Saulo prepared for his next attack.

Unlike his other abilities, this time he didn't utter words.

As Aaron noticed, the boy's passive ability had just been activated.

[Shadow Speed] was the name of this ability that didn't need mana to activate.

The gray lines that accelerated each time the boy moved his upper extremities were indicative of that passive ability.

An ability that had the effect of increasing the attack speed of the user.

How he obtained this increase in speed was due to the fact that the conditions for activating his passive ability had just been fulfilled. From time to time, if a user of the shadow (such as Saulo) took damage, he was immediately granted an increase in attack speed for a few seconds.

Saulo now had the opportunity to attack faster.

Without waiting for the effect of the skill to disappear, his halberd moved toward Aaron's chest. Due to the increase in attack speed granted by [Shadow Speed] his halberd arrived earlier than when he attacked with [Shadow Cutter].

As a result of the clash of weapons, several metallic sounds were quickly heard until a louder sound caused an immediate silence.

Aaron had blocked the halberd with his shield while with his two hands, Saulo pressed hard on the defensive weapon that Aaron held in his left hand.

With his hand free to attack, Aaron raised his sword to proceed to thrust his blade in the boy. But almost immediately, he changed his mind and quickly took it to his back.

Once again, a metallic sound was heard resonating extremely loudly due to the pressure with which the attack was exerted.

For a second, it seemed that Aaron had struck an invisible wall with his sword. But soon, a body materialized where he continued to exert pressure with his sword.

"So you decided to get out of your invisibility. I was right to feel that disturbance in your defensive posture. You used [Gray Silhouette] at that moment when I lifted my sword."

His words were addressed to a boy who had appeared out of nowhere.

What had happened was that Aaron had realized what the young man was up to.

Keeping the pressure on the shield with the copy created by [Gray Silhouette], the real Saulo had attacked him from behind coming out of his invisibility in a wake of gray lines coming from his hands. The wound on his shoulder continued to bleed noticeably by then, so the boy tried to take advantage of the attack speed of his passive ability in a quick surprise attack.

That was what Aaron thought the young man tried to execute by combining his two skills.

"It's not very polite to attack from behind. If you break a vertebra in my spine, I could be paralyzed for life... That attack... is better suited for the villains."

But when that tactic failed, another thought was clearly reflected in a determined face.

I must keep attacking!

Despite the wound on his shoulder must had to bothered him as he moved his arm, Saulo remained determined to attack with his halberd.

The reason he allowed Aaron to injure him on the shoulder was in order to activate his passive ability. Every so often, when receiving damage, it granted a user of the shadow like him, attack speed for a few seconds. That also included his copy. [Gray Silhouette] was an ability that allowed him to leave a double that performed a basic attack on a nearby target as long as he didn't receive considerable damage.

Upon being wounded in the shoulder by the sword, Saulo attacked taking advantage of the attack speed provided by his passive ability [Shadow Speed] and later, when his halberd collided with the shield and exerted pressure to maintain that clash of weapons, he used [Gray Silhouette] to escape to one side taking advantage of the seconds of invisibility granted.

However, Aaron defended himself magnificently from the combo of attacks that Saulo and his copy made. The real Saulo was blocked by the sword while the copy was blocked by the shield.

I should've used my invisibility immediately once he attacked me with his [Vanguard Defense]. But the pain... The pain.

Saulo was nowhere near matching Aaron's level of power. For example, a deep cut was enough to deconcentrate him on using his abilities while against whom he faced didn't have that problem

In addition, Aaron's strength simply managed without much effort to keep two versions of him at bay at the same time.

This won't be enough.

Putting more force into his arms, Aaron pushed both Saulos from the direction in which each attacked.

The two were thrown in synchrony and the copy vanished immediately. The time for him to stay in this world reached his limit.

The remaining Saulo, the real one, noticed the end of his double while he was in the air by the force of the push.

I must fall safely!

He was falling, holding his halberd in his hands. Nothing would prevent his back from hitting the ground. The force of the shove was too much for him to fall with his feet on the ground. It wasn’t as if he could in his state somerSaulot in the air and fall on his feet. The speed and strength with which his back would touch the ground would shake him violently and prevent him from breathing.

Saulo didn't know it, but Aaron had planned a tactic for when not very powerful individuals were thrown into the air. The moment the young man's back would touch the ground, he would capitalize on that fall with an ability he had reserved for occasions when he needed to surprise enemies who needed to catch their breath.

"[Smoke...!]"

Aaron's ability stopped in the middle of being activated.

Normally, while using an ability, concentration had to be maintained in order to prevent the mind from being distracted by any action other than activating the desired ability.

Aaron didn’t have that problem, but what appeared before his eyes was difficult for him to ignore.

Isn't that...?

With a bit of doubt, Aaron couldn't avoid blinking several times to distinguish what was approaching him.

Approaching him, a small circular object flew with the speed of a strong throw... It looked like a small ball made entirely of cloth. Without being wounded again, an imaginary pain popped into his eyebrow.

A hand grenade was approaching in his direction.

In front of this attack, for Aaron Escalante the time seemed to stop.

Block or dodge.

A decision he had to make in thousandths of a second.

As a sword bearer, the attributes granted by his weapon allowed him to block and dodge at an average level. Not like a 'tank' that stood out for its great defensive attributes or a 'marksman´ that was characterized by its high evasion.

He was a 'fighter'.

A class in which offensive and defensive attributes were balanced, as was agility.

Therefore, his options in the face of an attack were divided between those two actions.

If he decided to block, his sword was on the nearest side of the direction from which the grenade came. However, his left hand, the one holding his shield, was the most logical option for blocking the approaching projectile.

If the power of the explosion was the same as the one that wounded his eyebrow, then he had nothing to worry about. The gunpowder those little grenades were supposed to contain wasn't powerful enough to seriously injure him. Even if the grenade contained greater amounts of gunpowder, at most it would cause very slight damage due to the natural resistance that his body possessed at his level. That is without mentioning the high power of his sword and shield, and the attributes that these two weapons gave him. And since this grenade didn't have the dimensions to damage him, he had nothing to worry about. In addition, ...

... is just one of those supporting objects for combat.

Aaron's thoughts were in favor of blocking what he considered a useless trinket. Since it was more comfortable for smoke users to block because of the shield they had the capability to summon, their first action would be to block.

In contrast, if he decided to avoid the attack, he had to make more effort than if he blocked.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

For example, crouching suddenly could cause him the risk of injuring a muscle in his arm or neck due to the abruptness of the movement.

However, whether to block or dodge, he had to balance both his body and limbs to move properly with the weight of his weapons.

With his right hand holding his sword; and his left, his shield at chest height, Aaron was in a more than adequate position to block Saulo's attack.

But this projectile is different.

The twinge he felt when identifying the object confirmed to Aaron what he thought he could distinguish.

It was the memory of one of those projectiles that the boy threw him for insulting his creations.

This grenade, unlike the first one, had a lead color. Had it not been for the color, he would have hardly differentiated them from each other. That, however, didn't change the fact that this grenade was different.

The first hand grenade the boy threw hit him because he didn't expect the boy to refuse his offer to leave and instead attack him. An explosive projectile that, by the surprise of the attack, caught him unprepared and wounded his eyebrow. The second hand grenade thrown, thanks to the last remnants of the passive ability [Shadow Speed], came in his direction much faster than the first.

On this occasion, however, Aaron was aware of the attack and focused on his next action.

It's just a hand grenade. It's just a simple supporting object.

But in the middle of his concentration, a sudden twinge that invaded his eyebrow caused him to hurry his actions.

Feeling uncomfortable, Aaron pronounced an ability with the speed with which doubt and security fought to dominate his senses. And with these strong words, Aaron dodged the hand grenade at full speed in an elemental wake of lead lines that came from his back and all the back parts of his body.

"Doubting your resolve to block?"

His eye, which had darkened with the memory of recent images and distant memories of confrontations in which his sight was affected, began to visualize again the person who he knew was in front of him.

What the young man had just told him wasn't heard as mockery. And when he saw how he tried to remain calm by holding his halberd too close to his body, it was that Aaron recognized an emotion he had seen in many others involved in confrontations.

It was the fear of holding a weapon.

But regardless of whether the boy wanted to make fun of him, the truth in his words made him feel a little uneasy.

A small *boom let him know what the hand grenade contained.

Because of his indecision, he had to resort to the ability he usually kept in reserve to attack defenseless opponents.

The name of this ability was [Sword Impulse].

An ability that had the faculty to move the user at close range, causing physical damage to all impacted individuals, but because of his moment of doubt, he hadn’t managed to capitalize in time to defeat the one who was unprotected.

"You are certainly the worst individual to talk about blocking an attack."

There was calm in Aaron's voice. Of that, there was no doubt. His posture, voice, face and how calmly he walked showed that.

"However, ..."

A threatening figure began to walk the path savoring every word he expressed.

"... I think for a moment I'm going to let out my anger."

Saulo, unable to move, saw in astonishment what he had caused with his attack.

A burning resolution in the figure of a man was approaching along the path.

With this last hand grenade that I threw, he didn't react like that

With the consequences that his attacks provoked, Saulo came to the realization of his adverse reality. He had used his best cards with those grenades.

Time was running out for him to think of a new tactic. He had to react now.

Saulo Delanova was facing a decision he had to make in seconds.

Attack with his halberd or with a supporting object.

To attack with my halberd, I must inevitably approach.

If he opted for this, Saulo would have to approach as both were bearers of short-range weapons. Even he, with his low level of fighting experience, knew that approaching was asking to be killed.

And if I throw a hand grenade, he won't hesitate a second time to dodge.

This course of action implied having to throw one of the few supporting objects that he still kept in the pockets of his jacket. Unfortunately, the others were stored in his backpack because there was a limit to how much he could store of objects in his pockets.

In an eternal silence, the calmness of an angry person transmitted to him the danger that he would live. Upon feeling this, the doubt of his survival was resolved in a moment of indecision.

Saulo hastily took an object from his hands and threw it.

Immediately, a false sense of security made him worry. This lead-colored grenade that he just threw was an attack he made when he instinctively felt the danger approaching.

A reaction to defend himself, but not a planned attack.

No! What did I do?!

The bomb approached Aaron, who was calm, holding with the same calm his sword and shield.

The bomb hit him fully in the face, at the height of the forehead. Almost in succession, the object fell to the ground, emitting an element known to Aaron.

Smoke.

Little by little, the smoke covered his body.

Despite this…

... Aaron didn't bother to move. The smoke continued to cover him until his figure was out of sight. Saulo had caught him with his object that emitted a smoke screen, but also the young man felt the opposite for an attitude called indifference.

For Aaron, that object was nothing but rubbish and as such, he didn't need his weapon to prove his point.

A kick returned to Saulo the object that was his reason for traveling.

The bomb, in a cloud of smoke accompanying it, reached Saulo, who leaned over to dodge it.

Saulo couldn't help but listen with regret as his creation was lost rolling down the path. In the distance, he saw that the smoke was still visible through the grass that grew freely on the path.

"You are an interesting boy."

A calm voice returned him to the bitter reality...

"You have attacked me with an object that tries to emulate the power of smoke."

... That voice shouldn't be heard so close.

"A tactic that taints the honor of a warrior and the element with which that person was born."

Aaron didn't stop as he advanced.

Although Aaron showed a slight stoic smile, the eyes that looked toward Saulo had no joy at all.

What Saulo had done with his hand grenade to a user of smoke as Aaron would be considered as an affront, a humiliation, an insult to the means to fight with which an individual had since was born. That which partly defined you was being used against you by someone who didn't possess that element. An offense that those who were accustomed to fighting wouldn't overlook as a simple desperate attack.

It was an attack on how one identified as a person.

"But soon there will be another third party more particular than you. Someone who is more interesting than you".

Aaron stopped at the same time that the smoke from the thrown grenade was lost in the environment.

"A third party?"

The mystery of not knowing to whom Aaron was referring made him divert an eye looking in the surroundings. The fact that Aaron wasn't upset confused him more than he understood what he was talking about.

"That's right, he'll be here very soon."

"Do you think that ruse will work against me? I won't distract my attention from you."

"Like when you thought I would be distracted by your smoke grenade that artificially emulates my element? ¿Or that for the third time I would hesitate if you attacked me with your hand grenade to a vital point such as the eyes? Think what you want. What I am telling you isn't a lie. This attack, whether you want it or not, will take you by surprise."

So he knew what I was trying to do with that attack... It doesn't matter now. It's not unreasonable to think that they have a partner on guard in case the situation requires it... But he has said a third party.

Saulo couldn't carelessly distract his attention from Aaron with assumptions. Could it be that he was deceiving him with false information?

It is someone external to us. But who?

Saulo's head worked a thousand times to discover the identity of the one who, according to Aaron, would soon be present. Although he had to concentrate on who had a sword and shield in view, and to free the elderly man from the rope that surrounded him; in his mind other worries invaded his concentration. From a list of possibilities ranging from members of the Forces of Order such as the army or the police to outlaw individuals such as outlaws or another group of thieves; the possibilities formed and vanished in his head under the pressure of the unknown.

Saulo began to sweat with the emptiness of answers in which he was.

Even with the sweat that ran through his body as a result of fighting, his body wasn't hot. Feeling his fingertips numb, the approaching fog let him know that the weather wouldn’t soon change on the Oyogue Path.

"But while you wait, this is your reality."

Seeing how Saulo shivered, Aaron decided to attack.

Saulo and Aaron exchanged blows with their weapons several more times.

While looking for an opportunity to connect a direct hit, Saulo found himself unable to attack due to a sword slash directed at his head or chest every time he tried. It was imperative to protect his vital points at all costs.

Receiving cuts throughout his body due to the quick attacks of Aaron, a continuous pain remained in his hands intensified by the cold of the environment.

I mustn't give in to pain.

Even with his best efforts, the force of Aaron's attacks reached him in small waves of pain each time he was forced to block with his halberd. It was a pain that numbed his fingers due to the powerful impacts received.

And after several clashes of weapons, both ended up at a distance from each other by the strong clash of forces with which their weapons collided. A prudent distance to rest, but not to relax.

Panting, Saulo leaned on his halberd, as if the weapon were a crutch. The pain of the wounds hurt him like a boiling torrent that couldn't stop burning.

His attacks don't let me to think about who is this third party.

So far he had received six cuts in the body and two blows with the shield. Nor serious nor fatal injuries for the moment, but Saulo was concerned about what Aaron seemed to be up to.

"Taking a little rest?"

Aaron asked with a slight smile on his face.

"No. I was just getting used to thinking better. I've always wondered why I was born with a trinity consisting of such a heavy weapon like a halberd... But at least I'm grateful it wasn't a weapon like a wand. Can you imagine having to order your ideas by resting your head on a wand?"

Saulo showed a grimace of pain that quickly distorted into a smile. In comparison, the muscles near his mouth extended beyond the smile Aaron had just expressed.

Because of the irony with which he responded, Aaron laughed. The contained laughter of his reaction was short and not at all mocking. Perhaps it could be called overconfidence, but showing that expression didn't take away the seriousness with which he then addressed Saulo.

"You'd better do that. The third party has just arrived."

Without understanding what he was referring to, Saulo searched with his eyes for the presence of the newcomer. While trying to make an effort to search in the hidden points of the environment, he noticed that everything around him became blurred.

Aaron, the two young men in his group, the captive elder.

All of them had disappeared into the mist.

"!"

By the time Saulo realized, it was too late.

He was trapped in that field of white clouds laden with darkness.

This was the fog of the Oyogue Path.