Richard looked at the imposing visage of the centaur, observing him carefully. Even with his limited knowledge about centaurs, he knew there won't be a chance for dialogue.
Sure enough, the centaur made no attempt at dialogue, drawing his bow with a fluid movement, the centaur let another arrow fly, this one aimed at Richard's head.
Richard dodged to the left, escaping the arrow with a hair's width as he rolled on the uneven floor dodging two more arrows before standing on his feet once more. Pulling up his makeshift mask up in an instant, Richard threw the knife in his hand at the centaur, who managed to dodge it with ease.
While the centaur grew more vigilant at the attack, Richard took that moment to observe. The centaur stood on a small hill, barely a hundred meters from him, while the quiver in his back seemed to hold a considerable amount of arrows. The centaur himself looked young, barely having enough size to faze him.
Richard put away his wand making the centaur puzzled, but he didn't care about that. Richard wanted something that could threaten his life but not kill him in an overwhelming fashion. And the centaur was something that belonged to both those categories. And the opponent's ability to use weapons and his intelligence only sweetened the deal. His heart poundes as he felt adrenaline course through his veins, filling him with the intent to fight as he extended his arm .
'Projection'
A metal short sword appeared in his hand while an arm guard appeared in his left arm, both glowing in metallic silver color in the dim light, surprising the centaur who immediately pulled an arrow.
A moment's dead calm fell between them, almost as both parties were waiting for something to occur. And occur something it did.
Richard dashed first, running at full speed intending to close the gap while the centaur launched arrow after arrow. The distance in between them closed quickly as he ducked under the path of an arrow, not pausing for a second while using his sword to deflect another.
'Clang!'
The centaur, seeing his opponent deflect his arrows with ease decided to abandon range as well, charging down hill while swinging his long bow with great momentum, meeting the swordsman midway.
"BANG!"
Enchanted wood collided with tempered steel, throwing the sword weilder back. Richard flew a few meters in the air when he righted himself, before charging in once more.
The centaur's swings were wild, brimming with brute strength enough to break Richard's arms while Richard's sword carried a finesse and technique that let him carry on his battle with the centaur.
'Clang, clang bang'
Richard dodged and weaved, the heavy blows while parrying the unavoidable ones only to make a nick or a small cut before retreating from another heavy blow.
'Duck, weave, jump back, thrust ,slash' the commands repeated in his mind as Richard moved around the centaur, using his superior agility to try to inflict any possible damage, his mind running on auto pilot while his body working on instincts and combat memories alone.
However, no matter how skilled he was, Richard had yet to grow up. His body having barely lost its baby fat. On the other hand, his opponent was stronger, experienced and familiar with the terrains. Richard began retreating, his sword movements focused more on the defense as his body tried to keep up with the relentless attacks. His muscles ached and sweat fell from his forehead while blood , both his and the centaur's flowed to the handle, making his grip unstable.
He grew sluggish with fatigue , his mind and his eyes tunneled on his opponent as he fell into retreat while the bow crashed and broke anything at its way.
Richard jumped back one more time as he struggled to catch his breath. His eyes yet focused on on his enemy who raised the heavy bow to attack when a cloud covered the moonlight. Darkness fell for a moment as Richard stumbled to find a footing amoung the roots. He instinctively raised his sword, using both hands to hold it as another blow fell straight on top of it, making his unstable foothold loose before what felt like a hoof slammed into his chest like a bullet.
"Bueh!!"
Richard flew back once more , his sword leaving flying away from his hand as he rolled down the hill before coming to a stop under a dead tree
"Cough! Cough! Cough!..... "
Richard emptied his lungs as he fell into a coughing fit, his lungs aching from the sudden impact. Bile, phlegm and saliva fell from his mouth as he discarded the mask, lifting himself on his arms while sweat drops the size of beans rolled down freely following the force of gravity.
"You don't fight like a wizard, human" the centaur spoke for the first time as he clip clopped closed to Richard.
"Haaah... haaah... welll... you don't fight like a beast..... centaur.. " Richard countered as he propped himself against the trunk of the dead tree, his vision clouded with sweat but his tone habouring the intent to fight. He looked at the young looking centaur dead in the eyes with no sign of fear.
"Neither do you, and yet you engaged in a act so savage that even beasts dare not. " the centaur walked closer as he assesed his opponent." Barely a child, yet capable of atrocious acts that even adults refrain.. you are truly no better than a beast" the centaur pulled out an arrow slowly as he aimed at Richard.
Richard breath grew faster as he felt rage invade his mind. However he couldn't move. 'MOVE! Damn it!' Richard mentally screamed as he saw the arrow level up to his heart. His mind reeling, running through all available options yet coming up empty. His eyes looked with the centaur not with fear, but one with unyielding fire.
Since he had no options, he let his mind cry out, opening his circuits even though he was drained. A cry from his soul to get up and finish what he wanted. And he felt his inner fire burning.
The centaur was about to release his arrow when the exhausted child infront of him suddenly snapped his head up.
"You haven't seen the beast centaur " the human said, his voice eerily calm for someone about to die."not yet" as he finished, the boy's eyes began to glow in orange.