"If this is what you want to do, then you leave me no choice," Simone told Erik.
At that moment, the man lunged forward with his dagger, aiming for Erik's stomach. But the awakener was quick to parry the attack with his Flyssa.
The two men circled each other warily, waiting for an opening. However, this time, Erik didn't care anymore about hiding.
It was clear that Simone and his men knew his secret, and since some of his friends did too, it was useless to hide it anymore.
Holding back his powers didn't make any sense at that point, and he channeled mana through his multiple neural links.
Simone struck again, this time aiming for Erik's head. The young man sidestepped the attack and swung his Flyssa in a wide arc, but the thug was ready. He blocked the strike with his dagger, easily doing so thanks to his higher strength, then kicked Erik in the stomach, sending him stumbling backward.
Erik regained his footing and swung his Flyssa in a tight circle, forcing Simone to back away. But the man wasn't deterred. He took his chance and lunged forward again. However, Erik used his bone-manipulating power to try to skew the man, who avoided the attack but got almost impaled since he didn't expect that power.
"Amazing!" The men shouted in glee. "THIS IS AMAZING!" he added. The greed in his heart surging.
It was then that Simone charged again and attacked. The two men continued to exchange blows, their weapons ringing against each other in a deadly dance. Of course, Erik was having a lot of problems due to the difference in stats, he got hit more often than not but thanks to the metalization and the mana exoskeleton powers he managed to avoid accumulating more wounds. Though, he was using a lot of mana.
Simone was fast and agile, darting in and out of range with his dagger, while Erik relied on his multiple powers. He used the bone-manipulating brain crystal power to project some bones in order to impale the thug.
That meant that Simone had to pay attention not only to Erik's flyssa but also to the bones coming out of his body. It wasn't easy to do that since it was like he was getting shot every time, and evading the attacks wasn't simple especially at point blank.
Amber looked at the scene unfolding and was left flabbergasted. Her eyes widened in shock as she watched Erik's display of power. She wasn't aware that he could do that; it was something no one had ever been able to do.
Her mind raced as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing. Had Erik been hiding this power all along? Or had he only just discovered it? Either way, it was clear that he was in complete control of it.
She watched in awe as he put up a tough fight against a man much stronger than him. Who no kid his age would have been able to face.
Now Simone's previous speech made sense. It was true that he hid this from her, despite her being his girlfriend.
Simone feinted to the left, then lunged to the right, aiming for Erik's chest. But the awakener was ready. He twisted his body to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack, and counterattacked with a powerful bone thrust.
The thug blocked the move, and he launched himself forward, his dagger flying. Erik deflected the blows with his Flyssa, but the man was relentless and attacked again.
He was like a wild animal, all teeth and claws, fighting with a ferocity that left Erik struggling to keep up.
The man, though, was excited by what he was seeing. Erik was fighting equally against him and was using more powers at the same time. He was aware Erik should have still been at the RHO level with one power, meaning that he was exerting the strength of at least a NI ranked individual while being at the lower levels of the power spectrum. That was incredible.
Simone felt Erik's mana swirling inside of him, and he found out he was using at least three brain crystal powers simultaneously: the sharpening one, Nathaniel's, and the bone manipulating. Of course, he didn't know what Erik was precisely using.
"HAHAHAHAHAH! That is amazing! Amazing!" Simone said.
As the man was absorbed by what he was seeing, Erik saw an opening and lunged forward, his Flyssa aimed at Simone's heart. At the same time, he was thrusting multiple bone spears at him, and the thug found himself forced to avoid them.
He sidestepped one thrust, then another, and so on. The attacks missed their marks but at least gave Erik the chance of wounding him.
Simone quickly rolled on the ground and then kicked Erik on the side of the knee, sending him tumbling to the ground.
The thug lunged forward, his dagger aimed at Erik's shoulder. The man couldn't risk Erik dying before he said how he was able to use more than one power.
The awakener saw Simone's arm aiming at him, and without hesitation, he spun his flyssa in a defensive maneuver.
The blade met the dagger with a loud clang, sending sparks flying. Erik's arm trembled with the force of the impact, but he held firm, pushing back against Simone's attack. Erik projected some bones to jump back on his feet and quickly backed away.
The thug couldn't help but feel impressed with Erik's fighting skills. The young man was holding his own despite being outpowered and facing an opponent who should have been stronger than him.
Simone had expected the boy to be a challenge once he learned the kid had multiple powers, but he had not anticipated just how skilled he was.
"Looks like you're not just all talk, Erik," Simone taunted, grinning maliciously. "I can see how you were able to survive at the club."
Erik didn't respond; his eyes focused intently on the thug as he prepared for the next move. He knew he couldn't afford to let his guard down for even a second if he wanted to come out of this fight alive.
The two warriors started circling each other, waiting for an opening. Simone struck again, this time aiming for Erik's leg, but the awakener used his bone-manipulating power, conjoined to his metalization one, and blocked the attack. Then he countered with his blade.
The sword grazed Simone's arm, drawing a thin line of blood. Simone grimaced but did not waver.
This time, he aimed for Erik's shoulder, since there was already a wound there and he wanted to increase the damage, maybe cripple him. Erik was too slow to completely avoid the attack this time, and wasn't even ready to block it with his other powers, so he raised his arm and brought his flyssa in the dagger's trajectory, parrying the blow with his sword, but the force of Simone's attack sent him reeling.
He stumbled backward and nearly lost his balance. The thug saw the opening and charged forward, his dagger poised to strike.
Erik recovered just in time to block the attack, but the strength behind it was massive. The young man had to pump a lot of mana through his neural links and create a concussive force that helped him block the move.
<Fuck… This is not good…> the young man said as he saw his mana severely decrease.
Consequently, he created a shock wave under his feet so that he could get away from the man.
He stepped on the ground with his left leg, pushed himself forward with a quick ankle movement powered by Nathaniel's power, and drew his blade in a quick and short arc.
Erik got in front of Simone in an instant, but the blade cut through the air, slicing through Simone's coat. The man tried to retaliate but due to the momentum Erik carried, he was already on top of him.
He slammed his good shoulder into Simone's chest, knocking the wind out of him and sending him crashing to the floor.
"You fucking kid!" Simone shouted. "I will make you pay!" he added. The thug quickly stood on his two feet after a quick somersault. He went into a fighting stance and swung his dagger again, trying to stab the kid.
Amber, Gwen, and Jacob watched in horror as the two men fought. They were terrified and unsure of what to do.
The two men continued to exchange blows, neither gaining a clear advantage. The room was filled with the sound of clashing steel and the grunts of exertion, not only coming from Erik and Simone's clash but everyone else's.
It was incredible; what the kid did was incredible, something no one had ever replicated before.
Simone lunged forward with his dagger, aiming for Erik's chest. But the awakener quickly sidestepped the attack and slashed his Flyssa across Simone's forearm.
Blood spurted from the wound, but Simone didn't even flinch for the pain. Instead, seeing what Erik could do pumped his excitement.
"HAHAHAHA, I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE HOW STRONG I WILL BE ONCE I LEARN HOW TO DO THIS!" Simone said, his voice high and dangerous.
Simone darted forward again, his dagger flashing in the room's dim light. Erik tried to parry the attack, but the dagger slipped past his guard and sliced across his cheek. He grunted in pain, feeling the blood trickle down his face.
Matthew's hound chuckled darkly. "You're not as strong as you think, kid. Maybe you should've taken my offer when you had the chance. I could have killed you without making you suffer."
Erik gritted his teeth, his eyes blazing with fury. "I'll die before telling you anything!"
Simone laughed again, his eyes glittering with amusement. "Well, then, it looks like you'll suffer for a long time, Erik. Along with your friends."
With that, Simone launched into another attack, his dagger flashing in the air. Erik braced himself for the impact, determined to fight until his last breath.
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