437 -432- Determination

"Ugh..."

Heathcliff finally let out a muffled groan. The pitch-black pointed drill, deeply embedded in his arm, seemed as if it intended to penetrate his bone, disappearing into the splattering blood effect.

In this situation, Heathcliff's HP bar suddenly trembled, rapidly dropping by a significant amount.

The HP bar, which was initially green, turned yellow within a few seconds and was approaching red.

However, HP loss was not the most critical issue for Heathcliff at this moment. The real danger lay in his shattered Cross Shield.

This signified not only the disappearance of Heathcliff's formidable defense but also something much more severe – the loss of his unique skill the "Holy Sword".

This outcome was only natural.

Regardless of any weapon skill, it needed a corresponding weapon to be equipped for usage.

For instance, the One-Handed Sword skill required a one-handed sword, Dual Blades needed two swords to be dual-wielded, and so on. This unique skills was no exception.

Heathcliff's Holy Sword skill, associated with the Holy Sword and Cross Shield, could only be used when both these weapons were equipped.

Now that Heathcliff had lost his Cross Shield, it meant that his Holy Sword skill was temporarily sealed.

"Tsk...!"

Heathcliff, in an unusual display, clicked his tongue. While retreating rapidly and ignoring the condition of his arm, he summoned the main menu.

Even though he had no intention of using administrator privileges in this battle, as a player, he still had access to certain privileges.

To put it plainly, Heathcliff had spare Cross Shields, and he needed to retrieve one as quickly as possible.

However, Heathcliff seemed to forget one crucial detail.

Before throwing his projectile, Rozen had already dashed toward him.

"Clang!"

The crystal sword in Rozen's hand radiated with a bright red sword skill effect.

"Vorpal Strike!"

His favorite sword skill was released, transforming into a crimson spear-like form. It pierced through the sound barrier, heading straight for Heathcliff's direction.

The crystal sword moved at a staggering speed, directly targeting Heathcliff's throat.

With the performance pushed to its limits through Azure Abyss's enhancement and the power of Vorpal Strike, coupled with Rozen's allocation of 2 stat points into Strength, this strike was bound to deplete all of Heathcliff's remaining HP.

Facing this blow, Heathcliff had no shield left for defense.

The crystal sword, gleaming with a vivid red light, thundered towards him.

"...!"

In this life-or-death moment, Heathcliff made a resolute decision.

He abandoned the idea of continuing to equip the Cross Shield, his expression turned determined, and instead of retreating, he moved forward, extending the hand that had been pierced by the Magic Marrow toward the approaching sword skill.

"Splurt!"

With a sound of tearing, the crystal sword gleaming with a vivid red light was forcefully grasped by Heathcliff's hand.

His palm emitted a large amount of blood-like effect light, which was quite dazzling. However, what could have been a lethal blow was ultimately stopped by Heathcliff's exceptional strength.

"What...!?"

Rozen couldn't help but show astonishment. Even with his "Mind's Eye," he hadn't seen through Heathcliff's action.

When Heathcliff extended his hand, Rozen's "Mind's Eye" had glimpsed this motion, but he assumed Heathcliff was preparing to use the "Martial Arts" skill. Who would have expected this turn of events?

This was also a weakness of the "Mind's Eye." Despite its name, it couldn't read others' thoughts, only perceive phenomena.

It was unclear whether Heathcliff knew this, but he tightly gripped Rozen's weapon and immediately revealed a smile on his face.

Immediately, Heathcliff raised his Cross Sword. This time, Rozen successfully deduced Heathcliff's intention from the situation.

"Not good!"

This time, it was Rozen's turn to change his expression.

However, at this moment, Heathcliff unexpectedly exerted force, using the hand holding the weapon to pull Rozen toward him. In haste, Rozen lost his balance and was yanked toward Heathcliff.

The next second, the Cross Sword in Heathcliff's hand thrust toward Rozen's body.

"Splurt!"

The Cross Sword pierced through Rozen's body, entering from his back and passing through his chest.

Even though SAO should have blocked pain during combat, Rozen felt a sharp pain surging through his body.This attack must've been a critical hit.

As a result, Rozen's HP bar rapidly declined, plummeting into the yellow zone, then the red zone, approaching the bottom line in an instant.

"Kayaba Akihiko...!"

Rozen, feeling the Cross Sword thrust into him, finally stabilized his steps, staring at Heathcliff with eyes full of murderous intent as he called out his name.

"As expected, dealing with the 'Magus' who's unpredictable requires an unpredictable approach,"

Heathcliff replied, bearing all of Rozen's killing intent and wearing an expression as if he had seen through life and death.

Both of their HP values continued to drop under these circumstances. In SAO, apart from poison or injury, having a weapon stuck in the body would continually reduce HP unless the weapon was removed.

At this moment, Rozen's body was pierced, and Heathcliff tightly grasped his weapon.

Both of them were enduring constant damage, causing their lives to decrease. Such ruthless determination and bloodshed would surely terrify any onlooker.

However, Rozen and Heathcliff merely stared at each other, understanding the key to victory that lay ahead. It was a test of endurance—whose HP would run out first? The one whose HP depleted first would lose. This was the condition for determining the winner.

"Hah!"

Rozen, enduring the strange sensation of the weapon embedded in his body, exerted force on the crystal sword in his hand. He made Heathcliff's sword, which he had a tight grip on, move closer to Heathcliff's body.

"Heh!"

Heathcliff gritted his teeth, trying to tighten his grip on the crystal sword and halt its advance. At the same time, the Cross Sword in his other hand continued to exert force, driving deeper into Rozen's body.

For a moment, the effect light representing blood continuously emanated from Rozen's body and from Heathcliff's hand. Their HP bars were decreasing at an astonishing speed, finally approaching the bottom line.