*Wham!*
"Guha!!" Hero's white lava armor is again punched directly in the face, cracking it even further. Thanks to the icy claws covered in front of Sam's knuckles and the gauntlets, he can chip away his opponent's hardened armor, albeit slowly.
And at the same time, the hope of humanity coughs out blood. Inside his well-made armor, the hope of man kind is furious. No longer does he possess the calm and collected attitude like the first time they met. Now, his eyes are bloodshot. Never has he been ever made fun of by a native like this. For someone who came from another world and for someone who was blessed, it was an insult.
"Yes! YES! That's it!!! You are doing great!!" Hero yells like a maniac. The pain only makes the darkness inside his heart grow stronger. Unfortunately, his opponent stays completely silent.
The mana reservoir steadily runs lower. Therefore, Sam only uses his fists as a weapon. The underdog knows he should be firing everything he has, but if his opponent still has an ace in his sleeve, then he will be in a difficult position. After their first fight, he knows what terrifying power lies inside the Hero's body.
"Come get some, bitch!!" In retaliation to Sam's constant punches, Earth's prodigy also draws his white lava-covered fist. Sadly, it seems he is merely doing what he pleases, waving and hitting aimlessly without thinking or an actual strategy in his head. The hero does not care about that, too. In this moment, he just does not want to be any less proficient than Sam, a native being who was never supposed to stand in front of him like this.
Yet, at a quick glance, one can determine who has the upperhand. The difference between combat experience is immense.
Alas, it is understandable. Hero had not use such a tactic before in his entire life. If he could use a magic spell to kill his enemy, there would be no need to think about anything else afterwards. Sam, on the other hand, due to his lack of magical power, always had to resolve down to his arms and legs. In fact, the girls learned about the level of his physical combat when they had the time to practice together.
Thanks to all those years of being the underdog, being beaten up like a forsaken animal, battle instincts have been hammered into his tattered body. Each scar on his skin does not simply make him more intimidating, but they make him stronger.
Still, the Hero is not someone to be looked down upon. When he fires his arms, their heat vibrates the air around Sam. One hit from that and his half-armor will be turned into water, rendering it useless.
"How did that bastard even manage to do it?!" He asked himself a rhetorical question.
"Eat this! And this! And this, too!!"
Refusing to acknowledge the truth, he delivers more punches, trying his best to hit Sam's body. Sadly, just like before, everything is avoided with ease.
Unlike his opponent, Sam does not want to talk while he fights. It matters not what rubbish his opponent is screaming at him since he only wants to continue his job. And that job is to kick the Hero's ass as hard as physically and magically possible.
Truthfully, Sam is in a pinch. He knows very well what an Apostle is capable of as opposed to his own. The current situation may seem that Sam is winning, but the reality is the opposite.
"Stand still, and let me hit you for once!"
*Whoosh* *Whoosh*
Hero is pulled by Sam into close combat, which is not his strength. It is only because that prodigy has stopped using his head like a normal person. If he did, he would have jumped in the air using Prime Earth Magic: Gravity and started to fire magic at Sam like a submachine gun. That way, Sam would have been beaten, or he had to find another way to win.
However, that is not due to pure luck.
No.
Fighting is an art. It is not simply punching and kicking. It is also the battle of the minds.
"Come on!! COME ON! COME ON!!! THIS IS GODDAMN INFURIATING!!"
Very good. Let rage consumes you. In Sam's heart, the underdog sighs in relief. His plan is actually working well.
Yes, Sam created this of his volition.
Ever since the fight started, he has always been trying to fight the Hero close-up rather than firing his spells from afar. After the explosion that blasted the two of them away, he immediately jumped toward the Hero without waiting to recover. The metal chains, the springs, and the claws on his hands, even his gauntlets were all for close combat. If he missed any of those, he would have lost both arms by now. More over, Sam is purposefully trying to irritate the Hero by dodging more than hitting.
The more that Hero becomes enraged, Sam's percentage of winning gets higher.
Unblessed by the Goddess, Sam knew very well from the beginning that he did not stand a chance against a blessed being such as the Hero. That was why he had to take the initiative and control all aspects of the fight. Luckily, for a loser without a good mana pool, he had experience.
As long as he could keep the Hero busy with him, then that asshole will not be able to channel any major spell. No matter how powerful he is, without a clear visualization of his magic, it is useless in the end. Big mana pool or not is irrelevant.
"Fuck you!!"
Suddenly, from a fist, the genius's right hand open up. From within, Sam can sense a deadly premonition that tells him to dodge immediately.
Fire, Earth, and Wind combination.
Fire Creation Magic: Volcanic Blast.
Inside the progidy's palm, a huge array of molted lava explodes. It looks like a real volcanic eruption, enough to engulf tens of people. Seconds later, flames and lava cover the earth entirely, eating everything it touches. Just the way the volcano does.
If Sam were a normal magic user, he probably would have died. He would have been burned to crisps.
However, he is not a regular person.
He is Sam.
The Hero is powerful, ridiculously so. Indeed, he is exceptional. His spell is now burning the ground in front, leaving absolutely nothing except fiery rocks. However, there is something only Sam pays attention to between the two of them. Due to being completely covered by the lava armor, the Hero is unaware of his height. In this instance, he is like a giant golem made from lava.
Coincidentally, Sam is smaller than him.
Sam can hide better.
"What the?!" Stunned without words, Hero the hero can not believe his eyes. "Where is he?!"
Humans are designed to look left and right. We rarely have to gaze upward or downward. It is a matter of instinct, and a hero is no different. Between the two people present on the battlefield, only one takes that into account. There is no sight of Sam in his vision. The only thing he can see is smoke and fire.
At that moment, a shadow approaches the molten lava armor from the ground. On top of the shadow's knuckles are two razor-sharp ice claws.
*Clack*
Man kind's hope hears a sound of a rock breaking on his right. Instinctively, he turns toward that side, arms ready for another lava blast.
*Wham!* Wham!*
"GAAAH! MY LEGS!!!*