The Lone Wanderer-Chapter 203: Grim Dance (2)

‘Those people we interrogated weren’t kidding about Rambert. The guy is an actual monster…’ Percy thought, his scythe catching nothing but empty air again.

Had it been Broose facing him – or any other Green, really – they would have long been reduced to pieces by now. The sheer speed by which Rambert was adapting to his fighting style was staggering. The man had already grown used to Percy’s invisible constructs, seemingly having no trouble keeping track of them with his Mana Sense any longer.

Even worse, having given up on hitting him with long-ranged attacks or taking him out with a single blow, Rambert had switched to a fast-paced, closed-combat style. He was trying to wear Percy’s armour down, one piece at a time, while conserving his mana reserves.

Unlike the heavy blast he had used earlier, Rambert now released lots of tiny explosions all over his body, each giving him a significant but momentary burst of speed. Even down to one arm, he manoeuvred around the battlefield like a hurricane, dodging Percy’s scythes while looking for openings of his own to pounce on.

Every time he took a step, a series of fireworks went off, bathing the gloomy swamp in flashes of red and orange. The shockwaves sent the muddy waters rolling and tumbling, as the heat slowly caused them to boil, transforming the landscape into a pond seemingly taken straight out of hell itself.

But Percy was no slouch either.

Initially, his Greater Foresight hadn’t been particularly effective, as the surgical application of Rambert’s mana was far removed from anything he’d seen before. As time went on, however, Percy’s eyes slowly adjusted to his opponent’s movements, the spell growing more accurate with every passing moment, expanding the predictive window slightly.

‘And I doubt you’ve seen anything like my moves either.’ he grinned.

Percy’s own fighting style was arguably even more exotic than Rambert’s. He might not have the physique of a Green, or countless explosions to push him along, but he had his own footwork, honed over years of gruelling practice. His moves ranged from the wild swings and wide pivots of the Dance to the much narrower – but no less rapid – strikes of Takeo’s style.

The ethereal nature of his constructs too, added an entirely new dimension to his offensive. While scythes were technically two-handed weapons, normally too clunky to be wielded like this, Percy bypassed most of their limitations by taking advantage of their properties. Whenever one of them was about to stab into the ground, or collide into the other, he would phase it out, allowing them to continue on their path unobstructed. Carving a soundless crescent with every swing, the weapons danced with eerie grace, their insidious edges stopping at nothing short of their prey’s flesh.

At the same time, broken shards of teal constantly fell off his crumbling armour, as his Mantle oozed into the air, permeating the swamp. Every now and then, he tried to catch Rambert unaware, by manifesting a dagger out of the substance, or summoning another stray scythe from their surroundings. Still, the guy hadn’t dropped his guard for a moment, seemingly always ready to react in time.

It was hard to tell with any certainty who had the upper hand.

Both of them struck true every now and then. Occasionally, Percy would graze Rambert with one of his weapons, the man’s body covered in shallow cuts. This was especially significant, as the guy had already lost a ton of blood thanks to his amputated arm, each additional drop seeping out of his wounds bringing him a second closer to death.

Then again, Rambert had landed plenty of blows himself. They didn’t carry the same weight as that first one, but they’d still dealt a lot of damage to Percy’s armour. Each of them caused the cracks in the Phantomscale Raiment to expand, as more and more of the enchantments failed with every passing moment. Overall, his armour was dangerously close to failing completely. Should that happen, the very next blow he received would be his last.

Worse still, Percy’s body was bruised and battered. Even breathing was painful, that first blow having damaged his lungs to an extent. But he persisted, not allowing the burning agony in his chest to interrupt his rhythm, unwilling to lose Synchronization.

‘I need to do something, or I’ll die.’ he thought grimly.

It was easier said than done. Just keeping up with Rambert took everything he had and then some. There were too many things constantly begging for his attention. Reading his opponent’s moves, dodging, weaving his own attacks in between, shifting the constructs from corporeal to ethereal and back whenever he needed to, absorbing the blows through the network of strings holding his armour together… The list was endless.

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‘Micky was quite talented himself, wasn’t he?’ a strange thought suddenly crossed his mind.

The sheer elegance and finesse by which his friend had wielded not one, not two, but a whopping four weapons at once wasn’t something Percy would easily forget. Like extensions of his body, Micky had effortlessly manipulated his constructs, unleashing a flurry of blows against that beast.

Despite all his gains over the years, Percy wasn’t even close to reaching his pal’s skill. And it wasn’t just due to the lacking pair of limbs either. In theory, he could replace the missing arms with his willpower, handling another scythe or two without having to touch them. Not in practice though. Ever since Rambert closed the distance between them, Percy had a lot more trouble attacking with his spare constructs. It was just too difficult to hit his opponent without harming himself in the process.

‘Is there a way to do better?’ he wondered.

While his combat experience couldn’t yet compare with the decades Micky had spent fighting in the arena, Percy had his own advantages to fall back to. Namely, his eyes. Was there a way to leverage his mutation once more, to elevate his fighting style to the next level?

The battle raged on, the mud boiling with greater fury, the explosions growing louder and more frequent as Rambert picked up the pace, doing everything he could to murder him. But Percy was unfazed, the faint teal mist leaking from his cape painting a stark contrast against the infernal scenery, the cold glint of his scythes splitting the air with undeniable lethality.

Though one thing was different now.

As the two mages fought for their lives, Percy allowed his focus to sink into the shadowy projection of Rambert’s fist, faintly glimpsing a future not yet realized. This was nothing new by itself, though one small detail had changed. Along with Rambert’s attacks, Percy tried to visualize his own – to better understand how the two would clash, and what the outcome would be.

Of course, his Greater Foresight worked by reading a person’s intentions through the flickers of their soul, or the flares of their core. Naturally, Percy didn’t have the luxury of examining himself in the midst of combat, meaning that his spell failed to capture the essence of his own moves. But that was ok. He didn’t need any help, as he was already privy to his own thoughts, even without the aid of a spell. If anything, his moves appeared even clearer inside his mind.

Two sets of actions – two opposing wills – fought for dominance over the swamp. Each tried to exert control over the battle, to steer it into a different direction. And wherever they met, blood was drawn, or mana-forged constructs shattered.

Soon, Percy realized he might have bitten off way more than he could chew. Reading the flow of the entire fight was, frankly, impossible. Even keeping up with the present moment was a tall order – especially against such a fearsome opponent. Let alone trying to peer into the endless possibilities the future might hold.

‘It doesn’t matter. This is enough.’ he thought, his eyes burning with determination.

He didn’t need to see the future. Not all of it, at least. A tiny piece would do. He only needed to give himself a small opening. That would be plenty. And it was only a matter of time too. Perhaps not with every clash, but once every couple of minutes his and Rambert’s movements were bound to align in a slightly favourable manner. And, sure enough…

‘There!’

Sidestepping a brutal blow leaving a blazing trail behind it, he swung at Rambert’s torso, trying to cleave it right in half. The man easily leapt above the weapon, avoiding it. He was already rolling in the air, about to land a hit on Percy’s face with his backhand.

Percy didn’t panic, however. He merely watched the burning fist enlarge in his eyes, a faint grin hidden behind his helmet. If Rambert stayed on this course of action, he would lose another hand!

Sadly, it wasn’t meant to be.

The Green seemed to notice something was off the very last second, releasing a small blast from his palm instead, pushing himself out of the way. Percy crouched to avoid the scorching air blowing at his face, as a scythe spun right through the spot where Rambert had been in just a moment ago.

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He clicked his tongue in annoyance, but didn’t give up. Letting go of one of the weapons he was holding, Percy grabbed the new one at a more favourable angle, before pouncing towards his opponent, pressing on his advantage.

Rambert was suddenly on the backfoot, clumsily dodging Percy’s wild swings, desperately trying to restore his footing into something more sustainable.

Though Percy wasn’t having it. He’d worked hard to get this far – he wasn’t about to let it go to waste. Unleashing a flurry of attacks, he did everything in his power to land a hit. Just one good slash was all it would take!

The scythes kept missing Rambert by a hair’s breadth, as the latter abandoned all caution, consuming his mana thrice as rapidly as before, barely dodging the lethal swings by the skin of his teeth.

Percy was about to push himself even further, when he caught wind of a sudden counterattack his opponent had brewed up. Apparently, the talented Green wasn’t about to go down so easily.

Releasing a significant amount of mana all at once, Rambert unleashed a powerful explosion between them, forcing Percy to leap backwards, bringing his offensive to an abrupt end.

And that was only the beginning.

Realizing that caution and patience weren’t going to get him anywhere, the fire mage leapt after Percy himself this time, fuelling his attacks with even more mana than before. The sheer rate by which he was draining his core wasn’t sustainable – he would run out in the next minute or so!

‘Getting desperate, are we?’ Percy smiled coldly.

Impulsive as it was, Rambert’s strategy was brutally effective, however. Within mere moments, he landed several more hits on Percy’s armour, smashing the second layer into bits. Even the final layer was already damaged severely. Percy doubted it would last longer than Rambert’s remaining mana.

‘Bring it on then! Let’s see who gives out first!’