BXBX NOVEL Chapter 343 342: Light Sparring
Corrupted mana flowing into your veins and making its way towards your brain to shut it off...
It's amongst the more scary poisons to deal with in the world, since it has no cure past Healers capable of near resurrection level magics.
Knowing that this cold mana is slowly worming its way towards your brain inspires deep fears and despair in its victims, and the man before me was feeling every last bit of those dark emotions.
His eyes were bloodshot and unfocused, and his breathing was uneven as he panted, his mace flaring from dark, dull crimson to a bright scarlet.
Looking up at me, the man snarled "You damnable Demoness! You'll burn in hell for this! You'll burn!"
Spittle rained down onto the floor at that, making me chuckle as I raised a brow.
"Burn? I doubt it, human. After all, I've committed no sins nor crimes here. Cutting away chaff wouldn't earn me a spot in hell..."
His anger swelled at my words, and he let out a wordless shout as he charged me, his mace raised high.
The mana coursing over his weapon continued to flare randomly, while the mana inside his body pulsed with his heartbeat, rising and falling every second.
Along with the adrenaline and desire to kill me, the Veteran Praetor had a significant increase in his strength, but...
Swaying to the side, I listened to the mace shatter the stone tiles below us, with the man groaning a moment later as the flat of my blade slammed against his buckler.
"Come on then! Put up a fight! Surely you won't just roll over and die while your god is watching?!"
Incensed, the man snarled again as his mace swung towards my skull, the red mana searing my flesh slightly as it narrowly swished past my nose.
With such an easy overextension, I could have slashed my blade straight into his chest and cleaved him in two, but...
Looking around for a moment, I took note of the dying Praetor's as the legionnaires cut them down, nodding to myself at their swift, efficient work.
Stabbing my sword into the stone, I balled my fists as I smirked at the man, rolling my shoulders out.
"Time to have some fun then~!"
"Are you mocking ME?!"
Screaming once more, the man rushed forwards and unleashed a flurry of blows, his mace swishing through the air around me.
Swaying around each blow, I waited for an opening and jabbed forwards, my fist cracking against his cuirass and denting the metal, all while he sputtered out a few droplets of blood from the impact.
A slight sting coursed over my knuckles at the blow, and I grinned at the man as his anger morphed once more into fear, unsure of how to perceive the fact that I had just damaged him with my bare fists.
"What? Surprised? See, if you humans spent even a day researching the differences between the various races of the world, you wouldn't be in such a terrible position right now! This - all of this, from the city to this Kingdom - is the folly of your actions manifested in the worst possible way. You just... You could have refused the offer the Sariel's made you, and this would have never happened... And yet, here we are..."
Just recalling the name of those damn Elves made my blood boil, and the grin fell as I stared at the man for a few more seconds, watching as the words sunk in.
Anger, hate, fear, confusion, doubt, and more fluttered around in his eyes, and I could tell that the mans beliefs were shaken.
His eyes flickered down towards my balled fists, before he idly touched the dented cuirass he wore.
"You realize it now, Praetor? The difference in strenght between a Demon and a Human? That blow was unpowered by mana. Raw strength honed through years of training and combat. What you consider strong is just a weak child to me. Are you finally understanding that in these last moments of yours?"
Gritting his teeth, the man took a deep breath before hefting his mace once more, resolve filling his eyes.
"Even so, even with those differences - true or not - I will fight. For my home, my family, my country, I will fight! Prepare yourself, Demoness!"
Letting out a battle cry, the man charged me once more, but his previous uncontrolled style of fighting returned to the techniques he had honed over however many years.
Once more the mace rose and fell, but the control over the weighted weapon was much improved, and the speed increased drastically as he targeted my joints and predicted my movements.
Relying on my quick movements to avoid everything, I waited for an overextended swing before throwing a swift hook, which he tried to block with his buckler.
When my fist slammed into the small, thin shield, the buckler buckled as my fist deformed the metal and splintered the wood.
Not only did I manage to destroy the shield, but I also managed to bruise and crack his arm, earning another hiss of pain.
Returning to dodging his attacks, I played around with the man for a few more moments before getting serious, the lack of sounds around the facility letting me know everyone else had finished up.
Ducking under a horizontal swing, I grabbed his arm and pulled him forwards, all while my other fist flew towards his jaw.
Making contact, I dislocated his jaw and forced him to spit a few cracked teeth, before his eyes rolled around as I uppercutted him, lifting him off his feet a few inches.
Yanking his arm down, I slammed him down into the floor and raised my boot, a small smile on my lips as I stomped down onto his skull, a wet crunch letting me know that his head had popped like a watermelon under my weight and metal boots.
Sighing, I retrieved my sword and glanced around, receiving a few looks from everyone as I finished up my own light spar.
Smirking, I shrugged as I said "What? Come on, stop wasting time~! This should be under our control now..."