The man thrust his hand at Ike. Light blazed out. A brilliant swirl of purple flower petals flew at Ike. Each petal was about the size of a palm, and razor-sharp. It sliced directly through Ike’s armor as if it wasn’t there. Blood flowed, staining the ice pink. Ike healed quickly, but it was no use. The petals swirled around him, dancing and cutting. They never faded. They almost felt like birds, fluttering viciously around him.

Unhesitating, the man darted in. He slashed. Ike’s arms were already raised, his sword out-of-place. He swept it desperately. His sweep batted the man’s sword down, but the backlash was more than he could handle. His sword flew away, clattering to the ground behind him.

The purple-wielding man darted in. Even as the petals chipped away at Ike’s health, he slashed at Ike’s neck.

Ike cast Shockwave Punch over his fist. He slammed his arm sideways into the blade, so that both his upper and lower arm impacted its edge. The sword sliced into the bone of his arm, but stuck there. Ike released the full force of the shockwave into the blade, forcibly shivering it out of the man’s hand.

The man stepped back. He lowered his hand and summoned another purple sword.

“Fuck,” Ike muttered. He reached for the sword stuck in his arm, only for it to dissipate. His injured arm drooped, useless. The petals continued to swirl. His healing skill struggled to keep pace. The constant cuts dragged at it. He could barely close those, not to mention the huge wound on his arm.

He glanced at his bad arm. It won’t heal in time, at this rate. I can’t count on it coming back. I need to destroy this petal thing, or I’m fucked.

The man charged.

Ike fled. He charged up a Tempest in his good hand and kept his bad hand between him and the purple-wielder. The man chased him, but when it came to fleeing, he was playing into Ike’s strengths, not his own. The man could keep pace with Ike, but only barely. Whenever he tried to plant his feet for a strike or threw his weight behind a lunge, Ike gained seconds, and he used them all to stretch the distance between him and the man a little more.

At last, the man stopped. Wary, Ike fled a good dozen feet, then paused. He put all his focus into Tempest. Without a word, he stared the man down, asking his question without asking the question aloud.

The man laughed. He spread his hands. “You’re faster than me. I’m not going fall into your trap and chase a fly knowing I can’t catch it. Better to conserve my energy until you’re ready to fight.”

A trap? Ha. I was just trying desperately to survive. Ike cut off the aether pouring into Tempest. He dashed in, throwing it out toward the man, then activated the spell. A blast of wind burst out, rushing past Ike and the man all the same. The man threw out his hands and readied his sword, pointing the blade at Ike.

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Tempest blasted the purple petals away. Ike’s healing skill took hold again. Rather than close in on the man, Ike retreated once more. He kept circulating his lightning skills over his body. As he retreated, he checked the sky. The dark clouds grew darker. Fierce winds blew. Lightning crackled between the clouds, growing ever more intense.

He pushed a tiny bit of aether into Lightning Caller. The skill responded weakly. If he used all his aether, it might activate.

A little more. I’m almost there.

The Tempest died out, leaving the man alone, unharmed. He looked around. His brows furrowed.

“What was all that for?”

Ike darted back. He snatched up his sword in his off-hand as he waited for his arm to heal. Bone snapped as it cracked back into place. He grimaced, then forced a grin. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

The man’s eyes hardened. They locked onto Ike’s quickly-healing arm. “Buying time, were you.” He brandished his sword, then dashed at Ike.

“Don’t be so stingy. It’s only been a few seconds,” Ike returned. As the man closed in, he drew all the talismans he’d taken from the rich man at the edge of the Abyss and lit them all off. Bright red fireballs launched at the man, trailing smoke.

“Trying to hide again? You can’t buy time forever!” The man swept his purple sword before him and cut directly through the fireballs. The fireballs fell apart, the magic destabilizing where he’d cut it. He charged past the drooping magic and closed in on Ike.

Ike dashed in with all his speed. The man startled, putting his feet in firmly. He hopped back and swung.

This time, Ike went on the offensive. He parried the man’s off-balance blow and struck. Every strike aimed for the man’s vitals, the throat, the gut, the chest, but that was secondary to his purpose. Lightning flickered with every strike, too. Lightning Clad empowered his blows, while he pushed lightning into his blade to tremble the man’s sword hand. The man struggled. Stuck off-balance, he barely blocked each of Ike’s blows. His full-power blows were strong enough to leave Ike’s hands numb, but the man’s focus on strength and not speed meant he was unable to recover his balance or footing under Ike’s onslaught. Step after step, he was forced back.

“Get…back!” The man slammed his hand out. A purple orchid bloomed, pushing Ike bodily back. In the next second, the bloom exploded in a flurry of sharp-edged petals. Ike jumped away, but the petals gave chase. He retreated endlessly, waiting for the petals to run out.

“How does it feel to be chased?” the man gloated.

Ike snorted. You want to play the stall game? I can play the stall game, too. He glanced upward.

The sky crackled. The clouds drooped, pregnant with rain. Purple and bruised, they rumbled darkly, eager to unleash their fury upon the world.

Or rather, it looks like I’ve hit the endgame of my stalling first. Ike pushed a bit of aether into Lightning Caller, testing it again. This time, it responded eagerly. He quickly choked the aether back before he accidentally activated the skill.

Ike called forth a small Tempest and threw it at the petals. It scattered the petals, revealing the man, rushing directly at Ike. His purple sword flew forth.

“Die!”

Ike parried his strike and stepped in. He grabbed the man’s shirt and pushed aether into Lightning Caller. “No, you.”

White light flashed. It washed out his eyesight, washed out everything. For a moment, there was only the light.

And then the thunder roared.