Clever bastard. Zig cursed inwardly, trying not to let the dull pain in his chest show.
“And it shames me to admit this,” Yaesar said, “but I’m not very good at working with people. I’ve always worked alone.”
“Yeah? That makes two of us.”
Zig analyzed Yaesar’s movements as the two made conversation. He was stronger. They were about even in speed, though Yaesar was more technical. His estimates shouldn’t be off by much even if his opponent hadn’t shown all his cards yet. Yaesar probably had the endurance to last too.
After seeing him move and clashing with him, he could tell that his robes veiled a well-trained physique. He could see clearly from his movements that Yaesar mostly fought using his training instead of relying solely on physical enhancement magic. That kick from earlier had the core rotation and weight transfer of a skilled athlete. He was trained in martial arts on top of his weapon.
Meanwhile, his opponent already had a good read on him. Yaesar hadn’t even begun to use magic yet. Zig was silently considering using his combat drugs but dismissed it as a bad idea. Yaesar had the upper hand in technique; it was not something he could brute force his way through.
I’ll need to see what other cards he has.
“Huff!”
Zig let out a sharp exhale and attacked. He swung his twinblade relentlessly with immense power. His slashes had the force of a monstrosity, each as lethal as the last. He rushed at Yaesar without catching his breath, tearing up the pews like paper.
Before the tremendous show of power, Yaesar remained calm and shifted his body. The tip of his crozier had a loop with four smaller rings attached to it. They rattled as he shook it. Yaesar shifted his weight backward and changed his pivot. He turned and stepped back, his crozier meeting Zig’s slash. The clash shifted Zig’s twinblade as the weapons met at the peak of his momentum.
However, missing an attack wasn’t going to stop Zig.
Zig turned and continued spinning his twinblade. Like before, Yaesar stopped his weapon before it could reach peak momentum. As long as Zig kept twisting to swing his twinblade, Yaesar kept parrying his attacks while taking a step back.
No deflections, just parries. With a minimum amount of effort, he had nullified Zig’s monstrous power. All of this was much easier said than done, of course. Especially against a seasoned mercenary like Zig.
Seeing his attacks getting quashed, Zig changed his approach. He used one arm to stop his rotation and shifted from a circular motion to a linear one. He stomped on the ground to accelerate and thrust the twinblade to Yaesar’s side. The sound of the air splitting filled the church as the heavy blade flew toward Yaesar’s torso.
What would he do now?
Unlike vertical and horizontal strikes, thrusts were difficult to dodge even if they could be deflected. Zig’s thrust left little room for deflection.
Yaesar kept his cool and rattled his crozier. He raised his hand and narrowed the trajectory of his weapon as he swung in a wide arc. He was aiming for the tip of the twinblade.
Zig thought he could push through, and so he did. He didn’t have enough momentum, though he doubted Yaesar would be able to stop him.
The remitter punished him for his naivete. “Such a violent fighting style.”
“Huh?!”
The tip of the crozier caught the cutting edge of the twinblade. It didn’t just knock it away. The twinblade’s edge was now caught in the large loop at the tip of the crozier. This was peak precision, catching another weapon’s cutting edge at high speed in a loop that was the size of a fist.
“Sei!” Yaesar countered once he had Zig’s weapon under control.
Zig tried to resist by pulling his weapon up and back toward his shoulder. However, Yaesar had taken advantage of the force of his own thrust and he stumbled forward, leaving himself completely exposed.
A chill ran down his spine. He had felt this many times in the past—a signal of impending death.
Yaesar pulled the twinblade out of the loop and thrust his crozier into Zig’s stomach like he was doing a shoulder throw. He didn’t even look at him and let the force of his momentum do all the work. His crozier sank deep into Zig’s core.
“Gah!”
Zig’s body crumpled. Then came the shock waves. Thrown off balance and the impact having nowhere to go, the wind was knocked right out of him, sending him flying right into the pews. The pain in his chest kept him awake. He got up on reflex before registering what had happened. His eyebrows knitted in pain. Zig coughed, forcing himself to breathe after the strike to his stomach. He prepared himself for another attack, but Yaesar just stood there, still in stance.
“I thought that would be the end of you,” Yaesar said, looking at Zig’s gauntlet. “You’re quite hardy. Good reflexes too.”
The fight would’ve been over if he hadn’t put his gauntlet up in time. His left gauntlet had taken the brunt of the force before it passed into his chest. His left gauntlet was in pieces, his chest plate cracked. If it weren’t for his equipment, he probably would’ve had a broken arm by now. As miserable as it was, this was the best possible outcome of that exchange.
With his opponent at rest, Zig took the time to take off his gauntlet and undo the clasps of his chest plate, letting it fall to the floor. He didn’t speak.
Yaesar was strong. He was stronger and had speed on top of that. His ability to deliver lethal blows accurately was top class.
Aside from all that—
He licked the blood from the corner of his lip as he thought.
—He’s more technical than Isana.
Isana Gayhone was the strongest fighter he had faced since he came to this land. The remitter’s skills surpassed the Princess of White Lightning.
“What about it?” Zig scoffed at Yaesar’s statement.
There were plenty of people more resilient than he was. However, survival was more than just luck or strength. Although he had suffered several injuries, it did little to dampen his fighting spirit. Zig swung his weapon to check his body’s status.
“What a rare sight!”
Yaesar’s eyes grew cautious… Not because of Zig but the person behind him. At some point, the commotion behind them had died down.
A question rang out from behind Zig. “Do you need my help?”
A soft, collected voice. It reminded him of the first time they met. An emotionless tone, asking if he needed help with some errands.
Zig let out another scoff. “That won’t be necessary.”
“I see.” She sounded disappointed at his rejection but satisfied nonetheless. Her voice returned to its regular tone as she stepped away from the fight.
“Are you sure about this?” Yaesar asked, unsure of what to make of the strange woman behind Zig. He had much the same misgivings about her as Zig did when he asked why didn’t he come at him with his cronies.
“Yeah. I can take you by myself,” Zig said.
“May I ask why?”
A strange light seemed to gleam in Zig’s eyes—he who didn’t like fighting people one-on-one. Zig shrugged as if to say, It’s nothing special, really, to a puzzled Yaesar. “She’s my client. Can’t afford to look bad in front of her. She might stop trusting me.”
“I see… Ha ha ha! You are a funny man.”
Yaesar showed his first genuine smile of the evening. The two combatants circled the church, looking for an opening to take advantage of. “It is truly regrettable that you became a sinner!”