The flurry of strikes to the ground around me was kicking up a whole lot of dust and debris, which was stinging my eyes and pricking at my nose as I danced around her attacks one after another.
Each one carried enough force to pulverize my bones and put me in a whole lot of pain - if not outright die from the shock or trauma - and they were also slowly picking up speed, which was very much not something I wanted to have happen.
Because of that I felt obligated to make a move for the first time, since her getting into a rhythm could turn this into a battle of endurance rather than technique or skill, and clearly she was capable of doing this for a long time if she was still picking up steam.
Darting around another slam, I took one of my hands off of the spear and coiled as many threads as I could around my arm, starting with that as I gathered some power before finally pushing them into the earth, guiding them along the rest of the threads below.
Being able to see the Weave was still something I don't think I could ever get accustomed to, and now I was able to see this fiery mass of rage and determination trying to pummel me into the ground, which was most certainly not a confidence booster.
Plucking at the threads below, I yanked upwards and pulled a large portion of the stony ground from beneath Altan, surprising the Bearkin and knocking her off balance for a moment as she used one of her hammers to try and stabilize herself.
While she was unsteady and no longer attacking, I used some other threads to encase her hammer in thick, heavy rock and lock it in place, though she just snarled at me and pulled down on the handle, shattering everything around her hammer as she wreathed it in flames.
It was still a momentary lapse in her guard, so with my other hand I stabbed my spear forwards and aimed for her heart, forcing her to twist herself a little to avoid a death blow; the spear still punched through her armor and pierced her side, but the Bearkin didn't really seem to care as she just grunted and continued to twist, trying to steal my spear from me.
Following her movements and pulling it free, I leapt back and observed her for a moment as blood gushed from the wound, the lingering mana chewing at her flesh and inhibiting her healing for just a moment.
She solved that problem by just tapping her hammer against the wound, cauterizing it with the flames and snarling from the pain, which only pissed her off more as she glared at me with some deep hatred.
"Huh... Usually people are somewhat... I don't know, hurt? You must be a junkie to not feel that..."
"You don't know anything, Deerkin. The Goddesses have given me gifts for my devotion. They favor me. You, on the other hand..."
She sneered at me and tried to browbeat me with some piss poor mentioning of 'Goddesses', which could either be some minor Goddess finding this meathead fascinating or it could be her drugs running rampant...
Either way I couldn't help myself as I smirked and replied "I've only sparred with Areseta before, and we just had a chat like... a few days ago~! She quite likes me, which isn't hard to understand at all~! I mean, I'm quite~ an amazing-"
"Liar."
Where she had been hot with rage before, Altan was now completely rigid and stony, her eyes smoldering still yet instead of an outburst, she just uttered that single, steady word, making my smirk widen as I got yet another reaction out of her.
"On my honor as a reverent devotee to our Goddess of War, I tell only the truth. I am forged from her domain and found as true as any blade."
The way her eyes flared with anger, confusion and reluctance while her jaw stiffened as she ground her teeth was very amusing to me, let alone because whichever paltry Goddess she had communed with paled in comparison to Areseta.
Rolling out my shoulders and just staring her down, I watched her eyes in particular as she grappled with that for a few seconds, enjoying the way her confusion died only to be replaced with more reluctance.
She was reluctant to believe me, reluctant to understand what that meant for me, and she was very reluctant to realize what that meant for her... because if she was relying on some gift from a Goddess...
The seconds ticked by while the mercenaries around us tried desperately to push into the cavern, with a fair few of them engaging Aethisia as she remained at the precipice, supported by multiple long spears poking at anyone who got too close.
"Altan! W-What's wrong?!"
Erdene practically materialized beside her Bearkin leader, causing my smirk to widen as Altan ground her teeth some more before she pointed a hammer at me, stamping down on her misgivings and instincts as she instead opted to embrace her devotion.
"This just means that the moment I take your skull, I shall be judged as worthy by more of our revered Goddesses. Moriartra shall be delighted with this gift..."
"Oh, you're one of those... Alright, that's fine~!"
Flicking some of her blood off of the tip of my spear, I grinned at her and earned myself a growl before I darted forwards, taking the initiative this time and trying to pierce her heart once again.
Just like before she reacted well before I could land the strike, but unlike the previous time I was unbothered by her attempt to block and dodge as I instead just put everything behind the opening thrust, coiling some threads around the spear to enhance its power.
Altan let out a grunt when my spear tip collided with the crossed hafts of her hammers, and although I didn't even land a scratch on her flesh the damage was still there; the way her arms trembled from the blow was enough for me, and I leapt back when I felt something coming for my throat.