'Eh?' the Paladin thought as he saw Tobey's hand going towards him. For a moment, he couldn't believe what his eyes were seeing.
'Is this the so-called demon that is causing a fuss inside the Sacred Temple? Are they kidding me or something? This demon isn't even to be considered E-grade! I would rank him F-grade right away without a doubt!
'His skills surely are far from average, and his physical prowess isn't to be underestimated. However, he is far weaker than me, a D-grade Paladin! Also, I don't see that Soul Mirror from the rumors I heard. I can't even believe that his guy actually has a Soul Mirror, to be honest.'
The female Paladin behind him was feeling the same as she saw that scene slowly unfolding in front of her. She wasn't expecting that Tobey would be so weak like that.
'And to think that he could stop Clementine... It seems like he was just lucky, or Clementine was very unfortunate. Either way, the fact that he ran away from her and a whole troop of low-grade Paladins makes me wonder whether four days ago the universe was conspiring for him to survive... Anyhow, he will die now at the hands of my partner, so it doesn't matter at all. I shall forget about the reinforcements as well since it isn't needed.'
Nonetheless, both of them got dumbstruck once they saw red and black tendrils of energy coming out of Tobey's closed hand. Seconds before his hand clashed or went past the Paladin's blade, a dagger with a black handle and light red blade materialized in his hand.
What followed was the resounding clang of the two blades colliding against one another and getting repelled backward.
The Paladin wasn't expecting it to happen, so he stumbled a few steps backward, nearly losing his balance. He was looking flabbergasted at Tobey, more precisely to the weapon in his right hand.
"What the heck?" he muttered as he saw the runes carved on the light red blade of the dagger, also on its black handle. "How did this thing repel my sword and...!" he stopped to mutter about that once he took a glance at his sword.
'There is a dent in the blade of my sword... This guy actually could harm my Soul Mirror with a single attack! That's inconceivable! How can a low-grade demon like him ever scratch my Soul Mirror!?'
Tobey was prepared for that clash differently from the paladin. He knew that hitting from the angle he chose and with his current strength, it would repel the blades instead of locking them in a strength contest. Due to that fact, he didn't even stumble backward, which made both paladins get dumbstruck.
'Since I can't win him in a strength contest...'
[... you decided to play it smart by repelling his blade in the correct way and creating the false sensation of superiority over your enemy...]
'... Exactly! This way, they will be confused whether I have the power that the rumors affirm I have! If they fight with hesitation and uncertainty, my chances of winning raise by a notch!'
[You indeed are smarter than I thought, you bastard!] Mask said, overwhelmed with excitement. He hadn't fought for a long while now and he was missing that feeling. [Also, there is a bonus! His Soul Mirror actually got dented. It means that your dagger really has something to it... Maybe it's a hidden property that we don't know. Anyway, that's not important right now. Since things are like they are, then let's use it to our advantage and keep the facade!]
Tobey's confident smile turned into a grin as he kicked the ground and advanced against the paladin. He didn't lose his balance after the last clash, so he could take the initiative before him.
The demon attacked with his dagger nonstop, taking advantage of any opening that the paladin let appear. The latter had good reflexes and could avoid most of the attacks, though he got scratched by some of them.
Tobey's relentless pursuit was forcing him to stay defensive. The demon's agility was very high, even higher than his strength. Each attack seemed to make his body feel lighter, which increased his speed, thus pressing the paladin even further.
'I can't... I can't stay defensive all the time! I need to fight back!' the paladin thought as he gritted his teeth and prepared himself to attack. However, Tobey was faster and closed in as he saw the huge opening he created in his stance in order to prepare his arms to pierce forward with the sword.
However, the detective got surprised once someone rushed toward him like a lightning bolt, striking him on his left side with a heavy flying kick and making him lose the opportunity to finish off the male paladin.
"Are you okay?" the female paladin asked her partner, slightly worried.
"I am fine. The armor always saves in these cases. I didn't get as harmed as I should have. Nonetheless...", that paladin tightened the grip on the hilt of his sword, feeling quite frustrated. "I think we should call reinforcements. The rumors may have exaggerated this time, but they are far from being completely wrong."
"It will take some time to reach the nearest troop patrolling the surroundings. Do you want to call them in my place or hold him for longer?"
The Paladin got up with difficulty, using his sword as a support.
"Don't worry, I will do it. I was underestimating him before. Now, things will be different."
She nodded her head to her partner whom she trusted a lot. She knew that he was going to do a good job.
'I need to contact the nearest troop as fast as possible,' she thought, feeling a bitter taste spreading in her mouth as she was feeling bad for not helping her partner right away in such a tough battle.
'I feel that there is something off with that dagger. It isn't a normal Soul Mirror. On the contrary, compared to the other Soul Mirrors that I've ever seen from other demons, that one feels more... more evil. My heart trembles at its presence, even. How can a low-graded demon like him have such a strong Soul Mirror?'
As her partner got up, Tobey did the same in front. The kick that he received probably broke two or three ribs. He had broken his ribs before once, but never so many at the same time. He felt like staying on the ground and not getting up anymore, but he gritted his teeth and squeezed the black handle of his dagger.
Tobey forced himself to get up while staring at them.
'I need to maintain the facade. No matter what, I can't let myself look weak!'
The female Paladin, though seemingly hesitant, turned around and ran away.
The male Paladin took a step forward as he steadied his weapon and prepared his fighting stance.
'It seems that the male Paladin will fight against me, even though he is a little bit harmed. However, what will the other do?'
[As I can perceive, she will call reinforcements. You will get sieged like a pig, mate. You better end this battle as fast as possible.]
'Easier said than done.'
Tobey also took a fighting stance, breathing in and out, then starting to move as if he didn't get his ribs broken just now.
The paladin quickly exerted strength in his legs, leaping forward and unleashing a sharp diagonal slash that nearly struck Tobey. The latter jumped to the side to dodge that blow.
Yet, the paladin reversed the course of his blade, stopping it before it hit the ground and swinging it to the left.
Tobey clashed against his sword using his dagger, repelling it like in the previous time. However, the paladin was prepared for that and didn't lose his balance. Instead, he grabbed the hilt with even more strength and attacked again.
Tobey and the paladin continued to exchange blows like that. Their agility was equal, though their strength was far from being the same.
The paladin showed to be superior in terms of swordsmanship due to constant training and lots of experience. Nonetheless, Tobey had more tricks to outsmart him.
Tobey was having a hard time, especially when dealing with heavy blows. Everything was okay while the paladin swung his blade horizontally, but when he did it vertically and used all the strength of both arms and his back in the attack... Tobey had just one choice in these cases: dodge. If he dared to lock blades with him or even parry his attack, he would end up meeting his end.
After one minute straight of exchanging blows, zigzagging across the parking lot, they met in a final clash that sent both of them sliding to opposite sides due to the impact. The sound of that clash echoed through the night, also as a flash of red and golden light generated by the collision of both their auras.
Tobey was panting hard while gritting his teeth and forcing himself not to show a grimace of pain. It was hard to breathe when he had three broken ribs. That experience surely was painful, particularly after exchanging blows for one minute straight.
The paladin was standing in front of him, looking pretty calm, his breathing steadied. However, inside his mind, he was breaking.
'This dagger...', he took a glance at his sword, seeing how dented its sharp edge became. 'I never saw something so ominous before... No, I would be lying if I said it. I actually saw something this profane just one time in my life. It was the Soul Mirror of the Blood-seeker.'
He hated to admit it, but he needed to be realistic there: 'If the reinforcements don't arrive in time and this guy can keep pulling through like this... I will die.'