With a clang, the two swords struck. Shade instinctively raised his hand to block and riposte, delivering a perfect counterattack. But the Diviner seemed to have anticipated the path of Shade's sword. After his own blade was knocked aside, he swiftly regained his balance. His empty left hand seized the Night Watchman's Sword Blade, while the sword in his right hand stabbed straight at Shade's throat.
Shade swiftly twisted his wrist, driving the sharp blade of the Night Watchman's Sword to slice off half of the man's palm. At the same time, he sidestepped the trajectory of the Diviner's thrust, then stabbed toward his heart.
Shade's strike was accurate and ruthless, piercing straight through the target's chest. Yet he had not completely evaded the Diviner's sword either. The blade ultimately grazed his cheek, leaving a bloody line across his face.
But Shade had clearly felt that he had moved far enough to avoid that attack. It was only that, even as he dodged, the Diviner had changed the direction of his weapon's advance. In the end, it was as though Shade had actively moved his own body into the other man's blade.
The five minutes ended there. The Night Watchman's Sword withdrew from the Diviner's chest, and the two each took two steps back.
Shade wiped his cheek, looked at the blood on his fingers, and then asked his opponent:
"That final strike was strange. Did you foresee that I would definitely dodge, or did you add the Destiny of 'certain hit' to that sword?"
Nadia Furen had reminded Shade that her ancestor possessed powerful precognitive abilities in battle. But compared to precognition, Shade was more inclined to believe that the previous strike had been influenced by Destiny.
The Diviner did not answer. Instead, he lowered the sword in his