Kiwi POV
Hawk sat in an Indian seat besides us. He looked sad but was focused on Dove and Blitz.
Noticing Canary’s worry for Hawk, I asked him, “Are you alright?”
“Not really. I’ll be fine though. Just a bit saddened over my loss. It’s not as if I died or anything. I’ll get over it soon.” He replied with a smile filled with sadness.
“It was a close match. It could have gone either way.” I said.
“Guess so. Pretty bad matchup for me too. To be honest, Kin’s Abilities are weird. Paladin Abilities are supposed to protect the squishier allies; however, both his Abilities work better on targets that have good defensive Stats in the first Place since they are both percentage based.”
“Are you implying that it means something?” I inferred from Hawk’s tone.
Hawk smirked before replying, “Yes. We’ll be discussing when the tournament is over and our moods have settled.”
Dove POV
“Hawk really is something. Forty-hit combo. Against Kin no less. Pretty sure that’s the highest achieved in a legitimate Duel. If Kin didn’t have an Ability that worked best against multiple instances of weak Damage, Hawk would’ve won.” Stated Blitz shortly before the Duel began.
“Could’ve, should’ve, would’ve. In the end, Hawk lost.” I drew Icebrande before continuing as the countdown began. “If I don’t win here, Hawk’s mood will take a while to better.”
I activated Fade Walk and went at a random direction. Blitz immediately rushed to the wall closest to him. He wanted to minimize the space from which I could attack him to better react to my attack.
After my Mana regenerated back to full, I went slightly more than two meters in front of Blitz and deactivated Fade Walk. We stared at each other with neither making a move.
Invisibility was naturally weak against AoE Abilities because if caught in the AoE, Invisibility was broken. Unfortunately, such was the nature of Blitz’s Abilities.
To everyone’s surprise, I ran straight towards Blitz. Running straight at Blitz was one of the most suicidal strategies against Blitz; however, Hawk said that Blitz had already become so used to people sidestepping that he wouldn’t be greedy and Flare Blitz me. Also, Blitz always timed Flare Blitz on the instance a person steps on the ground to make it significantly harder to avoid by changing direction.
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The moment I stepped within a meter of Blitz, he used Flare Blitz; however, the moment I stepped, I activated my second Ability, Fade Strike.
Fade Strike would Banish me for half a second. During this time, I would be teleported behind the target and strike him for the same Damage as the Bonus Damage of Wind Walk. After the Banish, I would return to exactly where I was.
Due to the speed of Flare Blitz, I completely dodged during the Banish it while inflicting 14% Damage to Blitz’s Health in addition to his 5% recoil Damage. Unfortunately, this also meant I could not capitalize on the opening after Flare Blitz.
Unlike his Duel with Kotel, Blitz immediately turned around and aggressively attacked me. He noticed the moment he passed by me that his attack did not connect.
I activated Fade Walk and circled around him. Blitz ran towards the closest side as I chased him. I swung my sword while Invisible; however, he unexpectedly turned around, his sword in flame. The impact of the flame and sword threw me to the side as I lost 50% of my Health from a single blow. Blitz himself lost 10% of his Health.
The instance I recovered from the impact, Blitz was already before me ready to swing. I barely blocked the first strike. Blitz remained aggressive and pressure me continuously. Blitz broke through my defense, striking me for 20% of my Health. I tried to counterattack but was blocked.
I immediately used Fade Strike the instance I felt our swords contact. Blitz Flare Blitz at that exact moment, allowing me to avoid it and take off another 5% of his Health. While I could easily block the sword thrust Blitz threw at me after, I instead chose to barely evade the strike. If he activated his second Ability on the block, I would have lost.
Forced on an evasion spree, I was slowly pressured back towards the wall. When I was a meter away, I Fade Walk. I did not move from my position, expecting him to expect me to backstab him. I slashed at him with Icebrande on his back.
Blitz, knowing I couldn’t block after hitting him, relentlessly pushed me towards the corner. I did my best to slow down the cornering; however, this proved difficult without the ability to dodge properly due to the risk of Flare Blitz.
Finally, my back was against the wall. Blitz, at 46% Health, threw a vertical slash at me which was impossible to dodge both the slash and the Flare Blitz that followed.
If I blocked the strike, he would activate his second Ability and break through. Then, I would Fade Strike but would be greeted by Flare Blitz once the Banish period is over.
If I dodged, Blitz would Flare Blitz. I would dodge again with Fade Strike. Then, I would be greeted by Blitz’s second Ability upon my return.
Blitz knew he would be victorious regardless of which I chose; thus, he would concentrate on not messing up. Blitz’ victory was assured.
Or so he taught. The moment I reduced him to this Health range. I blocked the strike, but he activated his second Ability to break through, losing 5% Health in the process and bringing him down to 42%.
Fade Strike dodged the boosted attack. The instance before the Fade Strike struck Blitz, I activated Fade Walk with my remaining Mana. Fade Walk also gave the Damage buff to Fade Strike, basically doubling its Damage. I would hit him for 28% bringing him down to 14%. Blitz would then kill himself to the initial recoil of Flare Blitz, winning me the Duel.