"Shit, what the hell is this?... Save me!... Save me!" Dominic yelled out in terror as Storm Rider tried its best to maneuver about the forest of hands that had covered the entirety of the arena.
Garth on the other hand was having his fill of fun as he swung his arms about, coordinating the hands made of sand to ensure that the big bird and its useless contractor would be on their toes.
Having its patience run thin, Storm Rider scolded Dominic telepathically. "Shut up!... Is there a need to scream so much?... Instead of embarrassing yourself in front of all these people, shouldn't you try to attack that child now that he is focused on attacking us?"
"But…" Dominic was way too terrified to see reason.
Storm Rider cut him off. "There are no buts!... You'd best reorganize your thoughts if not both of us would end up being crushed by that hateful child!"
Dominic took a look around, moving away from the giant sand hands that were trying to crush him, to take a look at the audience.
The face of the nobles was contorted as they watched one of their own embarrass himself so badly, not only in their presence but before the esteemed visitor from the capital.
Dominic looked in another direction and could just about make out the princess in the VIP area.
"No, this wasn't how it was meant to be… I was supposed to be the hero. How could I embarrass myself like this?" Dominic questioned internally as he slowly fought back the despair he felt.
He was a noble child born on the better side of society. How could he lose to an ordinary commoner?
Gritting his teeth, Dominic regained some level of composure. "Storm, I'll need your help, I can't handle that bastard's suppression alone, help me get close to him. I'll handle the rest."
Storm Rider felt relieved at Dominic's change. "That's fine. Would you like to ride on my back?"
"Yes," Dominic said with a hint of pride.
Storm Rider tossed him in the air and Dominic landed on his back exaggeratedly. The princess rolled her eyes and Garth sneered.
"It doesn't matter what you do, you'd still get crushed when I deem it fit to do so." Garth thought.
Just then, Dominic attacked. With Will Assimilation, he was able to achieve 40% synchronicity with Storm Rider allowing him to wield the power of the Wind.
"Wind flurry."
The next moment, several sword arcs formed using wind shot toward Garth with a vengeance.
Garth did not bother to move his arms to block as he continued tormenting Storm Rider with the latter moving at its best speed attainable trying to avoid getting caught.
Just as the sword beams came within five meters of him, a wall of sand suddenly shot out from the ground and blocked them.
Dominic hoped for his attack to cut through the sand barrier but unfortunately, it only ended up making a deep cut which was quickly covered up, leaving no space to touch Garth.
By the time the sand wall came down, Garth was about to comment on Dominic's futile effort but he saw no one in his field of view.
"Hmm, where did they go?" Garth spread out his magic just in time to sense incoming danger from behind him.
He whipped his head back to find Storm Rider making a beeline for him, its speed bordering ever so slightly on the speed of sound.
Garth turned panicky as he swung his arms every which way with sand spikes and projectiles slamming into Storm Rider but the latter had thought of this and used a ball of compressed air to protect himself from any troublesome attack.
Dominic stood poised on Storm Rider's back, ready to attack as he gathered his magic into his sword for one big attack. "This will be the attack to end it all."
Just as they got within 30 meters of Garth, he muttered. "So you want to finish this?... Well, so do I."
His eyes flashed with a cold glint.
!!!
Storm Rider sensed a great danger causing it to stop its approach. "Flee!... I need to run away!"
That was the only thing on its mind.
Unfortunately, Garth had already anticipated that.
A giant hand appeared above Storm Rider's head and without warning, collided with it before slamming it into the ground.
Boom
"… Weak," Garth muttered with a hint of disdain in his eyes.
Garth moved his hand and the giant hand pulled back to reveal Dominic and Storm Rider inside a crater that spanned the width of the hand.
Dominic tried to move but found it hard to move his limbs. Looking down on Storm Rider, he despaired once again.
If not for Storm Rider using its aura to shield him, Dominic's body would have been crushed by the giant hand. Unfortunately, that left it completely vulnerable.
Sure, its body was indeed tough but that didn't stop it from receiving terrible injuries.
Dominic was about to speak when something wrapped around his foot. He looked down to find that it was a smaller version of the giant hand.
The next moment, he was pulled away from Storm Rider's back.
"Fuck!... Let me go!" He swung his blade and cut the hand but just as he began to free fall toward the ground, two giant hands moved in and caught him.
"Ugh." Dominic groaned as he coughed up blood as the sand arms were not the least bit gentle when they caught him.
He looked down at Garth with the latter staring at him with a sinister smile. "Please endeavor not to cut them, they might just get even more aggressive and end up crushing you into meat paste."
Dominic gritted his teeth. "You hateful bastard!... Let me down and fight me like a man!... How dare you claim to be a combatant when you don't dare to fight me!"
Garth looked at Dominic as though he were a fool. "… Are you dumb?"