As Mane approached the turn his body grew slightly taut. Good enough to prepare his muscles for the job they were about to do but small enough so his state of alertness was not conveyed to his enemies. He was anxious, but this anxiety was kept hidden. Mane had faced many opponents till now. He had defeated foes far stronger than himself. When he was at the 7th stage of the profound realm he was capable of besting Celestials at the peak of that realm. With the combat ability that Celestials possessed, this meant that Mane could go toe to toe with any early earth realm expert belonging to a regular race. He may even be able to give a mid-tier earth realmer a run for his money. Though winning may not be possible, it wouldn't be an issue to escape. It was different now. He always had inner energy. The edict had always been within him ever since he was six. This was the second time he was fighting without it. The first time wasn't so bad because he had a limited but strong connection to chaos. This connection had been cut off, so it was a more difficult scenario than his duel against the team. But at least he had some experience, so it wasn't all bad. He had learned so much from his duel, and he was more than willing to apply it here.
"I shouldn't have left my ring." Mane thought in regret. His masters offered no words of consolation. No doubt they were as tense, if not more so, about the fight to come as Mane was. The ring Mane was referring to was the one he had received from Uncle Jake. His weapons were hidden within. He had a habit of taking it off before bed each night. He had left it behind. He wasn't in any way worried it could be stolen. The ring was special. It could only be picked up by its wearer, and it could be summoned from any distance- as long as he had inner energy. At least he wasn't completely unarmed.
"Did you bring the medallion?" the 1st enquired. Mane nodded his head. The warmth on his chest calmed him down a bit. This warmth came from the red medallion that was hidden in his clothes, lying calmly on his chest. It was a gift from his runaway parents- an energy medallion. This medallion had the power to store an element for an unlimited period of time. Before Mane had rid himself of his inner energy, he had transferred a large amount of earth elements into the medallion. That was the most versatile element at his disposal, so he had gone with it. Unlike fire, which was mainly for attacking, and wind which was more suited to evasion and speed, and which was also everywhere, earth could be used to attack and defend once one had a good understanding of it. Water had this property as well, but Mane preferred to use the element he was better at. With the exception of lightning, earth was the element he understood best. Without his inner energy he couldn't manipulate the cemented grounds he walked on, but he could use the medallion. He was very thankful for the gift his parents had given, especially now when he could use all the help he could get.
The assassins were keen to do everything without alerting anyone- but so was Mane. It wasn't because he didn't want to get caught, but because the implications of that happening would be disturbing. Let's take away the fact that he was able to hold his own against opposition of such calibre, how was he going to explain his strength. Great strength came with greater responsibilities, and Mane didn't want any of that.
"It's time" the 6th whispered as they reached the turn, almost as though the stalkers would hear him if he was loud. No one made fun of him though. They were too tense to care.
The assassin who followed the blonde haired boy came out of the shadows and into the light once the boy was about to turn. His plan was exactly as Mane had thought. He would allow the young boy to see him so that his partner can finish things off from behind. And just like he planned, the boy immediately saw him from the corner of his left eye when he was turning. The handsome blonde immediately showed his alertness, taking the standard fighting stance as he questioned, "Who are you?"
The assassin's brows twitched slightly at the enquiry, though his reaction was hidden by his hood. "Why do they always have to ask this question?" he wondered. They could be more creative. He relaxed a bit- an unconscious action- when he realised that the target was no different from the ones before. In that case, his end would also be no different from the ones before- death. He saw his partner. The other man rushed towards the target speedily, his attempt to conceal his steps successful but a hindrance to his speed. He estimated that his 'friend' would need only a couple of seconds to reach his goal. "At least it's over" he mumbled. Yet when he looked into the boy's eyes he grew uneasy. There was no fear there. Only impatience. Soon he realised why.
Feeling the wind pushing against his back, Mane immediately ducked and delivered a fist coated in earth to the intruder. Although the man had managed to reduce the sound of his steps, they were still slightly audible. Using the speed of a regular peak mortal realm expert, and scaling that against the effort taken to hide his tracks, Mane deduced that his opponent would need a minimum of two seconds to get to him. The calculation was based on the distance between the two. With the level of cautiousness these two men had shown, there was no way they'd be sloppy. They would use the standard procedure of 'attacking from different fronts, yet maintaining the same distance'. This meant that the distance between him and his first assailant, he who had made himself known, was the same as the one who approached from behind. Once he had asked the cliché question, no matter how professional they were, their guards would be loosened slightly, allowing Mane to accurately deduce the position of the other man and confirm his calculation. This he did by listening for the slightly relieved breath. The steps were not loud, but they were still audible. With a distance now in mind, Mane could use the sound of his steps to tell how close his opponent was. Since he was without inner energy, he couldn't wait for them to strike first. Once they did, he wouldn't be able to avoid it. Without the earth armour over him- a precaution to prevent any case of increasing their awareness towards him- he couldn't afford such a risk. So waited for his 'friend' to get close. Close enough so Mane could land a blow, yet not close enough for the enemy to strike first. It was tricky, but probable. And our blonde haired protagonist got it absolutely right.
*BAM*
The sneaky figure was hit squarely on his chest, causing him to fall back. In his disoriented state, he failed to see the little boy who had rushed before him.
"Barrage: Limitless fist"
*Bam*
*Bam*
*Bam*
*Bam*
Mane delivered four quick strikes to his opponent, each attack causing the unsuspecting man to cough up some blood. He took full advantage of his surprise attack, intent on at least crippling the poor man. The man's partner had loosened his nerves initially, increasing his reaction time so that he couldn't interrupt immediately. Once he finally caught on, he rushed at Mane. Mane didn't panic when he heard his march. Upon delivering the fourth strike, he performed an overhead throw. His small figure throwing the much larger assassin was a comical sight, yet the man who approached didn't see it that way. This feat would have been impossible, if not for his increase in physical strength.
The assassin instinctively caught his partner, the inertia from the tossed body sending him back a few metres and halting his rally. Mane had also counted on this. Normally, if they weren't really partners but had only teamed up for the job, he would avoid the body thrown at him and attack Mane regardless. But if they were, his instinctive action would be to grab hold of the man he had been working with for so long. It worked out very well. At least for Mane.
When the man looked up, his target was nowhere to be seen. In that brief moment, Mane had disappeared. The assassin knew the boy hadn't escaped, for he couldn't hear any footsteps. He had a stern look on his face as he laid his partner down beside him. He commented bitterly, "To think one day my own ally- the shadows- would be used against me." He looked around carefully as he wondered, "Seriously, who is this kid?"