"You're deluded if you believe that you stand a chance against me!"
The desperate words of my attacker erupted out as he showed us the back of his hand. His fingers twitched, and in an instant, my body began entombing in thick, white wires. I was trapped almost like an insect wrapped in a spider's web. It was an odd choice, but now his wires had become visible to my eyes.
"Charlotte's Strangle! Bwahaha! A trap like this is more than enough for a vermin like you!"
That once indecisive face was replaced with his smug aura. He stuck his tongue out at me and began to revel in my sudden ensnarement. The wires were tighter than before, with my arms now tied to my torso.
"Now be crushed and despair!"
The wires began to circulate and further constrict into my armor. If not for that armor, the rotating saw-like wires would be tearing into my flesh like a meat grinder. I tried to muster my strength and brute force my way out, but it only served to further ruin my chances. Seconds felt like minutes as life was being stripped from me.
"Fernando…", I wheezed to the man, but my breath was wasted.
When I managed to glance in his direction, he had vanished. When he had vanished, it was beyond me, but that likely was the catalyst for his enboldment. A sick cackle slipped from my opponent as he foresaw his own victory. It's a bit premature if you were to ask me.
"Gah- That's not enough..", A groan slipped out as the wires finally penetrated my armor.
Blood sprayed onto the dirt path, but he was not satisfied. I am by myself now. There is no assistance, so I'll have to use the tools at my disposal.
"Despair, my ass."
With the wires cocooning around my torso and tearing into my flesh, there was only one option that I had. The gift that Fernando had left for me before his disappearance. Activating it required the allocation of magic in the area, and doing so was rather easy. My body was soon wrapped in a light blue energy, and the wires were removed from my flesh.
There was now a thin barrier preventing the drilling of his wires, and as I poured more of my magic in it, the farther the distance between the two things came. My adversary wore an amused expression, but his attempt didn't halt. The acute warble of energy occurred as his wires began their assault on my barrier.
The more ground my barrier acquired, the more vigorous his assault became. It was a pointless endeavor for him, and in a matter of seconds, I now had at least an arm's width in space. Once that reality had sunk in, the wires disappeared from my barrier. He twisted and weaved his hands until he finally crossed them against his chest.
"You're a persistent vermin, but a persistent vermin is a-"
"Vermin, nonetheless. Damn dude, you spew the same nonsense like it's cool. That phrase is pretty bad, all things considered."
"Tch- What do you know? You'll be done for soon anyway. Just look at you."
My armor is pretty resilient, but the inquired damage is a testament to the strength of his technique. There is no doubt in my mind that if I didn't have the armor of Sir Whatchamacall1t's warriors, then I'd be sawed in half about now.
It was also thanks to Fernando's barrier ring that I am even free now. Magical artifacts are game changers, and from the looks of those wires, I believe that those are my opponent's specific ones. That only meant one thing to me; I needed to retrieve my ax.
My eyes shifted to it, and its location was a good distance away from me. The arrows still remained standing in the ground nearby. I know that once I get my hands on it, then it'll be a wrap for him, but he likely shared the same thoughts. It would be more advantageous for him to keep my hands free, but once I have something to deal with his wires, then the tides shift.
The air whiffed, and the barrier pinged instantly. Something had impacted it, and then seconds later, it occurred and occurred once more. Naturally, that meant that I was under attack. The barrier cried out in defiance, but there was no real damage to it. Looking towards the attacker, he had begun flailing his hands around, and each time they returned in my direction, the barrier was hit.
'He must have seen that Tomika was capable of piercing it, so he's going to attempt the same thing… If he entraps me once more, then that might be the end of my streak.'
Facing that reality showed that I had only one choice. I bolted towards my ax. More and more attacks bounced off of the barrier, but they were not enough to prevent my advance. My hand reached out, aiming to reclaim my weapon.
Crash!
"Gah!-"
I cried out in pain as my wrist became ensnared.
The wires whipped up in a frenzy and, like a saw, slashed into my flesh. Blood sprayed across the ground, and pain shot through my arm. Somehow, he managed to get through the barrier, and his wire prevented me from reaching my goal.
It didn't take long to realize why. The wires around my forearm were extremely thick and numerous. Due to their rotation of them, it was far more difficult to pinpoint how many wires were needed to give the illusion of their thickness.
Still, it was enough to prevent me from grabbing my ax. I resisted, but so did he. There was a defiant tug against my arm, and it was throwing my balance off considerably.
The growing pain and mess created from my flesh and blood caused me to turn around. It was that or he was going to dislocate my shoulder. Carefully, I shifted my body and tried not to keep more damage from transpiring.
There was only one thing that I could do, so I quickly acted on it. I pulled in my barrier and forced the pressure of the wires onto the magical barrier.
"Tsk Tsk. Surely, you didn't think that I would allow you to do that. Do you take me as a fool?", he taunts.
A smug expression appeared on my attacker's face as he reeled me in like a fish on a hook. His wrist twisted and weaved through the air. Looking at him, you wouldn't expect a slim brat like him to be so powerful, but that's game mechanics for you.
His level is no doubt higher than my own, so he has a greater strength buff than me on a base level. It is only due to the fact that my real life strength carried over that I stood a chance at resisting his pull.
"You look the part, so you gotta be. Either that or you're mad if you think that you'll beat me.", I responded.
The thing about this game is that the pain that I was experiencing was somewhat realistic. Benefits of the new generation VR headsets, I guess. I could literally feel my flesh being scraped off by the wires, and the blood produced from it spilled below like a carton of crimson paint
Every ounce of blood that flowed from my wound was felt along any exposed cracks in my armor.
"How can you utter such nonsense while looking like that? Do you not understand the situation that you are placed in? You must be wet in between the ears, Vermin."
This man was quite the strange fellow, but his strength could not be denied. The barrier whined under the pressure of his attack, but I took the chance to do something that I believed that he would not expect. I was unsure of whether or not the barrier would hold up, but I reached forward with my free arm and grabbed around the wire.
"Alright, asshole. I have had enough of the nonsense that you've been spewing.", I spat.
It was difficult grabbing onto the shifting wires, but thanks to the stability of the barrier, I was capable of grabbing onto them. Although my grip was not enough to prevent them from moving, it did allow me to do one thing. Squaring my shoulders, I began pulling at the wires.
Slowly, but surely, my attacker found the ground in between us shrinking. His smug face was replaced with one of concern, and sure enough, his wires loosened around my forearm. His intent was clear.
"Tch- Let go of them, you vermin!", He barked.
Despite releasing me, I didn't offer him the same courtesy. I knew that the moment I released him. things will just remain the same. I'd reach for my ax, and he'd stop me. This time, he'd go for a vital spot, and I didn't want that to transpire. Yet, his cowardly actions created me an unexpected opening.
"You should know what happens when you corner a vermin, bastard. They tend to bite back!", I responded.
Cornered, hurt, and bleeding, there was only one option remaining for me; Become the vermin that he saw me as and bite him. Now, the time is now, and my fangs are rearing to have a piece of him.