The attack soon came, this time in a wave of three. The first came from behind Cypher. Gastor's Zweihander swung in from the side and aimed at Cypher's torso. Cypher blocked it but was sent sliding across the floor for several meters until he slammed against the wall. His right arm went numb as it was crushed against the stone wall, but Gastor wasn't done yet.
The second attack came as soon as Cypher hit the wall. He was narrowly able to duck under it, and the massive blade sank into the stone until it was completely embedded in it. Cypher tried to kick Gastor away, but before he could, the man had twisted the blade in the wall and drove it down, cutting through the thick stone. Cypher rolled to the right and cracked his elbow against the ground. That feat of sheer strength worried him and he grew even more wary of his opponent.
However, the blade actually got stuck this time, and Cypher used that moment to rotate his legs in a wide circle. Gastor was hit by the windmill of motion and sent flying away, and Cypher quickly jumped back to his feet and followed after him. Just as Cypher made to swing his saber into the shoulder of Gastor, the man vanished. Only a smiling after image remained, which quickly disappeared.
Cypher returned to monitoring the room after that. He couldn't launch a counteroffensive if he couldn't see his target. By now, five minutes had already passed, and Cypher could only praise his opponent for being able to move that fast for so long.
Gastor soon appeared again. This time he stood in the middle of the room with his Zweihander perched on his shoulder once again. "Do we really need to keep doing this? You're going to get hurt if this keeps up. Best to call it quits now and save some face, my guy." said Gastor. His body glowed with an oppressive aura but Cypher could tell that it was quickly fading.
The technique he was using to fight at such high speed was nearing its end, that much he could tell. Although he wondered about the limits of a power like that. Cypher looked at him with a glare. "No. I have a job to complete here, and I'm not leaving until it's done. You can boast all you want, but eventually, you're going to run out of Zight. When that happens, you won't be able to move so quickly anymore, and my victory is assured!"
"Hmm, you really think so, eh?" replied Gastor.
"Yeah, I do. Why else would you be buying time right now? You're clearly trying to preserve your energy," asserted Cypher. "Also, I'm not your guy, buddy!"
"Well, I'm not your buddy, friend!" replied Gastor with a half-smile. "In any event, that's completely wrong. I can do this all day, kid. The real question is whether or not you can survive against me. It's only a matter of time before you give out. Not me. Don't count your chickens before they hatch!"
With that, Gastor vanished in a blur of movement once again. Cypher was tired of his constant evasion and hit-and-run tactics. It was time for him to turn the tide on this battle. Cypher gritted his teeth and cast a spell.
"Duet, Verse 1, Inferno burst!" A wave of broiling heat burst out from Cypher's body and set fire to everything flammable in the room. The chair Gastor had been sitting on instantly turned to ashes, and even the air in the room began to burn. With Cypher at the epicenter of the spell, he was mostly unharmed, but he had to hold his breath for a few moments while fresh air refilled the room.
Gastor hadn't been able to avoid being hit by that spell, and he collapsed to the ground smoldering. He hadn't held his breath in time, and his lungs were likely damaged. The spell Cypher had used was quite volatile. It wasn't something he would ever consider when surrounded by allies, but alone like this against a single opponent hadn't been a problem.
With Gastor defenseless like this, Cypher dashed forward and performed a lunge that finally managed to find its mark. Gastor managed to deflect it at the last moment, but it still sunk deeply into his torso, just below his navel. The attack had missed Gastor's Orrium and slid past it by only a few centimeters. Cypher's attack had aimed for that spot, but to his dismay, he had missed only barely.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Cypher had converted a lot of Zight into physical energy in order to pierce Gastor's body. The man had a Rank-Four body after all. Even with the powerfully enchanted blade his father had left behind it was still a daunting task. At present, Cypher was left with only around 25% of his Zight. Thankfully it had gone deep enough to have been able to pierce Gastor's Orrium. If the attack had landed, the fight would have been over.
However, since it had failed, Cypher was forced to back off. This wound wouldn't be enough to end the battle. It wasn't a fatal blow. He had missed all of Gastor’s internal organs, and despite the crimson blood flowing out of the wound, Gastor quickly dragged himself to his feet.
The man popped a few pills and chewed loudly. Within seconds a look of peace spread across Gastor's face, and he took a deep breath. "Ah, that's much better. I gotta say, that was pretty close. Lucky for me, I was able to shift your angle of attack just enough to save my Orrium. I'm really impressed that a weakling like you was able to break through my skin. Not many Wizards... Conductors, I mean, can do that at your level. You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"
Cypher stood ready to fend off the next wave of attacks. However, Gastor simply stood there. He pulled out another cigarette and lit it with a flame from the tip of his finger. "Honestly, I'm kinda growing bored of this whole fight. Do we really need to carry on like this? For fuck's sake, kid, it's just some noble's vault. Why does this matter so much to you? He can't possibly be paying you enough to fight someone so much stronger than yourself."
"I'll admit that you're a lot stronger than you should be for your Rank. Keeping yourself alive against me is impressive. You know, they call me Gastor the blur in this region. I shouldn't have to explain why," Gastor said, taking a long drag of his cigarette. "You might be thinking to yourself that if you just tire me out, I'll eventually run out of steam."
He flicked the ashes from the cigarette to the ground and sighed, "But we already went over this part, didn't we? I'm not going to tire out, and while you might have some interesting tricks up your sleeve, you're almost out of Zight. Don't kid yourself and just accept this loss. I'm almost into this thing," Gastor said, slapping his hand against the vault door.
"A little more, and we can see what's inside. Aren't you the least bit curious? I know this Lord Fayaldin seems like an upstanding guy, but there's more to him than meets the eye. How about this? Let me open the vault for you. We'll take a peek inside and if it turns out that the Lord was lying to you, then you have to let me take what I want. After that, the rest is yours to do with as you please. If I'm wrong and he was speaking the truth, I'll leave this place with my remaining men and you'll never see me again."
Cypher lowered his saber an inch and squinted at Gastor. Something about this seemed off to him. Why would he make such an offer? He had to be pretty certain about what he was saying to wager like this. In truth, Cypher didn't want to listen to him. He wanted to defeat this guy and finish the mission before it got out of hand.
"What is in there that you could want so badly? I can't imagine that thieves like you and your band would risk so much just for the wealth of a noble when it would be so much easier to rob people along the roads," responded Cypher.
"First of all," began Gastor, a look of annoyance spreading across his face, "I’m not some common road bandit. Just because I had to employ a few doesn’t mean I fall in line with their way of life. Secondly, if I tell you what's in there, you won't believe me. It might even piss you off, and at that point talking is useless. One of us will have to die to resolve this. It's clear that Fayaldin already has you on his payroll, but I can tell that you're new to this. More specifically, if you weren't from Dellorim, I would have already killed you. But, I have a feeling that you, at least, can be reasoned with.”
Cypher felt even more apprehensive about this whole thing. Why couldn't this guy just tell him what was in the vault? However, something in the back of his mind nagged at him. This situation seemed off and something about this guy was different. Cypher could almost feel a sense of honor and dignity radiating from the imposing man.
It was true from their exchanges that if Gastor had really truly wanted to kill him, he would already be dead or close to it. With a body that powerful and speed so intense, finding an opening to kill or maim Cypher would be pitifully easy for a man like Gastor. The fact that he was willing to stay his hand and at least try and reason with Cypher was interesting, and he felt compelled to accept this offer.
"Well," began Gastor. "What's it gonna be?" A large cloud of smoke erupted from Gastor's mouth as he flashed Cypher a shit-eating grin. It was clear that he knew exactly what Cypher was thinking and with a frustrated chuckle, Cypher lowered his blades to his side.