"how amusing...how truly amusing," Jacob kept muttering as he got up groggily, his posture staggering as he tried to steady it.
"Do you feel–" Claire's eyes widened at the sudden fist in front of her face interrupting her words.
BANG
Fortunately, her senses kicked in, and her upper body tilted to the side. The air pressure from the punch Jacob sent out caused her hair to blow widely.
'What?'
Jacob's own face revealed surprise. Truly, he had just had the bubbling urge to pummel her face until those eyes showed something other than indifference.
However, that had only been his thoughts. He knew he wasn't a match for her with his level of power.
'The abyss! I could hardly move there, but I'm this fast here?'
Jacob's eyes widened, a grin growing on his lips. He turned to look at the foe before him; however, a kick landed on the side of his face, sending his body across the room.
"Who are you really?" Claire asked the same question everyone had been asking in the last day. However, those were all just procedure. This time, she was convinced there was something off about this individual. There was no way some random person could be that fast.
"Haha... you're strong, I'll admit... But I'll still be the one to take your head," Jacob managed to utter as he fixed his dislocated jaw that kept his mouth open like a fountain spewing blood.
'My body's not as strong as hers, but I think I'm faster. Yes, I can do this; I'll finally be able to avenge you, Ella.'
Jacob immediately dove into focus. All this time, he had been making one or two movements. Although he was fast, in a real fight, that wouldn't work. He had to either plan out a series of motions beforehand, or he had to be quick enough to react on the fly.
Neither of the two was easy; however, Jacob settled on the second option, hence the seriousness evident on his face.
But even though his eyes were serious, the other side of him that had just been released would not allow the bloody grin to disappear from his mouth.
Claire's eyes were as steady as the first time she shot an arrow into Jacob's little sister. It seemed nothing could move her, like she was an immovable mountain to anyone that faced her.
However, that would be a wrong assumption. Although her eyes were steady, the same couldn't be said for the rest of her body; a close observer would notice her hands twitching from time to time. Unfortunately, Jacob wasn't observant enough to notice, or maybe he did and didn't care anyway.
'I rushed in here thinking something was up and left my bow, hell, I even left my earpiece... I hope someone is monitoring this place. I don't know how long I can last. Although he doesn't seem tough, he's fast, scarily so!'
'Alright, Claire, calm down... relax.'
As Claire took a breath trying to prepare for the confrontation about to happen, Jacob's eyes immediately saw an opportunity and sprang to action. In the blink of an eye, he was already bent down in front of Claire, performing a leg sweep.
However, in the last moment, Claire's eyes seemed to get a tad bit brighter, and with it, her body kicked into the next gear, lifting swiftly above the ground, escaping Jacob's range of motion.
Jacob, however, had expected this. He knew he was fast, but the fact that she dodged his attack in the beginning says a lot about her powers.
Claire immediately attempted a counter-attack; her body spun in the air, her legs kicking up momentum as it came down, targeting Jacob's head.
Jacob, however, was quick to see the attack and moved to the side just enough to dodge out of the way of the kick. He swiftly grabbed her still outstretched leg, took a step to close the distance even more, and very quickly took a jab at the side of her face.
For the first time since they began fighting, Jacob had landed a hit. His grin grew much more wider, but what he hadn't taken into consideration, or rather, what he hadn't yet realized was the difference in strength between the two of them.
It was one thing to land an attack, but it was another for the attack to be effective.
'Was that it?... Pathetic.'
Claire's skill shone through as she amazingly gathered enough momentum in her leg to close the short distance between it and Jacob's body. She delivered a blow that echoed out a crack of something breaking.
"Ahhhh!"
Claire didn't stop there and grabbed the fist Jacob was already retracting, adding so much pressure another crack rang out. She realized there wasn't much to the guy in front of her. Granted, he was fast, but that was about it. There wasn't anything else he had to him.
His martial arts were crap, his power output was pitiful. Was it his speed that gave him his confidence? She couldn't believe she was apprehensive towards this; her rage spewed out as she connected a fist with Jacob's face.
"Pathetic, what gave you the courage? The right? The goddamn balls?"
She bellowed as she kept pummeling Jacob's face again and again and again and again. She didn't seem to grow tired of it
, nor did she seem to be satisfied.
"You'll kill him if you continue," the young man from earlier suddenly made his presence known. It was a wonder when he arrived here.
Claire tilted her head enough; the glow from her eyes was visible to the new arrival.
"Well, not that I care, but Rose will most likely break down, and I don't want to deal with that crap."
Claire dropped the half-dead Jacob on the floor and walked out of the room without uttering a single word, her eyes still the same emotionless gems they always were. But maybe because of the situation, the young man thought he saw a tinge of red in them.
"Ahh man, why'd you have to piss her off? You brought it upon yourself, but I must say you really are something, bold, or maybe stupid... anyway, try not to die; we'll soon arrive at the capital. I don't want to have to drag a corpse out on my glorious homecoming," the young man babbled as he walked out of the cage, leaving Jacob's bloody body on the floors.
'Haha...what was I thinking, to think I had a chance... pathetic, disgusting. It's not all that bad though, to be able to go that far when I've only just begun my climb to power. Heh, 10 years might have been a much too long estimate...
"Hahahahahahahahahaha...arghhh, it still hurts."