Ice dared not to underestimate his opponent anymore.
He equipped the weapon that had aided him through countless battles, an axe strapped around his waist.
He observed his opponent for a few seconds, then moved...
His opponent Kailen, had not been idle either. A shadow Katana had been weaved from the shadows, into his hands ,it's obsidian color revealed by the moonlight of the full moon.
Kailen's shadowy figure also blurred.
Katana and axe met, causing shockwaves to spread in the surroundings.
Kailen took two steps back, as his opponent took a single step back...
However Ice was inwardly shocked...
Clearly he held the advantage in this battle,however it was only slightly.
" I have to get rid of him here and now, else the next time we meet, I won't be a match for him..."Ice mused, staring at Kailen in shock...
Kailen had realised where he stood in the first exchange... " I guess I should reinforce myself further " He mused inwardly.
A caophony of shadows were weaved from the environs, further covering Kailen's shadow reinforced body...
The Katana grew more darker, and sturdier ,having been also reinforced by the shadows.
The two opponents did not mince with words, especially Kailen. He had about 45 seconds left till the temporal system boost came to end.
So he moved...
Katana and axe clashed again, then one attack after another followed...
The two figures moved around the scene in a blur, exchanging one attack after another...
Katana against axe, fist met fist, kicks after kicks followed...
Ice had managed to party all Kailen's attacks.
However he realized that the more he fought his opponent, the stronger Kailen became...
He was losing...
" How is this possible? " Ice was being pushed back...
What he failed to pay attention to was the fact that Kailen was constantly calling unto the shadows, reinforcing his body through the constant progress of the battle...
"Faster, faster ,faster " Kailen was counting his time...
30 seconds were left ... He felt the thrill of battle but he was also wary of the short time he had finish off his adversary. He had to end this quickly...
He parried an attack from Ice's axe aimed at his head with his Katana, then performed a kick aimed at his opponent's little brother...
Ice never thought Kailen would resort to such underhanded methods ...
Quickly ,he reinforced the area of his little brother with ice before the attack landed...
He was able to save his crouch area in time, however the attack was extremely strong, causing him hurtling and skidding across the floor...
However he wasn't an A ranked for nothing.. He performed an aerial movement, managing to regain his footing ...
There was a reason why he was called Ice. He was famous for his control over the Ice element, hence his guild mates had given him that nickname.
" Antartic slug "
Ice muttered in furry ,as a flurry of icicles condensed before him in a split second.
Whizzzzz!
The icicles were sent hurtling towards Kailen who was approaching his opponent with extreme speed...
Shadow manipulation and the high perception associated with his temporal boost in strength combined , helping him to narrowly evade the attacks ..... A tornado of shadows sprung into being, whirling underneath Kailen's feet, propelling him towards his opponent .
More icicles were launched, but Kailen evaded them, getting closer to his opponent with each second...
"Ice Phoenix's wrath "
The figure of a gigantic phoenix appeared above Ice, causing the temperature to suddenly plummet ...
Screeeeeeeeeechhhh!
The phoenix's roar which followed next, was sequeled with the environs assuming an icy demeanor , causing ice glaciers to appear in the environs, icicles further shooting towards Kailen from the Phoenix's mouth.
Kailen moved with swift dexterity aided by high perception , evading and parrying the Ice glaciers with his shadow Katana , as he was enveloped in the shadow armor.
The Ice Phoenix let out a final roar,flapping it's broad wings.
An extremely large icicle about 3 metres formed from the mouth of the Ice Phoenix.
However the figure responsible for casting the skill was not looking so well, he seemed, drained ...
Ice forced a calm expression, however his pale expression, the subtle pants , the heaving of his chest ,did not escape Kailen's vision .
" Ten seconds left..... Bastard is on his legs . This last attack will most likely be his final attempt to defeat me. However if there's one thing I don't lack thanks to the system, I never seem to run out of worldly natural energy...I just have to manage to survive his last remaining attack and I can finish him off"
Shadows swirled, further reinforcing Kailen's Katana.. Katana blade gleamed with obsidian beauty, now boasting the length of about 2.4 meters. However that didn't make the katana any heavier, it felt at home and light in Kailen's hands.
Swoosh...
The gigantic icicle flew as the temperature further plummeted, it's crossing of every distance leaving trails of ice glaciers behind. It propelled itself with swift speed towards Kailen.
The tornado of shadows propelled Kailen towards the attack, his shadow being further reinforced by shadows .
Then it happened ...The final clash.
Clannnnnnng!
Katana and Icicle met, a deafening silence claiming the environs for a second ,followed by an explosion that abused the surrounding trees and environs mightly .
Trees swayed and fell, the valley grounds shook and cracked, the after effects of the clash causing some beasts hiding in the nearby vicinity to be caught in the cross fire. Beast wails rung in the environs,as their lives were claimed..
All this happened in an extremely short moment.
The cause of these catastrophic occurrences however ,had their attention fully focused on each other...
Kailen gritted his teeth, not just from the weight of meeting the enemy's attack head on, but from the sheer coldness of the environs that reminded him of harsh winter... The shadow katana's obsidian blade had traces of ice spreading across it with each passing second.
For about 3 seconds, icicle and katana were caught in a stalemate,until the katana blade grew more shaper, further reinforced by shadows. The plummetting ice from the icicle's coldness that aimed to dull the blade grew somber , giving way to defeat...
The shadow katana, wielded by Darkhaven,finally cleaved through the gigantic icicle ,each journey through the icicle causing the icicle to crack and fall from the sides .
The icicle had tethered into oblivion, having plummeted into puny ice pebbles that fell from the sky.
The backlash caused Ice to spurt a mouthful of blood,as he stared at Kailen in terror.
" 3 seconds"... Kailen stared at him briefly , then moved,the shadow tornado propelling him towards the defenseless opponent in a split second.
Shadow katana claimed head, blood splurted from headless body ,Ice's lifeless head performed a few spins in the air, landing beside his lifeless body sprawled on the ground in a pool of blood.
A look of fear and shock could be seen on his lifeless face.
"Phew...." Kailen heaved a sigh then mused...
" That was thrilling, yet scary"
He ignored the system notification,deactivated shadow manipulation, and resumed his usual appearance .
His shadow creatures reappeared before him, having served their purpose as his shadow armor.
" You guys did well"... Kailen slumped on the ground, staring into the night sky, ignoring the gory scene of blood around him.