"You want the answer to that question?"
"Yes."
"Then make me."
"Don't worry. I wasn't planning to have a political debate all day long. But I just wanted to hear your opinion since once this duel was to be concluded, there wouldn't be a trace of your existence, and I would have to live with these unanswered questions for the rest of my life."
"You're awfully confident in your skills."
"I am. That's because you aren't even looking." Huh? I suddenly turned my gaze to the right, and before I could react to it, a sharp kick grazed my chin, barely escaping it. Shit! This wasn't how I thought of initiating the attack. Now that he's got the first move, he has control of the battlefield, and also, he's psychologically one-uped me.
"You weren't expecting that, were you? A combat-based move in what was supposed to be an alchemy showdown. Sadly, I have no interest to show my skills to the likes of you."
"I wonder how long you can hold onto that faint belief you have in your own skills."
"You talk less. Is it because you redirect all your focus onto this feeble, one-sided battle? If so, there's no need to worry. The outcome is already set in stone, and that is, the demise of you."
Now! I quickly crept closer to him and tried to aim low, by going for a sweeping kick to topple him down but in the instant, I got close to him, our eyes met. Shit! I have to escape!
He deliberately waited for me to pounce on him, waiting for an opening. He kicked me with his left foot, aiming precisely for my guts. If I don't stop it now, it could be lethal and the end for me. In that very instance, trusting my instincts, I put both my hands forward on the ground and pushed my body with my feet, doing an unusual handstand, which resulted in escaping the ferocious kick targeted towards me.
Once I was done, I moved deliberately on my hands, till I was out of his vicinity. In doing so, in a hurry, I lost my balance and hit the pavement hard. Agh! I should have taken gymnastics seriously. Tch!
"Impressive reflex. I wasn't expecting anyone to do that in the heat of the moment. You are indeed a tough nut to crack. I'll give you that. But that's there is to it." While praising me, he suddenly moved so fast that I couldn't catch up to him anymore, and then suddenly, a sharp kick was targetted to my lower back.
"Agh!" I wailed. This was supposed to be a contest of alchemy. But that wasn't the case. He's showing his superior physical capabilities, and tormenting me, hoping to make me give up before he has to get serious. I don't have many options. Since I deliberately showed him my cards earlier, he's more or less aware of my power, and what I can do.
But, it's strange. How did he gain such an advantage? Was it because of the domain we were in right now? If so, is this like a home advantage to him? I couldn't see this fight being tampered with by any external help from the other guy.
"You're wondering about how I'm way stronger than you, right? Rest assured, there's no trouble with the domain or my subordinate." Every footstep he took towards my direction echoed louder and louder. "You see, this is my physical ability. I'm an exceptionally gifted soul, and added to that, being one of the rarest alchemists ever to exist. Shadow Alchemy is fairly rare, but to take such tricky magic, which is more or less used for teleportation and sneak attacks, to use it to the point where I'm a war veteran, you must understand how good I am, right?"
I understand that. I know that even before I stepped into this fight with you. But that's why I must fight you. Because I must beat you. Only then...only then will I be cut out for this job. Or that's what the old man said. To think that I'd be influenced this much by that old man, how low have I fallen down to?
This barrier was basically just a mechanism to contain our powers from tampering with the real world. So there's no everlasting advantage. That means I can try something. I charged in at him.
"How reckless can you get? Even after knowing who I am, you still dare to challenge me? It's useless!" He went for the same kick again. Just what I had expected. I clasped both my hands, bending my right knee forward, I jabbed my right elbow to his solar plexes.
"Phwah!" He let out a gasp of pain, covering his solar plexes. Before he could regain himself, I landed a step up enzuguiri to the back of his neck, avoiding the nape. For the unknown, I jumped into the air, and with that momentum, I landed a kick from my knee to the back of his neck.
Then, from whatever wrestling knowledge I had, I pilled him close, and then, with that momentum, I lifted him up and tossed him onto the pool.
"Master!" A cry wailed in. I could see Blake slowly sink into the pool, with bubbles emerging at the surface. But that also stopped. Could he have died? A foolish thought. I turned back and caught a wet hand, that was directing a punch to my left rib. I made it in time! Phew!
"Did you really think that I would let you do as you pleased?" Blake emerged from the shadows. He was notably stunned to see me catch his punch, but then let out a chuckle. "As I said, you weren't looking."
I suddenly sensed something to my right.
"Tenebras mergunt. Vmbra pila!" A ball of darkness was cast towards me, which ended up knocking me away from Blake. That was Latin, I guess. But still, he finally used his alchemy. That's good. Now it's time to return the favor.