Chapter 5: Against a phantom (2)
Inexperienced though she may have been in the combat field, Estelle could see that Benjamin having his hands in his shorts' pockets was more advantageous to Zero.
Which was true.
She wasn't aware, however, of the torment Zero had gone through in the past. Because of the uncanny schemes—per the emotionless and genderless voice's term—countless residents of this vast fantasy world were under authentic and conscious dreams.
It was like living two lives at the same time. More than a few, intentionally or not, had fallen into a coma to thoughtfully participate in the events of those dreams or nightmares.
In those worlds were existences of races that residents of this fantasy world were unaware of, with the most distinguishable race—humans—calling themselves players.
Their growth was beyond the pale, including the means and short time in which they strengthened themselves while conquering new worlds.
Getting to know them more was the most sensible choice for many, yet some races couldn't side with humans, no matter their origins.
Zero was one of the leaders of the races in question.
"I knew you were real! I knew you would come here and haunt us!" Zero hollered, his loud voice clobbering the invisible formation circling around the summoning circle whose only means was to keep the phantoms locked from the world.
Estelle was so frightened by it that she had taken a few steps back, only to rest her hands on the defensive formation a second later in support of her new friend.
Smiling, the said friend hadn't reacted at all.
Benjamin taunted the phantom with a slight tilt of his head, "You only managed to take my hands out of the pockets by the end of our fight. Remember that?"
"I… remember!" Zero replied through gritted teeth before charging like a train onto his foe. The memories of that second world, where he had his 'first' end, were like a conductor, drumming alongside his heart.
All began when this human, known as The Executioner, alone entered Zero's Skull Throne Room with his hands in his pockets, head arched back, and a smile Zero would never forget in his life.
Not being one of those men with virtues, Zero rapturously threw himself at the chance of getting rid of the human menace, which audaciously limited himself.
Alas, Zero failed to decapitate him right off the start.
BANG!
Just like he had done now as a phantom.
Benjamin had raised his right leg and struck the blade with nothing but the sole of his boot.
While his footwear couldn't have protected him against the sword's blade and the right boot no longer fulfilled its job, Benjamin's bare sole of his feet could. No scratch appeared on Benjamin's naked sole.
These two quickly fell into a stalemate in which one mishap could decide their fight.
Zero clenched his weapon's hilt with his two big hands and lowered all his weight onto his foe, working his way out to defeat the famous executioner. Veins bulged on his arms and head as he poured everything of himself into this one move.
Nonetheless, Benjamin stood like an immovable tower, his leg fully stretched out, rooting Zero to the ground.
His eyes were switching from Zero's twisted countenance to the intersection between their weapons. Now that he had Investor's Keen Eye, things seemed to have been more available to him.
'I am no longer a human…' Benjamin pinned his unusually high strength to him being an owner of a mythical subclass, and his smile deepened.
No sooner had he done that than he retracted his leg and took a step back.
Zero's blade followed him like a hungry beast that sensed a moment of weakness in his opponent, only to realize that his foe was taking their battle to another level. When Zero swept through the spot where Benjamin's head should have been, Benjamin had already craned his neck to avoid the blow and taken a step back.
The orc chased and chased after Benjamin, to no avail. Each strike that should have succeeded had failed him.
Benjamin was gliding as though he had a skill that had changed the arena to the ice, with him being the only ice skater. Zero wasn't an opponent that could have been kept in a bay like that, though, and Benjamin was forced to kick away the blade at times, but that only served to peeve the orc more.
At some point, it appeared as though Benjamin had been toying with the phantom.
In reality, however, Benjamin had been testing his current strength and speed while combining it with his newest skill, Investor's Keen Eye.
While the skill's purpose was to speed up Benjamin's investments and prevent him from wasting time, Benjamin was astute enough to combine it with his battle experience to receive a hawk-like vision around him.
He was reading his opponents' moves much better than in his prime. He also knew how Zero Of The Past fought, which only added to his already superb reading skills.
He hadn't wasted any movement, either, and had been keeping everything in his control.
More than anything, however, Benjamin was seeing through his strength and speed, making notes about his current self.
Benjamin had been making up the loss of his high skills with the newest eye at such a high rate that anyone experienced would have whistled with admiration and fear.
Zero could have been one of those people had he been more clear-headed. Too bad, he was Zero Of The Past, who perished shortly after The Executioner had slaughtered him and his race in those 'nightmares.'
He couldn't think straight and was fueled by his feelings to pay back The Executioner.
BANG!
"Let's end this," Benjamin declared while defending himself from the sword's sharp side with his calf, "She's been watching for enough."
Suddenly, Benjamin disappeared from Zero's vision.
A sharp, intuitive warning crossed Zero's head—too late.
Benjamin had sent a kick from below, aiming directly into Zero's chin, hitting him on the spot so strongly that his force went straight to Zero's brain.
All consciousness alongside that intuitive warning had momentarily fled from him.
He was, however, the strongest orc of his time whose pride wouldn't have allowed him to fall, keeping him on his two, which only curved up Benjamin's lips.
When Zero returned to himself, he was like a sitting duck witnessing his killer's finisher move about to be over.
Benjamin had spun and done the perfect roundhouse kick, beheading Zero by striking the orc's temple with his heel. The head flew to the side like a cannon before glancing off the defensive formation's invisible wall and rolling on the ground.
Zero raised his eyes from the ground-level view and gazed at Benjamin's form.
"Hands… out… of… the…pocket…" Zero uttered.
"A small victory for you, indeed," Benjamin nodded. He wouldn't have been able to perform the crucial attack from below had he not used his hands to touch the ground to keep himself in a proper form. If he landed on his back, he could kick Zero's balls at most.
It might have worked…
Benjamin added, "I'm not one to feast on small victories, though. I'll witness the end, you see."
Eyes no longer inked, Zero glared at Benjamin before his phantom form dispersed into black winds.
The summoning circle then extinguished the orc leader of the past, meaning that Benjamin's bank had received its first income as he had obviously used the Farming Zone skill!
Important things first, however.
The emotionless voice rang in Benjamin's mind.