Okay... Uh, this is a pretty short chapter. Bakit nga ba kasi hinati ko pa sa dalawa ang laban nilaa? Grr.

-chapter eighty-eight-
____________________

SOLACE

"Here comes the black swan of the beasts, finally fighting against the white slayer of the central. Will it end in another beast slaying or will the monster's dance succeed?"

FUCK. 

I ducked as another wave of sharp wind hit my direction. I deflected every other wind blade that I can sense. Nakakainis. Sobrang nakakainis na. Mabilis na hinanap ng mata ko kung nasaan man si Maria. I can't sense her presence and she's moving like she's teleporting. Paiba-iba ng direksiyon ang mga atake niya.

It was almost like I'm in the middle of the lake, playing with a black swan.

The water rippled and another step was made. Isang hiwa ang namuo sa binti ko nang matamaan ito.  I staggered and lost balance for a second. Napakahirap niyang patayin at hulihin!

I cursed and scanned the left part of the stage. Nang maramdaman ko ang napakaliit na presensiya sa kanan ay natigilan ako. The presence was so small that detecting it is hard, at wala itong any bloodlust na pwedeng mag-activate ng reflexes. Ngunit may nararamdaman akong kakaiba. It's a calm warning. It tells me to swing my blade as hard as I can.

So I did. 

Siguro sa sobrang inis na din.  But with generating the golden flames in my sword, I swished it as hard as I could when I spinned. The fabrics that covered the railings caught fire. Napatigil si Maria sa pagpapalit ng posisyon nang umapoy ang isang fan at ang palda niya.

Nagkatingin kaming sandali bago sumugod muli sa isa't isa.

The sound of the blade hitting each other, the quiet singing of the winds and the hums of the fire served as our music. Together, we danced in the middle of the arena stage. Maria was flying, spinning around every slash of my sword. Inikot ko ang espada sa kamay at siya rin sa mga pamaypay.

I jumped as high as I could and slashed my blade against her raised fan. She's holding it through her toes, sandals long discarded, as her right arm is gone. Nakataas ang kaliwa niyang paa at dumedepensa ito mula sa espada ko. From an outsider's point of view, it was a mesmerising sight. Sa'kin, sakit siya sa ulo. Dancers and their damn all-body strength.

I kicked and she stumbled backwards. Bago niya pa maibalik ang balanse ay bumaba ako at malakas na hinampas ang espada sa lupa. The ground grumbled and shook. Kahit ako ay sandaling nawalan ng balanse dahil sa pwersa. Despite the magic shield activated, some players outside felt the attack. Nastun siya nito ng ilang segundo kaya naman umatake akong muli.

"You're really a slayer," aniya nang makabalik at dumedepensa sa bawat atake ko. "To still fight with those wounds."

Hindi na ako sumagot pa. Hinintay kong matapos ang mahinang pagtawa niya habang nakatingin sa'kin.

She's not in a good condition, with her right arm gone and bleeding. But maybe, I looked worse. There's a wide slash in my back and my armor's all torn. Ilang cuts na ang natamo ng paa ko, large and small ones. My arms are also injured, mostly dahil sa rain of needles na ginawa niya kanina.

"What a pity. You don't speak?" mahina niyang itinapik ang pamaypay sa bibig. "I want to hear you scream when I kill you."

I almost rolled my eyes. Why is she even assuming that she can kill me?

"It is a pity." sagot ko. "I don't like people who screams when killed."

"Good thing you don't, then."

Muli akong tumakbo papunta sa kaniya at umatake. She rolled on the ground, slashing her fan on my leg. But I expected it. Mabilis kong itinapon ang espada patalikod and it landed just between her feet. 

She looked at me and went to grab my sword. Sinipa ko siya papunta sa blade nito but she only flipped backwards and slashed my chest with her fan again. Shit! I cursed at the nauseous pain that hit me. She gracefully closed her fan and stepped backwards.

"I won't deny. You fight extra-ordinarily. No normal players can just cut off my arm, nor any cheating players can even try to keep up with me while using hacks." hinawakan niya ang hilt ng espada. "But, you're too weak to even battle the Warlord. I guess the game administrators really set you up in this event."

I coughed up blood as I clutched my bleeding chest. Bumababa na ang health ko. And my energy is also decreasing. Sinundan ko ng tingin ang kamay ni Maria na dahan-dahang hinahawakan ang sword. 

The warning is there. Or is it instinct? I can't quite point it out. All I know is that I shouldn't hand her the sword. Nor must she be able to wield it. 

A black swan must not hold a golden slayer's sword.

And to my shock, as well as everyone's else, when Maria grabbed the hilt and started to raise it with a smirk, mabilis akong nakapuwesto sa tabi niya at inagaw ang espada. She seemed to not have expected it as well. I've never shown any fast movements all the fight and now it seemed like I was teleporting.

The sword burned golden flames as I touched it. Out of reflex, Maria stepped back and the black smoke she's emitting seemed to grow thicker. Tinitigan ko siya habang itinataas ang espada. Mula sa kinatatayuan namin hanggang sa pader ng arena ay makikita ang pagsiklab ng apoy. 

Nanlaki ang mata ni Maria habang pinagmamasdan ang lumalaking gintong apoy. Nanginig ang kamay niya nang itaas ang pamaypay para dumepensa. It was scorching hot inside the arena and the intense flame is melting both of our armors. And I let go, activating my ultimate attack that covered the whole arena stage on fire.

It burns. The fire burns. And the fire will burn-

Nanlaki ang mata ko. It can't be- No way...

My ultimate exhibits the power the sword has and the strength I possessed. It burns and it melts. But-

I can feel it. The blade that stopped my raging flame.

My eyes widened. I can't believe it. My ultimate... deflected?

Maria smirked. Itinapon niya sa gilid ang pamaypay na nahati sa dalawa dahil sa puwersa ng atake ko. It damaged but it didn't kill. Kinuha niya ang natitirang pamaypay. The fire that drowned the stage was already declining. Sa pag-alis nito ay makikita ang damage na ginawa. The magic shield activated weakened, both our armors are torn and melted at ang mga tela sa railings ay sunog.

Maria inhaled deeply. Malamya niyang ibinaba ang pamaypay at muli itong itinaas.  She gracefully placed it above her head, at kung mayroon siyang isa pang pamaypay at kamay, a cross will be formed. Suddenly, she opened her eyes, as black as the void, and stared at me like death. Nanlamig ang buong katawan ko, lalo na nang bigla niyang ibaba ang kamay at nagpaulan ng mga needles.

I'm already weak. Konti na lang ang energy at life ko and the needles are so fucking painful. Maria regained her balance and started attacking me with wind blades. Napapa-atras ako sa lakas at sakit ng mga atake.

Fucking hell. Fuck. Fuck, it hurts. My legs are already giving up and I can't feel my right arm.

"Elf-"

I fell on my right knee as she threw another wind blade. Dumiretso iyon sa hita ko na dati nang may hiwa. I tried to grip my sword as it called onto me but fucking hell, my body hurts and my head is aching like shi-

"Lost, again?"

Biting my lip, I staggered to stand up. I blindly strike my sword forwards, dahil nagkaka-black spots na ang vision ko. Paika-ika ako at parang walang tamang direksiyon. I can only focus on Maria in front of me, and how badly I need her to die.

"Where's your cat?"

Sinipa niya ako at agad naman akong natumba. Smirking, Maria sat above me. Itinaas niya ang pamaypay na napapalibutan ng itim na usok. I can feel the heat of the flame increasing. Pero wala na akong sapat na enerhiya para lumaban pa.

"I'm gonna be your friend!"

Maria's hand fell as she hit me with her ultimate. There was no scream nor a grunt of pain, but rather, there was fire.

Silence ensued in the room. Golden fire erupted from my body all through-out the stage, breaking almost a half of the magic shield. Naramdaman ko ang napakalakas na pagpasok ng enerhiya at mahika sa katawan. 

The fire burned. Through my armor and hummed through my skin. Through Maria's fan and towards her dress. Through the ground and up to the skies. The golden flame made their presence known, burning and drowning the whole arena.

Narinig ko ang mga alarm na tumunog. Panic voices came from the outside and there was the large voice announcing that the fight has to be stopped. Napatingin ako kay Maria. Blood trickled from her lips to her neck and she wiped it off, slightly chuckling. 

"You're not screaming."

"You wanted a quiet death."

When the game masters arrived and the fire died down, they witnessed the conclusion of the fight. As my sword is pierced through Maria's heart. The dancer was slowly vanishing, and only the damage was the evidence through another conquest of the slayer.

In this dance, the black swan lost.

____________________

-chapter end-

[NEXT CHAPTER PREVIEW]:

Oh shit, oh shit. Napalingon ako para makita kong hinahabol pa rin ako ng bubwit na 'yon. Wengya, bakit ba napaka-attention seeker nila? I can't believe super popular na ako't pinag-aagawan ng mga lalaki. My gosh, I am so attractive.

"Ah." nasambit ko nang matalisod ako sa isang bato. The next thing I know, nahuhulog na ako sa isang malaking pit. 

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" my screamed echoed. I fucking hate this.

And I fucking hate kung sino man ang sumalo sa'kin.

____________________