Belrick didn't even give me a heads up. He just lunged.
"|Fade Slash|!" [Belrick]
He cut diagonally, a second image of his sword trailing behind.
("Easy enough.") [Solace]
I deflected the first slash with my sword and sidestepped the second. Belrick tried to keep the pressure on me, but I struck his sword before he could swing and kicked him.
"Ngh!" [Belrick]
He pushed through the pain and lunged again.
"Fade Slash!" [Belrick]
I expected to see the same double slash again, so I parried the first attack. However, I was caught off guard when a second slash didn't appear.
"|Glitter|!" [Belrick]
A bright light invaded my vision, causing me to feel a little dazed. Little white lights danced in my eyes as Belrick punched my gut.
"Ack!" [Belrick]
Unexpectedly, he hurt his hand. My tough body made his wrist bend in a weird way for a moment, causing him to back away.
"What are you made of?!" [Belrick]
One glance at his hand was all it took for me to notice it was dislocated.
"Want me to fix that for you?" [Solace]
Belrick didn't even respond. All he did was twist his wrist and somehow put it back in place.
"...Wow." [Solace]
"Let's go again." [Belrick]
As he prepared himself, a golden hue shone in his eyes.
("Oh.") [Solace]
Without the use of skills, Belrick attacked. He slashed, stabbed, and mixed in kicks or punches in spots that would unbalance me. I guess he learned from dislocating his wrist.
("Is he in a trance?!") [Solace]
From his strength, attack speed, reflexes, and decision making, it was far superior than before. Belrick was improving at a rapid rate. It was becoming harder to deal with, and harder to keep my sword from breaking.
"|Reinforce|!" [Solace]
I strengthened my sword to ensure it wouldn't crumble under Belrick's onslaught of strikes. It was then that the edge of Belrick's sword gained a green tint.
("Seriously?") [Solace]
There was a trail of green light as Belrick swung. It was beautiful, almost mesmerizing in the dark. Sadly, I didn't have the luxury to admire it.
("I should avoid blocking it. It'll probably cut straight through my reinforced sword.") [Solace]
As I moved to avoid Belrick's attacks, I found myself being followed quite closely.
"I can see it! I can see your movements Alt!" [Belrick]
Though he mostly cut air, there were several close calls. Belrick managed to nick some of my clothing, while also sometimes missing my neck by a hair's breadth.
("He's trying to kill me.") [Solace]
It was the only conclusion I could come up with. Either that or the golden eyed state was pushing his emotions to the max. It was as if his body was forcing him to improve.
"|Phantom Edge|." [Belrick]
I couldn't really tell what that skill did. I backstepped to avoid a slash, which led to me feeling a sharp pain on my chest.
"Warning: Status has changed to |Poisoned|." [Spirit Guide]
Looking down, I could see a long shallow gash across my chest.
("How? The blade didn't even reach me!") [Solace]
Then I put two and two together. |Phantom Edge| was what Belrick called it. Not only was the attack invisible, its range must have been longer than Belrick's sword.
"You have gained |Experience|. |Experience| limit reached. |Poison Resistance| has gained a level. Status has changed from |Poisoned| to |Bleeding|." [Spirit Guide]
Good thing I ate a lot of Lapis' cooking for that resistance.
"Alert: |Poison Resistance| has reached its maximum level. Permission to evolve |Poison Resistance|." [Spirit Guide]
("Allow.") [Solace]
"Permission confirmed. Initiating evolution of |Poison Resistance|." [Spirit Guide]
It was hard to focus on what was happening since Belrick was just completely on the offensive.
"|Broken Step|." [Belrick]
He started to move strangely. It was kind of like watching someone do the drunken fist, except it was with a sword.
"Verifying integrity. ...Verification complete. Processing. ...Processing complete. The skill |Poison Resistance| has successfully evolved into the skill |Poison Immunity|." [Spirit Guide]
It was difficult to deal with Belrick's |Broken Step|. When I thought he'd strike high, he'd go low. When I thought he'd strike low, he'd strike high. Sometimes he even had me forgetting my left and right the way he was messing with my flow.
("I have to regain ground!") [Solace]
I left myself open, drawing him in to thrust at me. Within that instant, I grabbed his wrist to throw off the trajectory a bit.
"Let's get close and personal!" [Solace]
I pulled him in so I could hit him with my pommel, but Belrick decided to drop his sword and catch it with his other hand. It was such a quick transition I had no choice other than to block his slash with my pommel instead.
"You really are good at defense!" [Belrick]
"I never lie on my resume!" [Solace]
Just like the throwback to my interview, I threw my head back before slamming my forehead into his face.
"Agh!" [Belrick]
If not for the fact I still held onto his wrist, Belrick would've stumbled back.
("I can't let go of this chance!") [Solace]
Releasing my grip on his wrist, I did a combination of karate chopping his sword hand downwards and striking his blade with my pommel to disarm him.
"You-!" [Belrick]
Just as I thought I had won, Belrick started to throw hands.
"|Resounding Palm|!" [Belrick]
I raised my sword in time to block Belrick's palm strike. Little did I know that it would've sent the force straight through and driven it into my chest.
"Ugh!" [Solace]
I couldn't afford to stagger or be surprised. His |Resounding Palm| was basically a copy off |Piercing Blow|, I just have to make sure it doesn't happen again.
"|Elusive Claw|." [Belrick]
Belrick's hands positioned themselves like he was trying to scratch me, hence the "claw" in the skill name.
"|Rotating Shell Arts|." [Solace]
Just as I was about to redirect one of his attacks, his hand wrapped around and under my hand. Thus, completely avoiding my skill.
("And there's the "elusive" part.") [Solace]
It was like he had the direct counter to my skills. In the end, I had no choice other than to receive the attack straight to my gut.
"Urgh!" [Solace]
It cut through my clothes, even managing to cut my skin.
("He's putting too much pressure on me again!") [Solace]
I decided to reset his skill by kicking upwards. It hit both his arms, forcing his hands high up in the air.
("An opportunity!") [Solace]
He was wide open. I took my sword and slashed, only to be shocked once I heard the clashing off metal.
("His sword?!") [Solace]
The sword that I knocked up had perfectly fallen into my attack, effectively blocking it. You would think it would send his weapon flying again, but Belrick braced it with his knee and elbow.
("Did he calculate this?!") [Solace]
I was starting to see why the Royal Guards called him their ace. Belrick's talent was monstrous. Even so, it wasn't like that blow did nothing.
"...You really are strong." [Belrick]
Belrick snatched his sword out of the air before taking a breather. I could see his leg and arm trembling from the impact of blocking my strike.
("I should attack before he recovers.") [Solace]
Just as I was about to make another move, Belrick raised a hand.
"I yield." [Belrick]
I froze in my tracks, a little bit confused.
"You… yield?" [Solace]
Wasn't this guy trying to kill me a moment ago? Then again, I no longer saw that golden glow in his eyes.
"I just wanted to test myself." [Belrick]
"Test yourself? If you really wanted to test yourself we could've kept going." [Solace]
Belrick shook his head.
"I know my limits. I would have lost." [Belrick]
I was a little unconvinced, but the look on his face kept me from pursuing the matter.
"Thank you, Alt. Now I have an idea of what I want to do." [Belrick]
He was being oddly cryptic. Kind of like my master.
"Uh… You're welcome." [Solace]
Then I remembered what I was here for.
"By the way, you should probably talk to Lemin." [Solace]
From what I noticed, Lemin was beginning to feel distant to Belrick. It didn't sit right with me to just watch.
"Lemin? Why?" [Belrick]
"He didn't look too good. Just… Have a good talk. Y'know, like a heart to heart." [Solace]
Belrick raised a brow.
"Heart to heart? What's that?" [Belrick]
I sighed.
"Nevermind. Let's just go find Lemin." [Solace]
I guess I had to guide them myself.