Daphne was starting to get frustrated; the old man in front of her just wouldn't go down no matter what. Her attacks, which were sharp at first, were starting to get sloppy.
It wasn't that Bors' defense was hard to penetrate; that wasn't the case. Daphne had slashed through Bors' flesh more times than she could count, making him a bloody mess. It was just that the old man just wouldn't go down.
She was getting tired. Not only did she have to exert herself attacking Bors, but she also strained herself to dodge everything the old man was throwing at her. Why dodge and not parry? Well, because she had learned her lesson on their first exchange.
Her body received damage even though she blocked perfectly, and now she knew that the only way to truly negate the heavy blows of the old man was by dodging them completely.
But that option was starting to take its toll. Every attack sent shivers down her spine; she knew that one hit from Bors would mean her defeat.
Bors, on the other hand, was being patient. He knew full well that he couldn't hit Daphne; she was just that much faster than him. Yet he also saw a glaring weakness in her fighting style. It was her aggressiveness that did not match her counter-oriented style.
He knew sooner or later that Daphne would make a mistake due to frustration and fatigue. He just had to hold on until then, matching her aggressiveness with relentless pressure of his own. This, in turn, would push her to think about her every move, as well as pushing her to make unnecessary moves that would push her more over the edge.
'She's strong... But not unbeatable.' Bors thought as he charged forward, using his axe as a momentum booster. He spun around and raised it up in the air, letting the heaviness of the axe carry his body, jumping at the right moment to rise higher than what his body was originally capable of. Bors was a master of using momentum and weight in his fighting style.
Daphne clicked her tongue and jumped back, dodging the axe and Bors that was beaming straight down at her. She watched with gritted teeth as the ground where she once stood became a crater from the blow.
'Fuck, that's heavy!' Daphne covered her face with her hands as debris flew everywhere. Before she could process the whole thing, she heard a heavy object flying through the air. Her eyes widened when she saw the axe heading straight for her. It was hidden really well, blending in with the dust and debris that was sent flying due to Bors' earlier attack.
She sidestepped to the left, the axe landing right in front of her, embedding itself into the ground. The earth cracked as her balance momentarily shifted due to the loose soil.
Before she could regain it, Bors erupted out of the smoke caused by the dust, his hand extended into a lariat as he charged straight at Daphne like a bull.
Daphne ducked down, smiling. 'Fool! You have no weapon!' she thought to herself as she changed the grip of her sword into a reverse grip. She spun to the left with her blade raised slightly upward, aiming for the underarm area of Bors.
'Just like I thought... She's way too aggressive.' Bors had a neutral look on his face, his eyes not leaving the redhead's. He continued the momentum of his lariat, spinning to the right. The fist, which was closed, opened up. His hand grabbed the handle of his axe that was embedded in the ground; he then used his big toe, making a dent in the armored boots, which dug into the ground as he spun like a top with the axe at hand.
"FUCK!!!" Daphne widened her eyes. She was way in too deep; if she stopped her move to jump back, it would be too late then, she would still be hit by the axe. So she opted to push through. 'If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me, old man!' she gritted her teeth as she tightened her grip.
'Oho... You're planning to take me with you, huh... A noble choice.' Bors' eyes sharpened as he forcefully moved his axe into an uppercut motion, aiming to cleave the redhead in half. "BRING IT, LASSIE!!!"
"OLD MAN!!!" Dapne screamed as her mana rose at her will. "Follow blindly the sun in the sky. Blossom, armor of laurel, so that all will flee from thee... RAUMURE!!!" She chanted her magic quickly, thankful that her magic had such a short chant.
Her eyes glowed with a red light as her blade moved slightly faster than before. Like butter, it penetrated the chainmail armor that Bors was wearing, stabbing straight into his underarm.
Bors gritted his teeth in pain but pushed on. His muscles tensed up as they bulged even larger than before, continuing his momentum, slashing upwards towards Daphne.
Daphne, with her magic activated, pushed herself to move to the side just in time to dodge the swing of Bors' axe. A smile crept onto her face. 'I won!' she declared.
Bors saw the smile on her face and chuckled. "You really are still quite young," he muttered, as the axe stopped instantly, right in front of Daphne. 'And like clockwork, inexperience always is the downfall of youth,' he thought to himself as he changed the trajectory of his axe. He spat blood as he strained his body to the limit, but he did not care; he finally got her where he wanted her to be.
Daphne's eyes widened; she tried to pull on her sword but found it stuck inside of Bors as he tensed up his muscles. And before she knew it, the side of Bors' axe was already in front of her. "SHI-"
The blunt side of the axe hit her right in the abdomen, sending her flying through the air. Her hands let go of the sword that was stuck inside of Bors. She could feel her bones cracking from the hit, her internal organs bursting and bleeding.
She spat out blood as her eyes started to turn blurry. Her body landed on the ground like a ragdoll. She let out a silent scream, unable to even form words as the pain assaulted her all over.
As she had feared, the old man only needed one hit to end the fight. She tried to move, but to no avail, everything felt too heavy, the world seems like it was spinning.
Bors fell to his knees, clutching his side while coughing up blood. That was a gamble, knowing full well that he couldn't touch her when her guard was up. And what better way than to bring someone's guard down than to make them think that they won? "She really *cough*... She really did a number on me, huh?" His eyes moved toward the sword that was sticking out from under Daphne's arm.
'Such accuracy under pressure, she was able to keep her strike straight, aiming for a vital, lethal strike.' He reached out to it, only to see that his hand was shaking. He lost his balance momentarily as his vision suddenly went black. He shook his head, shaking off the drowsiness. 'I lost a lot of blood,' he mused to himself.
He looked around, trying to find Kiez. "I wonder how the kid d-" He didn't get to finish as he fell face-first, his body unable to stay conscious anymore due to the blood loss and injuries he had sustained. 'I hope he won...'
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Kiez arrived just after the battle, with Cassandra in tow. His eyes widened at the devastation surrounding the battlefield where Bors and Daphne fought. "Holy shit..." He muttered as his eyes scanned for any signs of life.
"BORS!!! BORS!!!" He called out, while Cassandra gulped, fearing the worst.
"There!" Cassandra pointed to a crater where the light seemed to shine bright due to reflecting on a metallic surface. The two ran toward it and paused when they saw who it was.
It was Bors, bloodied and battered, his body full of wounds, with a sword sticking inside his underarm.
"Bors?" Kiez felt a lump in his throat. He shakily walked toward the old man, kneeling down. He turned him around to see that his face was starting to pale from the blood loss. "Shit! BORS, WAKE UP!!!" He hurriedly took the bag on his back and rummaged for supplies to treat the wounds he had suffered.
Cassandra, on the other hand, was looking all around for Daphne. She couldn't spot her, and her blade, *Fencer Laureate*, was stuck inside Bors with her absent in the area.
Cassandra finally spotted a silhouette a great distance away from the old man. Her eyes scrunched up, trying to see who it was. When her eyes saw the familiar red hair, she panicked and tried to run, only to fall to the ground as Kiez pulled the rope that was tied to her.
"Where do you think you're going?" Kiez spoke coldly, making the timid girl shudder. She could feel the anger in his voice, understandably so, since the old man he was with was down on the ground, battling for his life.
"P-please let me go!" She begged, her voice desperate. "I need to help Daphne."
"No..." Kiez answered coldly. He turned his attention back toward Bors as he wracked his brain on what to do. He had no knowledge of healing someone, much less someone who had received a fatal wound. But he must do what he must. He was debating inside, should he pull the sword out or not. He really was clueless.
"I-... I can help them both if you'll just allow me to." Cassandra stood up and pulled Kiez by his shoulder, a look of pleading and desperation plastered on her face. "I can save them both, I know healing magic. Please..."
Kiez was taken aback; he did not expect the timid girl to have such resolve. Maybe it was born out of desperation, but it was still resolve nonetheless.
But he also didn't trust her. How could he? When she belonged to the Apollo familia. The same familia who treated Froke like she was trash, the same familia who left Bell, his friend, for dead. He was about to refuse, but before he could, his eyes landed on Bors. He saw how the old man's breathing started to falter; he was on his last legs.
He bit his lips and pulled out a small dagger. Cassandra widened her eyes as she watched helplessly, Kiez walking toward her with the dagger at hand.
Kiez stood in front of Cassandra, he raised the dagger up in the air. The timid girl closed her eyes, waiting for the worst. But then she felt the rope loosen up. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Kiez looking at her straight.
"Heal Bors first. Then you may help your friend." Kiez muttered as he turned around, walking back toward the old man.
Cassandra took a second before the words could register. When they did, she quickly ran toward the two, her mind moving quickly. 'Perhaps there is a way for us to not incur the wrath of the Gaé Bulg,' she thought. Perhaps she and Daphne would be safe from her vision. Safe from the massacre that would happen. But first, she must heal them before ever thinking about that.
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***
Chapter 135 is now complete. How are you all enjoying the story so far?
Btw, if you haven't yet, please check out my other work. *Avatar: the Journey of Kai* if you have any time. I really would appreciate it.
Anyway...
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