Battle Inside The Black Mist
Amidst the obsidian haze, a figure stood resolutely, unveiling its triangular fangs in a grin. Adorned with a bone helmet featuring two imposing horns, it shielded the upper part of its face. Atop its form, a sleek suit of light armor provided a safeguard against potential threats.
It wielded sharp claws, ornaments dangling on its neck, and started cracking its neck to prepare for an attack.
Initially, he seized the projectiles lodged in both its body and 'head'. With precision, he drove his keen hands into its brain, extracting the bullet-like toxins that had permeated its form. The act not only purged the harmful elements but also left him with a revitalizing sense of refreshment.
"That's nice…"
Lupire heaved a sigh as if an annoying ant that pestered his body was finally gone.
Swoosh—!
Lupire swiftly shifted his gaze sideways, observing Gin's rapid approach despite the thick black mist that was intended to significantly obscure their vision.
'This guy again…'
As if the black mist didn't matter to him, Gin's relentless approach to him made Lupire annoyed.
'I could target Oliver first,'
Internally contemplating, Lupire attempted to take a step but recoiled when he witnessed Gin hurling a flare in the direction where Oliver was presumed to be.
'Impossible…'
Glancing back at Gin, Lupire noticed the relentless advance without a moment's hesitation. The unwavering gaze fixed directly on him caused a subtle tremor to course through Lupire.
The Horror briefly attempted to target Ariana, but Gin swiftly countered by shooting another flare precisely where she was meant to be. This unforeseen turn of events heightened Lupire's unease in the unfolding situation.
At that moment, he finally grasped the reason behind his recurrent failures. What he deemed as straightforward execution and his meticulous strategies to bring about an end were being deleted by a single guy.
From start to finish, Gin annoyed him every second possible but he only failed to realize it until now.
'This bastard!'
Having made a decisive choice, Lupire readied himself for the impending attack. However, a split second before he could act, Gin preemptively fired a flare into the air above.
Swoosh—!
With an insane speed, the fight begins with a sudden burst of action as Lupire lands in front of Gin and slashes its claws consecutively without delay.
Swoosh—!
Lupire lunged forward, thrusting his claws with determined force, yet Gin deftly avoided every assault from the Horror, revealing a display of remarkable agility and precision.
Slash—!
Observing his initial attack wasn't working, Lupire changed his stance and produced a set of combinations that were beyond one's imagination.
Whoosh—!
Yet no matter.
'I…'
No matter what Lupire did, his claws couldn't reach Gin.
'I can't hit this bastard at all!'
Witnessing a momentary hesitation in the King of the Familiars, Gin swiftly dashed forward, revolver pointed directly at Lupire.
Bang—!
He missed.
Bang—! Bang—!
Despite taking a glimpse of the future of the Horror for just a second, every shot Gin fired failed to make even a slight impact on Lupire, leaving him unscathed.
[Fortune Star Crossed]
[With luck at zero, one can anticipate a cascade of impediments, continuous critical failures, and a series of unfortunate events.]
'Damn it all!'
Each crucial action he took was accompanied by the gnawing presence of this ability, haunting him within his mind and inevitably leading to failed attempts.
Swoosh—!
In each successive moment, the two clashed, attempting to land a decisive blow on their respective opponents. However, their interaction over the course of a full minute seemed akin to striking at mere air, with neither side managing to land a meaningful hit.
Swoosh—!
A guy who knew the future of his opponent for a second yet failed to hit him no matter what, and the very same Horror who couldn't understand how his opponent was predicting everything yet seemed to never be able to hit him.
Slash—!
[Fortune Star Crossed]
'Wha—!'
The skirmish reached its conclusion when Lupire managed to land a hit on Gin's shoulder, swiftly followed by a powerful kick. Gin, quick to react, defended himself by crossing his arms to absorb the impact.
The ground whistled as the force made Gin propelled back to his initial position.
'I've seen this monster's movement beforehand but… I tripped!'
Gin ragefully grasped his now bleeding shoulder, feeling his insides all messed up, adding to the pain that was happening throughout his body.
Spitting out his bloodied saliva, Gin devoted all his full concentration on the opponent which is much greater than before.
An injured prey bared its fangs to its predator.
The tense situation hung in the balance, a delicate equilibrium that could easily tip with a single mistake—a fact Lupire needed to watch out for vigilantly.
Letting out each small breath, Gin and Lupire dashed forward to each other and resumed their halted fight.
Swoosh—!
This time, with more precision to their attacks and an even deadlier series of movements to top their potentially lethal assaults.
Slash—!
Initially trailing behind, Gin began to catch up, and with every passing second, Lupire found it increasingly challenging to inflict damage.
Even Gin who was tripping and somehow weakened the grip of his dagger, Lupire wasn't able to land a single blow aside from earlier.
'This guy's adaptability is insane…' Lupire could only think inwardly, wanting to praise Gin's skills to that extent until he felt a presence coming from his back.
Swoosh—!
The Horror glanced back and Gin immediately pulled his revolver to shoot it out at the creature's head.
Slice—!
A graze on its cheek!
Despite any opportunity for reflection on his mistake, Lupire had no time, swiftly using his claw to halt Gin's incoming dagger and the other hand to subdue an approaching cutlass aimed at his chest.
Clang—!
Ariana, wielding a cutlass as her primary weapon, had it holstered on her back. Fixing her gaze on the menacing creature before her, she pressed forward, joining forces with Gin in the ongoing assault.
Swoosh—!
Two frontal assaults as Lupire was forced to be on a defensive stance, yet confusion started to fill his head watching Ariana moving the same as Gin.
'How…!?'
Gin was enough annoying to fight against but now Ariana too was adding up to that pressure.
'How could she move so well despite her visions being rendered by this black mist!?'
[Sixth Sense]
[Can perceive things that one's eyes are incapable of doing. A technique that is diverse and relies upon instinctual judgment.]
A specialist in this technique and a student who is intelligent and has a great depth of understanding.
These two people continued to apply the intensity they brought to Lupire while using the technique that found this situation more favorable than the Horror itself.
Yet that was easier said than done.
Swoosh—!
Even if Lupire, Ariana, and Gin had their engines riled up from this battle alone, a side that can't land a single blow wouldn't change the outcome.
A battle of attrition isn't good for Ariana and Gin, knowing their limit was slowly entering their bodies.
Conversely, a single mistake from Lupire could potentially snowball the fight, leading to a point where escape from their relentless assault became an insurmountable challenge, echoing the earlier events of the confrontation.
Slash—!
'!'
Suddenly, an idea struck Lupire's head while reviewing everything that transpired between them.
Swoosh—!
With a smirk, Lupire shifted his attention to Ariana who became surprised at the sudden change of demeanor regarding this Horror.
'I'll exploit this!'
It didn't matter if there were two of them, if he was right on his gamble, Lupire could turn this around without any more casualties.
This was his domain, and he was the one who had mastery inside it.
Swoosh—!
Receiving countless combination attacks from Lupire in mere seconds, Ariana accumulated tons of injuries from his claws alone, feeling their sharpness on her skin.
'This… bastard is focusing on me…! If only this mist was not here, I could've used it!'
Ariana ragefully defended herself while the Horror in front kept smirking as if everything was in his hands.
Slash—!
'Maam Ariana.'
Feeling Lupire getting farther away from her, Gin hastened and shortened the distance in a second before tripping himself.
'Not this again—'
Before he could complain, /upcoming second/ glance into the future and astonishment crawled through his skin as he saw in that instant in the future was Lupire turning around and kicking his jaw upward.
"Hah!"
Lupire shifted his attention at Gin, his body twisting in a way that no human could ever do before landing an upward kick at Gin.
"Bleurgh!"
Gin kept looking one second into the future, finding ways to counter the air he was in but since the force made him levitate in the air, he was only suspended at that place.
Pak—!
Another upward kick was made by Lupire through Gin's solar plexus before he went back to Ariana, attacking her in a few seconds.
The thought crossed Lupire's mind that he could have employed his claws had Ariana not been a constant disruption. However, using them would render him vulnerable, potentially exposing himself to lethal consequences.
Pak—!
As Gin was about to fall down on the ground, Lupire returned to Gin's position and used his feet to kick him right in the face, propelling him sideways from his initial position.
"Haha!"
Lupire then shifted attention at Ariana once more, blocking her weapon using his claws she put much strength into them using two hands before she also got kicked right in her abdomen.
"I'll deal with you later!"
Lupire vanished from his place as he sprinted where Gin had landed just now.
"Gin!"
Gin struggled to get up but his gaze was at the front where the smiling Horror was dashing in at speed in quite a distance.
As if time slowly passed by, Gin felt his death was approaching him.
As the first second passed, Gin could still see Lupire rushing at him.
Nothing changed.
Swoosh—!
On the side, Ariana prepared her specter as she put on a stance even though her vision was obstructed which lowered the chance she could target Lupire.
The next second passed, and Gin saw Lupire still sprinting at him with its claws ready to slice him apart.
It remained the same.
Swoosh—!
On the third second, Gin's eyes slightly widened as his vision became different from then.
Tak—!
A rushing footstep that didn't belong to Lupire came right in front of Gin. By the looks of it, he came rushing in without stopping and finally made his entrance.
"Overlook!"
Trex, who had his left eye covered with blood and had extensive injuries, assumed a stance by putting both of his hands in the front and using one of his fists to point to the right.
Lupire couldn't help but shift his gaze to the right momentarily, and in that brief diversion, he was swiftly punched in the abdomen upon returning his attention.
Crash—!
As if the assault had no intention of concluding, Trex harnessed the momentum to spin his body, executing a roundabout kick that connected with the Horror's face.
The impact sent Lupire sprawling away from Gin.