"Hmmm, if I didn't know any better I would say you're getting smarter" she teased. "You mean I was dumb before?, funny because that's a word I'd use to describe you" he countered. "Look out" she shouted as Owen quickly dodge a golden whip.
"The hell was that" he exclaimed, though his concentration was still fully on the fight. The black robes man sent out more whips of golden energy. Ashley who flew up to the same altitude as the black robed man maybe even slightly above him was using light constructs to block the whips while internally thinking 'hope he hasn't had an authority yet'.
While Owen was using a telekinetic shield against the whips, though from the way he was gritting his teeth each time a whip landed on his shield, he was barely holding on and that was when Ashley was the one taking ninety percent of the attacks.
He also flew up before saying"Ashley we can't go on like this, I'm almost at my limit" Owen said with a strained voice. "Hold on for a little while, I'm trying to find a gap in his attacks" she replied. As a wise man once said, 'offence is the best defence'.
His assault was so good that he didn't give them any room to rest talkless of a counterattack.
Meanwhile on Victor and Lily's side, the three of them were all in the air including the black robed woman, but they both were giving her a tough time, especially Lily whose vines sprout from her hands or stretched from her green hair astonishing speed trying to catch a grasp of the black robed woman who evades with the finesse of an experienced veteran.
Though Lily wasn't the only one giving the black robed woman trouble, Victor and his blood red flames was also pressuring her, he and Lily made a similar attack plan to the one they used against the asura, that is never giving the opponent a moment of respite and it seemed to be going well.
The black robed woman evaded an explosion of flames by hurriedly maneuvering to the side only to be kicked down towards the ground which shattered on impact. But as she stood up a vine suddenly sprout from the ground and impaled her thigh. "Ahhhh I'll kill you" she shrieked before one of her arms turned into a glistening silver blade from the elbow down which she used to sever the vine.
But the time she took to sever the vine even though it was no more than a second was enough for victor to be by her side delivering a torrent of blood red flames right at her torso. "Ahhh" she shrieked once more before her right leg turned to a silver blade from the knee down, which she swung at him but he jumped back evading it just in time for another barrage of vines to reach her.
On the other hand Ashley and Owen were the ones on the receiving end, well mostly Owen whose telekinetic shield breaks after enduring a few golden whips. 'Platinum is leagues above gold, if Ashley wasn't already at mid gold rank, this man would have already finished all of us' thought Owen.
"Alright I've got a way to get around his attacks" said Ashley. "Well now will be a really good time to say it, so shoot" replied Owen. "We simply have to barrage him like he's barraging us" she said matter of factly.
"The hell you were doing not thinking of that before?" Owen asked with a bewildered expression. "Uh surviving, besides at least I thought of something unlike someone" she replied. "Tsk" he clicked his tongue before saying "let's go with the plan".
With that Ashley decisively changed her stance from defense to attack, manifesting light constructs as swords, spears and the likes and sending them at the man, the man seeing the attack, for the first time since the battle started, change his stance from attack to defence, dragging back his golden whips which were barraging Owen to his defence.
"Never thought I'd say this but thanks Ashley" said Owen. "You're welcome, but you can say your thanks later, at this moment we need to defeat this b**tard. "Also never thought I'd hear the 'noble lady Ashley' use the word b**tard". "Will you shut up and assist me" she chided. All this while that talked the black robed man was under constant assault by never ending light constructs.
Owen straightened up and built up his bloodline energy before he began to send telekinetic waved launching the black robed man backwards. He tried to bind the man but the man was simply too strong, he kept breaking from the telekinetic hold.
But at least it slowed him down for at least half a second. While it wasn't that much, it was enough for a few light constructs to break through his defences and injure him. Owen once again sent a telekinetic wave throwing the man backwards.
"Looks like someone needs help" Ashley and Owen heard Lily's voice, they turned back and only to see both Victor and Lily floating behind them. "Where's the woman you were fighting" asked Owen. "There" said Victor gesturing behind them. Both Owen and Ashley looked to the ground behind the two only to see a black smoking monstrosity impaled by numerous vines.
"You guys sure are so through" said Ashley. "I'm not surprised, both of them are obsessed with art" Owen said to Ashley. "What could be better art than that" said Victor pointing to the monstrosity. "Look at how it's impaled and burnt, it showcases it's struggle and the way it's expression is warped with horror makes it even more meaningful" Lily chattered.
"Um guys I think we're getting sidetracked" it was Ashley that spoke gesturing to the black robed man who now had a rageful expression. "Let's finish this and head back to the hotel" said Lily.
"And with the four of us working together, we defeated him in no time" said Owen as he finished explaining to Adam. "That was quite the adventure you guys had" Adam said.
"I also encountered a black robed man at the mid gold rank" he continued. "Wow and you managed to defeat another mid gold rank while being at mid silver?" exclaimed Owen.
Adam didn't correct him because there was no way he was telling Owen that Aurora saved him. If he did that, he would never hear the end of it.