"I'd hope the Jaia's Ambassador would be more cordial than destroying an allies Health Potion like that." I offered, slowly pacing toward Phoebe's tree as she tracked me with her bow, an orange fiery arrow knocked within her burning quiver.
"I think saving your skin from old wispy-dick over there's teleporting barrage attacks from hundreds of meters out was all that our friendship can afford you. Your tutelage and spirit-bound alliance with my people bought you an announcement of my presence." Phoebe said through a smirk.
"And what of Becky? Don't suppose I could cash that favor in here too, could I?" I wagered with a shrug, knowing this could be my last parley before she lets loose.
"…5."
"..5 wha-"
"4…"
Oh motherf-
I scrambled summoning another health potion, making note I was already down to 3 left in my reserves from our purchases in the Quarterly Marketplace. I made sure to grab an instant health potion, even though they yielded less total health points.
"3…"
For now, I needed to stay alive, and the mana I got back from the void archer should suffice me the entire fight. I'd taught Phoebe everything she knew when it came to one on one combat after all, the vast majority of it being exclusively blitzing offense.
"2…"
Of course, that's assuming Phoebe hasn't progressed at all since we last sparred.
*HISS*
A streak of orange light rocketed down, blasting shrapnel from the ground behind me on impact as I dove out of the way. A fireball filled my free hand, but another burning arrow whistled in like a missile before I could release it. Rolling under the arrow, a wave of flames rushed against my back as I popped up and finally tossed the fireball. Phoebe leapt off the tree immediately, pulling her bowstring back and released three arrows at once. All three lit aflame midair, melting into dozens of molten hot shards.
Fuck it.
"Come again?"
*tsss*
Several shards cascaded across my armor as I sprinted through the attack, burning into the metal. Without breaking stride, I ran directly under Phoebe's landing zone preparing to snag her into a grapple. Her eyes shot open wide in surprise as she fell down, twisting to face me just within reach. Then, her eyes narrowed as a smirk creased the corner of her lips.
Shit!
Heat wafted by as I barely managed to pull my hand back to avoid her clutched arrow swinging for my forearm. Phoebe continued twisting through her miss, landing a spinning kick to my gut she used as a boost for her retreat. My feet slid across the cliff side's jagged stone, nearly tripping back into the crater one of her initial arrows left behind.
"She's improved."
"Hardly." I quickly shot down, ducking under one of the arrows then rolling away from another explosive, higher arching shot that staggered behind the first. Another fiery wave pressed against my back as I sprinted forward, slowly closing the distance as Phoebe slipped into the dead forest just past the cliffside, her eyes briefly flashing a golden orange as she glanced back. I grunted frustratedly while digging my foot into the tough, dry soil to chase after her. I faked one way and slipped around the other side of the rotting tree she shuffled behind, knowing her cunning and hoping to trick her to shoot the other direction.
*HISS*
My hand instinctively snatched the arrow from the sky, the arrow tip almost immediately fragmented into molten shards. I smiled proudly while rushing to remove the metal burning into the skin on my face. Phoebe leapt forward twisting to face the tree, firing two burning arrows to both sides at the same time. I managed to get the shard out of my eye in time to duck under another spiraling arrow that decimated the tree trunk at my back. The concussive blast lifted me forward, tossing me casually toward Phoebe like the first apple at harvest and sending a shooting pain up my spine. My palm thrusted forward, tossing a fireball down at her before the hotheaded archer could shoot again and forcing her to abandon her attack to evade mine. She let loose two more arrows by the time my feet hit the ground, but I was at least able to duck under the first one. The second however..
*TINK*
*BOOM*
A concussive ball of fire erupted from the arrow pinging off my armor at my gut, momentarily hunching over the blast that nearly knocked me off my feet in a puff of orange flame. I chuckled, shaking my head as I rose up from one knee.
"These don't hurt half as much as I thought they would." I hollered, popping back up into a full sprint, knowing the blastwave that rippled through my gut was double what I expected, the sharp pain of my warped armor still pressing into my torso. Phoebe didn't reply with words, instead twisting around and firing three more arrows in rapid succession mid-sprint. The first two erupted into clouds of spiraling flames at my sides as I slapped them away, using my bracers to deflect the arrowtips. The third arrow illuminated a bright orange glow floating on a higher arching path, splitting into four others glowing shards on its descent. It was impossible for me to dodge all of them at once and maintain my pursuit, so I tucked my shoulder and attacked the furthest falling shard.
*BOOM*
My shoulder recoiled as I barreled through the exploding shards, creating a small smoke cloud momentarily covering my vision. Immediately, I was met with another arrow spiraling for my forehead on the other side. Annoyed, Infernal Enhancement flared from the hips down as I leapt high over the arrow, tossing a fireball along her path. A look of genuine surprise came over her as her projectile barely grazed my gauntlet, causing Phoebe to stutter and nearly lose her footing as she planted her boot and changed directions. The fireball ripped a crater into the hardened dirt, revealing a soft, moist soil layer alongside several massive roots below. Part of me wished to investigate the flora here more than bother with Phoebe, if I hadn't already made up so much ground on her with my boost active.
"Slowed down, have we?" I jeered trailing a few paces behind, already thrusting my battle axe toward her back knee. Phoebe didn't even glance back, instead hand springing forward dexterously off one hand, pushing off the dirt and firing an arrow trained for my chestplate. My bracer slapped against the arrow tip that split into four shards just before impact, throwing my arm back from the concussive force. My eyes traced back to find Phoebe's fist bashing my cheekbone. My head snapped back for a split second jarring my vision, during which Phoebe loaded up an arrow from point blank range and fired at my feet while leapt away. The arrow melted against my armor into a glowing molten clump, slowly warping my glowing armor until the hot metal pressed against my flesh. It took hearing my armor loudly clanking as it adjusted to realize she was attempting to burn through my armor, even though she could've easily aimed for my head at that range. Even if I have evaded her headshots, point-blank is pretty tough to time compared to at least a couple feet away.
"She's testing you. The rate at which your students develop such hubris is…remarkable." Galenthelos so expertly pointed out. Ignoring his blatant teasing, my eyes narrowed realizing the same.
"That was your best chance, Phoebs. I think-" an arrow whizzed by my face as I slid past, taking a serpentining route along my pursuit. Mana flooded into my leg as I kicked off the dirt, rocketing toward Phoebe forcing her to slip under my axe.
"-a few wins went to your head." I said, bouncing my knee straight up toward her ducking face. Her head ricocheted off my knee cap as she simultaneously drove a fiery arrow through a gap in my armor. Flames erupted from the arrow tip as I yanked it free from my leg, the burst roaring audibly from the arrow before abruptly incinerating into dust. Phoebe smirked, taking her crooked nose with two fingers and snapping the bridge straight.
"Something tells me I'll have plenty more opportunities." She replied with a devious smirk, blood dripping down from her nose.
"Ah-HA! Oh, oh okay." I replied, sizing up Phoebe thoroughly fighting back the rage burning through my chest. A single twitch in her cheek muscles was all my hateful glare needed to see through her tough facade, though the welling pressure in my badly burnt knee joint was all the indication I needed to honor her abilities in a melee. It also means she's been trying to maintain her distance for some reason other than sheer survival necessity.
"Indeed, shall we investigate further?"
Summoning two fireballs, one in my palm and the other at the end of my battle axe, I lobbed one over Phoebe's head slowly inching forward. She ducked and started leaning to the left, where I immediately tossed another fireball in her path. Phoebe's stutter stepping footwork looked better adapted to the change in direction, as she managed to kick off the ground into a side-flip to change direction and totally evade the blast radius. Luckily, neither fireball was meant to land as my axe extended up into the sky, releasing a steady stream of Infernal energies forming the dome of my Infernal Confines. Phoebe let the concern flash across her face before dashing toward the edge of the forming dome, diving down trying to slide under the infernal mana barrier. A rush of anxiety filled my chest momentarily as she managed to get her feet through, only to dissipate as the dome wall fell atop her torso and phased around it.
"Hah! Too sl-UGH!" Phoebe's taunt was cut short as the chains of Hellish Binds wrapped around her midsection and ripped her back into the dome. Leaning back, a single arrow spiraled out at an awkward angle as Phoebe preemptively fired, laying upside-down to me. The arrow whizzed by my leaning head, failing to deter my steady stroll toward her.
"Uh-oh." I said sarcastically, though my rage failed to allow a forced grin to accompany my taunt. Phoebe fired two more arrows, one at my chest and the other toward the dirt. I deflected the first away, and could feel the heat of its molten fracturing shards waft by my arm and shoulder. The second arrow pierced into the soil at my feet before erupting into a torrent of flames, rocketing the arrow up and hosing me with fire. I covered my face with both bracers to protect my skin as my metal armor slowly warped around my forearms, and listened for the flick of her drawstring snapping with clenched teeth.
Instead, a pair of footsteps stomped closer as Phoebe emerged through the flames with her fist cocked back for a leaping straight. I easily slapped her wrist away, spotting the strike early and throwing her momentum to the side abruptly. Phoebe however used the change of direction into a quick stab with an arrow clutched in hand, my forearm slamming into the pit of her elbow to cut the attempt short. Her knee flared up toward my stomach in response, thumping off my metal armor and sending a surge of pain across my burnt midsection.
Smiling with rage, I snatched her shoulders and slammed my forehead down onto her swollen nose before she could throw another punch. Phoebe reeled back, spinning away and gripping her bloody nose. I took a single step forward, seeing my chance to end this with a single snap of the neck. Phoebe quickly spun around, throwing a leaping head kick. I barely managed to lean far enough back to evade the sudden impressive athletic display, blinking uncomfortably as the gust behind her boot blew into my eye. Phoebe landed on one foot with her bow already in-hand with an arrow knocked, releasing it as soon as her foot touched dirt.
The arrow split in four, each erupting a small concussive blast against my shoulders and chest while the last blew up above my head. Surprisingly, the heat managed to make its way completely through my armor, causing me to flinch at the smell of my burning flesh wafting up my armor. Another arrow spiraled toward me, this time clipping the side of my boot nearly knocking me off balance. Phoebe leapt into action the moment my arm waved catching my balance, dashing forward aggressively then immediately backing off while firing an arrow after I regained my footing.
Clever.
Shuffling around her arrow, a fireball flew from my palm as Phoebe loaded up an arrow. Without slowing her dash, Phoebe took a leaping step off of a tree with her bow trained on me. Yet, as she floated over the orange explosion of burning infernal mana, she refrained from releasing her arrow. I raised a brow and sprinted forward, hoping to goad her into firing. I managed to get within arms reach before I noticed the flames wafting off of her arrow, bowstring, and her hand alike.
Oh shit.
Infernal Enhancement channeled through my legs in a flood of energy, leaping as quickly as I could to the side. Phoebe released her charged powershot, something she'd used to Elysium's benefit numerous times. The arrow rocketed through the air like a damned railgun, ripping completely through my armor and piercing deep into my blade. The arrow didn't appear to land clean however, as it continued through ripping a chunk of my shoulder with it and spiraling toward the tree bark several meters behind me.
*BAAAANG!*
A blinding orange light flashed, the concussive blast throwing me aloft outside of my own Infernal Confines and completely deafening my left ear. Shrapnel of soil and burnt bark dispersed through the sky as I hurtled toward the dirt, bouncing several times before managing to pop up to my feet. Debris rained down around me as I frantically spun around to locate Phoebe, realizing my infernal dome had disabled and refusing to take a surprise arrow to the skull.
*flick*
"Right!"
An arrow deflected off my rising bracer, giving away Phoebe's location. She shakily stood a couple meters away, her shoulders slumped forward as she began stumbling backward, gripping her gut with tired eyes.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, still blowing through your mana pool too quickly I see." I said, straightening my posture realizing this fight was all but over. Phoebe stumbled back, firing another arrow I easily dodged mid-stride.
"You've certainly improved your defensive prowess, though you never addressed your weaknesses. Instead, you've added measures to avoid your weakness, like extended periods of physical defense." I pointed out, recalling her sudden emphasis on integrating her arrows and acrobatics into her hand-to-hand combat. A deviation that isn't meant for multiple uncomfortable engagements, but to end them abruptly.
"Hah, don't lie, I got close." Phoebe replied through a crooked smile, finally relaxing her shoulders and dropping to a knee. Her knuckles were white with how hard she clutched onto her bow, though they slowly began getting color again as I drew nearer. Checking my resources, it probably would be unwise to be too honest with how close she actually got to winning.
"Sure, whatever makes you feel better." I said with a devious grin. I lifted my axe with one hand as a twitch in her shoulder caught my eye.
"You know Phoebs, I'll happily give you your flowers. No one's lasted longer than a couple seconds inside my Infernal Confines until you. You truly have the heart of a giant-" I said, taking a final step toward her. Her hips suddenly twisted hard as she threw a surprise spinning strike clutching an arrow in her fist. Snatching her wrist, I leaned back and pushed her hand along the same path it was already headed. Snatching her inner elbow, I shoved the arrow into her throat.
"-but a serpent's spirit." I finished, kicking off her chest as the arrow split into four pieces before erupting in a cacophony of red and orange puffs of smoke. Her charred, mangled head barely dangled on from a smoldering thread of skin as her body fell lifelessly to the dirt. I gladly summoned and chugged down a health potion to alleviate my burns, the Death Echo consuming my vision in wavering orange energy as I looked down at my student and friend with pride.
"Well done, but this is far from over."
"I know, isn't it great?!"
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