Chapter 59 – Battle of Furies
Uruvi quietly approached Sashwat and sat down on the stool next to him.
“What do you want? We have loads of options,” said Sashwat.
She really did not want to have a drink, but at the same time, she was not willing to trigger him. “Hand me a beer,” she said.
He let out a snort as he reached for the stack of brown beer bottles lining the shelf. “Wimp.” He picked the one in the middle and quickly cracked it open, letting the froth overflow as he handed it to her.
He held up his glass of whiskey and said, “One last time.”
She decided to entertain him and clanked his glass before taking a sip. As the liquid flowed down her throat, it left a path of burning that nearly made her cough it up.
“Not much of a drinker are you?” he said, as he set his glass down.
She swallowed hard to quench the burning and set the bottle aside. “Nope. I hate alcohol.”
“Aren’t you city people spending half your lives in a bar?” he asked.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked, cutting to the chase.
He quietly took another sip of his whiskey and said, “You are in the middle of a bloodsport, and you are asking me why I want to fight you?”
She let out a frustrated sigh. “Okay. Listen. There is something that you can do and only you…”
“I know what you are talking about,” he interrupted her. “And I do not care.”
“Why not?” Her voice revealed the frustration that had been building up.
He turned towards her, his eyes red and weary. “You know what I did before this whole mess started? I was a hitman for hire, not for money but for the thrill of it. I don’t care about others' lives. Death is meaningless to me.”
She covered her eyes and gritted her teeth. ‘Ashwin was right. There is no use reasoning with this maniac.’
“I hope you don’t have a speech prepared, cause I would rather bash your head than hear you talk anymore.” His hand reached for the blade that sat under the shadow of the counter.
Soft giggles escaped her lips. “Why are all of you people so fucked up?”
He drew the axe in the blink of an eye before swinging it right into her. Uruvi dropped her arms and fell back, using her knees to hook onto the shelf of the counter. The blade passed right over her, while she reached for the leg of his stool before yanking it with all her might.
He tipped to his right, but recovered quickly as he rolled to the side and away from Uruvi. She threw the stool at him, but the throw lacked any power and simply bounced off him. He lunged at her and kicked the stool from underneath, but Uruvi was one step ahead.
She pushed herself off the table, performing a somersault in the air, before landing on the ground. The complicated maneuver earned her a chuckle from her opponent. She spun in a semi-circle and swung her axe through the air and towards him.
The two blades clashed, sending sparks flying with each hit. Each hit sent a shiver through her body, but she stood her ground and tried to push back. Her eyes shifted to the top of his head, where she saw the number 25 and a full health bar. ‘He is strong. But not more than me. That is, unless he is holding back.’
Suddenly, she leapt back, letting his swing carry forward. Her move seemed to have caught him off guard as he tipped forward. She followed it up by hooking her axe around his arm and using the weight of the two weapons to pull his weapon down to the floor. The two blades cut into the cement floor, biting into the concrete. She slammed her hand into his arm, breaking his grip on the axe. ‘I did it!’
However, he looked unfazed. He pulled his free hand away and reached over her back before yanking the club out of the holster.
“Shit!” she yelled out loud.
A wide grin appeared on his face as he swung the club right into her head.
“Barricade!” she shouted as she leaned away from the club.
The club smashed into the shield and bounced back. He let the club go and curled his hand into a fist before slamming it into the shield, shattering it.
‘’Dammit! He is fast!’ She twisted her torso and tightened her fist, delivering a punch into his right side.
He gritted his teeth and let a grunt escape his lips before lunging at her. The two exchanged a series of blows.
Her eyes kept track of his health bar, which was barely moving. ‘Time to up the heat.’ Red aura surrounded her, followed by a golden glow. Her eyes caught sight of the large red dots that sat on the right shoulder, left chest, and his groin. She knew well that he, too, was going through the same steps. ‘Let’s make each one count.’
She remembered her self-defense classes, where she learnt a little about hand-to-hand combat. Unfortunately, they stopped at just the basics. But fortunately, those were proving to be very useful. She followed the rhythm of her opponent, blocking his attacks as well as she could and trying to land her own punches when the opportunity presented itself.
Each of his punches, even when blocked, felt like getting hit by a truck. She saw her health tank by a few percent with each hit. However, the pain and shock of each attack proved to be far more damaging. ‘I can’t do this anymore. My body can’t take it.’
“Thunderclap!” she shouted in the middle of a counter punch, catching him by surprise.
‘Now is my…’ Suddenly, she felt her body collapse onto the floor violently. Every part of her body felt like it was being pushed onto the floor at once as though an invisible force was holding her down. ‘Arya! What is happening?’
“Analyzing… You have been hit by an elemental attack. Element – Vayu (air).”
‘Air? Who…? No way! No way!’ She heard the sound of boots hitting the floor as he approached her. Even though she could not see him, she felt his presence as he knelt down before her.
“You… had a blessing?” she asked, struggling to speak as she felt her chest being squeezed.
“I know. Surprising right? A psycho like me getting blessed!”
“Warning! Health below 50 percent!” said Arya.
“Coward!” she shouted in desperation.
“What? You thought I would just let you walk over me? Though I have to admit. I never got to use any of them; others just… died before I could. Take pride in that at least. You were fun… not really.”
“Oh fuck you! Thu…”
“Warning! Using Thunderclap will cause blowback. Possibly death,” Arya interrupted.
‘Oh, come on!’
“Suggestion. Use blessing of the sea…,” said Arya.
She felt the gem digging into her sternum.
‘I know!’ She remembered the chant that the Lord of the Seas had shared with her. ‘Oh, divine protector of the seas, share with me your strength to fight the evil that stands before me!’ A surge of power filled her body. It felt cool and calming, like the seas from which it came.
“New skills and spells attainted…,” said Arya.
“Tidal rupture!” she shouted.
Suddenly, water began to rush in, forming a whirlpool underneath her. Sashwat quickly hopped onto his feet and backed away. “What the fuck? A blessing?” He immediately brought his blade down onto her, only for it to be deflected away by a growing bubble that surrounded her. The bubble popped, sending a powerful explosion of water, throwing him off his feet.
The invisible force over her vanished, letting her breathe easily once again. She rolled onto her back and saw the full moon watching her from the night sky above. ‘Wait. What happened to the roof?’ She pushed herself up and saw that half the bar was missing and in its place was a pile of rubble made up of brick, wood, and shattered glass, drenched in water. “Whoa! I did that?”
“Affirmative. Tidal rupture creates a protective shield for 5 seconds before exploding and delivering damage to the surroundings,” said Arya.
She looked down at her screen and saw about 10 percent of her MP missing. “That is an expensive spell.”
The sound of falling debris jerked her onto her feet. She turned in the direction of the sound and saw Sashwat getting up onto his feet. He was dripping wet, as if he had just taken a dip in a pond. He looked very displeased. “You little shit.”
“Feels wonderful, doesn’t it?” she said, with a smirk.
His frown deepened. “I am going to enjoy ripping you apart.”