Welcome, Player: Grand Quest

Chapter 88: When The Swan Dances

Okay... Uh, this is a pretty short chapter. Bakit nga ba kasi hinati ko pa sa dalawa ang laban nilaa? Grr.

-chapter eighty-eight-
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SOLACE

"Here comes the black swan of the beasts, finally fighting against the white slayer of the central. Will it end in another beast slaying or will the monster's dance succeed?"

FUCK. 

I ducked as another wave of sharp wind hit my direction. I deflected every other wind blade that I can sense. Nakakainis. Sobrang nakakainis na. Mabilis na hinanap ng mata ko kung nasaan man si Maria. I can't sense her presence and she's moving like she's teleporting. Paiba-iba ng direksiyon ang mga atake niya.

It was almost like I'm in the middle of the lake, playing with a black swan.

The water rippled and another step was made. Isang hiwa ang namuo sa binti ko nang matamaan ito.  I staggered and lost balance for a second. Napakahirap niyang patayin at hulihin!

I cursed and scanned the left part of the stage. Nang maramdaman ko ang napakaliit na presensiya sa kanan ay natigilan ako. The presence was so small that detecting it is hard, at wala itong any bloodlust na pwedeng mag-activate ng reflexes. Ngunit may nararamdaman akong kakaiba. It's a calm warning. It tells me to swing my blade as hard as I can.

So I did. 

Siguro sa sobrang inis na din.  But with generating the golden flames in my sword, I swished it as hard as I could when I spinned. The fabrics that covered the railings caught fire. Napatigil si Maria sa pagpapalit ng posisyon nang umapoy ang isang fan at ang palda niya.

Nagkatingin kaming sandali bago sumugod muli sa isa't isa.

The sound of the blade hitting each other, the quiet singing of the winds and the hums of the fire served as our music. Together, we danced in the middle of the arena stage. Maria was flying, spinning around every slash of my sword. Inikot ko ang espada sa kamay at siya rin sa mga pamaypay.

I jumped as high as I could and slashed my blade against her raised fan. She's holding it through her toes, sandals long discarded, as her right arm is gone. Nakataas ang kaliwa niyang paa at dumedepensa ito mula sa espada ko. From an outsider's point of view, it was a mesmerising sight. Sa'kin, sakit siya sa ulo. Dancers and their damn all-body strength.

I kicked and she stumbled backwards. Bago niya pa maibalik ang balanse ay bumaba ako at malakas na hinampas ang espada sa lupa. The ground grumbled and shook. Kahit ako ay sandaling nawalan ng balanse dahil sa pwersa. Despite the magic shield activated, some players outside felt the attack. Nastun siya nito ng ilang segundo kaya naman umatake akong muli.

"You're really a slayer," aniya nang makabalik at dumedepensa sa bawat atake ko. "To still fight with those wounds."

Hindi na ako sumagot pa. Hinintay kong matapos ang mahinang pagtawa niya habang nakatingin sa'kin.

She's not in a good condition, with her right arm gone and bleeding. But maybe, I looked worse. There's a wide slash in my back and my armor's all torn. Ilang cuts na ang natamo ng paa ko, large and small ones. My arms are also injured, mostly dahil sa rain of needles na ginawa niya kanina.

"What a pity. You don't speak?" mahina niyang itinapik ang pamaypay sa bibig. "I want to hear you scream when I kill you."

I almost rolled my eyes. Why is she even assuming that she can kill me?

"It is a pity." sagot ko. "I don't like people who screams when killed."

"Good thing you don't, then."