Blood flowed from his mouth, as Zyrus was crashed into the tree. His back hitting into the trunk, basically sticking in it as pain flared up.
Derek didn't stopped at that, he quickly looked at the novice and signalled. The man understanding him, moved towards Zyrus with a rapid leap.
As for the man, with a slashed arm. Derek ignored him for now. Something else was more important right now.
Taking out the communicator from his pocket, he quickly called and started informing his boss about Zyrus being here.
While, the Novice branded his weapon at the boy.
Zyrus also moved as he quickly teared himself away from the tree. A moment later, the metals met again. Though around this time, they were sword and a spear.
'That's my chance.' He thought looking at Derek being distracted.
Sparks flared up, as Zyrus pushed the spear away from him. Spinning, he swing his blade slashing straight towards the Novice's neck.
However the novice wasn't an easy one. Raising the bottom end of his spear, he blocked the cutting edge of the sword.
Yet, even after his blow being blocked he wasn't finished, powered by the abundance of mana flowing through his body, he was faster than the ragtag Novice.
A punch landed straight onto the skull of the man, his brain rattling, dizziness hitting him for a blink. He staggered on his feet.
Zyrus didn't wasted his chance. He instantly swung his blade diagonally again aimed at the man's torso however be it because of survival instinct or sheer luck.
The spear once again met the blade. The man roared as he pushed Zyrus back his strength overpowering the boy. Then he stabbed his spear towards the boy's head.
Yet, the boy infront of his was clam. Utterly and unnervingly calm.
So...much that it felt creepy.
Ducking slightly, Zyrus dodged as the blade of the spear peirced the air above him. Cold purple, flared once again as he also used lightning. This time though wrapping it around his body.
Suddenly he moved way faster than before. Faster than even Derek could react again and interfere even when he was watching.
A brilliant flash of sliver glinted on the steel, as a moment later trickling crimson marred on it's edge dripping on the ground slowly.
"Slash." Without missing a beat the calm voice spoke.
The blade has already phased through the novice's heart.
A moment later, another thud resounded in the area as Derek turned towards his back.
The Novice whose arm was cut, had his neck severed.
Derek went still for a moment. Just a single moment of his neglect and it had cost him loves of his two subordinates and no less by just an inexperienced boy in the same ranks.
How could the difference between them be so staggering...he didn't have an answer to that question.
His eyes sharpened as a cold flashed into them, darkly. Putting his communicator aside, he gripped his weapon tightly and this time he used his full power.
"You are dead." Roaring, he leaped towards the boy as demonic energy powered his body.
'Fuck.'
Strands of dark hair flew into the air as Zyrus dodged the blow by mere millimetres away from his head.
Even with lighting and mana empowering his body and speed. He couldn't have dodged the blow, if it wasn't for two reasons.
First, was his eyes.
He didn't know how, however his eyes they...they felt different. Even with the bare minimum light, he could see how the man was moving clearly.
How his body will move and where the attack would come. He could predict it with an animalistic instincts as if it was ingrained into him.
Of course, it didn't make much different as it only gave him the direction of where the attack would land.
He would have died from the attack right now, of not for the second reason.
The second reason was once again, his mana...his massive mana reserve.
The moment Derek had moved, he had put an insane amount of mana into his legs making them way faster.
However, because of him...having loose control over it. The damage he received wasn't less. He gritted his teeth as he felt his legs screaming, his tendons almost on the verge of breaking.
Yet, to stay alive he continued to pour more and more mana into them.
"Slash" Raising his hand instantly, he fired another slash.
Though, it felt useless on Derek as he already sensing the slash sidestepped and dodged it. Following that he sent a slash of his own towards Zyrus.
Once again, barely twisting his body in an uncanny angle. He dodged the slash yet pain blinked into his chest as his ribcage almost caved in from the heavy punch of the man.
"You are finished, boy." Saying Derek raised his axe in another hand.
"Slash." He raised his hand towards Derek's head.
"It won't work on me. I know how your slashes works, Boy. It can only move in one direction and be fired only when you speak right? Heck, you can't even use them continuously, haha. "
Derek laughed with glee, as he didn't even tried to sense the slash, rather looking at the direction in which Zyrus's hand was pointing, he moved away from there.
"Fuck..." Zyrus cursed as he saw Derek's understanding the weakness of his slashes, the axe already coming towards him. His hair stood on it's end, as he felt the sharp blade of the axe moving towards him.
Slice.
Heavy silence reined as the axe, met it's target. Yet, there was no happiness on the Man's face. He looked as he saw the axe lodged deeply into the boy's shoulder rather than head.
Gritting his teeth Zyrus once again raised his hand towards the man's head and spoke.
"S-sla..sh."
"I said it won't wo-"
Derek's turned his head the other way, however his words fell off in the middle, as his world blanked out for a moment.
A blinding pain erupted from his torso as he saw a long diagonal cut on it almost phasing through his spinal cord.
"H-how?" Stuttering, he fell on the ground as power left his body, his widened eyes looking at Zyrus who still had the axe lodged into his shoulder.
"How?. It's easy actually, i never said I can only slash in the direction, where my hand pointed."
Derek died as these words were the last things he heard.
However, just a moment later.
Clap Clap Clap.
A sound reverberated the whole forest.