Earth: The Second

Before the Warning

“This one is mine,” said the Boss as he stopped Kaina and Boran from intervening with his battle. As a long-life colleague from the boss, they knew from his smile, that Boss is finally found an opponent that will satisfy his thirst for battle. Both of them had already known Boss for more than five years, and they already his fighting capabilities.

From the outside, Boss seems like a happy-going person, and always faces every problem with a smile. He might seem a friendly person, that able to fit in everywhere just fine, but beneath that facade, is a warrior that always striving to polish his skill on the battlefield.

“You think he will win?” ask Boran, the shielder who always wears half-face steel headgear.

Kaina, the assassin did not answer for a moment, she folds her hand on her chest and thinking for a moment. “Who knows? Boss is finally using Buster again after all this time, so probably he is going all out for now,” answers Kaina.

Because of Boss’s carefree attitude, his subordinates find it hard times to understand what is he actually thinking about. However, Boss’s leadership is always on the spot and leads Black Claws to the reputation that they knew today.

On the other hand, when they see Adma, their heads are filled with mysteries and questions. Especially knowing what is he capable to do in the last battle.

“That man himself is an artifact,” they recall what Boss commented after they retreat back to the guild. “First, he did not bleed, and second, his fighting style suddenly changed when he killed Tobby and Ody. When I see him, I see the same feelings when I saw a crossbow or trebuchet.”

What Boss means by this, is that he feels that Adma feels not natural. He might look human, but many features he has do not reflect it, instead, he feels more like a weapon or equipment.

“A living artifact... Perhaps the same as Dolls that are owned by the capital?” Kaina thinking with her palm on her chin. She feels bored that this time she is being told to watch instead. 

Meanwhile, Adma’s attempt to stab Boss’s knee from behind seems to work just fine. He expected Boss to fall after Adma attacked his body support, but what almost got him instead, is the Buster that Boss’s swung to attack everything around his area.

Adma jumped backward and pulled his sword. He certainly feels that his attack is successful. But then why?

“One point for you, Adma! I’m impressed!” Boss is turning around to face him again. He seems focused on his breath. Boss is taking a slow but long inhale and exhale, as he focused on his power within. His mana, or life force that resides in his body gathering on his chest when he breathing in, but expand and envelop his whole body when he exhaling. Kaina, Boran, and even Adma himself are able to see how his mana manifested into some kind of blue smoke or fog substance that coming out of his body.

“Pain Nullification! Muscle Enhance!” as Boss’s breathing technique continues, the mana before is absorbed again into his body. He muttered his skill and mana on his body acted like an anesthetic the pain on his knee. His muscle also grew stronger with the last incarnation.

“I understand, you are using skills then,” responds Adma. Eventually, the Boss returned to his stance with a lifted sword. His movement to lift Buster seems easier than before, after his incantation.

“To live in a battlefield is to live in a harsh life, full of pain, scars, and death.” Boss started speaking. “I develop this technique to combat the pain outside. So I can focus my mind on facing the internal pain instead.”

Boss finished his words by charging up toward Adma. again, he swings his giant sword with the intention to cut Adma in half, but his opponent once again able to dodge it by stepping outside its line of the impact that was predicted by Navigator.

Because of the sword’s weight, its swings are easy to predict and hard to be changed midair. But it does not mean that Adma easily outperforms Boss. Every attack attempt that he did it difficult to penetrate his armor, even the joint part that was supposed to be thinner among other parts of the armors.

Adma tried stabbing and slashing, but just a little bit of his attacks that actually inflicting pain for Boss. As if Boss’s whole bodies are now a part of the armor.

“Stalemate, huh?” commented Boran to Kaina as both of them still watched the fight in front of them. 

“It seems so, but that guy still has the upper hand here,” replied Kaina. “Both of them excel at different aspects that oppose each other. When Boss thriving with his strength, fighting technique, and mana skills, Adma has everlasting endurance and a true null sense of pain. Remember what Boss said about his fighting style suddenly changed?” asked Kaina.

“Yeah, what about it?”

“It seems that he is able to shift priority, either to take down his enemy lethal or non-lethal,” Kaina finished her explanation. No matter how strong Boss is, it will make no use if Adma is able to dodge all of them. If he spends too much time, his pain nullification effect will go off, and probably, he would go down.

“Do you also mean that all this time, Adma is not fighting to kill his opponent?” asks Boran again, where Kaina answers with a nod. “That certainly will make Boss upset,” he added.

Back to the duo that is dancing the dance of death. Adma grew cautious with the flow of the battle. He might able to land the first strike, but with the skills that Boss is using now, Adma has to plan what his next move is going to be.

Void Canon is out of the question. To use his trump card against one enemy is very risky. Either for himself or for the future situation, where the rumor of himself probably will grow wilder. Eventually, this will lead him into the lethal mode, where his priority will shift to dealing the most effective killing blow to the enemy.

“I will not let you screamed those warnings!” Boss screamed as he strikes a huge downward s***h that once again creates a crate to the ground. While Adma is able to dodge it and create distance between them, he can feel the strength of that attack from the air around him. “You’re going down before you can say those warnings!” screamed Boss again.

Different from the last time, Boss is now grasping for breath. The sweat coming down from his forehead, and eventually, he can feel the pain from the first attack that Adma inflicted on him.

Have to finish it faster! think Boss, as he lifts his Buster again, prepared to attack his opponent.

After a second of silence, Adma suddenly started to move. He is running straight toward Boss. 

“This is it!” Boss screamed. He collects every remaining mana on his body and channels it to his arm and sword.

“Buster Wave!” screamed Boss, as he swings a downward s***h to the air in front of him.

Suddenly, Adma’s warning notification appeared. There is nothing but air in front of him, but Adma can also feel that threat.

As if the worlds around him turned into a slowed-speed film. Adma sees how the air vibrates according to the s***h that Boss previously made. He can already suggest that the effect is coming from the skills that Boss previously screamed.

That air is dangerous! screamed Adma. His defense mechanism suddenly takes priority. Adma that in the middle of running to his opponent laying his body as low as possible. with the face first, he dives into the ground, followed by arm, body, and legs.

He successfully dodges the attack, but Adma did not stop here. Quickly, he pulls his body up and continued to pursue Boss. Boss himself is still in the middle of recovering and did not expect Adma to appear from the dusk of his attack. Adma makes full use of this moment, he threw one of his swords to Boss’s face.

Reflect, Boss uses his left hand, to protect his face and dodge. In this thin window of times, Adma climbed to Boss’s back and circling his arm around his opponent’s neck. His other arm is used to lock his subdued, which results in Boss’s lack of air to breathe.

“Damn... You…” whispered Boss, as he shakes his body, trying to throw Adma. But that man had also warp Boss’s stomach with his feet tightly. Boss’s tried to let go of his feet first but no matter how hard he tried, Adma just clings tighter to him.

“Get… Off me!” he screamed again. This time, Boss used all strength that he has left to lift his buster sword, Boss slammed his sword to his back, and successfully landed hit on Adma’s back.

Caution, damage to the back part of the body. warn Navigator. But Adma did not let go of his arm. Instead, for every hit that Boss did to him, Adma will choke him harder. On the other hand, Boss’s condition also got worsen. Because he can not breathe freely, he can’t concentrate on his mana. Eventually, the skill that he used to strengthen his muscle and nullify pain was slowly gone. 

His feet are trembling, since the wounds on his knee are opened again. Without enhanced strength to his muscle, Buster goes too heavy to hold and end up falling to the ground. Creating huge chunking sound. 

“Argh… Uargh…” Boss groaning, both of his hands are now reaching the arm that locked in his neck, in an attempt to strip them off. In his heart, Boss already planned everything that he would do to make the owner of this arm suffer.

But Adma is unshakable. As he chokes his opponent, he wished that this man is just giving up, and fell to the ground.

“I have got you before the warning. This the end,” Adma whispered to Boss, he wanted to just end this fight, since his objective is still inside the building.

“Hmmhph!!!” opposite to what he expected, Boss grew fiercer to try to shake him off. 

But not long after that. His body is not moving. Boss fell kneeling to the ground. Fainted.