Maneuverability in midair wasn’t something that beastkin and most other species were very familiar with. However, aerial combat was one of the specialties of elder dragons and dragons in general. It was unlikely she’d guess what’d happen since she not only believed me to be human but was also not well-versed in aerial combat herself. In all likelihood, she was thinking I was vulnerable while airborne, making this the opportune moment to launch a counterattack. But that wasn’t the case at all.
She was so focused on repositioning her body to start an attack that she’d stopped observing me as closely. If only she’d kept her focus on me one second longer, she might have noticed that I’d been channeling my flames to alter my direction. A short burst of powerful fire shot from my hands and propelled me upward directly over her head. Then, all that remained was the coup de grâce.
While she stared up at me in a daze, I extended my leg upward and swiftly swung it down, accelerating its speed and increasing its force with more of my flames. There was no dodging it this time around. I felt my heel make direct contact with her skull.
Don’t worry, I held back slightly to allow you to keep your life. I can’t kill any of you until I get to the Blade Saint, otherwise that might raise unwanted alarms.
As I landed on the ground, the beastkin staggered backward, her eyes rolled to the back of her head before she eventually collapsed to her knees. It was as if I’d knocked the life out of her.
I patted my skirt down and turned to the wolf, waiting for him to declare me the victor so that I could begin the next battle already. But there was no sign of him doing any such thing. In the next moment, I realized why.
I spun around just in time to catch the fist of the beastkin.
“Not bad. Those were some pretty smooth moves. I didn’t know I was fighting a battle mage too.”
“Battle mage?” Then, my eyes were drawn to her other hand, which was clutching a wand. “But you’re a beastkin. Magic is a sin for you.”
“I dunno what rock you’ve been livin’ under, but I guess there’s no better way to bring you into the new age than beatin’ it into you!”
Her leg flew toward me like a whip, almost at the same speed as the kick I’d hit her with. Though I’d been able to dodge it, it seemed as if she’d anticipated that.
“Reset,” she said.
In the next moment, something very unnatural happened. Her body instantaneously snapped back to the position it’d been in when she’d initially thrown a punch at me; it was as if she’d always been there.
She switched stances, turning her body sideways. Then, she started throwing out quick jabs with the arm closer to me and heavier punches with the other. She tried to snake her arms in different ways to get past my guard; occasionally, she’d throw her fist upward so it might hit my chin, or she’d throw her fist at an angle so that it’d hit the side of my head.
“Fortify!” she said, sheathing her wand. Her consequent blows felt heavier and somehow even faster.
Through Cognitive Advantage, I could tell that Reset was a somewhat advanced modern magic technique where the user was able to record their body in a certain state, position, and location, then immediately snap back to it whenever they wanted and from wherever they were. She could’ve been flying through the air or missing limbs, but by using Reset, she’d immediately return to that fighting stance in the same state that she’d cast the spell in.
If the caster wasn’t a skilled mage, they’d take a while to cast the spell, but this spell seemed like one that proficient users could cast in a matter of seconds.
I doubt you’re proficient enough to have cast it so quickly, so I’m assuming you set this up beforehand. Not that it matters to me.
Now that I’d analyzed it, I could probably cast it instantaneously if I wanted. That being said, I wasn’t interested in using it since its use cases seemed limited. The best course of action was to continue relying on my physical strength to bring me to victory. I’d just need to keep in mind the location she’d chosen to reset to.
“What’s the matter? Are surprise attacks and blocking all you can do? Come on, where’s your proper technique and form?” the beastkin taunted as she continued pelting me with attacks.
Every movement of hers seemed to be purposeful and seamlessly linked into the next. From what I understood about other species, they’d developed something called martial arts, which allowed them to efficiently use their bodies as if they were weapons. With the sheer might of dragons, we never felt pressured to learn such things, so I was possibly at a disadvantage in this form.
I’d never fought in my human form before, so I could only think of how I’d fought in my dragon form—brute forcing my opponent into submission.
Then strangely, she made an opening for me. It was such an obvious bait, but at the same time, I couldn’t help but wonder what exactly she could do about me throwing a full-force punch at her. Let’s see what you have in mind.
“Took the bait, huh?” she said, a wide grin on her face.
Next, she ducked down, extended her foot forward, grabbed my arm with both her hands, and used the momentum of my punch to flip me in the air. This entire time, I’d thought that she was similar to me where her fighting style was focused on overpowering the enemy with strength, but it seemed that she had other tricks up her sleeve.
In the next moment, I felt my back hit the stone floor, but there was no time to catch the breath that’d been knocked out of me. The beastkin kept her grip on my arm with one hand and used the other to throw a punch down at my face.
If brute force is how you want to play it now, then I’m game.
I poured mana into my head and met her strike head-on—literally.
“Ow!” she winced, releasing her grip slightly on my arm.
A fierce grin spread across my face. It’d been a good, confident attack from her, but now I had the exact opening I’d been waiting for. I slipped out of her grasp, flipped over, and poured mana into my leg while using my arm as a pivot to swing my body forward so that my knee would reach her head. But just before it could, she jumped back. Though my attack might have missed, I used the momentum to swing around and land in a crouching position, ready to continue the battle.
I need to calm down. I’m enjoying this far too much.
Elder dragons always fought at full force, but having my power suppressed gave me the rare opportunity to fight at somewhat of a disadvantage. Battles were much more enjoyable when opponents were of similar skill levels.
However, as much as I wanted to revel in the thrill of battle, it was more important that I dispatch my opponents quickly so that I could reach my true goal—the Blade Saint.
The beastkin quickly rushed into my range, ready to resume her barrage of attacks. She wasn’t interested in letting me recover even slightly, but I wasn’t going to let her take control of the battle.
I pressed my palms against the ground and produced a pillar of flame in front of me, which forced the beastkin to promptly jump backward. Using this opportunity, I traced an arc in front of me from the pillar of flame, expanding it into a curtain of fire around me that stopped her from advancing any further.
“You really think a little fire’s gonna save you? You buying time in there’s just as advantageous for me as it is for you. Spirits of water, hear my plea; grant me the strength to set you free. Deliver unto me your torrential rage and your gentle grace, so that I may eliminate these flames without a trace!”
Rhymes? I knew that chanting the incantation for a spell increased its force, but I wouldn’t be caught dead doing that. Also, that’s spirit magic. Is she using a mix of spirit and modern magic? Is this what it means to be a so-called battle mage? Humph. Not that it matters. My preparations are done, as is this fight.
The beastkin released a spiral of concentrated water as powerful as a crashing wave toward me while running forward herself, presumably to make sure that if I did somehow dodge it, she could still catch me.
Unfortunately for you, I’m not the running type. I wonder if you are though.
“What the...?!”
In the next moment, an expression of surprise, fear, and utter confusion graced the beastkin’s face as the spell she’d launched at me reversed direction and flew toward her. Her reaction was understandable, especially considering that she probably had it in her head that I was nothing more than flames and physical strength. But unfortunately for her, elder dragons are also masters of the arcane. After all, it was how we shed our human form and became something much greater. Redirecting a spell or two was child’s play for me.
“Reset!” the beastkin yelled in a panic, snapping back to her initial position.
She might’ve thought doing so would deliver her out of harm’s way, as well as give her some space to assess the situation and plan her next move. I could practically feel her sigh of relief, but that moment of peace would prove to be short-lived because waiting there for her at the reset point was me.
“Welcome back.” I grinned as I shot my arm, fully fortified with my flames propelling it, square into her jaw.
She flew into the air, once again being knocked unconscious. I’d realized that the reason that she’d been able to recover so quickly from the first time I’d knocked her out was because she’d cast Reset as a delayed spell, timing it to activate around the time that she’d lost consciousness. This time though, she hadn’t had the time to set it as a delayed spell, so there was no chance that she’d be able to recover.