a small, cauterized hole punched clean through its torso, just below where the body forked into two necks.
We all have our secrets I guess, I won't pry.
Lacerta: ["From now on, we should avoid fighting unless it's absolutely necessary."]
Akigami hummed in agreement. She scanned the encroaching gloom of the swamp around them.
Akigami: ["Yes... The effects of the witch's miasma, as Haldran-sama called it, are definitely... unsettling."]
Although he couldn't quite feel it's effects just yet... he didn't exactly want to know what it being in the midst of the 'miasma' for too long was like.
Therefore, with that battle subsiding, and with what new capabilities Lacerta had come to truly grasp, they continued onward through the Aihiya Swamp at a much faster rate than before the battle.