Dave took a quick mental assessment of the ape man in front of him. Certainly, this creature possessed some level of intelligence and while it was not as much as what humans had, there was evidence of it from how it acted. Nonetheless, it was nothing too threatening that he couldn't handle. Dave tilted his neck, expressing a degree of cockiness in his voice and actions as he gestured for the ape man to come at him.
It was a taunting move, one he wouldn't actually expect anyone to fall for unless you were so full of yourself that you wanted to prove something that was not there. The ape man roared and brandished its stone hammer again, spinning it in the air as it prepared to charge forward. Just exactly what Dave wanted! A mindless charge that had not been well thought through. From Dave's assertions so far with the few exchanges they had, Dave placed the ape man's strength on par with his or slightly lower if he accounted for the effect of the injuries he was seeing on its body.
Surviving through this fight was a do-or-die affair for the invader as it believed that Dave was not going to let it live or run, and so, its next line of action was to kill the obstacle standing in its way. Dave, on the other hand, did not have the time to waste on a meaningless fight because the more time he wasted, the more he feared for Cassie's safety, and that was not going. He did not see any good outcome of this.
'We are basically equal in strength thanks to his wounds,' Dave thought as he ran his eyes over the bloodied body of the ape man, who tried to save face by appearing tough. 'But I'm still faster. I have that much advantage.'
Dave was correct. The ape man was not as fast as him. If anything, right now, it was even getting slower as the effects of his injuries were starting towards weigh on him. Surely, it possessed some level of resilience and determination to win the battle, but its body was not supreme as nature would definitely take its course. As Dave was still brooding over the prospects of using his speed as an advantage to win the battle, the ape-man had closed the gap between them. That the ape man was not blindly fast, it didn't mean that its speed was laughable.
Dave, able to follow the movement, smirked as he moved backwards, allowing the stone head of the hammer to slam into the floor. This was the moment for him to act and immediately at that. The ape-man was leaning a little forward and open for a counterattack, and Dave was not ready to allow this opportunity to go to waste. Not allowing the invader a second of respite, Dave jumped towards him, legs charged as he did a spin to deliver a boisterous roundhouse kick that connected with its left cheek, sending it plummeting into the wall that bordered the alley.
Crash~
The ape-man crashed into the few containers that were placed before the wall, halting his motion. Dave was strong and so were his attacks. He grit his teeth and he expected that the ape man would breakthrough the wall, allowing him the opportunity to flee without anybody pursuing. Unfortunately, the containers stacked there put a halt on his plan. Dave had to do more if he wanted to take the ape man out for good. If he fled now, he was not seeing anything that would guarantee him the ape man's surrender. He strongly believed that the invader would chase after him and this would just draw unnecessary attention on the two of them.
He already had his hands full, not to think about when multiple invading creatures want a pound of his flesh. At the first sound of the ape man attempted to get up, Dave dashed towards him, grabbing the wooden handle of his foe's long stone hammer in his run and slamming it right at the centre of its chest.
Bam~
It was a powerful assault and even though the ape man made attempts to stop it at the last second, it was futile. Dave was surprised at how strong he had gotten but this was not time to brood over this. He, immediately, retracted the weapon and spun again, aiming for the head of the ape man this time around but he missed. The ape man ducked and growled with deafening sounds before sending an upper cut to Dave's chin.
'Tch!' he gritted inwardly. 'This power… even with the injuries.'
The ape man's punch threatened to lift Dave off the ground but he resisted until he gained some control. Dave rose off the ground but not against his will as he landed a kick, in retaliation, that connected with the ape man's chin as well, sending him shuffling back. Dave backflipped in the process and as soon as he landed, he dashed forward again with his two hands folded into fists and his eyes nearly burning with determination.
In this state, Dave unleashed a flurry of punches on the invader, striking any part of his body that his hand with connect with. The ape man was starting to feel the impact of his injuries that he could barely counter Dave's attack. Its body was getting exhausted and there was nothing much the ape man could do about it.
The gaming system which Zony had implement started to chime with several distressing notifications.
.
.
Ding~
[Your stamina has reduced by 18%]
[Stamina: 23%]
[Current status; Alive (Exhausted)]
[CAUTION!]
[Rest is advised]
.
.
The ape man succeeded in sneaking in a few responsive punches of its own but that did not deter Dave from meting out the punishment he had in mind. Dave continued, even ignoring the windows that floating in his line of sight. It was not until the ape man's eyes rolled up and he slumped did Dave considering stopping. He had defeated his opponent.
The invader was dead! Utterly boldly by this new Dave that was flowing with spiritual energy.
.
.
Ding~
[CAUTION!]
[Rest is advised]
.
.
His breathing was quick and his chest was visibly heaving. As he tried to move, the environment spun around him causing him to stagger but Dave was quick to support himself with the containers around. He was too tired right now to make any unnecessary movements. As much as his will wanted to keep pushing until he found his sister, his body had given in.
Willpower was not everything.
It was just one of many things that helped a man pursue his goal.
'Forgive me, Cassie.'
Everything suddenly went dark around him as he slumped to the ground. Dave understood that he was in danger lying around in the open like this but there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. He was at the mercy of the invaders and if he happened to be unfortunate, he was practically meat for them.