Chapter 26: Anna vs Zephyr
The tip of Anna’s spear closed in on Zephyr very quickly, causing him to strike out to parry in response, but Anna’s spear moved like it had a mind of its own, tilting just out of the way of Zephyr’s parry, sliding against his spear and heading directly for his now wide open chest.
Zephyr pivoted on his feet and jumped a few steps away, kind of fearful at the close call.
Anna hadn’t hesitated at all. He had thought she would at least hold back to some extent. This was a real spear. A weapon. Not some blunt sparring tool, but a cold, glistening tool used for killing.
’What the fuck! Was she really going all the way?!’ Zephyr looked up and his eyes widened. The small space Zephyr had created was already being invaded by Anna. She wasn’t giving him any time to breathe.
He knitted his brows in seriousness. ’I guess I’m not holding back either.’
He kicked against the ground and went on to meet her, swinging his spear in a wide arc to give himself some space to react to any move she made.
Anna ducked and rolled to dodge. The whizz of the air above her head told the amount of force Zephyr had put into the swing. His wide swing still left him open, but Anna still had some ways to go before righting herself from the roll, so Zephyr used the opportunity to try and change the direction of the swing, killing its current momentum and bringing it in for another sweep at her.
The spear bent in the air from the abrupt change of momentum. Only the quality of the wood prevented it from breaking.
Anna righted herself and braced for the incoming strike, but she changed her mind in a split second, deciding against taking the strike at close range. Instead, she timed it well and ducked into a clumsy roll, this time putting herself further away from Zephyr.
Zephyr had learned from the previous swing and brought the spear down diagonally to meet her scramble, but the power in his swing prevented him from making precise changes midway, allowing Anna to evade successfully.
He didn’t let up though. Immediately bounding after her like a bull. Now the tides had changed.