The collision of metal lasted what seemed minutes for me.
But it was barely a few seconds.
As my blade was broken in half, the energy coursing through my weapon made it look like a blade of light was emerging from the broken steel.
It was of no use though.
I felt myself getting repelled, even with all the force I brought down.
It felt like I attacked an immovable rock as her energy swirled around her pushing me upwards and away.
The two different pulses of mana began to cancel each other out, all around us the world energy began to converge.
From a distance it looked like the mana gathering array I saw earlier but much larger.
I forced all the mana out of my body and into the point of contact with her, using the momentum to flip and get flung in the direction of the cactus field.
Sprinting as fast as my legs can carry me I dash away knowing she was going to chase me down.
And when she did she would end me.
I only had a few moments of life left, the thought made my feet pound even faster on the dry ground.
I only succeeded in buying myself more time, I need a place to set up a proper ambush.
Hopefully Ava has enough mana to bring down some grenades.
***
"Should I go after him" Ho'thaw asked while standing behind Kata.
"No, leave him".
Kata was staring wide eyed at the direction Ambrose ran towards.
Never in her life did she expect that a young pup like that would raise his steel to her, let alone push her back.
"If he reports the amount of mages we have to the Association they will not leave us be."
"Do you think they will come all the way here?" she asked snorting.
"Times are different now Ho'thaw, when you were a boy the world was already broken".
"Now we are just a shell of a once great civilization".
"The Association already has their hands full just trying to survive".
She took one more glance at the direction where the boy ran off.
'He is an anomaly... a strong body and dense mana at such a young age should be impossible' she thought
'And that mana core...' the image of the hazy ball was in her mind but that was impossible, the amount of energy he emitted was at a foundational level at least.
One can look younger and older but bones don't lie, and the bones she saw are one from a twelve year old child nearing maturity.
She initially came to finish the boy in his sleep.
Ho'thaw was convinced he saw the boys eyes glow with mana.
If it was just him she would have allowed the boy to live but all the guardians said the same thing.
The thought of silencing such a talent was disappointing, she thought to keep him here by force but that wouldn't last.
Someone like him who has been abused so thoroughly that it was hard to find an unmarked area in his body, would never stay in one place under her thumb.
Death seemed like the only option.
But now...
She smiled thinking of the monster that was going to show up on the Association doorsteps.
The same bastards that took a hundred years of her life and gave her nothing but a few mana stones and arrays that are outdated and cant be considered useful.
Licking her lips she turned and flew away, drops of dark green blood fell from the sleeve as she tucked the dagger behind her back.
***
I was being hunted.
It wasn't Kata, she would have already caught up to me.
It felt like I was moving in slow motion and my body circulating lead instead of blood.
I know this fatigue well but I also know my bodies limits, this was far from it.
I can run for another day before I collapse.
Taking deep breaths I quicken my pace.
'If we stop do you think you can blow them up' I asked Ava.
'I am barely staying awake and using mana to keep aware of our surrounds while talking to you is making me even more tired'.
I suppress the urge to swear, it was as useless as praying or begging.
Ava is struggling to stay awake but slips away as we pass the edge of the cactus field and into open land.
It felt like I got heavier as soon as the connection broke.
Behind me Ho'thaw was wondering how a twelve year old who spent all of his mana could run so fast.
He didn't see the fight, but he saw the scene afterwords.
It wasn't the loss of mana but how much was lost in a short amount of time that would usually leave someone drained physically.
Ho'thaw had reached the scene only after the boy ran but the lingering energy painted a clear picture for him.
Which begged the question of how much mana this boy.... monster had?
To those of House Inka the night was their home, many need mana to survive the night in the wilds but not the Inka.
Their yellow pupils needing only the moonlight to see just as well as they would in the day.
Ho'thaw had condensed his mana core but that was all, never being able to use aura or even absorb any more mana from the world without it tiring his old body.
But he knew how to use what little energy he had effectively.
Pulses of mana pushed Ho'thaw forward but what he saw only confused him further.
The boys back was getting larger only by a small margin meaning he was running nearly as fast as him.
A budding thought grew inside Ho'thaw.
Initially he disobeyed his lord because he thought that the people of Luca could have a potential information leak, but now...
Now he thought to put this monster down before it grew and became something that came back to threaten his people.
The thought turned into motivation giving him a burst of speed, slowly closing the distance.
He already disobeyed his lord, his life was already forfeited.
Once he killed the thin scraggily mage in front of him he will confess and take his own life if Kata permitted him.
Like a lobster in the pot of a sadistic chef, I felt death creeping like a slow rolling boil.
Doing my best to use my mana while I run but I am met with disappointment every time.
My depleted core was unresponsive making me feel like I was flexing my abdomen uselessly.
I heard his footsteps and steady breathing, I tried to quicken my pace and felt a burning sensation on my back as he swiped down on my neck with his curved dagger.
It missed and opened a wound on my back from my shoulder to my waist in a diagonal line.
I expected the next one on the left side of my neck but instead he kicked my heel, making me trip and roll.
Lunging forward the blade is headed for me from above.
I spread my legs stopping my roll and lifted my right foot making contact with his forearm.
I had enough strength to slow him for a moment but he was in the dominant position on top of me.
He sliced at my shins and calf by twisting his wrist.
I grabbed his wrists with both hands pushing him away but again it only slows down the blade further, not stopping it.
We are face to face and I see a solemn resolve in the dark wrinkled brow.
The yellow pupils looked like gold in the night as we struggled with the blade that was getting closer to my neck.
His expression was the same as mine, gnashed teeth and breathing heavily.
Our panting and heavy breathing echoed in the night.
Moments later he seemed to have accumulated the mana he needed and sent tendrils out poisoning my body.
He intended to make my mind waver long enough to plunge the blade into my neck, while also finding out if I was sent by another mage, and if so who.
I kept calling energy from my core to no avail.
Writhing and twisting on the ground the blade cuts at my forearms and scrapes my chest and stomach.
The mana sinking into my body quickly moving to my brain not stopping at my depleted mana core.
I was strong but this guy was at his best.
His mana was weak but he had amazing control of the thin tendrils.
I fought him off for three whole seconds before I could feel him in my mind.
His scream filled the night after making contact, a fear unlike anything he had felt in his life paralyzed his senses.
My mind was not a place one should venture into.
He had no idea what was happening.
Ho'thaw didn't pass out like Mislin did, I assume the difference was the amount of mana used.
But it was enough for me.
It took only a few seconds for me to remove the tip of the blade inside me and swipe across his throat the position put his blood splatter on my white clothes and face.
He clenched his neck with one hand as his eyes rolled over but they opened wide when a 'thud' could be heard, his own dagger plunged into his heart.
I rolled him over and stabbed him again and again until I was sure he was gone.
For a time the squelching of a blade entering a body and my grunting was all that was heard.
I found nothing else on his person besides the dagger sheath which I took with me.
A bloody mess I half limped and half ran going west.