Fox disappeared from Braxis's sight in an instant, evoking memories of in-game battle tactics. 'I have to seek shelter in moments like these,' he mused, adeptly leaping behind a tree to guard himself.
"What are you trying to do, hide? I can clearly see your spear poking out of that tree.." Fox said, attempting to provoke Braxis.
Raising his voice, Braxis yelled, "You should try to improve in your deception, it's hard not to be suspicious when you appear as a random merchant! Don't toy with me and think you can underestimate my abilities!"
Suddenly, a barrage of 20 shurikens hurtled towards Braxis from behind. With lightning-fast reflexes, he spun his spear in a whirlwind motion, deflecting 15 of them, while the remaining five seemed to miss him entirely.
"For an assassin, your aim leaves much to be desired," Braxis taunted, only to wince in pain as the tip of his pinky finger was sliced off. "Huh?" he gasped, clutching his injured hand to stem the blood flow.
Braxis swiftly channeled his mana into heightening his senses and realized that five of the shurikens he'd initially thought had missed were now hurtling back towards him, targeting his blind spots.
With his free hand, Braxis snatched up his short sword, attempting to parry the incoming projectiles. He successfully dodged four, but the fifth buried itself in his back.
Grimacing, Braxis dropped his sword and yanked the shuriken from his flesh. Before he could toss it aside, Fox appeared, circling Braxis and pulling something from his hand.
A searing pain shot through Braxis's hand as it gushed with blood. He now found himself missing an entire finger, and the front of his palm was gruesomely shredded.
"You fight like a fucking coward!" Braxis roared, his fury boiling over as he picked up the sword once more.
Fox's laughter reverberated through the forest as he revealed his hiding spot. "I'm disappointed, Braxis. I was warned to be cautious around you, but it seems such caution was unwarranted. To think that a potential heir of Gravis could be so weak is truly a disgrace."
"Fuck off! I'll show you the extent of my power!" Braxis bellowed, as he strategized how to execute a maneuver considered 'broken' in the game during PVP encounters.
Channeling mana into his toes for an instant, Braxis dashed towards Fox and lunged with his spear, only for Fox to sidestep the attack with ease.
"You're fast, but I don't think that will be enough," Fox said, devoid of emotion.
Determined, Braxis lunged once more. 'One more time!' he thought, attacking again.
Braxis's spear was dodged yet again, but this time he transferred mana to his fingertips for a brief moment, swiftly retracting his weapon and launching another strike, effectively attacking twice in quick succession.
'Let's see if you can dodge an attack animation cancel, you bastard!' Braxis smirked confidently, only to realize that he hadn't inflicted any damage on Fox, who had gathered a bundle of wire in his hands, blocking the blow.
Fox then leaped into a backflip and manipulated the wire and threw another shuriken. The shuriken whizzed past Braxis's face, narrowly missing him. 'He's using wires attached to these shurikens… That gives me an idea,' Braxis thought desperately, searching for a way to turn the tables on his foe.
As the shuriken whizzed past, Braxis snatched the trailing wire, channeling mana into his fingers to harden his skin and prevent cuts. Focusing intently, he sent a surge of electricity down the wire, detonating the shuriken and inflicting massive damage on Fox as he reeled from the electric damage as well as the shrapnel that was shot out from the shuriken.
Reeling in pain, Fox scrambled to find cover, unable to discern the source of the unexpected attack.
Braxis charged his spell for another electrical assault. "I've got plenty more where that came from!" he taunted, unleashing another bolt that elicited a pained howl from Fox.
Fox abandoned the wire and shurikens entirely. "You're a fool, Braxis. I've been using my secondary weapon to gauge your abilities, but it seems that's no longer necessary."
Drawing two daggers, Fox advanced towards Braxis with a menacing stride.
''He must have a screw loose if he's charging me like that,' Braxis mused, driving his spear through Fox, whose face remained expressionless.
"What are you, Dante?" Braxis yelled out.
Braxis immediately sensed something was amiss and released his spear, spinning around. However, it was too late—Fox had already buried a dagger into his side. The pain was excruciating, forcing Braxis to his knees as his strength ebbed away.
"Who do you think is training him?" Fox replied next to his ear.
"I should've known a coward like you would use a mirror image technique," Braxis sneered, blood trickling from his mouth.
"I've seen enough. Stand and leave. I swear on my honor that I won't kill you if you heed my advice, that wasn't the goal of my mission anyway," Fox declared, withdrawing his dagger and turning away.
Enraged beyond reason, Braxis fought through the pain and staggered to his feet. His eyes burned with a fury that threatened to consume him as he lunged at Fox, brandishing his short sword with reckless abandon. As Braxis closed in, Fox's eyes narrowed, and he whipped around with incredible speed, slicing Braxis's throat in a single, merciless stroke as well as hitting the sword, causing it to fly away.
"Your pathetic little trick may have worked on your feeble friend, but I'm no amateur. Remember that as you die," Fox spat, glancing over his shoulder before disappearing into the shadows.
Fox's Impression (Tenzent's Primary Assassin): -50
Fox Impression Progress: -57/300
Clutching his throat, Braxis noticed a trace of blood on the tip of his sword that was a few feet away from him. 'I was so damn close!' he thought, his vision fading as the world slipped away.
"Remaining revival points: 4."
"Hey, take it easy! Can we just forget I said anything?" Harrison's voice echoed into Braxis's head.