Return to Jorgaldur Volume III: blood warrior

Duel (II)

Black Wolf was furious. He had hoped to dominate the combat from the start, but he soon realized it wasn't going to be that easy, even though she couldn't "cheat" anymore.

He then violently extended his arms out to fire a Wave Energy. It was a skill that cost a considerable amount of energy, something he didn't care about. He had plenty, and hoped to finish that fight quickly.

The wave expanded around him rapidly, up to more than five hundred meters. His rival couldn't hide from it, even if she were behind a tree. While not all of them were torn apart, the wave went right through them, thus making them useless to be used for protection. She would have to defend herself, which would give away her position. What he didn't expect was that there would be no trace of her.

"It can't be... She can't have escaped so far in such a short time," he muttered, incredulous.

It was then that a dagger made of dark mana by Dark Weapon attacked him from behind. It threatened to pierce through his Energy Shield. An instant later, a mocking voice was heard.

"You're still as stupid as ever. Haven't you thought that I could be above?"

Gjaki knew that she couldn't seriously damage him easily. Even without the shield's protection, his skin and armor would have withstood the impact. Therefore, she had just made a weapon, and thrown it with Fleeting Dagger to get his attention.

Her goal was for him to use the three-dimensional version of Energy Wave, as it would make him consume even more energy. Unfortunately, he didn't even think about it. In fact, he didn't think.

With Leap, Blackwo jumped towards the branch where Gjaki was, from where she had spoken to him. There, without giving her time to react, he destroyed the branch and whoever was on top of, or so he believed for a few moments. In reality, it was another Clone.

"Ha, ha. The same clown as always," a voice was heard from behind.

"Ha, ha. Did you think you could catch me that easily?" There was another one to his right.

"I'm here!" another beyond said.

It would be a lie to say that Gjaki wasn't having fun with Ventriloquist. She wanted to anger him even more if possible, and she achieved it.

A terrific scream covered the combat area, as Black Wolf unleashed a Wave of Destruction. It was his most devastating skill, in which he had to invest half of his energy.

The vampiress smiled for an instant, since that more than fulfilled her first goal. However, her smile soon changed to a much more solemn expression. Although not lethal, that skill could deal quite a bit of damage to her.

She crouched down, thus shielding her body with her arms and legs, and minimizing the surface that was exposed to the destructive wave. She felt the power of the energy, which was threatening to throw her backwards as it was hitting her body. She clenched her teeth to control the pain.

Several splinters stuck into her arms and legs, and some branches hit her. She could barely see through her fingers, and the Bats she had summoned earlier had all been disintegrated.

It was then that she perceived how the remains of a tree were flying towards her. She curled in on herself, and rolled twice to the side to avoid it. The movement caused her to lose her footing and be thrown backward, towards the outer dome of the combat area. If she collided with it, she could take quite a bit of damage, or so it was in the game.

With one arm, she was covering her face. With the other, she clung to the ground with the help of Climb, while trying to support her feet on the ground again. When the vampiress finally stopped, the trace of her nails digging into the ground could be seen in front of her. However, it hadn't ended. A piece of another trunk was heading towards her.

With Blood to the Feet, she jumped forward and to the side in order to dodge it, and, at the same time, counter the force that wanted to throw her back. Without hesitation, she again grabbed the ground with her fingernails as soon as she landed.

The vampiress repeated the same maneuver three more times, until there was no more rubble left. Soon after, the destructive force ceased. She had suffered a multitude of bruises and cuts, which had forced her to consume blood to Self-Regenerate. She didn't hesitate to quickly drink from one of her flasks to replenish it, as she got up and headed towards her enemy.

It had been terrifying and dangerous, quite scary, but she couldn't show it. Therefore, she avoided trembling with Frozen Heart, and confidently walked towards the demihuman. He was breathing heavily, and looking at her with an arrogant smile.

"You can't hide anymore, damn bitch. I've got you," he threatened, though didn't attack immediately. He had yet to catch his breath.

The ground had been practically cleared. Just a few stumps remained as witnesses that there had been trees there before. In fact, some had even been uprooted, thus leaving a hole in the ground.

Leaves, branches and many stones were also gone, along with the few traps that Gjaki had set at the beginning. However, that didn't stop her from setting a few more as she walked, on the sly.

"As always, you're just a brainless brute. Come, what're you waiting for?" she provoked him.

She gestured with her hand for him to come to her, to each one of them. Seven other Mirror Clones were surrounding her opponent, all of them acting exactly the same. It was impossible to distinguish the real one.

Blackwo gritted his teeth, but this time he didn't hurry. His exertion had managed to calm him down, so he could think more clearly. After a few seconds looking around, he Dashed towards one of the vampiress.

Surprised, she was barely able to dodge by a few inches, aided by Shadow Dance. For some reason unknown to her, her opponent had been able to figure out which one was real. It had never happened in the game.

"Ha, ha. You can hide, but I can smell you. You won't be able to escape from me," he boasted.

"Idiot. You shouldn't tell me and lose your advantage," she thought, though, unlike him, she didn't say it out loud.