I have to crouch to avoid being split in half by her sword. I take advantage of the momentum—my legs propel me toward Areci, my left sword aimed at her abdomen. She bends her body to dodge me without much trouble.
I become her surprise when she realizes it’s a two-phase attack—my right sword is already on its way to the position she’s moving into. Magma mana gathers instantly in front of her chest; she perfectly predicts where I’m aiming.
The force of my movement isn’t normal—I break through her protection without much trouble. Her armor is also destroyed relatively easily, and for the first time I land a deep cut. I don’t stop and try to push further, but unfortunately one of her golems ignores my attempts to stop it and charges at me.
I have to retreat as fast as possible. If the golem manages to trap me in its arms, it won’t be pretty—I could even lose if that happens.
From this exchange, I came out ahead. I managed to damage her golem when it ignored my ice swords and landed a solid cut. I was only injured by my own strength—I’m using Gravity Overload at a level far beyond what my body can handle.
Right now, I’m recovering several torn muscles and slightly broken bones. Areci regains her composure as quickly as she can—she’s healing her wounds with much greater ease.
It wouldn’t be surprising if she acquires a life affinity soon, or some variation through fire. It could be a reward for how fiercely she heals her wounds—there are many similar cases.
The two golems begin to change—they transform into three, now much smaller and thinner.
Shit. I curse internally as I realize her plan. She was spending much more mana than necessary to keep my Joyeuse under control—no, I was the one forcing her golems to spend less mana.
Now she’s made a decisive move—she’ll use the necessary mana to leave me no room for mid-range attacks, and she’ll have enough left to maintain another golem. I’m almost certain this has turned into a 2 vs 1.
When I see her charging alongside one golem at her side, my suspicion is confirmed. She keeps the other two behind her, one on each side, always at a perfect distance.
I stop Areci’s first strike. Less power? The second strike confirms my thought—although it’s still slightly stronger than me, it’s nothing compared to her previous blows.
Seeing her smiling face, yet completely focused on avoiding mistakes, I can infer something. Controlling three golems is taking a toll on her—she’s sacrificed raw power to maintain them.
A quick tilt of my head saves me from taking a fiery punch to the face from one of the golems. I can’t stop—I have to pivot on my heels to give my sword enough force to intercept Areci’s strike.
Her sword flies out of her hands, straight toward my face. I have to use one sword to reduce its speed, and in the next instant, my other blade strikes the side of the massive weapon to deflect its trajectory.
I close my eyes—I can’t do anything else. The golem is already swinging its magma fist toward my stomach. I don’t have time to use spatial magic or block with my swords—I construct a thin barrier over my abdomen as quickly as possible.
My construct only holds for a fraction of a second—it shatters like paper. The blow lands. I use the force to propel myself backward with gravity at the same time, managing to retreat instantly.
Areci had already lunged toward my previous position, magma gauntlets glowing on her hands. Even though she dropped her weapon, she’s not at a disadvantage—I can feel how enhanced those constructs on her fists are. Their durability must be extremely high.
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I heal my abdomen as quickly as possible. I need to eliminate the remnants of death and fire mana and return my body to normal.
Without wasting time, we both move forward. At that moment, a ridiculous smile forms on my lips.
Areci’s point of view:
That stupid smile makes my blood boil a little. How can he be enjoying this right now? I feel a bit stupid and hypocritical thinking that—I have a similar smile, and my body trembles with excitement as I move forward.
My punch is intercepted by his sword. I try to catch him off guard with my golem—it’s impossible. Maki always knows where he is and how to get out of every situation. He positions himself at a short distance, which I close instantly using my movement ability.
My next attacks are intercepted again. Even though I’m faster on offense now, I’ve lost some power in my blows.
This little monster is a massive pain in the ass. Those electric serpents are constantly attacking me—their damage is minimal, but the speed and continuity of their strikes are the real problem. Gravity is another issue—I’m forced to maintain a small field around myself to avoid being heavily affected.
That healing is ridiculous too—he can recover from almost any non-lethal injury in just a few seconds. He doesn’t even flinch if I turn his arm into ashes—he just stays calm and slowly regenerates it until it’s back again.
My golems behind me are properly holding off his ice swords. Maki is constantly trying to land a hit on me from behind—my new golems are doing a splendid job taking the blows and occasionally even attacking Maki.
I keep taking damage continuously—small cuts are draining my energy and mana. His strikes are precise, powerful, and fast.
I notice the difference of using a golem as support—Maki is getting injured much more often than before. This new setup is much more effective against fast opponents like this demon in front of me.
I can’t keep this up much longer. My head hurts from controlling an extra golem, even in its weaker form. My mana pool is draining quickly, and the wounds on my body are piling up.
I find the perfect moment to act differently. The other small golem moves toward a small opening in his defense, but instead of attacking, it turns into magma to trap him—I aim directly at his entire body.
Maki reacts quickly—I only manage to trap one of his legs up to the knee and his wrist. He drops his sword without hesitation. His other arm reacts just as fast—he uses his sword to cut off part of his arm and free himself, then uses more force to cut the magma holding his leg.
The mental pressure decreases—I take advantage of that moment to close in and land a hit on his face. I freeze when my next blow hits nothing but air—I can throw several punches per second, yet I only connected one.
I taste metal in my mouth. By the time I sensed the danger, it was too late. Maki drove his sword through my back—the cut is deep, the tip of the blade piercing out through my abdomen. That teleportation ability always saving him at the perfect moment.
My body weakens rapidly—it’s impossible to compete in willpower against this demon. His Imra is a serious problem. I need to double my efforts to remove it from my body. Maki leaves his sword inside me—I feel another sense of danger near my leg. I manage to block his strike and only take a moderately deep cut.
One of my strikes is sacrificed to keep all his ice swords in one place, while the other accelerates toward Maki. I land a solid hit on his shoulder. Maki returns the damage with a massive cut, splitting my golem in half—I can see his arm being torn apart from the force.
He’s also stopped creating those ice swords, and my other golem is now useless. His severed arm and the severe burn on his shoulder begin recovering at an alarming speed.
I move my body as quickly as possible—I can’t stay still. I need to take advantage of his weakest moment. I can see it in his eyes—he’s not in a comfortable position. He’s very close to reaching his limit.
My punch aimed at his face loses power due to the electric serpents—that buys Maki fractions of a second to dodge. My danger instincts scream—his other sword is heading for my chest. I can’t dodge in my current position—I feel it pierce through all my defenses, my skin, and my bones.
My consciousness begins to fade, but I don’t stop—I don’t give up. My other fist gathers all its force and lands a direct hit on his face. I see Maki stagger, nearly falling to the ground. This monster uses gravity to propel himself with a half-turn in the air—an ice sword appears in his hand, heading straight for my forehead.
I feel the cold touch my head—I don’t have the strength to defend myself anymore. I close my eyes, expecting the worst.
At that moment, I feel something strange—as if a powerful life mana invades my entire body, searching for my most severe wounds. I open my eyes slightly and see a light surrounding my body. Did I lose? Maki crashed face-first into the ground from the momentum and is getting back up again. Our eyes meet, and a huge smile appears on his lips as he looks at me.