hotcha

He went at it again, sprinting towards Reiss. An air blast was launched towards him, but he raised his sword and cut through it, shattering the spell like a pane of glass. Reiss continued hurling blasts, with Abner slashing his way through each one. He got in close, dodging another kick from Reiss, and finally landed a cut on Reiss’s shoulder. Reiss hissed in pain, but gathered his strength and grabbed Abner by the throat, holding him off the ground. For the wound Abner landed, Reiss paid him back with several punches to the gut, the last punch accentuated with an air blast that launched Abner like a champagne cork. Abner hit the ground rolling, though not by design, and left behind several blood drops before stopping.“You’re going to die today, boy.”

As the two youths bickered over their shared drama, Noah stood by, waiting for the referee to hurry up and do his job, but he was eating up the dialogue.

Suffice it to say, Valia wasn’t giving Noah an inch. On the plus side, he had completely forgotten about his magical restraints, as he was too preoccupied with fending her off and trying to circumvent her guard. The effort needed to move never got easier, but it was steadily becoming second nature, and it all came down to stamina. He was doing better than he thought we would. He could also sense how much Valia had dulled during her weeks of recovery, but her skills were sharpening with every clash of their swords. Her muscles, which had softened from bedrest, were regaining their firmness.Eventually, the two of them separated, each gasping for air. “Ready to take back what you said?” Valia teased.