Umbra's energy blade sang through the air as it came down upon Folorunsho. The freelancer raised his guard to intercept the attack but the blade cut into his forearm. A burning pain flooded Folorunsho's arm as the hooded man dragged the blade out of the wound. The heat of the sabre had immediately cauterised the wound, filling the air with the pungent smell of burnt flesh.
Folorunsho took a step back to distance himself from Umbra. Despite his reinforcements, the energy blade had cut into him like a hot knife through butter. That strike had also cut away at his Revel pool as well. His needing to avoid further cuts was nothing short of an understatement.
However, Umbra was not going to stand by and watch him dodge his attacks. The hooded man closed the gap between the two in an instant. As he approached, he switched into a back stance and brought his sword from below to cut his opponent. Folorunsho let out a cry of pain as the blade ripped through cloth and skin. He tried to punch Umbra but the man simply slipped under the attack while simultaneously cutting the Freelancer's arm and torso.
The flurry of slashes kept pouring down on Folorunsho. His clothes and flesh were steadily ripped apart. He clenched his teeth slightly as burning lacerations drew a map of scars on his body and torched his skin. Umbra rushed in and plunged his sword into Folorunsho's shoulder, causing him to yell in pain.
"Let it not be said that I did not give you a chance to avoid this outcome," Umbra whispered into Folorunsho's ear.
His words were immediately met with a punch to his face. The force of the attack broke his sunglasses, causing him to stagger and let go of his sword. The blade of energy immediately vanished causing the hilt to fall. Folorunsho quickly grabbed the hilt and smacked Umbra across the face with it before kicking him in the stomach.
"Keep your whispering for the bedroom," He said.
Umbra's hazel eyes stared at Folorunsho. He stretched out his hand and manifested a short blade of energy from the tips of his fingers. In the blink of an eye, he was upon the Folorunsho again. He let loose a swift slash on the freelancer's wrist, making him drop the hilt. The hooded man grabbed the hilt and tried stabbing Folorunsho with a newly formed energy blade.
However, much to the surprise of Umbra, Folorunsho managed to catch the blade with his bare hands. On a closer look, Umbra realised it only seemed as though he had caught the blade with his hands. In truth, a blue flame surrounded Folorunsho's hands.
"Can't believe that actually worked," He smiled.
Due to all his Revel being focused on his hands to stop Umbra's blade, it left the rest of Folorunsho's body unprotected. He quickly jerked his head to the right as the hooded man tried to stab his face with his hand blade. Umbra brought his hand blade down on Folorunsho's arms, causing him to release the sword's blade to avoid the attack. With both blades now free to use, Umbra went in for a dual-wielding blitz attack.
Their clash went on but Umbra was the one with the clear advantage. No matter how many times he intercepted his attacks, a handful still slipped through the cracks, dealing more damage due to his lack of protection. Even when he did block the attacks, the sabres were ripping his Revel to shreds. He was inevitably going to run out of Revel. Folorunsho was going to die.
Despite having died three times already, it did not make the impending fourth any easier. He could already feel the creeping fingers of death dance across his back and the warmth of his body was slowly leaving him. With each that he took, he was even more certain that he could make out the shrouded figure of Agbari floating in the distance, with otherworldly mist spewing from its mouth. Its glowing green eyes bore a hole into Folorunsho's soul and it spoke one word.
"Come..."
As Umbra's sword came around to deal the finishing blow on Folorunsho, a deafening roar echoed throughout the building, shaking it to its very core. The hooded man turned to the window and witnessed a black serpentine dragon rise into the air. The ebony construct bellowed in its ascent until it reached its highest possible point and dissipated.
In that moment of distraction, Umbra was swept off his feet and went crashing into the ground. Towering above him was the scarred form of Folorunsho. No, it was different. Folorunsho was standing in front of him but it was not the same man just a moment ago. The air around him had changed. His eyes burned with determination. In that fleeting moment when that dragon came it took away Folorunsho's fear of death and left in its place a beast of draconic proportions.
The shadow of Agbari faded away once his feeble will had been reinforced. Folorunsho was not going to die here. He was not going to let himself die here. Even if dying guaranteed that he would come back strong enough to completely eradicate the foe that stood before him now, it meant nothing if the strength he was not his own. These last few weeks, inevitably had led up to this. He was going to prove himself and his strength. Death was never an option.
"Get up," He said.
Umbra took hold of his hilt and got back on his feet. He called forth another energy blade and took a high stance. The two stood staring for seconds, with nothing but the burning of the Umbra's blade and the distant cry of sirens to break the silence. Both men knew that this would be their last clash, and only one of them could walk away with their life intact. With the timer on the bomb having 10 minutes left, Folorunsho and Umbra charged at each other once again.