The sharp grinding of the wires against my barrier sparked. Due to it being constantly active, I found the act of grabbing onto it rather difficult. Yet, I still managed to do so.
"Tch- You damned vermin!"
The boastful wiremaster howled his complaints as slowly, but surely I reeled him in with his wire. While his strength could not be denied, my own strength allowed me to pull him closer. I had only one chance, and if this battle continued going forward, things would not look good for me. He is an incredibly dangerous foe, after all.
With his wires caught, my opponent attempted to disengage their previous actions. While they did stop their grinding, I still held onto them with an iron grip. He whined in protest like a dog on a leash and resisted like one. Warped with frustration, my opponent's face informed me that I was doing the correct thing.
He was about two feet away from me at this point, but I knew that would not be enough. My finishing attack is actually quite limited when it comes to both distance and speed. If my opponent is fast enough, then it is incredibly plausible that they could easily evade it. The same thing could be said with distance as if they are too far away, then it runs the risk of my simply missing it.
He likely knew what I was going for. I am willing to bet that he was watching my skirmish with Harris, so he would have seen my Rocket Punch in action. Since his weapon is these wires, then that means that his greatest advantage over me is long-range combat. Despite being supposedly a higher level than I am, he has been pushing for a long-distance approach when our battle started.
The more the distance between us shrunk, the more his smug face was replaced with obvious concern. I couldn't help but wonder why. He has enough physical strength to play tug of war with both Fernando and myself, but he opts not to engage in close combat. Why is that the case?
My eyes drifted away from my resisting opponent and instead went towards where Tomika had disappeared into the treeline. The canopy of the trees were so thick that it was possible to hide a large number of people there if my adversaries desired it, but to my knowledge there were only him and the one who shot the arrows. Again, why is that the case?
He is pretty strong, I will concede that, but there's a reason why he hid in the trees like a coward. A reason that he somehow controlled both Harris and Tomika in an attempt to cut down our numbers. The eyes of the man flickered in desperation, and with that, it brought a sense of concern.
Although he was flailing like a fish out of water, there was something that seemed off. Tomika disappeared without a trace after disappearing into the trees. I know for a fact that I would have heard fighting the moment she found her opponent. So why is that not the case?
I had been trying to overpower this man for at least two minutes now, and yet I didn't hear a single thing. Those overwhelming sounds of wild beasts in the forest were replaced with a silence that was more deafening than before. Hell, there was a distinct lack of sound from any movement.
"Fiber Cloak."
The very ground underneath my feet began to shake. Violent cracks danced across the pathway and headed my direction. I was not that keen on allowing myself to be devoured by that sudden opening, and as such, I moved to evade.
'Was this some type of earth magic? It could have been my opponent, but he doesn't seem like the type to use that type of magic.'
I leaped around from area to area before I made up my mind on what I was going to do. In my line of sight was now my ax, and in an explosive stride, I made way over to it. This time, I leaped over, crashing my entire body onto it in order to capture it fully. Hitting like a rocket against the still surface of a lake, I reclaimed my vertical base.
"All right, now let's get a bit more serious, shall we?"
My ax glistened in the moonlight. Its curved blade hungered for much needed action. The air whiffed softly as I twirled the weapon on the axis.
"You think that simply arming is enough to match me, vermin? Don't delude yourself."
The words of my opponent bounced around the area. Each syllable appeared to come from a different direction. I don't know what kind of trick that he was trying to employ, but I kept my guard raised nonetheless.
"You say that, but you still choose to hide yourself. If you really weren't afraid of me arming myself, then you'd step up.", I responded. My tone was sharp and condensed towards the man as I attempted to taunt him. "It looks like the Midnight Guild employs cowards under their ranks. You're only half good at sneak attacks. If the roles were reversed, then you'd already have your-"
A low shuffle appeared behind me as soon as I uttered my words. I snapped to face it, and sure enough, my opponent rushed from that area. He lunged towards me with his fingers extended towards my location.
"Head.-", I managed to finish my sentence as my opponent clashed with my ax.
His wires ensnared the hilt of my ax, but I would not allow him to disarm me so easily again. Surprise colored his face at my unexpected defiance. His fingers gyrated in a rapid fashion, and the wires began drilling into the handle of my weapon.
"There are more than one way to disarm you, vermin.", he enlightened me.
His goal was clear as day. If he could not force the weapon out of my hand, then he would simply sever the blade from the handle. It was a sound strategy.
"So you say, but don't delude yourself."
His eyes widened as I directed his phrase right back at him. I rotated my ax in a circular motion, and sure enough, the blade caught his wires. The attacker jerked forward as the action wasn't enough to sever his wires but instead caught onto it. He was pulled towards me, and that set up my next attack.
My right hand suddenly engulfed in flames as the once ensnared ax reeled him in. His eyes widened to the point where I could see the flames dance in his pupils. This was the moment that I had been waiting for. -
"- Rocket.", I called out my skill name, but as expected, my weaselly opponent attempted to pull away.
His body twisted, and normally, that would be enough to escape the fiery radius of my attack. Sure enough, he would have gotten away unscathed, but I wasn't deluded like he had imagined. He weaved towards my right side, his smug face seemingly taunting my action. Unfortunately for him, simply evading my attack is not enough.
My hand followed behind his body as if it was heat seeking. The flames burned brighter than before as their vengeance threatened to devour him. There will be no escape for him, I will not allow it.
"Rocket Punch!-"
"Charlotte's Defense!", he cried out in response.
His shout was filled with desperation as my fist arched towards him. Although it was a moment too late for him to say it, his wires still managed to weave in front of him. You could imagine the surprise on my face as his wires linked together to form a makeshift shield in front of him. Despite the strength and firepower placed behind it, his wires seemed to once again blunt my offensive endeavor.
'These fucking wires! This shit is getting mad annoying!-'
Blow after blow of Rocket Punch smashed into the defense of my opponent. The metal of the wires still remained defiant to the bitter end. His ever growing confidence increased alongside the knowledge of his resistance.
"You lucky bastard-", I huffed in frustration.
There was little point in continuing bashing his shield since little ground was being gained from my attacks. Standing there only allowed him the opportunity to counterattack once he deemed it necessary. His actions did grant one positive for me. My ax was now freed from his influence. Taking this chance, I quickly backpedaled in order to place some much needed distance between the two of us.
I had not expected such a difficult opponent to be here at this moment, but I wasn't going to simply back down.
'It isn't in too bad of shape. A little graze isn't enough to prevent my victory, but I need to do something about those wires…'
His wires are not only dangerous on offense, but he could also shift them to a more defensive role as well, but there is one thing that I noticed. They might be incredibly tough, but there appears to be only a limited length to them. It will take some effort to cut through them, but all that I need is one good hit on him.
"Bahaha! I warned you, but you appear to take me lightly. I am not an opponent that you could defeat with that pitiful strength that you have. Don't take the Midnight Guild lightly, vermin!", my opponent jeers with a condescending tone.
"You're nothing, but a bitch. You and your Midnight Guild cronies are soft. You see this?-".
My words immediately struck a chord with my adversary. I hoisted up my weapon and allowed him to take sight of it. He scoffed dismissively, but I made a show of pointing it towards him. My eyes narrowed in determination.
"Keep up the pointless talking. You can call me "vermin" all that you would like, but I'm the fucking Dominator for a reason, bitch. I'll cleave that big ass head of yours right off that tacky cloak! This battle is just warming up, but I'll end it with my next move. You ain't on my level, but You'll be number thirteen on my record! Take solace in that"
His eyes lit up in unbridled hatred. That is exactly what I had desired. With Harris out of the picture, and Fernando going awol, there was only one choice presented to me. I simply had to run him through, and claim victory for my side. It won't be long until Tomika returns, so I will have to finish him off before then.