Chapter 949 (1/2)

As soon as Alana pulled away from the fight, Helen loosened the tight control she had kept over her movements. Her Tides of Blood Domain spiraled around her, dark and thick. The pressure it exerted on Helen was enough to make sure she didn’t forget how deeply she was proceeding into her own image. At this depth, even she was in danger.

Yet she needed to utilize that strength now, while she had the chance to make a comeback.

Dozer’s roars had slowly fallen away over the course of the fight so that his red eyes were now simply fixed upon her. The only noises in their fight were the noises of their breath and the fearsome whispers of their weapons ripping through the air.

Even as Dozer brought his huge club across toward Helen, she danced backward out of its effective range. Which was quite a long dance, due to the horrendous size of the thing. Then she hopped onto a current of blood and flowed around to the side of Dozer, fast enough that she left a series of after-images in her wake.

But Dozer had seen this trick a dozen times before and was still under the boosting effects of his Skill. He kicked toward her chest, forcing her to twist awkwardly and leave the current before it carried her directly into his strike.

Even if he knew that trick of hers, Helen wasn’t one to let such a wide opening go without punishment.

Helen’s harpoon sunk deeply into Dozer’s leg as she passed. With a loud grunt, Dozer yanked his leg backward and then used his hand to pull Helen toward him. His Strength practically ripped her shoulder out of its socket. Gritting her teeth, Helen accepted the pull and allowed herself to fly toward Dozer.

He immediately dropped his club and his hands shot out like projectile steel traps, ready to grip and crush her limbs. But Helen’s eyes glittered as she made her skinning knife dance across her left hand’s fingertips. Did you think that this much would be able to slow me down?

Pressing herself to the limit, Helen drew them deeper and deeper to the world of her Domain. Around them, large shadows began to circle, curious about these two strange beings that suddenly emerged in their sovereign waters. But Helen didn’t have time for them now. Instead, she began to unleash a blistering series of slashes toward Dozer’s arms.

Dozer endured the attacks stoically, choosing to sacrifice his limbs in order to catch Helen. With the amount of blood in the air, Helen’s speed had reached the point that Dozer wasn’t able to catch up to her under normal circumstances. And as long as she could continue to dodge…

But Dozer’s eyes were sharp. Helen wriggled out of the way of one of the hands and found that the other jumped abruptly forward toward her chest. Time seemed to slow as the currents spiraled downward, giving her the slightest edge. But it wasn’t enough.

With raw force, Dozer blasted through the bindings of those currents.

Narrowing her eyes, Helen refused to retreat. I will beat him. For weeks, it was for this moment, this chance, that I struggled against Randidly’s fucking Domain…!

Like a lightning strike, Helen’s hand blurred outward and severed Dozer’s thumb. The small appendage fell. Seeing the difficulty in grabbing her without a thumb, Dozer opted to simply smash Helen directly backward with his attack.

Choking, Helen was smashed into the ground and rolled lightly back up to her feet was still partially stunned. Her head was still spinning when Dozer appeared in front of her again, his club cutting downward to crush her into pulp.

Instincts kicked in, forcing her dazed body to yank on the chain of the harpoon still stuck in Dozer’s leg. It was nowhere near enough to shake his stance, but it did give Helen the momentum to tumble down between Dozer’s legs. Such was the difference in their physical sizes that she passed under him easily, slashing his calves for good measure.

Unfortunately, Dozer was not the vanguard of Donnyton for no reason.

BOOOOOOOOM.

Even though Dozer’s attack simply struck the ground, the surrounding area buckled and seethed. Even as Helen was leaping to her feet, the stance she had was shattered as the ground gave way beneath her. Luckily Dozer’s weight made his situation even more precarious; as his attacks split the ground, his legs pierced into the ground almost up to the knee before the shattered ground managed to stabilize.

As both twisted and attempted to face each other, small aftershocks made the surrounding ground tremble. Horrified and fascinated, Helen stood stock still as she could feel the ground underneath the arena shift and collapse on itself. To her left, Helen saw a portion of the stands groan and crack as the ground beneath it began to slide down into the surrounding water.

Immediately, members of Donnyton’s Squads surged into motion. As the people in the cliffs over the quarry watched, Donnyton forced those who were on the actual island of the challenge to evacuate.

Her gaze flicked to the sudden flow of intimidated bodies away, then back to Dozer. A cracking, rustling sound came from the ground, warning them that its protestations were not finished. At almost the same time, Helen and Dozer recovered from their lack of balance and leapt toward each other. Even if the ground collapsed beneath them, their fight would continue. That was their resolve.

“DRAAAAAAAAH!” Dozer bellowed, unleashing a blast of noise that slapped Helen face with a physical force. Immediately, she could feel her own Strength ebbing somewhat. Apparently, the yell was some sort of Skill.

“I’LL KILL YOU!” Came her immediately caustic response. At that moment, all Helen saw was the disapproving face of her mother.

I only want what’s best for you, Her mother’s specter seemed to say. It will be much better for the family if you just settle down-

Dozer swung his club downward toward Helen. Helen yanked on her chain, ripping her harpoon out of Dozer’s leg in a spray of blood that left drops splattered across her torn and ripped armor. One drop even landed on her cheek.

Why can’t you be more like your cousin, Helen’s mother complained.