The man eyed Arthur silently as he felt the boy’s aura flaring up with sheer anger. He knew that he wasn’t going to listen at all and a conversation was basically impossible.
“Nice to meet you. The name is ‘Sloth’.” Sloth replied as he cracked his neck. Then, he slowly got rid of the black gloves on his hands.
‘Sloth?’ Arthur frowned. ‘What the hell is that stupid name? Oh, well, who cares?’
Arthur continued channeling his mana to its utmost potential. His body charged up, slowly getting infused with power. Then, in a split second, Arthur dashed forward again, shaking the ground beneath him with his immense strength.
Closing the distance in an instant, Arthur swung his sword, aiming for the man’s head. His speed and precision were terrifying, to say the least. Coupled with his evolving sword technique, Arthur was slowly turning into a true monster with the sword.
However, before his sword could make contact with Sloth, the man suddenly vanished again. Arthur was already anticipating that as he halted, stomping the ground with his left foot, and then turned around and swung his sword back.
As he expected, the man appeared right behind him as their swords clashed mid-air. The hit pushed Arthur and Sloth back a few steps.
‘So this is the guy that uses teleportation. What a terrifying ability. He can move wherever he wants.’ Arthur thought to himself.
On the other hand, Sloth was also surprised by Arthur’s reaction speed and cleverness. He instantly expected an ambush from the back and shifted his balance successfully. It was a simple move but the technique behind it was enormous.
The two stared at each other for a second before they dashed forward at top speed.
*CLING*
The swords clashed violently again in a series of quick moves. The two moved their weapons left and right, aiming for a lethal attack to finish the fight quickly.
Sloth was able to easily keep up with Arthur without the need to teleport which made Arthur even more worried. He knew that the man could use the ability at any moment.
‘I need to finish this fight quickly.’ He thought to himself. Then, without hesitation, Arthur activated ‘Lonesome Warrior’s Howl’, ‘Blood Claw,’ and ‘Blood Arrows’. All three abilities merged together as Arthur instantly shifted his attack pattern, swinging his clawed arm instead.
‘Suddenly?’ Sloth’s eyes flashed with a cold glint as he tried to teleport again. However, much to his surprise, he suddenly felt something stomp on his leg.
*BANG*
The claws connected with the man’s chest, sending him flying back into the wall. The man clenched his teeth as he slowly rose from the ground, feeling the blood seeping through his clothes. Then, he stared up, only to realize that Arthur had reached him again.
For a second, he saw a terrifying stare in the boy’s eyes before a rain of attacks came down on him from all angles. Arthur’s speed had doubled and his intensity had reached a whole new level as if he was trying to end the fight in ten seconds.
He didn’t spare Sloth a second to even try and catch his breath after the sudden attack. Instead, all he could do was defend himself using his sword. The left-arm claws and the right-arm sword made the job even more difficult.
‘His arms are moving independently as if they have a mind of their own. I can’t predict what he is about to do.’ The man clenched his teeth as he channeled even more Mana into his muscles to increase his speed.
Sloth would be lying if he said that he didn’t feel irritated being pushed back like this by a mere kid. He was not a weak nobody who can be bullied around easily. Whether it was a Gifted One or not, he didn’t care.
Meanwhile, Arthur’s entire aim was one single point… The chest. Using his sneaky attacks and his advantage of using both arms as a source of attack, he tried to deliver that lethal hit that finished the fight.
‘He isn’t as strong as I expected. I can kill him quickly!’ Realizing that, Arthur increased his intensity again. His Sanguine Blade clashed with Sloth’s sword, making loud noises and flickers of fire.
He slowly pushed Sloth against the wall as the man started losing his footing.
*CLING* *CLING* *CLING*
For almost a minute, Arthur threw all the possible attacks he could. At the same time, secretly, he was preparing Blood Arrows to ambush the man when he least expected it. He knew that if he could time it right, the man wouldn’t be able to dodge it.
However, at the back of his head, Arthur was confused that Sloth didn’t teleport again. He thought he might do it at any point but the man simply took everything in.
‘Did he run out of mana or is there some kind of limit to this ability?’
Even as he was getting closer and closer to ending the battle, Arthur started feeling rather weird. Something didn’t feel right. His guts weren’t telling him that his victory was near even though he was clearly so close to breaking Sloth’s defence.
A few seconds later, all his worry was manifested in real life.
“Don’t… Get ahead of yourself!” Sloth suddenly yelled as he pushed against Arthur, making him take a step back.
‘Now!’
Arthur used that moment as he quickly summoned the blood arrows and launched them at the man from different angles.
Sloth’s eyes moved left and right, realizing what the boy was planning before he suddenly vanished from sight.
*BANG*
The arrows hit the wall, totally missing their target.
‘Behind me?!’ Arthur’s eyes shifted behind as he swung his sword almost by pure instinct. However, much to his surprise, the man didn’t appear behind him.
“It’s never the same thing twice.”
Instead, he heard the voice from the front. The boy’s heart stopped as he quickly activated his armor.
*CLING*
“AGH!”
He felt a sharp blade glaze over his chest, inflicting sharp pain on his skin as he was launched back onto the table.
‘Dammit! He tricked me!’ Pushing the broken wood off his body, Arthur stood up and stared at Sloth.
“I am not someone you can fight, kid. You Gifted Ones think you are the only ones who possess power. I will show you… True strength.
Then, after saying that, the man suddenly vanished again and reappeared a small distance away. Then, he did it again, appearing at a different spot. In a few seconds, the man appeared and disappeared quickly, making Arthur chase him with his eyes.
‘No…’ A cold feeling washed over his body. The man blinked in and out of existence as he started back at Arthur.
Then, out of nowhere, Arthur felt a cold threatening feeling coming from the side. Quickly, he swung his sword, trying to deflect the attack.
However, when he looked to the side, he didn’t see the man. ‘What?!’ Arthur then felt a strong kick to his side, sending him flying to the wall.
“Whatever place you might think I’m going to appear in… It will never be.” Sloth said as he appeared in front of Arthur. “Let’s see what you can do… When your instincts are useless.”
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3