Molly and Lea looked at each other with fierce eyes. Both adopting combat stances.
-Using the head was never your strong point, even now you act being impulsive.
Normally, the lesson in her words would be something to take in mind, but Lea wasn´t doing this to hear lessons.
-Haha! If I don´t use the head then you use it in excess. You think about things so much that you end up going back 2 steps for each one you go forward.
-...
The pride of Molly was hurt, leaving a tiny window of vulnerability that Lea took in advantage to throw her chains with the same speed of a whip.
The sensitive instincts of the cat dodged the attack by retrieving with a jump.
Boom! *
The chains lifted several pieces of rock and dust from the path once considered beautiful. An intimidating crater guaranteeing the destructive power that the arms of its bearer had.
The height let Molly keep an image of her adversary, and with a move of her hand embraced in wind, she dissipated the dust.
Once she had a view of the land she noticed that there was a trap of chains waiting in the place she was supposed to land. With that new knowledge, Molly threw a spell.
-Airwalk.
Under the feet of Molly tiny platforms of explosive air generated, letting her move above the ground.
Lea, knowing that her trap wouldn´t work anymore, recovered her chains and aimed discretely her gauntlets at the rock pieces scattered around by her previous attack.
Her eyes always watching Molly.
-Mark.
The gauntlets answered the ghostling order and shot small metallic plates that embed in the surface of the rubbles, once the plate was rooted on the surface, Lea kicked the piece in direction of Molly as if it was a ball. Lea calculated the trajectory so that Molly couldn´t see the plates placed on the rock. The speed that each one had was easily comparable to an arrow shot by a crossbow.
Lea was left without ammunition in a short time.
Molly prepared her platform with direction to Lea, her sword sheathed, but ready to attack.
-Sword skill; Iai cut.
The platform blasted with the power of a missile and impulsed Molly directly to a side of Lea, her sword was unsheathed in a strike so quick that the sound arrived with a momentary delay.
Cling*
-What?...
The blade of Molly without a doubt had reached Lea, however, the sensation that she perceived and the high-pitched sound were those of the metal sliding through metal.
Looking at the impact zone, Molly saw the stomach of Lea embraced in her own chains. The only reaction that she got from her was a grimace of discomfort.
When did she do that?! Was what Molly asked to herself as she prepared for her next attack.
Marcial skill; World crumbling.
Lea jumped over Molly, her fists multiplying on a crazy rain of attacks.
Molly created an explosion of air under her feet in an attempt to mark distance and dodge the aggression.
Lea had predicted that reaction. So she canceled the skill and deployed immediately her chains.
Katom! *
-!!
A merciless unpredicted whip came from the left, destroying the ground that Molly intended to step.
With her balance perturbed, the hip of Molly was caught by the chains of Lea, then her body was dragged back to where the closed fist of the lioness was waiting to discharge its fury.
Molly knew that trying to cut or escape the chains was a futile effort, so she buried her sword in the ground, creating a break that kept her distance for a moment.
Stuck in the ground, Molly reproduced again the movements of Lea so far. It was then when she realized that during the cloud of dust Lea had manipulated her attention into an unnecessary trap. The moment Molly focused on that must have been when she covered her body without her noticing, that´s why her next attack was made with her feet instead of her chains.
I thought the suspension had made her weaker... I made a mistake...
The fighting style to which Molly was used against Lea was much more straightforward and centered on the quick neutralization of the enemy mobility. The fact that Lea made use of traps and distractions was something that had taken Molly off guard.
It was not a drastic change, actually, right until now the fight had occurred with that style, but the influence of a third party was too evident.
None of the 2 needed to ask or give an explanation regarding that.
Molly spread one of her arms to Lea, mana accumulating in the magic circle of her palm.
Lea smiled sadly, not because she was worried about the projectile that soon would hurt her body, but because of a matter much more alien to her person, and at the same time, akin.
-So it was true... You have become weaker...
-...... What did you say?...
Molly was perturbed once again, mostly because the way Lea had spoken implied that such truth had been heard from other mouths.
She was not the only one that thought that.
Weak?... Me?...... I have become weaker?....
Those words would be complete nonsense.
From the objective point of view, this fight only showed the constant clash of 2 talented warriors. No one had a particular advantage.
Land, weather, physic, mana, experience, talent.
The difference between those variables was unexistent or minimum, none in its right judge would consider these people as weak or mediocre.
Such comment could only be possible from the viewpoint of someone with greater strength, or a deep understanding of the other person.
Lea already had the second, and now maybe the first too.
The circulation of mana could not be complete, so the spell disappeared with no trace.
Lea spread her free arm.
-Capture.
The chains in the ground wriggled, but instead of going for Molly, they went behind Lea.
Kaching*
The sound of the chains colliding with something came from behind, she held the beginning of her chains to then pull them onward on a movement similar to a baseball player making its master shot.
New shadows sifted over the head of Molly from all directions, by following the end of the chains she noticed that they had enveloped the central part of the wrecks that Lea had kicked before.
In a matter of seconds, she also noticed that the remainings were quickly getting closer.
So many attacks from different directions would be hard to parry with her sword stuck in the dirt, because of that Molly decided to abandon the defense and take the offensive.
Without fear the cat let herself being dragged by the chains to the projectiles, dodging with jumps and slides every one of them.
Noticing that her chains were being dodged Lea immediately contracted them back to her gauntlets, occasioning a new strike from the blind point of Molly.
-W-Wind cutter.
Her mind was not working in synchrony with the mana, but Molly managed to shot wind blades behind her every time she had the opportunity to look back, destroying the projectiles and disabling the chains.
-Haah* Hah* ...
Molly wasn´t been able to properly administrate her mana, despite her energy could be prolonged for another while, her breathing became heavy thanks to the thoughts tormenting her mind.
The distance between both soon would be null.
By considering that in no time she would be in a distance where her sword could reach her enemy, Molly used a skill.
-Second fang; Tiguer´s prey.
Once again the huge pink sword attacked. The wind took the shape of a beast that embraced the body of Molly as she was pulled to the lioness.
-We´re not done yet!
Lea let go of the rocks and retrieved all her chains, then she prepared her own skill.
-Marcial skill; Shield breaker.
The gauntlet of Lea was covered in a golden shine, concentrating especially in the knuckles of her right hand.
-HRAAAAAAAAA!
Molly brought down the razor of her accelerated sword, the jaws of the beast widening in consequence.
-OOORRAAAAAAAAAAA!
The lion girl threw her fist without fear.
KABOOM! *
The ground trembled, the wind got mad and the space was invaded by the hammering of violence.
Both forces were fighting on a fiery collision that shaken the ground, the tress, and the skies.
-And this is the way you believe yourself capable to capture that man?! It is no surprise that he got away!
-... Shut- Shut up!...
The feet of Molly began to go backward, her hands giving up before the strength of her opponent.
-When I arrived at this place for the first time with my family... You were the one to welcome me before anyone else... For a time I admired you a lot...
-... What?... What the hell are you saying now?!
In the middle of the confrontation, Lea became melancholic, Molly was only able to feel confused and exasperated before her attitude.
Molly knew that Lea would never be sentimental in the middle of a fight, she was trained to know that such an act was a total lack of respect to the warrior facing.
The mere fact that Lea was making that with all the teachings given to her just was painful proof that Molly, in fact, had become weaker.
-Shit! Damn it!
She, of course, couldn´t accept something like that.
Lea showed herself sad and furious. Her words were not to humiliate or minimize Molly, actually, on the contrary, she wanted to help her, explain her viewpoint, and talk about all that was needed to talk.
But to get to that, her fight had to end, she reluctantly had to accept that fact.
-RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!
Lea exploited more mana out of her body, increasing the power of her already monstrous physical power.
-Hrrgh!
Molly was overwhelmed, her resistance was just her stubbornness in constant negation.
KABOOM! *
The duel of strength ended with the sword of Molly fleeing away from her hands until it got stuck in a tree. Her legs bent making her knees meet with the obliterated rock under her feet, both arms were numb, so she wouldn´t move them for a while.
-Haah* Hah* God damn it...
She was defeated.
Her stockpile of mana and stamina were able to last for much longer. But her fighting spirit was broken. Her frustration and the powerful impotence in her heart had left her defenseless.
Lea gazed at her angry, there was not a bit of pity that she could offer to the person she had called "Sister".
-In that time you chased your ambition with all you had... Always giving all of you... Always trying to be the number one... With your talent and determination that was never impossible for you... Even now you still are like that... But I can´t see your ambition anymore!
Each word was a fatal strike that Molly desperately tried to endure. Her body was not something easy to break; and normally, her mind neither. But now the breath lacked and the tears were accumulating in her eyes.
-Shut your mouth! You don´t know what you´re talking about!
-OF COURSE I KNOW!!
With shrill steps and a grip of steel. Lea held Molly from her uniform. Her eyes interlocked with her.
-You´re a lot more capable than this! You never bothered to be considered and restricted your strength in the past! Why would you now?!
Molly never limited her efforts in any of her tasks, either combat or assassination, or simple carings of the everyday. She was the kind of person that hated the word "Try". To her, something like that only worked as an absurd impediment that destroyed all ambition and possibility to obtain success.
Lea, in all her years of knowing the cat, not even once had a special treatment regarding her tasks as a maid or as a warrior, quite the contrary, she was subdued to a training and discipline twice as drastic.
In the past that had bothered greatly, the fights impulsed by that were not few.
But after getting to know Molly, she realized that she was like that because she expected a lot from Lea. Something that definitely Molly did with a very thin number of people in very specific places.
Such knowledge changed the image that Lea had of Molly, and it went from a hatred filled with admiration, to an admiration with a bit of exasperation.
Eventually, they became closer and together climbed up the ranks of their clan.
Molly as the principal candidate to sit on the top and Lea turning into the shied that would protect such person.
Both were happy with that result. How could they not when that was their objective since the moment they first met?
That trajectory was an outstanding motive of celebration, it should have been like that.
But then things changed. Or rather, they didn´t go as they should have.