Point-of-View: Ekai Zabel

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  "Hey, you're not half-bad……but you're not good enough to beat me!" Exclaimed Dwayne, as he swung his spear up at me.

  I evaded it narrowly and slashed at his throat, flames around my claws. He sprang back to dodge it, held his spear by the very end of the handle and swung it at my neck. I jumped back to avoid it, the blade barely missing my neck, a small cut appearing on my skin as it whizzed past me.

  About three inches……if he misses within that margin, his spear will still do some damage, depending on the exact distance. He then swung his spear up and across as Siert's water tails shot down towards him, slashing them apart before swiftly getting some distance.

  From the look of it, Siert is starting to get frustrated with all his attacks being countered like this……I need to inflict a significant strike and inflict some substantial damage against our opponent, we need to shift the advantage in our favor. Right now, he's fighting conservatively but not defensively, so he's using less stamina while still attempting to inflict damage on me……with how sharp that spear of his is, one good swing would likely be enough to kill me.

  I need to keep evading, because my life depends on it, but I also need to do more than simply evade……I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, as flames began sprouting all around me, coating my claws and arms, as well as my legs and swirling around my torso, the air around me shimmering violently as I crouched down on all fours, subtly giving a signal to Siert before zipping forward at top speed, taking a deep breath and then blasting out a massive fireball from my mouth, right as one of Siert's water tails appeared between it and the enemy.

  As my flames struck his water tail, a massive steam explosion burst out as it got evaporated, providing a smoke screen and obstructing our opponent's sight. This is my chance.

  I focused my nostrils on the scent of the enemy and shot forward, zipping through the steam and closing in on him rapidly. As I neared him, I rapidly struck his chest with my flame-coated claws before he could react and sent him flying back, crashing onto a building with a devastating impact, the wall of the building cracking and the windows shattering as his body slammed onto it, eliciting a sharp gasp of pain from him.

  He stood up with a groan as the dust cleared, my strike having left deep claw marks in his chest, I had torn through his armor with ease, and the skin around the claw marks was badly burnt. Good, that strike landed quite solidly, it should slow him down, if nothing else.

  "Damn, that really hurt……ow, this is gonna leave a mark……alright, then, if that's how you wanna play it let's get serious now, shall we?" He remarked with a grimace, before sprinting towards me rapidly.

  He swiftly closed in and drove his spear towards me a couple of times before swinging it up at my head, I evaded his attacks and drove a fiery punch towards him, before swiftly halting my fist and springing back as he suddenly got the blade of his spear in the way of my fist, I blasted out a large fireball as I jumped away, which he sliced in half and shot forward towards me.

  He began to close in on me as I landed back down……just as I'd hoped he would. The instant my foot, which I had charged up with Mana, touched the ground, I activated my attack. Let's see if he can survive this……Tower of Flames!

  As he took a step closer towards me, flames erupted from the ground below him in a towering, blazing pillar, before suddenly dissipating as the pillar split in half. No way, he even cut that attack? Just what is that weapon of his? Well, whatever it is, it doesn't really matter……because my last attack did some rather heavy damage.

  His right foot and leg were badly scorched, and he had numerous severe burns all over his body, his body trembling in pain, his expression twisted with agony and rage. Time to finish this. Rings of fire began forming and swirling around me, as flames rose up from around my feet and spiraled around me, rapidly gaining in momentum and size, the flames roaring to life.

  With that burnt leg, he won't be able to get away from this attack……now, die, Flaming Tornado!

  The swirling flames around me began to expand and spread out……when suddenly, a straight, vertical gap appeared the flames right in front of me, before Dwayne leapt in through the gap with a look of fury. Damn it, no……before I could react, he closed in and drove his spear forward, piercing through my abdomen and eliciting a gasp of pain from me, as I coughed up blood.

  "Okay, so maybe I underestimated you, but……," He began, before I interrupted by swiftly reaching out and grabbing his wrists, holding on tight and digging my claws in, a look of alarm and panic appearing in his eyes as I met his gaze, "Wh-what are you doing, let me go, damn it!"

  "Not until I reduce you to ash," I replied in a calm, cold tone, channeling my Mana throughout my body as fast and as intensely as I could, scorching flames sprouting all around me, "This is it for you……Absolute Infern-!"

  Before I could finish, he suddenly let out a yell of desperation and put on a burst of strength, twisting the spear viciously. I let out a sharp cry of pain and before I could stop myself, my grip on his arms weakened, my flames dissipating as he sprang back and jumped away, pulling his spear out of my stomach, as I collapsed onto my knees in pain and winced as I quickly seared the hole in my stomach shut, stopping the bleeding, though the pain nearly caused me to lose consciousness.

  Not good, I don't think I can fight much more in this state……as he began to land back down, something suddenly burst out from the ground, and he let out a scream of pain as several water tails pierced through his back and burst out through his front.

  "Did you forget that I'm here too?" Remarked Siert with a grimace.

  "Wh-what……but h-how did you……?"

  "What, did you think that I was doing nothing all this time. The moment you stopped keeping an eye on me, I burrowed my water tails into the ground behind me and spread them throughout the area underground. After that, I just had to wait for an opening in which I could be certain that I won't miss……and that's exactly what happened."

  "Nice……work……Siert," I smiled weakly, my vision blurring slightly from the blood loss and pain from the burnt wound.

  I collapsed onto my knees as the adrenaline faded, I began to perspire heavily, struggling to catch my breath. I need a healing spell, I may have stopped the bleeding but I am still in immense pain right now……

  "Time to finish you off, you were lucky that I somehow failed to hit a vital spot……but even so, you are as good as dead now," Declared Siert, as he raised another tail and pointed it towards Dwayne's head.

  Right as he plunged it down towards him, his water tail suddenly……disappeared into the air in front of Dwayne. The rest of the water tails that were pierced through his body then dissipated too, his unconscious body falling into a portal and disappearing, before another portal opened and someone walked out through it. Is that……

  "Wow, I really expected my new toys to do a lot better, but talk about disappointing, if I hadn't intervened so much, only one of them would still be alive!" She remarked with a grin, before looking at us and adding, "That was pretty nicely done, he was a fair bit stronger and faster than both of you, and yet you beat him pretty convincingly. I'd have liked to fight you two myself, but you're clearly too worn down for that……guess I'm not going to be doing any fighting this time around, I'll just have to make up for it next t."

  "What do you want!?" Snapped Siert irritably, forming more water tails.

  "Don't bother with that, I've got about a dozen ways to counter that without even moving," She responded with a smirk, "You really shouldn't pick a fight with someone who's so far out of your league, you know. Anyway, I just thought I'd chat with whoever's done fighting till it's time to withdraw my troops, which will be any minute now……gotta wait for a good note to end on. But if that doesn't come, let's give it a maximum time limit of ten minutes!"

  "This is nothing but a game to you, isn't it!?" I exclaimed with a frown.

  "Hm? What? No, of course not! It's way more than just a silly game, it's pure, unadulterated chaos! It's the purpose of my entire existence, the purpose that I decided for myself, to cause and revel in chaos. I live by my rules alone, and my only rule is that I have no rules……okay, from your perspective, I can see how you might think that this is just a game to me. But I can assure you that it's so much more," She stated with a grin.

  "We're not interesting in conversing with you……you are our enemy, and you're responsible for all this death and destruction……leave now, or I'll make you leave," Threatened Siert ominously, combining his tails into one massive whip.

  "Woah, for an empty threat, that was kinda scary……well, fine, no point in having a one-sided conversation, I'll just find someone else to talk to!" She huffed, before leaving through her portal.

  What a troublesome enemy to have……predicting her movements are next to impossible, which is why, even now, in the middle of a battle……I can't help but worry about what she may have in store for us next……

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  Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!

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