Edge was already running, heading toward the spot where his naginata had landed. He dove and slid the last few feet, causing a pair of water bullets to go streaking over his head instead of hitting him in the face.

The instant that his hands closed around the shaft, he shadow stepped and charged, heading straight for Warren with his weapon at the ready. Right now, Edge didn’t care if the skill got disrupted. He was on guard against rematerializing without warning, and using up the last of the manslayer’s mana would boost his odds of winning the fight.

But that wasn’t what went down.

Warren raised his sword with one hand and reached for his bandolier with the other. He backpedaled to open some distance while sliding two crystal vials free from their bindings in a single motion.

One of them held a pale lavender brew, with flakes of something golden suspended in the fluid. The other was metallic silver, like mercury with a faint blue sheen. Whatever manner of potions they held, Edge couldn’t afford to let the man drink.

He dropped his skill and lunged with his polearm, but Warren ducked out of reach. Edge brought the weapon back around in a horizontal arc, executing a slash that the man barely dodged. As he scrambled to recover his balance, Warren popped the corks and then downed the potions in a single motion. A move that he must have made hundreds of times for it to be that smooth.

Oh shit. Edge leapt back and raised his guard, unsure as to what he should do. That can’t be good.

For a second, nothing happened. Then the manslayer abruptly sped up, becoming more dexterous at the same time. He began to advance as Edge gave ground. Each movement Warren made was as smooth as oil gliding over water. The tip of his sword began darting forward like the tongue of a viper, testing Edge’s guard.

He was sure in that moment that the alchemical concoctions had boosted the manslayer’s already impressive Speed and Control. Possibly Reflex too.

While there were rare potions that had other effects, most of them provided a temporary boost to physical attributes. The power, duration, and side effects of such brews varied greatly, depending on their quality. While even the best potions only lasted for a few minutes at most, Warren had just become even more dangerous than he already was.

Edge couldn’t afford to trade blows while his opponent was potion-boosted. He needed to get away and open some distance. Play defense until the concoctions wore off.

His enemy had other plans. One second the manslayer was grinning at Edge in contempt. The next, Warren was right beside him, short sword poised to strike. He leapt out of the way, enhancing his Durability in the process. Edge moved fast, but Warren moved faster still.

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Before his boots left the ground, he felt the red agony of a blade biting into his gut. It cut deep, but thanks to his armor, skill, and momentum, the sword didn’t reach his organs. Regeneration would be able to patch him up before he bled too much, if he managed to evade the bounty hunter’s next attack.

Edge soared across the parched earth, with Warren only a few steps behind. He leapt again the moment that he came back down, then again, building up speed with every use of the skill. The manslayer followed in his wake, as relentless as Edge’s shadow, looking for an opening to land a killing blow.

When he saw Warren reach for his revolver, Edge knew that he couldn’t afford to keep running. That spellslinger was even more deadly than the potion-enhanced sword. He landed hard, coming to a skidding stop as his boots dug into the dirt. Before Warren fired, Edge leapt again, coming straight at the man with his polearm leading the way.

He swore and dove out of reach, returning his gun to its holster. Edge slashed, bringing the naginata down in a powerful vertical chop. Instead of trying to dodge, the bounty hunter stepped into the attack. He dropped his sword and caught the shaft mid-descent, grunting as he absorbed the force of the skill-bolstered swing.

Although he wasn’t a Power build, Warren was still far stronger than Edge. He started pulling the naginata out of Edge’s grasp. Within another second or two, he was going to be disarmed. He thought that the potions were starting to wear off, but they would last long enough for Warren to strip him of his weapon.

Rather than engaging in a contest of Power that he was certain to lose, Edge let go of the shaft with one hand. He reached back, made a fist, and then punched Warren as hard as he could.

The manslayer saw the blow coming, and effortlessly ducked under the first fist… which put him square in the path of the second. Edge had activated double strike the second that he saw which way the man would move. Warren didn’t know that Edge had the skill, and it caught him by surprise.

Ghostly knuckles met nose with a hearty crunch. It wasn’t enough to do much damage to the smug bastard’s face, given the difference between their Power and Durability. But it still hurt like hell, and more importantly, transferred some of the shock to his brain.

Edge followed up with a jab to the man’s stomach, then kicked him square in the shin. When he tried to punch his face, Warren’s hand came up to block the blow cold—right before his headbutt hit Edge square in the jaw.

Fortunately, the potions had run their course by this point. Each man still had one hand on the shaft of the naginata—keeping the other from using it while they attacked with the rest of their bodies. Both were able to land hits, since it was hard to dodge when they were so close to each other.

This marked the beginning of a brutal exchange of blows.

Edge wanted to use elemental blade and get in a combo with slash or double strike. But it took several seconds for the skill to form, and he couldn’t afford to stop swinging his fist unless he wanted to surrender his weapon. Besides, there was a good chance that Warren still had enough mana to counter the iceblade with Disruption pulse, along with shadow step.

By now, blood was running down both of their faces. Edge was starting to run low on magicytes again, but he thought that bounty hunter was in even worse shape.

Ten seconds later, Edge discovered that he had underestimated the extent of the other man’s reserves. Because that was when Warren’s core ignited, sending a blast of mana surging out. This time, instead of Disruption pulse, it was his water manipulation skill.

It picked Edge up and sent him flying back, the naginata falling to the ground with a clatter.

Before he could decide what to do next. Warren raised his spellslinger, took aim, and fired.