"Blood Tornado!!!" Annabeth shrieked, infusing the small tornado in her palm with her own blood before throwing it on the ground in front of her while teleporting a distance backward.
This was one of the drawbacks of the dark arts blood magic, it harmed anyone who came into contact with it… its caster was no exception.
Normally, she would be concerned about the severe burning feeling on her palm in the fusion spot of her blood and tornado magic but she was too alarmed by what was playing out in front of her.
Although the blood tornado had grown and was about the height of a small cottage, the figure standing in it looked bored and started picking his nose.
"What are you?!!" She yelled at the figure.
From the moment she could walk, she had trained herself for this exact battle. The thing is, 23 years ago she had fought this particular stranger who finished her off by punching a hole in her chest.
As her consciousness faded into desolate darkness, her surroundings changed and she found herself in a brightly lit room as a newly born baby.
She was reborn. Having kept her knowledge from her life before the rebirth, she swore if she ever met that hole punching bastard in this new life, she would rip him to shreds and use his soul as an ingredient for an iced pineapple juice making spell... after all, sweet revenge is best served cold.
But that all depended on whether or not she would possess any magic ability in this new environment too. Lucky for her, it seemed like a time-reversal had happened, or so she figured, as she was named Annabeth here too. Seeing her father's always-depressed face again confirmed her speculation and reaffirmed her resolve.
Clearly, the gods of darkness approved of her accomplishments and wanted her to do their bidding. She decided she would train beyond anything else to defeat the mysterious figure 23 years from then.
Yet, here she was again, 23 years later, still unable to get any sort of pained reaction from him. Her blood tornado spell had completely engulfed him. From her experiments on some of her captives when she developed this ability, the victim was supposed to be experiencing unimaginable pain as blood was forcefully supposed to be drawn from the victim.
5 out of 6 of the captives she had tried this on in her early years were dried out even before the tornado had reached this height. The other person died too but he at least lasted a minute longer than the other 5.
As if unable to take the boredom anymore, the man in the tornado lifted his hand and punched the air.
Buff!!!
An air current pierced the walls of the tornado which immediately scattered into nothingness. But the air current didn't dissipate and moved forward to slam the unsuspecting Annabeth into a rock behind her. All she had seen was the man's punch and the next moment she was pinned into a rock.
Had the man used magic to generate the force-filled air current, she would have detected it and probably teleported. Probably. But it seemed like just like in the battle 23 years ago, this man had used nothing but speed and absolute raw power.
The impact was too much. All the bones in her arms, back and feet were broken, her skull cracked. The only thing holding her up was the rock she had been smashed into.
She could feel her life force fading, her conscious slipping, and everything she had done in her life flash before her eyes. The memories of everyone she had betrayed, the lives she had claimed; the innocent and those who deserved it alike.
"Sh*t…" Annabeth thought, "I'm going to die huh?"
Only her eyes could move at this point, so she decided to focus on the thing heading towards her.
The mysterious figure was leisurely walking towards her. Each step he took forward making him seem like he was oozing with power.
The first time she saw him, she instantly felt threatened by his presence since he suddenly appeared in her house. She attacked him with darkness magic but after his routine bored expression, he punched a hole in her chest.
This time she had a little more time to study him.
"Black hair, tall, medium build, black clothes… wait, are those black nails? This weirdo painted his nails," Annabeth thought.
"Damnit. Face. Must memorize his stupid face."
Her thoughts wandered all over the place as her mind was clearly in a very compromised state due to injuries. She finally laid her eyes on his face.
Just like she remembered him from last time, he had fierce blue eyes and the face that would make many girls fall hard for him. His hair was carelessly tied in a manbun as though it was rushed. His facial hair wasn't much and looked like he just started developing a beard… he looked 16.
"I'm getting killed by a bored kid… what in the actual hell is this?" Annabeth would have wanted to say but her lips couldn't move. All she could do was look at him as the young-looking mysterious guy was at that moment standing right in front of her.
If her body and mind were still in good condition, she would have teleported away from him. But she knew it was too late for such thoughts, death had sent its messenger already in the form of this weird kid.
"So much for blessed by the gods of darkness," she thought after remembering what she said about her rebirth.
"Is it supposed to take this long to die?" Her mind drifted.
By now the young man was looking right at her and didn't have that bored expression he had earlier. They locked eyes for a second and then she saw him tilt a little, bend his knees slightly, drawing his right hand back, and forming a fist. He had gotten into the perfect punching position.
"Guess he wouldn't be much of a bastard if he didn't go for overkill..." before the thought could finish, she saw him move and the next thing she knew she was in a familiar brightly lit room.
She was reborn… again.