Chereads / Harbinger's Determination / Chapter 40 - Heating up

Chapter 40 - Heating up

Dimas rushes in again, it's the same plan as before; block any of Sebastian's grabs with his protected left arm, punch with his right, and kick to keep him off balance. Sebastian should've picked up on it, and he probably did, but just because he knows what's coming it doesn't mean he can stop it. It's like seeing a train barreling right towards you, you can try to stop it all you want but the end result won't be pretty.

For once Dimas doesn't feel like he's on the defensive or at a disadvantage. He technically still is at a disadvantage though. Not only can his opponent burn him on touch, Dimas is still tired which is why his attacks are slower and weaker than when he fought Scott yesterday, but it should be enough against Sebastian.

Sebastian, however, is tougher than Dimas expected. Even after all the punches and kicks, not once does he go down. Sebastian may not be much of a fighter but he sure can take a punch, Dimas will admit that much. If Sebastian is this hardy, he should be able to survive one of Dimas's powered-up punches, right? Dimas decides to roll the dice on that one. He'll just hold back like he did with Leon. If anything happens, he'll have Lilee take care of it.

Dimas summons the flecks to his right hand, he waits for a safe opening, he'll give Sebastian a 'light slap' on the chest, and that'll be the end of that. Sebastian reaches with both hands, Dimas knocks them upwards with his left hand while preparing his attack.

SMACK!

Sebastian is airborne for two seconds before he crashes back down. Unlike Scott, Sebastian isn't stopped by a stone pillar, whether it would've hurt more is debatable, instead he rolls awkwardly a few times before coming to a stop.

Dimas begins gasping for air. It felt as if he had used his ability twice in a row. All this time he thought the punches 'reset' after resting but apparently that wasn't the case. Is it tied to his overall physical state at the time? It's a good thing this is the last fight for now because Dimas is exhausted. He has a feeling that if he were to use his ability once more, it'll leave him debilitated.

The crowd watches in silence. They're astonished Dimas made quick work of Sebastian. The judges nod at each other and the mustached man prepares to announce Dimas as the victor.

"Damn you!" Sebastian slowly and unsteadily gets back to his feet. "I'm not going to lose that easily to a kid!"

Dimas wants to retort but he's too busy catching his breath. He'll let Sebastian continue his rant, it'll give Dimas the time he needs to recover. It's always the narcissistic ones that tend to prattle on when they're about to lose. Dimas always gets a small sense of satisfaction when he shuts them up.

"You're not the hero here, kid! I am!"

[You have no idea how right you are.]

"That's why HE chose me! Because I'm the best in this tournament! Not Scott, not you! ME!" The vein on the side of his head bulges and his face begins to turn red.

All he needs now is to stomp his feet and the temper tantrum would be complete.

Sebastian can't, or possibly refuses, to believe he's not the best among the fighters. The beating Dimas gave Sebastian only made him furious instead of humbling him.

[I swear. Egotistical kids are annoying but when they grow up, they just become pathetic.]

Dimas, having recovered, charges at Sebastian. Sebastian's pride keeps him from running away. As he gets closer, Dimas can hear Sebastian muttering to himself, "Can't lose… Can't lose…", he's completely lost it. Oh well. Not Dimas's problem.

Sebastian swings wildly once Dimas gets close. An uncoordinated attack. Easy to counter if Dimas wasn't dog-tired. All Dimas has to do is stay back while Sebastian tuckers himself out and he's in the clear.

"Can't lose! Can't lose!" Sebastian repeats the words while getting louder and louder. As if saying them would somehow win him the match.

One of Sebastian's swipes misses Dimas's right shoulder but Dimas yells out in pain and surprise. Sebastian, also caught by surprise, stops and stares. The swipe didn't connect, Dimas clearly saw it miss and yet, his shoulder feels as if it's on fire. Dimas reaches for his shoulder but holds himself back in case it spreads to his hand.

[Was I wrong about his Brío Arts being limited to touch? Judging by the stupid look on his face, he wasn't expecting this either. Then what the hell just happened?]

Sebastian looks down at his hands, he knows what happened. He looks back at Dimas with a smile. Sebastian holds his hands out to his side, his hands look like they're holding something that Dimas couldn't see. Realization sinks in. Sebastian's Brío Arts evolved past touch.

[Crap…]

Sebastian throws an invisible fireball at Dimas. Dodging an object at that distance is difficult, dodging an invisible object without knowing its size at that distance is near impossible. Dimas does his best to roll out of the way but it still grazes his side. Again, he has to resist his instincts to try to pat out the fire. It is a horrible sensation to feel your skin burning and leaving it to burn. Dimas hides behind a stone pillar. A familiar situation.

Sebastian begins to laugh like a kid who was given a new toy. "What's wrong, kid?! Can't take the heat?!"

[My god… I don't what's worse, the burning or his stupid taunts.]

"Just so you know, that burning will only get worse. I can make it stop… if you surrender and beg."

Almost as if by cue, Dimas feels the invisible fire flare up. First the one on his shoulder and then the one on his side not long after. He stifles a pained groan.

"The fire should be at a three right about now. You can hide all you want, I won't need to chase you, my fire is already doing its work."

[Dammit…]