"Are you alright, Camila?" Nasir was quick to move to the side of his leader. Seeing her figure covered entirely in dust and dust alone, and not wounds, made him a much more relieved man. But he still asked of her wellbeing out of courtesy.
"I'm fine," Camila smirked and replied. She gently patted the dust off her alluring figure. Although she was covered in dirt and grime, she didn't lose her appeal in any way. The short shorts she wore had been scrapped during her floor roll, and it had become even shorter with a few small holes displaying her fair thighs. Her skimpy top wasn't spared either. The lower bottom of the shirt and a bit off its top had been torn, revealing a bit of the two fair mounds that were meant to be hidden. Nasir couldn't help but be distracted by the beautiful Barbarian woman before him, even though he knew that it wasn't the time to lose his concentration.
Camila gently tugged at her axe, and the large weapon was easily hoisted by her slender arms and placed on her shoulder with a small bang. That bang was all it took to shake Nasir awake. Seeing Camila's furrowed brows and slightly playful smirk, Nasir scratched his head in embarrassment. He had been found out.
"Did you discover anything?" Nasir asked. It wasn't that he wanted to change the subject. Rather he realised that for Camila's spirits to be lifted to the extent that she would crack a smile for his inappropriate attitude, something good must have happened.
"I did," Camila nodded her head and pulled a few stones from her long hair.
"Well, what is it?" Nasir asked, very curious about whatever it was that could make Camila this excited. All the while he kept his eyes glued to the boy who was also watching them with eyes filled with caution. For Nasir, this was necessary. Not only as a precaution against any sudden attacks, but because he couldn't afford to be distracted by Camila again.
"It's that skill that he uses," Camila started, still working hard to remove the stones from her hair.
"I discovered its mechanism," she added, and Nasir's eyes lit up. That ability the boy possessed was a handful. Not only did it give him the right to phase through every attack, it also allowed him to kill an opponent with nothing but a gentle touch. The main issue with the skill was that neither of them had faced an ability like this before. And they didn't know how exactly it worked. But they were Barbarians. Their battle sense was their greatest intelligence. As long as they fought for a short while, even the most complex of moves will be decoded by them.
"Whenever he activates the skill, it lasts for just a couple of seconds. That means that if the opponent is too fast for him to react, he could be dealt with. Which means we have to be so fast that he wouldn't have time to react." Camila started with her explanation.
Nasir didn't interrupt, but he did furrow his brow. Both he and Camila had experienced the boy's speed. His attack speed and movement speed weren't inferior to theirs. And if it was, it wasn't by much. The only reason the boy was resorting to the strange skill was because there were two of them. In a one on one, he may not use that ability at all to escape from either of them. But he was certain that Camila was getting to something else. For if he knew this, then she who was fighting the boy with him also knew this.
"The other way is to feign the attack, or attack within a couple of seconds of each other" Camila smiled and said, and Nasir's eyes lit up like lanterns strung up on a dark winter night. He immediately understood what Camila was implying. She was basically saying that as long as they feigned an attack and forced the boy to activate his skill, they could draw back and delay their strike by a few seconds and allow the skill to fade. Then they would strike.
The second option was even more attractive. Because they were two, they could attack within a few seconds of each other – right when the skill had ended – and leave the boy in a heap of trouble. This option was much better than the first. But it came with a risk.
"What about that strange ability to kill a person with nothing but a swing?" That was the risk. Apart from the ability to phase through attacks, the boy could also easily kill a person by ignoring physical barriers until he got to the part he wanted to destroy. It was a deadly skill that could cause them a lot of harm if they went by the second option.
"Both belong to the same skill," Camila smirked and revealed. Nasir calmly thought about her words, and realised that it was very likely that what she said was true.
"Which means that the main ability of this skill is to remain intangible for a while whilst possessing the ability to harm others yourself?" Nasir asked.
"Yes," Camila nodded her head in confirmation. "According to my timing, the skill only lasts about 2 and a half seconds. The issue is that I have no idea its cooldown period." Camila revealed the one drawback she had experienced in her bid to understand the boy they were facing.
"Do we need to know that?" Nasir stroked his beard and said.
"What do you mean?" Camila asked. Knowing a skill's cooldown was highly important in order to defeat its user.
"We know that as long as we attack within two seconds of each other and get it right, he will die. What is the point of knowing his skill's cooldown when he's dead?" Nasir shrugged and explained.
"That's true. We must get this right then." Camila assented
"Let's go," Nasir stated as he hoisted his giant hammer and jumped into the air.
"Very decisive," Camila smirked and dashed towards Mane herself.
"They're coming," Mane's cold eyes gazed at the figure of Nasir that was streaking through the air like a hairy meteorite before looking at the rapidly approaching Camila. Although the two spoke in undertones, Mane heard every word. They were within range of course, and as a Scholar his senses were definitely going to pick what they said up. Although he was impressed with their amazing battle sense and intelligence, knowing what they knew allowed him to set up perfect counterattacks.
"Be careful," Hildegarde knew that she didn't have to say so for Mane to be, but she did out of concern anyway. She moved close to Nasir and Camila when they were chatting to find out what they were saying and relay it to Mane if he missed it. He didn't, but it allowed her to understand just how scary those two were. After all, they had clashed with Mane just twice, yet they already understood a lot about Absolute Darkness.
Nasir was the first to get to Mane, and as 'luck' will have it, Camila was only a few seconds behind him. Nasir's jump was so well timed that his landing was calculated to be right in front of Mane. As for why he didn't choose to land on top of Mane and attack, that could only be attributed to the plan he and Camila had cooked up. They needed Mane to use Absolute Darkness. He descending from above was grand and all, but Mane could just dive out of the way to avoid him, and he didn't want that.
*Boom*
Nasir landed on the ground with a loud bang. As if it had been smashed into by a heavy stone, the ground developed a few more cracks. Yet that was none of Nasir's concern. He lifted his large hammer to strike Mane, but Mane beat him to it.
Why would Mane see the trajectory of another's landing, foresee that person's attack, and allow that person to achieve their goal smoothly anyway? He sprang into action immediately Nasir crashed into the ground. The man was nothing but a few meters away from him after all.
"Prideful Sword: Dance of the Half-Moon"
"Bloodied Blade: Crazed Cut of the Blade King"
Mane's blades glowed with the Darkness element. Although Mane didn't use Absolute Darkness, he still fed Night Mare and Night's Kiss with darkness. This time because of how close Nasir was to him, Mane didn't release the sword lights. Rather, he allowed the dark beams that contained the power of his skills to cloud the blades, and he swung them at Nasir.
Although Nasir wasn't expecting to be on the receiving end so soon, he didn't panic. The power he felt from the swords was strong, but as long as he was careful he would be able to handle it. He was still crouched from when he landed, but that didn't stop or hinder him from gathering power into his hammer. Like a furious whirlwind, he executed a short crouching spin and smashed his hammer into the two swords.
*Bang*
A hammer was naturally much heavier and much more effective than a sword in direct confrontations, even if those swords were heavy swords. And Mane was forced back by the power of the strike. Nasir himself was also pushed back. The boots he wore dragged his body across the ground as he tried to regain control over his body's direction of movement. He was finally able to do so, but when he did, a beautiful figure holding an axe flashed past him. Nasir smiled and waited a few milliseconds before following his exquisite leader. He hadn't forgotten that their attacks had to be within a few seconds of each other.
Mane's deep blue eyes glowed when Camila reached him. Her huge axe was a towering presence on its own. But when it was held in those thin arms, its threat grew by at least a few levels. If it was a tower on its own, it was a fortress in her hands. Camila's arms gathered power and her feet anchored her outer energy to the ground. Like a stable war carriage, she swung her axe towards Mane's head, and Mane couldn't help but marvel at the technique. Her skill with the axe was far greater than Vital Orange's! And it wasn't because she had greater energy. She was actually better in terms of poise, grace, and execution. She used her axe like it was a delicate flower – a delicate flower that could easily kill you. Her attack left him no openings whatsoever. The only escape route he had was to the back. But doing so would cause him to lose momentum, and it would be disadvantageous for him. She wanted to force him to use Absolute Darkness. And he obliged.
"Absolute Darkness: Evasive Killing"
The axe passed right through Mane like he was nothing but a mirage. Camila tried hard to stop the smile that was tugging at her lips.
Mane saw her smile, and when she turned her head to look at him and saw him smiling as well, her heart shook. She realized that something was wrong. But like a pulled back string of a bow that had been let go of, the arrow of their attack had already been shot and couldn't be stopped.
Nasir's hammer came smashing down, yet the intended flattening of the boy wasn't what happened.
"Breath: The Dark Times"
Mane phased through the attack again. But this time he attacked mid-phase – and Nasir's head went flying off his body.