Norbert watched as the sand settled around her, Vivienne still standing where she was, a stump up, protecting her head as the black lines floated above her head, connecting where the barrier once was.
Changing his vision to normal, the sand from the geyser no longer kicked up. Norbert did not know if it ran out of juice or if she had cut the connection to it, trying to protect herself from Norbert's blast.
Getting up to his feet, his head spinning as he sent a trickle of energy around his body, healing his left arm as best he could, the clothes completely ripped from it.
Staring at Vivienne, watching as she picked up her arm, pieces of the dagger scattered throughout the arm as it came forward. As Norbert watched, the arm attaching itself back to the waitress, holding her other hand over the wounds as Norbert saw she started to chant, the pieces of metal slowly being pushed from her skin, dropping to the ground with quiet thuds.
After a minute, Norbert was still reeling from the mana crash he had experienced, only now thinking about what he would do in the tournament he had later that day. He hoped he would buy a mana potion to refill his reserves that needed to be replenished immediately.
"Are you still going?" Vivienne asked Norbert, looking up and seeing several snakes trailing down her leg. She looked about the sand near them, waiting for Norbert to come closer.
"I’m all out with that last one. Can I say you're right, and we can stop this little spat?" Norbert asked hopefully, waving his hand between them as he took a half step closer, squinting his eyes as he fought his swirling head.
Vivienne stood still, holding her hands above her head. Norbert changed to magical sight, seeing a spell forming there. He grinned his teeth, annoyed that she wouldn't just creep the win and wanted to drag it out.
His mind instantly cleared as adrenalin coursed through his body. Norbert sucked in a deep breath, collecting the bile in his mouth before spitting it out onto the ground. Stepping forward No, Robert took his last two throwing daggers out, spotting his sword to the side of Vivienne, knowing he couldn't print it directly.
Taking another step forward directly towards Vivienne, his sight catching as the ball leapt out of her palms. Diving to the left-hand side, Norbert sees it arch past him, happy with it missing his body. Getting up, Norbert sprinted as he felt wind batter his torn clothes from behind.
Taking a quick look behind him, he saw fog rolling its way down the dune coming from the impact. Turning forward, Norbert sprinted as fast as he could, faster than a normal person could, but nowhere near the levels that Norbert could go as he was infusing his body with purple energy.
The wind lapping at his clothes, Norbert heads directly towards Vivienne, the woman with a smile on her face as Norbert charges at her. Vivienne finally moves off her position and comes towards Norbert, both hands by her side, her hood flapping off her face, and blonde hair waving in the wind behind her.
Norbert watched as it seemed to elongate slightly, growing longer and longer, Norbert watching, his body still in motion as her hair grew to the length of Rapunzel.
The hair was seemingly still as she ducked around, starting to sway this way and that to some music Norbert couldn't hear, breathing in Norbert and preparing for them to impact each other. He closed his eyes momentarily, whispering, "Luck, show me the way forward." As he opened his eyes again, the golden path shone before him; following it with his blade, Norbert charged straight forward as the two made contact again. Before they were to crash, Norbert saw the line shoot into the air.
Jumping up and over Vivienne, the woman just followed him with her head, rubbernecking as she slowed down, spinning mid-air to face Norbert as he landed. Jumping straight forward, Norbert has both blades out in front of him.
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Suddenly, the stream split into two, one continuing forward while the other rising to the right. Following with his dagger, Norbert heard a clink as the dagger hit something. A blade appeared in Vivienne's own hand, having come down arching for his neck.
His other blade was still going forward, Vivienne's eyes growing in shock as it plunged into her sternum. Norbert heard something crack, a splurt of blood coming out, heading for his head. He is happy to have the helmet on to protect him.
As he pulled his arm back, ripping it out of the body, preparing to follow it again, the two golden lines were no longer visible. Norbert wondered why as the fog impacted him, it having slipped his mind.
Instantly, Norbert felt his skin begin to bubble and blister, pus coming out, wetting the inside of his clothes and mask and obscuring his vision. Unable to put any energy into it, Norbert leapt away as far as he could, hoping to get out of the barrier.
Looking down, seeing he was out of it, just before he touched the ground and could run, his legs crumpled underneath him. Looking down, he landed on his sword, his body unable to hold itself up on the uneven landing.
Turning about, I saw Vivienne walking towards him slowly, the fog moving about her, a bubble of clear air following her. Norbert is thankful that the fog wasn't pushing further but reseeded into Vivienne.
Closing his eyes, he stretched his leg out, feeling it about as he flexed it forward, confirming that it was genuinely mangled. Opening it up as he analysed the wound, happy that the energy though unable to properly heal him was stopping the pain from flooding his body, knowing he wouldn't be able to think otherwise, just turning into a groaning puddle of pain and suffering.
THUNK
Norbert opened his eyes as he felt the helmet ring in his ears, something having hit it. He tilted his head up as he opened his eyes, seeing a mana potion resting in the sand. Carefully, Norbert grasped it, bitting into the cork and spitting it out, tipping it back to allow the liquid to flow down his throat.
Instantly, Norbert felt himself energised again. The energy in his body flowed out of his control, no longer wanting to be restrained as it healed his body. Gritting his teeth as he was met with a balance of euphoria and pain, his bones flowed into the right place, not caring if they had to do more damage to do so.
His eyes closed once more as Norbert's breathing steadied from the deep, desperate intakes it had been previously. His head was no longer spinning, his mind clouded by pain. Norbert slowly rose to his feet, stretching to his full height as he looked down at Vivienne, a smug smile plastered above her face.
Bending over, Norbert picked up the dagger near him, the other having been lost in the battle. He placed it in the sheath on his leg, patting his main dagger, knife, and money pouch, happy that none of those items were lost or damaged in the fight that just ensued.
The desert around them was pockmarked by blasts both from Vivienne's magic and Norbert's daggers that went astray, surprised at the amount of sand being blown away by each of his throws, not thinking they had enough force to do that. The biggest one is where Norbert strikes down Vivienne, blasting his dagger and throwing him into the air. The sand around her had turned green and black, smoke coming off as it slowly cleansed itself from whatever spell had been cast.
Turning back to Vivienne, Norbert watched the witch as she continued to smile at him. "What's got you in such a chipper mood?" Norbert asked.
"The fact that you're up and running after just a mana potion" Vivienne replied, as she downed a second potion, Norbert seeing her face no longer look worn out and haggard as if she did one to many all-nighters back to back.
Norbert just nodded as expected before he realised that Vivienne didn't know much about him, as nobody would have been able to see what he did other than his feats of strength.
"I showed you quite a few cards in that exchange," Norbert said to Vivienne, the woman nodding in response.
"And my point all along, now we can and properly start searching for the relic." Vivienne declared loudly to the world, Norbert looking around as he confirmed that nobody was around to hear the declaration, not wanting to get spring on.
Norbert looked around as he walked around to the rest of his throwing daggers, placing them in their appropriate sheaths. He left the bottom one on his left leg free as the blade was utterly destroyed. Only fragments could be seen lodged in the sand, slowly being covered by the wind that continued to blow.
Vivienne, seeing Norbert taking the last dagger, started walking in the same direction they were going before. After several steps, Norbert followed behind, coming up next to her as he squinted in the darkness, changing his vision to see better in the dark, wondering if he could see what Vivienne was looking for.