Tobey prepared himself for the upcoming clash. He knew that his actions had triggered Roger. The latter didn't have the same expression as before, the aura around him and his presence showed just how much serious he was.
Although it looked like the paladin was going all out against Tobey right from the start, he was hesitating, in truth.
'His hesitation didn't force him to hold his power but unleash it right from the start without even taking his time to study the enemy and wear me out slowly as he did so. Using all his strength right from the start may show a signal of courage and detachment, but this action shows just how much he is afraid of hurting me.
'He wanted to finish it with just one blow so he wouldn't need to see me suffering, this experience would end quickly, and so he wouldn't need to keep fighting against his own emotions while fighting against me.
'Now, however, the table turned completely. He noticed that I am fighting seriously enough to attempt to shatter his Soul Mirror, all the while damaging myself as well. I am not fighting this fight to lose, and I am sure that right now he thinks the same way!'
Actually, it wasn't good for Tobey that the hesitation Roger showed previously was gone. Actually, if he was to fight against that paladin seriously, he would surely get destroyed completely.
[You won't be able to withstand the pressure of this paladin, man. Not when he is fighting properly with you. You are aware of this fact, right? If you want, we can switch, but I doubt I would do it better. The final result is death no matter what you do in this fight, be it using Mirror Shattering, fighting fiercely, or running like a coward. Right now, this guy will follow you to the depths of hell if needed, and fight the own devil if he tries to get in the way.]
'Yes, I am well aware of this. You don't need to worry about it, Mask. This reaction was within my predictions. I just need to hold on for a little longer. If I can do this much, at least, the fight will be mine.'
[Don't you really need to change? I won't be able to kill this guy, you know? And, if it's for a little while, me taking the wheel won't make much difference in our mind, anyway.]
Tobey stared at that powerful paladin who was starting to walk hastily towards him, then jogging... until he was running at full speed and covering several meters with ease. A few steps more and he would get within the range of Caelum.
'No. It's not about pride nor wariness this time, though. I just feel that the last bit of this battle must be fought by me!'
Mask felt that Tobey had his resolve and nothing was going to stop him. This way, he didn't bother in arguing with him anymore. Secretly, he was proud of Tobey. Although the detective was an unfortunate bastard, he was a real man; someone that Mask couldn't hold antipathy or grudge, but also couldn't feel empathic about. It was a feeling similar to rivalry, something that wasn't hating nor liking but respecting.
Tobey also stomped the ground and went at full speed against Roger. For the first time during the battle, he was showing all the strength of his Demon Form. He finally could feel like those developed muscles were his and use them to their peak, he had a new sense of awareness of the power within him.
Like two lightning bolts, they got within range and attacked.
The paladin was the first. He did multiple lunges with his spear toward Tobey while the latter was still running to reach him. The whistling sound of the spear seemed to echo throughout the city, such was the strength behind those attacks.
Tobey dodged by waving his body to the side. At least, he could do so with the first two attacks, but the last one came so fastly that he didn't feel like his reflexes nor agility were enough to match.
Gritting his teeth and calculating properly, he moved his dagger some centimeters, making it collide against the spear and redirect it enough just so the blade wouldn't leave more than a scratch on his face.
Caelum's leaf-shaped blade hit the dagger. A chunk of the dagger's blade flew like a bullet as the collision happened. Besides, Tobey's wrist got injured.
Nonetheless, the harm wasn't only on Tobey's side. Caelum also lost another fragment of its blade and the crack it had got bigger, spreading near the edge of the blade like a spider's web.
Roger pulled his spear back again, then attacked another time with a roar.
Tobey roared with him, swinging his dagger and posing it in the way of the attack.
'I just need to rely on my reflexes. My physical strength doesn't matter. Just skill and reflexes are needed. Sharpen your mind! React quickly... No! Don't react, but predict what your opponent will do! Predict it and counter him before he even starts his motion!'
Caelum collided against the dagger again, its blade sliding against it and leaving a rain of sparks behind. With a flick of his injured wrist, Tobey parried the blow to the side. However, it also contributed to worse his injury, making Tobey grimace in pain.
Roger saw that as an opportunity and, differently from his attack pattern from before, swung his spear horizontally. Due to his leaf-shaped blade, he could allow himself to use his spear that way if he had enough distance and accuracy.
Tobey swiftly switched hands, holding his dagger with his left and defending the attack at the last second. The blades slid against each other again, sparkles flew everywhere, and the detective parried it another time with all his strength.
He let out another grunt of pain as he did so.
'I am parrying the blows not to have my wrist, elbow, or shoulder broken due to the strength behind the attacks. Anyhow, I am still messing with my wrist even doing this much. However, I can't find another way to keep holding this fight!'
The spear kept slashing and piercing across the air, relentlessly pushing the demon away. Each clash sent another wave of pain to Tobey's body, and the dizziness of losing parts of his Soul Mirror was showing up already, getting him weaker and nauseous. His reflexes were getting slower due to this fact and he was committing more mistakes, which resulted in more harm to his body.
'Fight until the end, Tobey! Don't back away! Don't back away!' a flame of hope was glittering inside Tobey's eyes, a flame representing the unwavering determination in the detective's heart.
Roger was caught off guard by such a sight. It was not an everyday thing when you saw someone with such an expression when facing death. That was a battle that Tobey couldn't win, after all.
'His Soul Mirror is almost entirely broken. Just a few more hits and I will shatter its blade completely,' Roger reasoned. 'On the other hand, Caelum has some cracks and a few dents, but that's it. Why is he looking at me like this, then? There is no hope for him at all!'
Roger delivered another attack, but with the shaft of his weapon, hitting Tobey's arms and blowing his guard away. He was saving that technique for when Tobey was already weak enough for him to give his final attack.
'That's the end for you, Tobey Foster!' he thought as he held Caelum above his head. 'Even if he can put his arms in front of his head, he will end up having his dagger shattered. He will get defeated either way!'
Roger shot his blade downwards. That swing was sharper and faster than all the others he had been doing before. He had hidden his true physical prowess from Tobey so he wouldn't be able to time perfectly his final attack. Also, he didn't want to use his own strength against himself, as attacking savagely would only help Tobey to break his weapon more efficiently.
The leaf-shaped blade of Caelum descended toward Tobey's head. The latter had just the time to glance at the upcoming attack and pull his arms back.
'So, you decided to break your Soul Mirror, huh? Very well...', Roger closed his eyes at the last moment, not wanting to see the mercy shot reaching its target.
However... a loud thud was heard instead of the sound of blade slashing flash.
"Did you really think that you would be able to deceive me by suddenly changing the power of your final blow? You were dead wrong, then!" Tobey said in a choked voice as he was struggling to keep Caelum's blade from reaching his face.
Roger opened his eyes, not comprehending what Tobey did. Once he did so, he nearly jumped in a start as he saw Caelum's blade locked with... the black handle of Tobey's dagger. The latter had gripped it in a way that left some centimeters of the handle exposed. It made his index finger and thumb touch the blade and get hurt, but it surely was a little price to pay.
Tobey was kneeled on one knee, using the ground as support not to get overwhelmed by the strength of the blow.
"The battle... isn't over yet... Lancelot Yoder!" Tobey claimed as he forced himself to get up, launching his body upwards and masterfully parrying Caelum's blade away.