Spider Falls

Spider caught the blade on the top of his sword and deflected it for all he was worth.

His blade screeched and his arm went numb from the impact, but the blade bounced away.

The woman looked at her sword in confusion. Twisting her head side to side she looked it over before finally throwing her gaze back to him.

Then the earth shuddered. Only an afterimage was left behind as she moved forward, Spider saw double then triple as her body blinked from one place to the next and then he couldn't see her at all.

He leaned back instinctively. Assuming the strikes position by a guess of the way it looked like she was going.

He felt the metal cut through the air towards him as the blade curved by his neck.

He twisted his feet in a shuffle for space, back peddling away.

Her afterimages continued their motion passing by him before coming to a stop and settling back into one.

Her figure of black and green amongst the river of blue and the sloshy sand of black was startling. Even more so as she casually turned and fell back into a image of three that overlapped and fell beneath her.

Three blades pointed his way.

Spider took her measure in quick facts.

Her cuts, too fast to see.

Her curving strikes too strong to guard.

Her openings were non-existent.

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And there were three of her.

.... He might die this time.

She took his measure as well. Walking clockwise around him like a shark looking for blood. When she stopped the large purple gem on her neck glowed lightly before fading. She looked at him impressed.

"Scan says your not doing anything special. " Her eyes sparkled in excitement. "Where did you learn how to swing the sword? "

He said nothing as she circled. All his focus was spent watching her feet and her core.

If she moved he would see it.

Her eyes sparkeled even more.

"You are worthy of a challenge boy. " Her afterimages faded away.

"Ten strikes, I will give you. If you survive I will let you leave. " She nodded at her own decree. " What is your name boy? "

"Spider. " He said his voice echoing across the water.

"Spider." She said repeating it.

"Do try not to die. "

Then she launched.

Spider would later have a hard time recalling exactly how the fight went but a few key moments stood out amongst the struggle for his life.

The first was her overhead strike.

It fell slow, like a drop of water, but heavy like a mountain. It broke his arm on her second blow.

Her fourth strike he recalled dodging, but like a snake it reached out and tore up through the air separating a small piece of ear from his head.

That had made her smile.

By the sixth blow he thought he had figured out her range, but a cut that fell just short of him ended up cutting through his cloak and splitting open his chest.

Before she had swung the blade for the ninth time, he had entered a place between exertion, focus, and reaction. His toes tapped light on the floor and his body felt as light as a feather.

All in all, Spider felt good.

So Instead of waiting for the ninth blow he struck. Quick steps, on the edge of consciousness that sent him spiraling into her range as his sword ripped though the air as fast as he could pull it.

He was blocked with a smile.

"I will count that as nine. " She said.

Then he saw no more.