Clawford became enraged because of his shattered claws and steam was visible rising from his nostrils and began to yell as Codey and Clawford had a state down for a moment "Hey! You have no right to break one of my unique claws! All right, then, let's dance shall we?" Codey smirked a little, then looked at him with a serious glare. They both prepared their positions, then vanished in the twinkling of an eye, and the battle began.
Codey leaped in the air with his gigantic star, gathering the wind into a powerful whirlwind and aiming it at Clawford, then threw the star with the powerful whirlwind. Clawford got ready and dodged his attack and then vanished from Codey's sight. He reappeared behind him, ready to make the slash, but Codey was able to dodge, and recalled his star,
Multiple portals opened around Clawford as he tried to figure out where Codey had gone, and Codey's stars began to fly at him from all angles. Clawford tried to defend himself with one of his claws, but it wasn't enough to shield him from the numerous powerful stars that were flying about him.
"Ugh, that damn kid and his stars..."
Clawford had numerous cuts from the stars, none of which were fatal, so he jumped away from the portals. As he fell on the ground, Codey emerged from his portal and kicked him in the side, sending him flying into the castle and causing another hole in the castle's tower.
Codey smirked once more and looked at the hole he had created,
"I don't think this battle will last long..."
He said as he crouched down and began to terraform a section of the bridge. Some of the bridge's structures were destroyed as it flew through the air, and all of the debris from the bridge flew to where Clawford was launched.
Clawford smashed all of the debris with his metal whip when the rubble hit the hole in the tower, then swung towards Codey to try to wrap him in his whip. Codey continued to dog his whips, but Clawford was able to wrap his whip around his ankle and spin Codey around, hitting a few of the castle's turrets and a section of the bridge in the process.
Codey attempted to free himself from his whip who was able to do so by cutting through his metal with his star. He then landed on the bridge, regained his footing, and prepared to attack again, but he was too late as Clawford smashed his fist into the ground, causing metal spikes to form in the ground and a line of metal spikes to dash towards Codey, forcing him to dodge and try to think of a way to beat him.
While Codey was following Clawford's attacks, Clawford's claws began to heat up, so he vanished from Codey's sight and reappeared in front of him, hitting his stomach with his blazing claws and sending him flying across the bridge to the opposite castle tower, where he blew a hole in it. Tim and the other members of the group became concerned about Codey.
"You sure your friend there can win the duel?"
Natan wondered, giving a side glance to Tim's front.
"Of course he can. I know he can, he just needs more time..."
As he stood back and watched their conflict from a safe distance, Tim expressed his concern for his ally.
"Look who's being cocky now, you damn brat!"
Clawford then grinned as he examined his claw and brushed away some of the dust. Codey emerged from the rubble, blood flowing down his arm from the hit, and walked inside one of his portals, out of sight of Clawford once more. He then jumped out of the portal behind him, attempting to strike Clawford, but he dodged his attack and grabbed him by the collar.
He crushed his face into the bridge and then began running along it, grinding his face into the floor and then hurling him into the sky, then catching him and smashing him into the wall, splitting it slightly. Codey then attempted to rise up, but due to his wounds, it was tough, but he did so and then breathed heavily, but he was still able to fight, so he grabbed his star and began shooting wind bullets towards Clawford.
Clawford was dodging Codey's attacks, but as the attacks accelerated and more bullets appeared, Clawford wrapped his whip around the bridge to avoid his strikes and then struck him from beneath it, kicked Codey in the chin and sent him flying far into the air. As Codey flew through the air, Clawford chased him down and punched him in the gut multiple times before knocking him into the tower's wall, leaving a hole in response.
As Clawford ran for the last blow, Codey spat out a chunk of blood and was hardly able to move. Codey then constructed another portal underneath him and dropped through it just in time before splintering the bridge with his fist.
Codey next generated multiple portals surrounding Clawford, but this time the portals were filled with wind slashes. Clawford tried to prevent Codey's attacks, but it didn't work because the cuts were much more severe than he had anticipated. They sliced right through his skin, damaging his claw and nearly shattering it.
As the attacks were flying at Clawford, Codey created another portal behind him and suddenly showed up behind him, summoning with a very powerful whirlwind, making Clawford launch into the air, finally destroying his claws. He then leaped up after him and attacked him with his boomerang, that slashed through Clawford's shoulder, making him scream in agony.
Codey then kicked him into the castle tower, creating another hole in it. After Codey landed, he smirked and looked at the hole he made
"You should really just stay down..."
Codey's body began to tremble as a result of the battle's suffering, and the use of his 'Reality' took its toll on his body, slowing him down even further.
"Well, that was a bit of a blunder. In such a tense conflict, I can't employ 'Reality' as freely as I'd want, so the fact that I'm still standing is astonishing..."
Despite the fact that his consciousness was still evident on his standing body, he was forced to cough up a puddle of blood and collapse to his knee, prompting Tim and the others to flee in terror.
Karisa put her hands beneath Codey's kneeling body as quickly as she could to keep him from collapsing. She was concerned and scared that Codey would require surgery, but in the end, his wounds from the 'Demon Blood' that had spread throughout his veins began to heal slowly.
"Even if it wasn't required, you went all out in this duel. When we go back to town, you'll need to get some rest."
"I understand your concern for me, but I am absolutely fine. You shouldn't have to be scared about me. These wounds are nothing like the ones I've had in the past, and they're not too severe for my body to heal."
Tim was standing there listening to his remarks when he felt a quick surge in pressure behind his back, and swooped his head behind him to see a scary figure standing in the dust.
"You sure know how to cause trouble for an individual. Man, that's so upsetting, that it's about time to trash you!"
"You're not actually serious, right?! Why is he still able to stand up?!"
Tim stretched his right arm, and rewarded Clawford with an intimidating face, whereas Tomomi quickly warped into a black sword which's point flared out hot flames that encircled the others as a barrier.
"So annoying..."
Tim leaned forward, his blade poised in front of his chest, its point resting on the bridge's floor. He took a deep breath in and then exhaled sparks of flaming flames from each corner of his lips, the flames around him rising.
Despite the rain, the flames continued to burn due to the pressure caused by the aura, as Tim's sword caught fire when he abruptly pronounced a word.
"The Cycling Reaper..."
Tim sent a shock wave through his feet, deforming the bridge and destroying it deep within, and then flashed onward, a cyclone of flames following behind him.
Clawford, unable to move as quickly as previously, attempted to avoid the attack, but found it hard due to the pain. He felt a deep wound in front of his chest and heard a metal noise.
Tim was standing behind Clawford's immobilized body when the spinning fire totally ignited his body, causing him to scream in pain, as a separate slice blitzed out from behind his back, shocking him entirely, while the wound he had received burst forth flames.
"Stay down..."
Tim straightened his body and closed his eyes before securing the sword to his back.
"You scumbag!"
Clawford swung his claw with all his might, but he was helpless when a bullet pierced his chest. As he eventually dropped to the floor, fracturing his claw against the floor, Clawford's eyes shook with amazement.
"Do not go any further... Clawford, it's over."
Tim stood crouched next to Clawford's face with a neutral expression as Natan stepped forward him and tied his arms.
"Now, unless you want one of your ears chopped off, tell us where you've been keeping the people who served under your command..."
"This is not over. Once I'm free, I'll chase you down, and make sure to kill you."
As Tim heard Clawford's female-like scream, he grabbed his ear and pulled it with an annoyed expression.
Tim seized Clawford's ear and twisted it out with an unimpressed expression on his face, then heard Clawford's female-like cry.
"Sure you don't want that ear chopped off?"
"Okay, okay, okay! I get it! Stop pulling my ear! Just east of the castle, you'll find a high-priced town with individuals being held at the town's main office in the town's center in a building with a flag on top. It's right behind that mountain in the distance, so you can't miss it. If you want to moor your ship, the town also has a dock."
"Thank you! See, you *can* be helpful if you want to be!"
"Shut up, you damn brat! You only got what you wanted because you had more men!"
Before Tim left the castle, he turned around with a goofy smile.
"I thought pirates like you would have more warriors to support you, not two weak henchmen that were barely able to stand a chance against us. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the marine prison. Marines should be soon coming to this island to take you away!"
In the end, Clawford gave up with his speech, and slapped his head against the floor, with everyone else preparing to head into the town.
To be continued...