"Who are you, and how'd you get past the ship fleet?" Arthur asked calmly, flexing his sword.
The fiend stopped to look at Arthur. "You little human... asking me questions?"
As expected, fiends were capable of human interaction, but not fluently. Random pauses, awkward phrases, and a feel of carelessness that would give their rank away.
These guys would have the IQ of an 8-year-old. Intelligent but not too capable.
Arthur rushed in; he raised his blade and swung down, and the fiend raised its hand to block.
_Clang_ The sword collided with the fiend's skin with a shocking clang.
Arthur jumped back, glancing at his blade with a confused look.
"What?" "Why are you so surprised?" The beast grinned, blasting forward.
Arthur shifted his stance; the monster's figure crashed into him.
Arthur blocked a slash from the creature's claws as Zach stared at him in the distance, totally stunned.
"That thing's fast..." Arthur was moving, but there was something wrong.
He blocked all the slashes grounded in his movements, but all this while, Arthur never used the defensive stance; he's an attacker that doesn't fear getting injured in battle.
Or maybe it was him. Arthur was probably studying his opponent.
Arthur ducked underneath a slash, delivering an arc cut to the Thyxar's side; the monster jumped back, its tongue fully extended.
"You human..." It hissed like someone had just interrupted its meal time.
Arthur changed his stance to a lounging stance with careful movements.
Arthur was so reckless in duels, but in real-life combat, where death was actually a possibility, he was more cautious.
He played his feet into the ground; his blade was angled low. Then, with a boom, he dashed towards the cocky beast.
The beast lunged back, and the two figures clashed, erupting a dust cloud that obscured everything around them.
The sound of clashes echoed like steel hitting against steel. Then the haze settled.
Arthur backed away; the monster lunged.
He pivoted sideways, sliding across the damp sand, allowing the creature to zip past where he had just been.
Fast steel scraped against the beast's rib; it twisted, slashing at Arthur with a backhand swipe.
Arthur blocked, skidding backwards, and the beast went ahead with a full-on assault, slashing frantically while Arthur braced himself, blocking the attacks with precision.
Zach's eyes squinted; soon enough, he saw why Arthur wasn't going all in.
Previously, due to their clash, Arthur might have been damaged in one way or another, preventing him from going all out against this beast.
From his movements, it seemed his lower back must be seriously in pain, as any strike that landed next to that spot always sent him staggering.
"Shit..." If Zach had known, he would have called another platinum knight, not him.
Zach bit his lip. But it's too late to turn back now; it's do or die.
Now he began to second-guess his fight with Arthur.
The beast lunged, but Arthur skidded low, delivering a stab to its thigh.
The beast groaned, jumping backwards; black blood spewed onto the oven floor.
"So you managed to injure me?" "Obviously..." Arthur chuckled, his head to the side, but his face etched with pain betrayed him.
_Whoosh_ Zach shouted from the tree line. "Arthur, behind you!"
The fiend twisted unnaturally, joints popping in place like it hadn't been injured a second ago.
Arthur spun around; his sword clashed with the beast's claws in a whirlwind of sparks, raising yet another ring of dust cloud around them.
Beatrice stood by the distant ocean, perplexed as the two monsters continued their clash.
She wanted to thank Zach for saving her life, but that would come later.
She felt powerless, truly powerless.
"It's just like last time." She clenched her fist and gritted her teeth.
Eve stood behind her. "I think the best we could do is call for reinforcements." She said.
Zach sat in the shade, watching the fight like a stressed-out squire forced to watch his knight falter in battle.
He could heal fast, but it was slow; a starfish's regeneration could only do so much.
But if this battle dragged on, Zach would have to step in regardless of his injury; unfortunately, he didn't carry his weapon with him.
The fiend's claws raked across Arthur's guard; sparks burst with every clash.
Arthur gritted his teeth; pain stabbed his lower back like a hot iron, but he refused to give up.
Arthur slid aside; his sword flickered, leaving another shallow cut along its arm.
Black ichor spilled, only to seal itself with a sickening hiss.
His jaw tightened. "Damn thing's healing too fast..."
From where he sat, Zach noticed it—the wounds closed slower when seawater touched them.
Each drop that splashed into its cuts sizzled a bit.
"Arthur!" He shouted, his voice raw. "Drive it to the water!"
Arthur glanced at Zach with confusion, then understanding.
And his stance shifted again.
The fiend lunged; claws threatened to tear his chest wide open.
But this time, Arthur didn't meet it head-on.
He sidestepped; his blade struck, herding the beast backward with every calculated strike—toward the sea behind.
Arthur's knuckles tightened around his hilt; his breath became ragged gasps; sweat dripped from his forehead.
Each inhale felt like fire in his ribs.
The fiend's claws hammered against Arthur's blade; each impact shook his bones, sending fire crawling up his spine.
His lower back screamed with every twist, every step, but he gritted his teeth and forced his body to obey.
The beast laughed as it continued its assault.
Arthur slid his foot into the sand; his blade whipped up, carving another shallow wound across the monster's arm.
Black blood spilled, only to hiss and close in seconds.
Arthur's jaw tightened. 'Just... a little more'
But the most important thing was that Arthur was actually driving the monster into the ocean, although little by little.
[Authors note: Chapter 23 in the reworking process, hope this was at least enjoyable, as usual if you have any questions or suggestions, don't hesitate to let me know]