Chapter 48 - Took a drastic turn [2]
Brandon barely had time to breathe before the temperature in the room plummeted.
The air around the ice-user shimmered as she spread her arms wide, and jagged shards of ice, each as long as a dagger, began forming in a spiraling ring around her.
With a sharp flick of her wrist, the frozen projectiles shot toward him.
Brandon's muscles tensed.
Instead of dodging outright, he moved toward the attack.
FWOOSH!
He slipped between two of the ice shards, feeling the sharp chill pass within inches of his face.
Another came straight for his chest, but he twisted his torso, letting it slice across his sleeve instead of hitting his flesh.
CRACK!
One shard hit the floor just behind him, embedding itself so deep into the tiles that it fractured the entire section.
The moment his feet touched the ground, Brandon pushed forward, closing the distance between him and the caster.
Huh? The ice-wielding woman's eyes widened in surprise.
She clearly didn't expect him to react that fast.
But she recovered quickly, pressing her palms together before thrusting them forward.
A massive wave of freezing mist erupted from her hands, a concentrated etheric blizzard designed to flash-freeze anything it touched.
Brandon's instincts screamed at him... move the fuck!
He dropped to the floor in a roll, feeling the biting cold pass just above his back as he burst out of the mist from the side.
The ice-user barely had time to register his movement before-
WHAM!
Brandon's fist slammed into her stomach.
"Argh!" The impact lifted her off the ground and her body folded inward before she was sent hurtling backward.
*THRASH* She crashed through a clothing rack, rolling across the floor before coming to a stop against a shattered counter.
Brandon exhaled sharply, but there was no time to celebrate... because the spear-wielding woman was already on him.
A blue arc of lightning split the air as she swung her weapon in a wide horizontal slash.
Brandon barely managed to raise his makeshift metal rod in time to block.
CLANG!
The impact sent a shockwave rippling through his arms.
Sparks exploded from the point of contact, and a numbing sensation ran up his fingers.
But Brandon gritted his teeth and held firm.
The woman pulled back, flipping the spear in her grip before lunging forward again.
Brandon twisted his body and barely dodged the thrust.
He counter attacked immediately, stepping in and swinging his metal rod downward.
She deflected it with the shaft of her spear, but Brandon didn't let up.
He kept moving, closing the gap further, forcing her into a tighter space where her long weapon wouldn't be as effective.
She realized this too and attempted to jump back—
But Brandon kicked her ankle mid-motion.
Her footing broke, and she staggered for just a second... enough for Brandon to capitalize the opening.
He grabbed the spear mid-shaft, pulled her forward, and slammed his knee into her ribs.
CRACK!
"Guaargh!" A choked gasp escaped her lips as she doubled over.
Brandon didn't hesitate.
He spun the spear out of her hands and used the blunt end to slam her in the temple.
*THUD* She dropped instantly as her unconscious body collapsed onto the floor.
But just as Brandon exhaled in relief, a sharp whistling sound reached his ears.
He turned around to see another woman lunging at him in mid-air with a massive halberd engulfed as she arched toward him in a deadly downward slash.
He had no time to block.
At the last possible moment, he threw himself backward, hitting the floor in a controlled roll.
BOOM!
The halberd slammed into the ground where he had just been standing, splintering the tiles and sending a shockwave that cracked the surrounding walls.
Brandon barely had time to recover before the woman lunged at him again as her halberd moving fast for its size.
He dodged left, then right, weaving through her relentless attacks as she swung with brutal precision.
Then... he saw an opening.
As she brought the halberd around in another wide arc, Brandon dropped low, ducking under the blade before lunging forward.
WHAM!
His shoulder slammed into her ribs, knocking her off balance.
He followed up instantly and gripped her wrist, twisting it sharply.
"Argh..." She grunted in pain, momentarily loosening her grip on the halberd... enough for Brandon to rip it from her hands and spin it in his own grip.
With a single fluid motion, he flipped the weapon around and struck her across the jaw with the blunt end.
*thud* Her body sludged and she fell back.
Brandon stood over her as his chest heaved up and down.
His arms burned from exertion, but he gripped the halberd tightly.
He had a wild guess in his mind 'This was not to kill me... seems like someone wants to test me.'
Because if they really wanted to kill him, they would have sent elites.
But the ones he faced were rookies, whom even he could defeat while being an E rank awakener.
And the people weren't attacking him with killing intent.
Furthermore, Solvyrn City was not an easy place to infiltrate.
It was located inside the Academy's security perimeter, which meant that whoever had orchestrated this had enough influence to allow a group of armed etheric users inside without raising immediate alarms.
The only people powerful enough to pull that off were the Academy's higher-ups or someone above them.
As he glanced at Ravene, he saw her easily clearing her enemies, but she hadn't killed a single one of them.
She is defeating them or knocking them unconscious.
Breaking bones? Probably. But none of these attackers were dead.
'Seems like she also caught on to the fact that this is a setup to test me...'
'But who? Is that the government? Or the Headmistress?'
However, he doesn't have the time to stand and think as a blur of movement whipped toward him from the side.
Shit—!
His instincts screamed, and he jerked his halberd up just in time to deflect a razor-thin blade aimed for his neck.
Clang!
The force behind the strike sent a jarring vibration up his arms.
Brandon's gaze snapped to her weapons—dual short swords as their edges shimmered with a faint violet glow.
He barely had time to process before she vanished again.
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'—Behind.'
Brandon spun and raised his weapon to block but—
Sching!
Pain flared across his shoulder as her blade sliced through his jacket, drawing a thin line of blood.
'Fuck...' The sting barely registered before she was gone again, reappearing at his side with another precise strike.
Brandon ducked, feeling the rush of air as the sword passed just over his head.
Another slash....
Brandon rolled to the side, dodging by inches. But before he could reset his stance—
BAM!
A kick slammed into his ribs, sending him staggering backward.
'She is fast.' He coughed as pain shot through his side, and his grip on the halberd tightened.
Brandon clenched his teeth.
If he tried to keep up with her speed, he'd lose.
He needed to slow her down.
His fingers shifted on the halberd's grip and he took a deep breath to concentrate.
As she appeared again 'Gravity Vortex.'
Fwoom!
A circular blue seal flared beneath the woman's feet, locking her in place.
What? Her eyes widened in shock and as she tried to move-
THUD!
Her entire body lurched downward as the weight of enhanced gravity pulled her toward the floor like an invisible hand.
Brandon wasted no time.
With a burst of movement, he lswung the halberd in a brutal arc.
SWOOSH!
The blade whistled through the air, forcing her to block with her swords.
But in her restricted state, she wasn't fast enough to avoid the impact.
BAM!
The sheer force of the strike sent her crashing to her knees and her arms shaking from the pressure.
Brandon didn't stop.
He twisted his body, shifting his weight before driving his knee into her stomach—
THWUMP!
"UGH!" A choked gasp escaped her lips as she was launched backward, skidding across the shattered floor.
Taking a short breath, his gaze shifted to the entrance 'How many more are gonna come... for fucks sake...'