Chapter 1461 (2/2)

Rather than seeming worried about the wounds, Kayle and Paolo simply grew more focused. They didn’t slow at all as they moved in unison to strike again. Kayle slashed and Paolo smashed. Tykes Endured the slash and brought his iron ball whipping upward to smash Paolo backward.

Then, ignoring Kayle’s continuing barrage of attacks, Tykes pursued Paolo. Paolo flipped up to his feet and settled into a fighting stance. Then he took a sharp step forward and shifted his weight. “Haymaker.”

Tykes took the strike to the jaw without blinking and a millisecond after impact, Dinesh was there once more. “Reflect.”

Kayle grunted and spewed blood behind the fighting as he endured the force of Paolo’s punch. Then Tykes was back and he brought his left arm around to strike Paolo’s cheek with a backhand blow. Paolo barely even stumbled. His eyes were bright and focused as he whipped his head back around and grinned at Tykes. “Maybe against someone else, this would have worked.’

After spitting out another mouthful of blood, Kayle straightened and nodded. “...but no one has taken each other’s blows more than us. Do you think you can last long enough for this damage to matter?” Sever.”

This time, Kayle’s image flared powerfully to life. Their continued sparring in the area had helped acclimate them to Dinesh’s reflected world. So before Tykes could dodge, he staggered and then fell to one knee as Kayle tore open his back like it was a colorfully wrapped package on Christmas morning.

Paolo didn’t bother with small strikes with this opening; he simply lowered his shoulder and tackled Tykes. But to his surprise, when he hit Tykes, he sluggishly moved through the destabilized space and then rebounded. In terms of weight, the energy holding the surrounding image in place was completely based in Tykes' body. Even Paolo’s image couldn’t compete directly with its heaviness.

Tykes didn’t miss this moment of surprise. His arms snapped out and seized the stunned Paolo’s head and brought the brawler back for a brutal headbutt. The strike was so sudden and vicious that Paolo's hands subconsciously loosened on the practically useless long knives that he held.

After their heads cracked together the first time, Tykes pushed Paolo back and then pulled him back in for a second blow. But Paolo’s hands whipped forward. He dropped the daggers and caught Tykes' head with his own hands, the two straining against each other in a bloody embrace.

“Heh, that’s my win,” Kayle gloated with genuine cheer.

“I just dropped them coincidentally,” Paolo hissed through his gritted teeth. “I’ll pick them back up-”

“Too late, the winner was decided,” Kayle remarked. When he raised his hands, he was holding a long knife in each hand. “Endless Quick Slashes.”

In a way, Kayle’s Skill resembled raindrops. Rather than being able to view a single one, you could only be aware of the raindrops by letting the focus of your gaze recede and by taking in the unending torrent that Kayle unleashed. It was a force of nature that gradually overwhelmed the destabilized space and struck at Tykes’ flesh.

While held in a strained embrace with Paolo, Tykes could only ignore the wounds as Quick Slash after Quick Slash carved off the flesh and muscle of his body and left his bone bare to the air. Even Randidly couldn’t help but wrinkle his nose as he looked down at the gore of the fight below. Chunks of viscera seemed to fan outward as Kayle continued to accelerate in his rhythm.

Then, between strikes, Tykes became Dinesh and glanced over his shoulder. “Reflect.”

Paolo’s back exploded like someone had buried a grenade there and then pulled out the pin. But also in that split second, Paolo exploded with force once more. While Tykes was his equal in Strength, Dinesh was nowhere close to being able to slow him down.

This time, Dinesh was on the losing end of a domineering headbutt. Their skulls connected. The surrounding image shook. Kayle ceased his Endless Quick Slashes and stabbed forward, his long knife slid into Dinesh’s side, but suddenly Dinesh was Tykes again.

Before Kayle could respond, Tykes slammed his fist against Kayle’s face in a brutally quick left straight.

Kayle crashed against the far wall of the arena, but Dinesh also was unable to maintain the image. Once more they were back on the marble platform and the roars of approval from the crowd were deafening.

“Ha! You knocked him out!” Paolo said as he stood. At first he swayed, but then he raised his hands. The crowd's volume seemed to be rapidly healing all the damage he had taken. “Thanks for that.”

Tykes looked down at Dinesh, who was pressing his hands to his side to stem the blood from the wound Kayle inflicted. Even now, Tykes could sense Kayle’s image remaining in the wound and continuing to tear into Dinesh’s body. He glanced over in the direction he knocked Kayle, then looked back up at Paolo. Although one of each of their duos was knocked out, with the roars of the crowd, Paolo’s image…

Paolo licked his lips. “But now its time I pay you back that headbutt earlier… with interest.”