Holdren practically threw himself at me with arms outstretched.
("Yikes!") [Solace]
It wasn't very hard to dodge. I ducked out the way last second, causing him to crash into the fort's wooden wall. A portion of the wall shattered, leaving large wooden logs to come loose and fall on him.
("I wonder if that did any damage.") [Solace]
Sadly, no. He came out unscathed. All it did was annoy him as he shrugged off the debris.
("Ah… no dice, huh.") [Solace]
Holdren glanced around him and picked up a large wooden log that used to be a part of the wall.
("He's not going to do what I think he's gonna do, right?") [Solace]
As expected, he chucked it at me.
"|Explosion Arts|." [Solace]
I blasted the wooden log to bits, only to realize three more were coming.
("Man, screw it.") [Solace]
I rushed forward and slipped in between the logs, allowing me to close the distance without issue.
("|Reinforce| |Flame Enchant| |Lightning Enchant|.") [Solace]
Buffing myself, I entered Holdren's reach. He tried to grab me again, but I ducked under his arm and prepared my finest uppercut.
"|Blazing Fist|!" [Solace]
A direct hit to Holdren's belly. As I felt my fist sink into his flesh, I was soon forced to step back as the springiness of his body pushed me away.
("The hell?!") [Solace]
I thought the flames on my hands would damage him if blunt force didn't work. However, there wasn't even a scratch.
"Hmph… Is that all?" [Holdren]
Yep, this was going to be a hard fight. Holdren was definitely still pissed, and I had to be careful where we were fighting. Reason being, Leon who was basically useless at the moment and Elisse were still nearby. I can't let them get caught up in this.
("Hm… How should I do this?") [Solace]
The only skill I had that I knew worked was |Vortex Arts|. It did do a little bit of damage. Though, it only made him bleed a bit.
("Bleed…?") [Solace]
It was that simple. Cut away at him, literally. We lunged at each other with hands and arms outstretched. Maybe it looked like we were going to hug each other?
"I will have your head!" [Holdren]
"I doubt it!" [Solace]
I avoided another grab and practically climbed his arm before casting |Vortex Arts|. I shredded his skin near his neck and made my way down his back as I dropped down. I assume that it hurt a lot considering the amount of screaming he was doing.
"You little rat!" [Holdren]
He spun around swinging, which I also cut away at as I bent backwards. I then tried to make my escape by rolling through his legs. Turns out, it was a terrible play. Why? Because I felt something clamp around my ankle the moment I dived for the roll.
"Got you!" [Holdren]
You could say that I was uh… pretty scared to hear that. Within an instant, I found my vision blurring and my entire body slamming into the ground.
"Urgh!" [Solace]
"You have gained |Experience|. The skill |Temperance| has gained a level." [Spirit Guide]
I can tell you now, getting thrown into the ground is not a great experience. I felt like throwing up or curling up in a ball and crying. Of course, I didn't do either of those. I had no choice other than to "thug it out" as Master may say.
"Are you out already? We're not done yet!" [Holdren]
He slammed me against the ground again. I could feel my leg getting crushed by Holdren's monstrous grip strength, and the feeling of my consciousness on the verge of fading away.
"Warning: Health has dropped below 50%. It is highly recommended to retreat." [Spirit Guide]
I didn't even have the time to make a retort. All I knew was that I needed to get out of Holdren's grasp as soon as I could.
"|Flame Cannon|!" [Solace]
I took a gamble while getting thrashed to blow fire into his face.
"Agh!" [Holdren]
Through sheer luck I accidentally shoved the flames down his throat. I took the chance to wrestle free and rolled away. I tried standing only to stumble as my right ankle gave in.
("Hope this works. |Small Cure|.") [Solace]
I slowly healed my ankle as Holdren tried to spit, or cough the flames out. By the time he finished, I was able to walk.
"That was close… You almost killed me." [Solace]
Holdren seemed like he wanted to speak, but his charred mouth failed him. All he could make were sounds without pronunciation.
"What was that?" [Solace]
I leaned forward and put a hand to my ear to mock him.
"Too spicy?" [Solace]
That seemed to anger Holdren a lot more. Although I was the one provoking him, I was not confident. That is, until I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"How are you holding?" [???]
I felt relief as I saw Wilharrow by my side. You could say he was about as strong as me. Most of all, he has something really good against Holdren. Something sharp.
"I'm really going to need your sword." [Solace]
"...I'm not lending it to you." [Wilharrow]
He hid away his Divine Weapon.
"That's not what I meant." [Solace]