I quickly punched both of my arms in a cross motion sending my two fists through my way points to each side of their head. But this person was fast. Before my punches could land, they ducked down and leaped towards me at a speed I almost couldn't react to. In an instant they had covered the ground between us and had spun around throwing the back of their heel towards my face. I bent backwards and narrowly dodged the kick. I quickly recovered and turned my body in a way to hide the use of my blessing. As they proceeded to advance on me throwing punches and kicks, I evaded all of their strikes by a hair while preparing to counter. As they reared up and lifted one of their legs in the air to throw a kick once again, that's when I made my move. I quickly grabbed hold of their leg stationed on the ground through my waypoint and yanked as hard as I could. I was able to completely pull their leg out from under them. But this wasn't enough. Even though they should have fallen hard onto the ground, they quickly caught themselves with one hand and used it to stabilize their body as they sent out three more kicks. I couldn't dodge them and blocked them with my arms. I was able to block two of the kicks but the third struck me in my abdomen and nearly knocked the wind out of me. Unfortunately for them, this just pissed me off even further. I channeled my vital energy through my body, further strengthening myself and sent out 4 punches at high speed striking all different sides of their body. They blocked 2 of them, but the other punches landed on their side and their chest that sent them rolling back into the railing of the ship. I used this opportunity to pounce forward and kick down on them. They rolled out of the way which caused my kick to destroy the railing behind them. The visitor then pulled out what looked like a three bladed claw on their hand and slashed across the air trying to cut me as they remained on the ground. I was able to evade this by literally jumping straight up into the air, allowing the slash to travel just below my feet. When I landed, they were trying to get back up off of the ground but it was too late. I had quickly grabbed hold of their arm that held the claw on their hand and pinned it onto the ground. I used my knee to press down on their chest holding them in place. They tried to strike at me with their free hand but I simply knocked it away and punched down at their masked face. Doing so actually knocked the mask clean off their head revealing their face for the first time.
I was actually very surprised when I first saw their face. So much so, that I actually lost my concentration and they managed to kick me off of them. I flew backwards, rolling across the ship's deck. They used this opportunity to get the advantage and in a flash they had their three clawed weapon at my throat. Luckily I also had a trick up my sleeve, and had placed knife on their throat as well using my waypoint. During the time when I had turned my body to hide the use of my blessing, I actually was retrieving the knife that Gwyn had given me. I didn't want to use it right away, and instead kept it hidden during the fight. They were the first to speak up in this high tension moment, "You're pretty good, I didn't know you had a knife." They said while feeling the sharp edge on their neck. "And you… You're a woman? A beautiful woman?" I said in disbelief. This statement clearly had her frazzled, "What the hell is that supposed to mean! That's not something you say to someone in a life or death fight!" She yelled out angrily as her cheeks became noticeably red. She really was beautiful. She had reddish brown hair, and purple hued eyes. She had a rather dark complexion that made her eyes and hair stand out. It was a unique beauty I had never encountered. "Ahaha sorry, sorry. You're right. But I don't think you were really trying to kill me were you? You could have used that weapon at any point, but instead you only pulled it out when you had no options left. Am I right?" I said with a sly grin. "Hmph I could say the same to you. You only just pulled this knife on me when in reality, you could have stabbed me ten times over with your ability." she responded with a skeptical look. "Well, I don't know about that… Something tells me you weren't taking this fight seriously to begin with. Almost as if you were just testing me." I said as I pulled the knife away from her neck. For just a slight moment, I saw a smile creep up on her face. She then pulled her weapon away from me as well. She turned and walked over to where her mask laid on the ground then picked it up and put it back over her face. "You… You're more perceptive than you look." She said while adjusting her mask. Suddenly, a bright flash of lightning shot out between us and the mysterious woman jumped back up onto the railing, dodging it at an incredible speed. I quickly turned to see Pete standing in the doorway to his cabin. He yelled out to me, "Get away from that person Sid!! That's an assassin!" I was somewhat confused, and turned back to look at the woman. But when I did, she was gone. I knew she was fast, but I couldn't believe how quickly she managed to disappear. Even Pete looked surprised. She had managed to use the flash of Pete's lightning to cover her movements in the night. She was definitely highly skilled. Then very faintly, I heard her voice say as if from a very far distance, "We will meet again soon. At that time, I will tell you everything."
I really didn't expect Pete to intervene, but I understand why he did. I was mostly just trying to wrap my head around who that woman was and why she wanted my help. Pete rushed over to me and helped me up off of the ground. "Are you alright young Sid? That was incredibly dangerous." He said as he began inspecting the damaged railing. "I'm sorry about that Pete, that was my doing. I will fix it back to how it was before. Do you know something about that woman?" I asked him. "Ah, don't worry about the railing. This old ship has been through worse. To answer your question, yes I do know about the Masked Syndicate. They are a group of assassins that have been causing trouble for quite some time. You're lucky to be alive. They are known to be incredibly ruthless. I just don't understand why one of them would be here of all places. They must have a ship nearby, we will have to try and take a different route if that's the case." Pete said with a worried look on his face. I knew that Pete was really strong, so the fact that just one member of this syndicate he mentioned was enough to get him worried does concern me a bit. "Pete, I don't think you need to worry too much about that. I am almost certain that person does not have a ship out here. I also think it's safe to say that she was not here as an enemy. We did have a fight, but she wasn't trying to kill me. She said that she needed my help. I don't know what that help is exactly, but if she shows up again it would be best for us to avoid any hostility." I said, trying to reassure Pete. His eyes widened for a moment and he said, "Young Sid, you said it was a She. Are you certain of that?" Initially I was a bit confused as to why Pete was interested in the gender of the visitor. "Y-yes, I managed to take off their mask and was able to see their face. She was actually quite beautiful." I replied while chuckling nervously. "YOU TOOK OFF THEIR MASK!?" Pete shouted in disbelief. This was the first time I have ever heard Pete raise his voice. Normally he was so calm and collected, so his reaction really startled me. Pete picked up on this and said, "I apologize Young Sid, please forgive my reaction. You see, the Masked Syndicate is known for the masks they wear that conceal their identities. Any person that has ever seen one of their member's faces has disappeared." Pete commented with a grim look on his face. I knew that Pete was really worried about this situation, but my gut was telling me that I could trust that woman. "Pete… I kind of think she may have wanted me to see her face. The more I think about it, our fight initially began due to mistrust on my end. Then while we were fighting it really began to feel like she was almost testing me… Something tells me that she purposely showed me her face, as a way of forming trust. If they really were as dangerous as you say, and I really do trust you Pete, then she could have just killed me right then and there." I replied as I gazed out over the ocean where I first saw the woman. My words definitely made Pete begin thinking hard about the situation. "Is that so… I suppose we will have to remain vigilant just in case. We can speak more about it at another time, for now you should go and try to get some rest Young Sid. I will stay out here for the remainder of the night in the chance that they return with more dangerous intentions." Pete said as he began heading up to the helm of the ship. "Okay Pete, I understand. I'll see you in the morning." I replied. Pete simply raised his hand as he walked with his back turned to me. I could tell he was incredibly concerned about this situation. I wish there was something I could do to put his mind at ease…