Erik lunged forward, sword raised high, as he charged toward Mia. The woman replied with a gust of wind strong enough to knock him off balance, but he managed to recover quickly and retaliate with a swift attack.
The sound of clashing swords echoed throughout the room as they exchanged blow after blow. Around them was chaos, and they even had to pay attention to flying attacks.
Mia, especially, was receiving fireballs from Ana from time to time when she came too close to killing Erik.
Despite his best efforts, Erik struggled to keep up with Mia's agility and the strength of her wind bursts. He knew that he had to be careful and precise with his movements, or else he would be quickly defeated, but doing so was easier said than done.
Now Erik felt what it was like to be against someone with significantly more neural links; it was like he was one of his past opponents while fighting against him. He understood the struggle the others had when they fought against in the inner ranking fights.
Mia grinned as she watched Erik struggle. "Is this all you've got?" she taunted, sending another gust of wind his way. This time, he managed to sidestep and avoid the move, but the force still got his leg, and he stumbled backward.
Erik gritted his teeth, determination filling him. He quickly regained his footing and charged forward, this time with a fierce attack that forced Mia to back down a little.
"Oh? Where did this come from?"
"There is more to come..."
The fight continued like this, with Erik landing a few hits but ultimately being on the defensive most of the time.
Mia seemed to be toying with him, enjoying the thrill of the fight. She was like a cat playing with a mouse.
Erik tried with all his might, dodging and blocking Mia's attacks as best he could. Sweat dripped down his forehead, and his muscles ached, but he knew that if he relaxed even for a single moment, he would die.
The awakener's sword clashed with Mia's once again, the sound ringing in his ears as they traded blows, and he felt his arms shaking with the force of her strikes whenever she swung her weapon. He had managed to block her attack, but her follow-up was too fast, and he felt her sword slice into his shoulder.
Erik gritted his teeth, feeling a surge of pain shoots through his body. He stumbled backward, trying to put some distance between himself and Mia, but she pursued him relentlessly.
Then the woman used her wind-burst attack to knock him off balance. The kid tripped but pivoted on himself by using his arms and made a somersault that had been made just in time to avoid a strike on his jugular. These attacks were making it difficult for Erik to fight and keep his footing steady. Erik tried to focus on the woman's movements, hoping to predict her next attack, but the pain in his shoulder made it hard to concentrate.
The awakener then saw Mia lunge at him; he tried to raise his sword to block her strike, but he was too slow, and the woman's sword came close to his chest. However, an untimely fireball hurled toward the woman prevented her from capitalizing on the moment, and Erik was saved just in time.
However, he could hear Mia's laughter ringing in his ears, mocking him as he struggled to stay on his feet.
"Do you need Mama to fight? Can't you stand up for yourself?" The woman taunted again. Erik gritted his teeth.
The awakener knew there was no way to reason with this psycho, as she was fighting only to have fun.
He had to keep fighting until the situation got good enough to receive more help or make a run for it, but his injury was bad, and he didn't know how to move from there on out without using his other powers.
They all had visible effects, and he couldn't use them, or he would be found out. He planned on using it only if the situation got terrible, and since he was now facing the woman with Ana's help, there was no need to do so despite the difficulty.
As he thought this, he felt the blood trickling down his shoulder, and his chest throbbed with the pain radiating from it.
He took a deep breath and steadied himself, determined to get out of this situation. He raised his sword as he saw Mia lunging at him again. Erik parried the strike, but the woman suddenly released a powerful burst of wind that knocked him off balance again.
"Fucking bitch!"
As he stumbled, she quickly followed up with a swift strike, causing a deep cut on his arm which added to the one he already got on the shoulder. His situation was quickly worsening, but Erik gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the pain while knowing he was in a difficult situation.
As the awakener stumbled back, clutching his wounded arm, Mia chuckled wickedly. "What happened to your previous bravery?" She taunted, her eyes gleaming with malice. "You are disappointing me; I thought you were better than this..."
Erik gritted his teeth, ignoring her words as he tightened his grip on his sword. "I may not be the best fighter out there, but I have something you don't," he replied through gritted teeth.
"What?" The woman asked.
"A fucking functioning brain!"
The woman burst out laughing and charged at Erik again. The awakener tried to step back, but Mia kept pressing forward with her attacks, her eyes gleaming feverishly.
"Come play, little boy; don't be coy. It's time to show your fighting joy!" Mia said, twirling her sword with ease and giving Erik the creeps. The awakener barely avoided another attack.
"HAHAHAHAHHAHA! You're just a pathetic little insect trying to play with the grown-ups!"
Erik clenched his fists, trying to stay focused, but he was feeling tired with every passing moment. The situation wasn't good; the woman was too strong, and without his multiple powers and the surprise effect of his astral wolf, it would be hard to win.
He tried to keep his distance, hoping to find an opening and wait for help to come, but Mia was too quick and too skilled.
"You should give up now, boy," Mia said with a smirk. "I could make this quick for you. Or I could make it slow and painful. It's up to you."
"The only thing you could really do for me would be to shut up. Woman, each word you say is worse than being stabbed!" Erik replied.
Erik avoided another life-threatening attack, but as the fight progressed, his breathing became labored. Blood dripped from the gash on his arm and shoulder and stained his shirt.
He gritted his teeth, refusing to give up, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with Mia's relentless assault.
Erik grunted as he narrowly dodged another attack, this time retaliating with a strike of his own. He managed to land another glancing blow on Mia's arm, but it wasn't enough to slow her down. She laughed maniacally as if enjoying the pain she was inflicting on Erik.
"How do you feel, young man? How does your arm feel?" Mia taunted.
"It's never been better; thanks for your concern," Erik replied. The awakener didn't respond further, focusing instead on avoiding Mia's sequence of attacks until he was forced to block one. The attack was swift and fast; Erik was barely able to see it, and if it wasn't for Nathaniel's power speeding his arm, he wouldn't have been able to prevent being killed. He gritted his teeth as he struggled to intercept Mia's attack.
<If only she didn't use this fucking wind continuously!> The young man thought.
The situation was dire because the woman used her brain crystal power to knock him back. The wind it created wasn't that strong or wide, but it was concentrated, and she used it to make him lose his balance; besides and it was hard to predict when she would use it.
Moreover, he had already received a deep cut on his arm and shoulder; he would be in trouble if he got more wounds. He knew he couldn't keep this up much longer.
"Is that all you've got, weakling?" Mia sneered, her eyes glinting with crazed glee. "I thought you would be more of a challenge."
Erik knew he had to do something drastic if he wanted to win this fight. For this reason, he decided to channel a little more power into Nathaniel's power. However, that was a risky move since he would end his mana earlier and expose himself to a greater risk later. Becoming useless during this fight wasn't what he wanted. Again, he found himself in need of increasing his strength; if he survived this fight, he would start massively using the technique the Biological supercomputer developed to increase his neural links.
The awakener focused on his mana, feeling the familiar energy coursing through his body from the brain crystal. He felt a rush of strength and confidence as the power surged through him. He lifted his sword and charged at Mia with renewed vigor, using the force to propel himself toward his opponent.
Mia's eyes widened as she saw Erik approaching her with that speed; it was abnormal compared to what he showcased until now.
She raised her sword to block his attack, but Erik's strength was aided by a "force blow" that severely increased his strength; it was a lot even for her to handle. He forced her back, his sword clanging against hers with a metallic ring.
Mia stumbled backward, her hair whipping around her face in the sudden gust of wind the clash created. She narrowed her eyes. Erik capitalized on the moment and lunged at her again, his sword flashing in the light.
"DIE BITCH!"
However, as Erik swung his sword, things went differently than he had hoped. The woman blocked his attack and counterattacked, almost cutting his throat.
"You're not good enough to pull stuff like that off," she spat, a mad glint in her eyes.
"Fuck," Erik said.
Mia charged at him again, her sword flashing in the air horizontally. Erik bent backward and avoided the strike but was exposed to great danger as he did that. He quickly regained his footing, but despite having done so, he found Mia in front of him, and he barely had the time to parry the following strike.
"SHIT! THAT WAS CLOSE!"
But just as parried that attack and was going to get space from the woman, he noticed something coming at him at top speed and a sudden jolt of pain in his side.
He looked down and saw a small dagger inside his flesh. Someone had thrown it at him when he was distracted.
Erik gasped in pain but couldn't remove the weapon, or his wound would worsen.
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