Within the first few minutes of the fight, she had gotten the upper hand quicker than he expected.
There was something about the techniques she used in relaying her attacks to him. She was a long-range fighter, which meant her attacks were more effective when her target was at a reasonable distance away from her. Completely immersing herself into the dark powers she possessed, several of her attacks had succeeded in causing him harm. As he was yet to understand the way her powers worked, he was continuously thrown off balance by her multiple attacks.
But now, the tables had turned.
The boy covered in intensifying flames had broken through to her weakness. Being a long-range fighter, she could barely fare off when it came to close combat and this boy had studied her throughout the fight to learn that fact. If he wanted to get rid of her that would be the fastest and easiest means as using his skills against her would only allow her to reconvert them to a more powerful attack to be used against him.
"Killing innocent people so you can escape the punishment of your sins," Max scoffed. Attacks from his lightening engulfed blade came at her one after the other, from different angles. Despite the black spear that had formed in her hand, there wasn't much she could do to defend the endless strikes referred to her.
His last strike violently swept her off her feet and she was already flying through the air and crashing into a nearby building that resembled a temple.
Max's flame aura subsided as he made his way to the temple.
Due to her crashing into the temple, the ground at the front of the temple developed cracks underneath her body.
She was lying down facing the ground and he could hear groans escape from her.
"Every passing second I am beginning to detest you," He said. The sparks rushed through his blade as if eager to continue where they had left off.
The groans from Melanie continued before her shadows came over her, disappearing with her. Max was the least surprised, she wasn't one to give up that easily.
He turned around only to receive her immediate spear attacks. Several spears were headed in his direction but all were deflected by his sword except one had not noticed in time coming from the side.
The spear drove through his shoulder with full force flinging him off to a side.
"You don't feel bad about your actions, do you?" Max groaned in pain as he pulled out the spear that had through his shoulder boring a hole into it.
Melanie laughed and began walking towards him with her spear in her hand. At that moment, something else that he would never have thought could happen made him sweat profusely.
[ Regeneration process failed ]
Dark smog began to course through the wound in his shoulder.
"You scared?" Melanie smiled underneath her mask.
"What have you done to me?"
"A little magic."
The smog slowly engulfed his arm but before it could start spreading to other parts of his body, he used his sword to slice through his arm and it fell to the ground.
"You sure are a daring one," She suddenly started moving backward. "Have fun with your arm!"
The cut was dripping blood to the ground.
[ Effect of forbidden magic has been removed ]
[ Regeneration process complete ]
A new left arm grew out from his wound, making it look as it had been before he cut it off.
"What?"
He watched his former arm which was already immersed in dark smog. Little by little, the arm increased in size with spider-like legs sprouting out from the top. Soon, the gigantic arm stood on its spider legs with its huge fingers ready for a fight.
Max staggered backward in disbelief.
"My arm..."
Without warning, the fingers came upon him sending skillful entailed techniques at him. Max was quick to block its strikes with his sword. Despite that, the bolts seemed to not affect the arm.
The fingers worked out several moves he had never seen in his life, making him vulnerable to its attacks. Clenching its fist followed by its swift movement enabled by its spider legs, it plunged its fingers folded into his palm into the ground. The whole of the ground on which Max stook broke off into huge rocks throwing him off balance.
Lava soaked up his feet and he was able to land in a safer place. But the arm tirelessly came at him and with a flick of its finger, the young boy witnessed his body being carried effortlessly by the wind as he was hurled through scads of buildings.
Melanie stood a few meters away watching the event unfold before her eyes much to her amusement.
Not giving Max time to even breathe, the arm had gotten to where he had landed. It lifted its fist into the air bringing down a punch against Max but the boy was quick to avoid it.
On the activation of one of his skills, all six portals unsealed above the arm allowing a heavy downpour of blades to befall it.
Every of part its flesh was stabbed with these blades. Unfortunately to Max's surprise, the arm was undaunted by the strikes instead it used the blades stuck in its flesh to its advantage.
In a flash, the bladed weapons bore away from the arm and returned to Max, as an attack. A wall of fire immediately blocked the attack protecting Max behind its boundary.
At the moment there was almost zero chance of him defeating his previous arm that was now controlled by the smog moving through it.
This was where quick thoughts had to rush into his mind while he fought off his arm before a permanent elimination idea would occur to him. The arm had now become independent of its owner due to the forbidden magic backing it up and whatsoever attacks had all proven useless against it.
But then looking further into the current situation, the arm could not be harmed till its original body was hurt. Right now, the arm was a product from Max and as such not until he got hurt with at least one of the skills he had attempted in using to destroy the arm there would be no end to it. It was independent of its owner did not mean it couldn't be killed by its owner.
The fleet of Max's feet helped him escape an attack from the arm. Afterward, he drove the lightening filled sword into his stomach electrocuting him on the spot at the same time giving way for blood to spill out from his mouth and the wound in his stomach.
He dropped to his knees as an endless scream escaped his lips with the aggressive lightning bolts sparking through his body. The arm showed signs in response to what Max had done as its spider legs slowly shrunk as it swayed from side to side as if experiencing torments.
"He figured it out. It seems the authorities must have purposely fooled me into bringing one of the Lord's alliances here just so he could execute me in here," Melanie found herself drifting backward not out of amusement but out of fear.
The arm continued losing every character that had turned it inhuman. The dark smog flowed down the arm to the ground before retracting back into the mastermind behind its existence. The arm shrunk in size before falling onto the ground with a plop. Soon the now lifeless arm was reduced to dust particles that were swept away by the wind.
Melanie stopped dead in her tracks, her legs were shaking that they couldn't move anymore. Now that she had come to think of it, this boy looked like someone familiar. His eyes, his well-defined features, reminded her much of someone and that left her tongue twisted.
The present sight of the boy was a scene that depicted gore. He was so bent on killing her that he went as far as hurting himself. Despite the tormenting pain he was passing through, he was able to deactivate the sword's lightning ability.
His smoky body fell flat to the ground.
[ Your HP is low ]
[ HP 5/27 ]
[ Regeneration in progress ]
[ Regeneration complete ]
[ HP has been restored ]
The deep wound in his stomach immediately closed up. Not even thinking of taking a quick rest, he was up on his feet.
"You aren't still remorseful?" Max arched an eyebrow and reactivated the Steel Of Karma's lightning ability.
Melanie didn't even know what to say anymore. It was more like she had lost her pride.
Max came at her in a flash. She was too dazed to even comprehend his movements any longer. The strike followed by a little footwork of his pushed her backward. As if she had lost all confidence in herself, her defense dropped to a poor level whereby just a kick could break through.
She was getting beat left and right. Yes, she started to feel like she deserved it. If she was going to be killed, she would be leaving the world without having to see her father neither would she have accomplished her goal. She did still retain her hatred towards the authorities. If they didn't have to make everything in the world under their control just because they were called the authorities. There was this belief she had stuck to, she was born a ruler. Her parents would spoil her with these kinds of words when she was little not knowing the fact that they were sculpting her little mind then into one of evil. Everyone around her made her believe that fact until she got to know of the so-called authorities and the Lord of the Game verse. They contradicted everything her parents inculcated in her. If she had been born to be a ruler like they had always said then why did they have to serve under these people? Her take on this worsened when she got to know her father was one of the members of the council of the authorities.
One more strike from Max and she fell to the ground with her mask breaking into half. Her face which had long been underneath the mask turned to him, her eyes void of any signs of joy instead they were dropping tears onto her cheeks.