As the dome of shadows disappear, I remove my mask, causing the girl to freeze. She looks at my featureless face, the multiple eyes staring her down. She shivers, she doesn't know why but she feels as if a predator is staring her down, like she is the prey. I put on my mask again as I grip my scythe, my aura changing in the blink of an eye.
'Time for some fun.'
I launch off the ground as a crater forms where I pushed off, dust flying as I soar towards her. She hurriedly lifts her large blade as she deflects my first slice, but I quickly hook the blade around her's as I pull, causing her to soar through the air. As she lands behind me, a crater forms beneath her as a gasp leaves her lungs. I grab her blade's handle with one hand to toss it away when I suddenly feel a burning sensation in my palm.
I quickly toss the blade away as I glance at my palm, activating infrared vision to see what is happening. I watch as the tendons in my hands are red, snapping and repairing constantly, as if at war with each-other.
I glance at the blade before gripping my scythe pole yet again. 'If that blade is the cause of that damage, then I need to be weary when touching it.' I remind myself as she hurriedly stands up. But before she can, I launch into the air as I smack her head with the pole. She slams face first into the ground as the crater slightly deepens.
'This is amateur hour. I thought she was a demi-god, not a baby.' I complain as I let her stand up, not wanting to make this too unfair. She launches upward with this new chance as her fists burst into blue flames, she begins to throw punch after punch as I dodge each one, barely passing by my face as the searing heat flies by. As her punches increase in swiftness, I do as well, our figures slowly becoming a blur of movements.
Wind whistles as each punch flies, the air around us distorting from the heat of the flames. In the eyes of the two bystanders, we are moving slowly as they analyze each throw. The Author smiles happily while Taskra watches with a mixture of curiosity and hidden awe. 'He is purposely dodging each hit barely, trying to piss her off. And he is doing that very well. Just what is he?'
Her face turns red from anger as her leg comes flying up, smacking me in the side as I go flying.
I land half a mile away as she fiercely grabs her blade, taking this moment to recollect herself.
But I inwardly smile as I think of one phrase, a plan in my mind since our dodging session. 'Shadow Transportation.'
She clenches the sword, as a new fear crawls up her spine. This is someone she has never encountered, all new abilities and fighting styles that she has never seen. This all balls up into one thought, 'What if I loose?' She quickly pushes this horrifying new feeling away as she focuses on my silhouette. But then her eyes go wide as I jump into a shadow beneath me, disappearing from her view entirely.
She rapidly looks around unable to find me, when she suddenly feels a cold blade on her leg. Before she can even breath, the blade is lodged in her bones as she screams in pain. Taskra's face goes dark at her students yell of agony. 'So he can jump using shadows like portals, sounds similar to The Author's...what else can this guy pull? He is able to hurt a demi-god although he is clearly still mortal. Who is he?'
And with one more pull, the bottom of her left leg is yanked off with a clean cut. She screams in agony as she falls to the ground, dust flying into the air. Her cold demeanor gone, her furious demeanor gone, what's only left is one of pain.
'This should be simple now that I can see. Power is useless if the person can't use it and she clearly doesn't know much in the art of combat. Did that chick over there think that I was slacking in this world?' I ask myself as Taskra's student slowly stands up, barely hobbling on one leg.
She grips her large blade tightly as she uses it to hold herself up. Tears covering her face as she grits her teeth.
'I can already tell this is her first serious fight. Her moves are repetitive and she doesn't have good reflexes or the ability sense my attacks. She requires her eyes, which also means she doesn't have any instincts. For a demi god practitioner, she sucks. At least my hits cause craters.' I inwardly complain as I gaze at her pained expression.
Moments later, as I am slowly walking towards her, she yells out in a voice that could make the clouds quake, "Azure Domain!"
The ground around us bursts into blue flames, the heat unimaginable as the air seemingly sizzles. Her pained expression turns into a smile as she holds her blade, "Good luck. After taking my leg, I will be taking your soul. These flames are so hot they burn all energy from around us except mine! So your magic shadows are now useless!"
I laugh hard at her attempts to push fear into my heart. 'Morph, Dragonborn.' My body grows purple scales as my vision returns to normal, wings and a tail sprouting from my white gear. The antennae disappear as horns replace them. I continue to walk threw the blue flames, unaffected as I begin to monologue the shocked crowd, everyone except The Author that is.
"You threaten to take my soul in your first-ever fight you amateur? Let me tell you something." I speak, happy to finally use my voice again.
"I am the Dragon Divine Beast, the being that manipulates shadows and souls. Us divine beasts don't use mana for our no magic affinities. And mine is to manipulate souls. Now I wonder what would happen if I decided to..." I hold out my hand, imaging a wisp in her body, a creepy smile appearing under my mask, "...tear your soul apart?"
Her face goes white as she stares at me. Demi-gods don't care for their body's since they can always be repaired, but the soul is required to stay intact, and if he truly is more powerful than her...
Suddenly, before the situation can change any more, Taskra appears in between us.
"Enough."