25 January 2023
ZRAT!
Feeling a sharp slash cutting into the right side of his abdomen, Sizhu's leg reacted, dropping him backwards to the left side before a scythe's slash cut deeper into his skin.
A line in the dirt formed the shape of Sizhu's sliding fall, as if he had slipped, while just above his face the rusty large scythe blade swiftly passed by. Several strands of his front bangs were cut by the slash.
Sizhu immediately lowered both hands behind him to stop his fall, preventing his back from touching the damp ground.
The next moment, after the scythe from behind was lifted again on a different path, Sizhu had already leapt several steps forward after balancing his feet.
Quickly turning his body, Sizhu faced the Stag Head, separated by five paces.
"Excellent... reflexes... No... mere.. human... has... ever... done... that... before..."
The Stag Head swung his large rusty serrated scythe. In the moonlit ground, the shape of the black scythe with a handle made of bone became clear.
Fresh red blood splattered the white wildflowers on the ground. Now those flowers were stained crimson. The barefoot grass caught the splash as well.
The moonlight from the sky gave enough sight to Sizhu and the Stag Head. The clouds had just drifted away, bored of blocking the full moon, dispelling the night drizzle.
"Ugh... Luckily it's not deep."
Sizhu groaned in pain, touching the right side of his abdomen where it was cut. His worn black cloak was slashed too, which helped prevent the wound from being too deep. But the bleeding hadn't stopped.
"I've been felt near death experience during training from master. Compared to that, this is nothing."
Sizhu took a breath. The technique his master taught him to calm the blood flow and stop the bleeding. Then he exhaled slowly, full of calm. His heart, which had been pounding wildly, began to slow, filled with tranquility.
"First lesson from master: stay calm even when standing at front death's door."
Right foot forward, right palm open to challenge the Stag Head, Sizhu took a fighting stance.
The Stag Head mouth slightly open, went alert.
They stared at each other, assessing one another's skills in silence. The forest crickets had already fled sensing the Witch's presence in the wide clearing among the lush woods.
That Witch... How did he catch up to me in an instant? I was sure I was about ten paces ahead of him. What trick did he use to close the distance so fast?
Sizhu's green pupils were sharp and calm, watching the Stag Head warily. Meanwhile, his opponent rolled his bloodshot eyes like someone itchy.
"Kill... I must... kill you... he... ordered... me... to kill you..."
Raising the scythe above his head, the Stag Head prepared a wide swing even though the attack range was still far.
Sizhu was cautious but also felt strange about that stance. He tightened his footing and focused.
"死亡影.. sǐ wáng yǐng.. (Death Shadow...)"
Sizhu's green pupils dilated as he sensed something beneath his feet.
Just before the sharp scythe blade swung wide toward Sizhu's legs, Sizhu had already jumped high.
ZRAT!
From above, Sizhu wore a shocked expression. He saw the Witch appear from behind the shadow formed by the full moonlight.
Launching a kick at the Witch's head below him, Sizhu's kick was harshly blocked by the edge of the Stag Head's large scythe.
Then Sizhu jumped backward to get away from the Stag Head's attack radius.
"What kind of attack was that?"
Sizhu asked warily, right hand in front and left near his waist.
The Stag Head growled in frustration as his attack failed.
"What trick are you using, huh?" Sizhu shouted again.
The Stag Head chuckled softly.
"He... he... he... magic... this is.. magic... Human.."
Once again, the Stag Head prepared a wide scythe swing.
"Magic?"
This time Sizhu understood how his enemy could erase the distance in an instant. He became more alert, watching every move the Stag Head would make.
Without a pleasant answer, the Stag Head readied his attack and began swinging.
Sizhu focused, preparing to leap high. What he did not expect was a black fireball emerging from under his shadow. Not the big scythe swinging.
Surprise painted in Sizhu's eyes. He widened them as the black fireball shot fast toward him from below. It would pierce his body directly.
BOOM!
The black fireball exploded in the air just as it hit Sizhu. The air split, creating a shockwave across the grass field.
"Mission... complete... Finally... I... can... return... to... my... old... form..."
The Stag Head turned, confident no need to confirm since the explosion surely would have erased Sizhu's body without a trace.
One step forward, his foot stepped on a stone causing him to tilt left. Something pierced his back and came through to his chest front. A torn hole in his black cloak formed on his back.
"Cough! How... can... this be...?" The Stag Head coughed black blood. Black blood flowed from the skull deer's mouth.
He almost lost his balance before using his scythe to support his stance. His knee dropped to endure the sharp pain from his chest pierced from behind. It almost hit his heart.
What pierced his back was a splinter of wood the size of a finger. The splinter fell to the ground after passing through his body. Wet black blood stained its sharp tip.
He immediately looked back. His eyes seemed ready to pop from his skull seeing the young man still standing calmly from behind the smoke cloud of his own explosion.
"Human!?"
With part of his black cloak torn by the explosion, burn wounds decorated Sizhu's right shoulder. Fresh red blood dripped from his right hand. Yet Sizhu stood firmly, calm on both feet.
His gaze sharp, his left hand just moved. A sign he had thrown something a few seconds earlier.
"I missed. I originally planned to aim directly for your heart. Didn't I say? Tonight, you are the one who will die, Witch."
His power... that human is dangerous... must kill him immediately... just now in a blink... that human twisted his body and released his cloak's right sleeve to take my fireball first...
In a split second the explosion happened... he spun again in the air to minimize the damage from the blast... and crazier... while spinning in the air like that... he threw a wood splinter the size of a finger at me with deadly accuracy...
If I hadn't stepped on that stone and tilted my body... I might have died without knowing what killed me...
That human...
The Stag Head snorted softly while resetting his fighting stance against Sizhu who also stood ready.
The scythe's attack range is about two to three steps, if I step back he will use magic to appear from behind my shadow. If I stay still and just watch, he will throw the black fireball into the shadow again.
The answer is, I must charge forward!
"Your trick's revealed, Witch. I won't fall for the same attack again." Before finishing his words, Sizhu charged forward, cutting the distance between himself and the Stag Head.
Seeing Sizhu voluntarily entering the scythe's attack range, the Stag Head immediately swung his scythe wide forward.
ZRAT!
Missed. More precisely, Sizhu slid under the scythe's swing path so the scythe only slashed empty air.
The Stag Head snorted, refusing to let Sizhu get closer. He raised another free hand forward to throw a black fireball that he had silently prepared.
Seeing this, Sizhu immediately kicked to deflect the incoming black fireball.
Thunk!
But the Stag Head had predicted this. He deliberately waited for Sizhu to kick his hand. Now his hand was raised under the nearby tree's shadow.
BLAR!
The black fireball was fired into the tree's shadow. Moments later the fireball appeared from behind Sizhu's back shadow.
"You... will... die... human!!!"
"No. You will die. Second lesson from master: always outsmart your enemy and stay two steps ahead!"
Sizhu had anticipated it too. He dropped sideways, letting the fireball rush past his left shoulder before exploding the unsuspecting Stag Head.
"Human!!!"
BOOM!
The fireball struck the Stag Head's chest dead on, exploding his body into pieces that scattered to the sky. Black blood and chunks of minced flesh rained down shortly after the blast.
His scythe flew into the air and stuck beside the wildflower splattered with Sizhu's blood. Before the scythe blade turned to ash, only the sturdy bone handle remained.
Sizhu rolled on the ground, hit by the blast wind in his face. Luckily, he reflexively hugged his knees and prepared to endure the shock after feeling it thrice hitting his skin.
"Hah... It's over... Hah..."
The Stag Head's skull landed one step beside Sizhu's head.
"That Witch... he almost killed me tonight. Does master often fight beings like that? No wonder master is so strong, even at almost two centuries years old."
Sizhu glanced at the stag skull. Seeing it gave him a pounding headache. His mind felt like stirred by unseen hands.
He writhed on the ground like a burning worm before something like a memory appeared before his eyes.
***