28 The adveristy of battle (1/2)
Tarrus would bring both of his giant axes down upon Riyku when Riyku was within striking distance; however, Riyku seemed to have sped himself up to avoid being crushed. The extra step also pushed him under Tarrus' legs. Cutting the flesh with his blades caused the minotaur to growl as he quickly turned around, bringing his ax around to smash it straight into Riyku. The male would kick-off of his feet to leap into the air and avoid the strike; however, he had not predicted a second strike. So the second ax would smash into his back forcing him back to the ground with a growl. Kissing his teeth he would kick off his feet, but instead of leaping into the air he would pivot away from the minotaur. Continually to leap back away from the minotaur even after evading another strike that was set to smash him into the ground. The male would eye his Shield Points which took a major dent from a single blow, yet his body remained intact. ”You are quite nimble even with wielding such a large blade. I must say it is impressive, young one.” Tarrus called out. Riyku would shift his glance back to Tarrus with a smirk. ”I should say the same about you. Following up with a second strike right after the first was smart.” Riyku would admit that the minotaur got him pretty good there, still, he could not lose here. Inhaling softly the male would exhale; all four jewels that were embedded into his armor set began to give off a gentle shine. A flare of wind would wrap around him, then a flow of water, and lastly an aura of fire. These three elements would continue to cycle around him until they fused into one which seemed to emit off of the male in the form of steam.
”Oh? What is this?” The minotaur inquired with intrigue as he prepared himself. Riyku once more dashed towards Tarrus; however, unlike before his speed rivaled that of an Olympic runner. Kicking off the ground, Riyku would lunge towards Tarrus; and with the side and the main blade in hand. Cutting through flesh as he passed by, but instead of simply dropping speed; he had planted his feet against some kind of translucent barrier. Kicking off of the barrier he would fling past Tarrus and clip his flesh again, only to repeat the process once more. ”Faster...” Riyku muttered as he grit his teeth. The Jewel on his glove giving off a brighter shine as the male seemed to steadily increase speed, ”Faster...” He added when multiple barriers began to appear one after the other. ”I need to go faster!” He released a battle cry, and at this point, Riyku was flying past Tarrus like some kind of super fly. Clipping the skin of the minotaur each time he passed by. Tarrus could not even keep up with the speed, every time he tried to look for Riyku he felt pain engrave upon his flesh. Eventually, Tarrus tried to swing his ax at the male but only missed. Once, twice, thrice... again and again, Taruss would attempt to hit Riyku like a madman trying to swat a fly. Yet to no avail did Tarrus manage such a feat. Instead, Riyku had drawn the minotaur to his knees with a final bypass by cutting at the Achilles heel for who knows how many times it had been. Planting both swords into the ground to not smash into the wall of the box the male would grind up dirt while he slides back thanks to the momentum.
Tarrus looked at Riyku with a smirk and a glare all in the same. ”You truly are not human.” The minotaur muttered while keeping himself from falling over with his axes. Riyku would reconnect the blades into one while panting heavily. ”I'll take that as a compliment.” He would reply with a snicker before expending his free hand outward. The Jewel would burn brighter than before and he would glide the palm of his hand over his blade. The blade would soon erupt or more so flare out with clear flame. It was then that the jewel's brightness became dull once more and the male would grip the hilt of the blade with both hands. ”Now, here's the finish.” Riyku would bring the blade down from overhead which caused the arc of the flame to fly out towards Tarrus who smirked as if admitting his defeat. ”Nooo!” Maulin would shout as she jumped in front of Tarrus with her arms spread wide. ”Lady Mau!” Tarrus would attempt to shield herself but was currently unable to due to the immense amount of pain his body was going through. Riyku would narrow his eyes, ”I won't make it in time. I don't have enough mana for blink...” He growled. Even though he was already racing towards Maulin for whatever reason, he was not going to make it for sure. ”Damn it...” Riyku growled under his breath. It was then he felt something pulsate inside of him again. ”Wha-what?” He would shudder when he felt it yet again. His body seemed to begin to distort rapidly before he completely vanished only to appear in front of Maulin and Tarrus. ”You!” Tarrus exclaimed.
Bringing his Soluna Blade up with haste he would block the arc with the flat edge of the blade pressing his arm firmly against the other side of the flat edge while struggling to keep himself from flying back into Maulin. A painful growl would pierce through his gritted teeth. ”Move already!” Riyku had called back to Maulin who was stunned in place for god knows why. Riyku would not let the arc glide past him since Maulin would not move, nor could he prevent himself from steadily sliding back either. A groan escaped the male as a black aura seemed to dimly leave the male's body. His eyes flared open when he felt a burst of power surge through him for a moment which allowed him to fling the arc off to the side. The arc itself seemed to explode when it hit the furthermost corner of the box meanwhile Riyku would collapse forward, using his blade to keep himself from hitting the ground. While he was panting heavily he noticed his Shield Point gauge had been emptied. His Mana gauge was also bare-bones and his Energy gauge was now around twenty-five percent full. ”Ummm...” Maulin would call out softly to Riyku. The male would shift his glance towards the girl, the aura that was around him seemed to have exhausted itself long ago. ”Thank you...” She appeared to be on the verge of tears. ”Thank you so much!” She exclaimed while sitting on the ground. Riyku's brow rose before shaking his head, picking the blade out of the ground he would rest it against his shoulder. ”Yeah...” Riyku appeared more exhausted than he should have been. Making his way towards the other side of the arena he would sigh heavily. ”Looks like it is my win.” He muttered and Maulin would nod softly. ”Yes. We, Group Four B forfeit our match!” Maulin shouted which seemed to signal Riyku's win.
Tarrus would huff heavily before calling out to Riyku, ”Thank you for protecting Milady Maulin. You do not appear as beast-like as your essences give off. So I thank you. It is indeed your win.” Tarrus would state before his body slowly began to dissolve into particles of light and seep back into Maulin. By the time Riyku was already on the other side of the Arena, the next team was coming to take her positions. Kissing his teeth the male would shake his head, ”I shouldn't be this exhausted.” He seemed to complain.
'That is your fault Darling. You decided to be the hero.' Seraphina stated through their mental link. ”Yeah. I should thank you for helping me back there. Giving me your power allowed me to make it in time and deflect the attack.” Riyku stated which caused Seraphina to reply, 'I do not know what you are talking about. I did not lend you any power.' Seraphina stated which caused Riyku to raise a brow in confusion. ”You sure?” He inquired to which Seraphina would insist. ”Hey! What the hell are you muttering to yourself over there!? Did you hit your head!?” One of the guys on the opposite end would call out. Riyku would shake his head with a sigh, pushing aside the thought of who may have helped him. He would eye his status bar yet again. ”I can't push myself anymore. I need to end this quickly.” Riyku would dash towards the team and bring his blade around; however, the swing was slower than anticipated and the person seemed to evade the slash. ”My attack speed has decreased!?” Riyku exclaimed to himself with an inner thought before attempting another slash, then another and another. Each one only seemed to slow down, and before he knew it he was surrounded.
”Haha! You must be exhausted! Let's get'em boys!” The guy commanded as the other two charged him alone with the first guy. Thrust from behind would cause him to step to the side which would lead him into a slash from above, this caused him to step forward away from this slash which only leads him to take a blade into his arm from a third attack. Kissing his teeth the male would spin on his heel once swinging his sword around him several times before the tip of the blade began to grind against the ground thanks to the momentum. The male panting heavily as he looked down to see an open wound on his arm. Thankfully, there was a light haze about which seemed to change the perspective of the color of his blood. So it appeared more marroon than black. ”Damn it...” Riyku would growl as he gripped the hilt of the blade to bring it around to deflect a sword attack, only to flatter when another came from his side. Jumping back to avoid this one would lead him to take a slash at his back which caused him to stumble forward. ”Damn it...” Riyku growled again, clearly, these three were in perfect sync with one another. It was like they were leading him around. Riyku already knew since he had exhausted all of his resources, he was at wits' end. His breathing was heavy now, and the look in his eyes was steadily turning dire.
”This is easy!” ”Hell yeah!” ”Let's finish this up!” The three guys cheered happily before darting around Riyku and leaping in to take strikes at him one after another. Riyku could barely keep up with blocking each side, that eventually his footing slipped from under him and he took several slashes to his arms and torso as well as backside. His armor had already been struck multiple times beforehand which made it easy to penetrate now.
[You are going to lose.]
A voice snickered into his mind which caused him to growl.
[If you rely on my power, you will die.]
The voice continued to edge him on.
[Even if you don't die, your life is forfeit unless you win.]
It continued, a sly smirk of Harvester's face appeared in his mind.
[Unleash it already!]
Harvester exclaimed.