Voidborn fights with his new weapon.
Xerxes jumped backwards.
The air in front of him was sliced apart and a small cut appeared on his waist.
He looked at his wound and touched the blood oozing out with two fingers before flicking them off. He hummed softly, looking at Voidborn, who was already yanking the chain back towards him.
Voidborn caught the invisible sword’s handle and pressed one foot forward, blades ready as he stood in a dual wield stance.
Xerxes had misjudged the distance.
“Looks like I finally get to use my weapon,” Xerxes said, pulling out the wooden sword sheathed to his right. “You have quite the interesting thing. It's works like a traditional kusarigama, but it's entirely different.”
Christine, who was sitting between Jimin and Derrick by the side tilted her head in confusion.
“How does a kusarigama even work?”
“A traditional one has a weight on one end that is held by the wielder’s non-master hand, and a sickle on the other,” Derrick explained. “Usually, they do not swing the sickle. The weight is thrown and used to hook on to enemies and tangle their limbs, throwing them off balance. The user then darts in to finish off the opponent with the sickle as they take advantage of the opponent’s blunder.”
Xerxes nodded in agreement at Derrick’s words.
“Correct. However, this one is special. Because the sword is much heavier than the weighted shortblade, swinging and throwing it also becomes an option.”
Voidborn looked at Xerxes who was curling his finger at him, taunting him to make his next move. He began to spin his sword again, and once it had gained enough momentum, he raised it above his head, the spinning blade hovering uptop like a blender. With a twist of his body, he swung and released the chain outwards, sending his sword flying towards Xerxes.
This time, the blade swung low, aiming for his knees.
Xerxes jumped back again.
He had correctly estimated the length of chain which had been thrown by Voidborn, allowing him to safely dodge the strike.
But Voidborn had already anticipated it. He lunged forward at the same time and closed the distance, his shortsword already thrusting towards Xerxes’s other side.
Xerxes swung down his sword and hit Voidborn’s arm, deflecting the incoming attack.
Already making his next move, Voidborn had long yanked his sword back into his grip, and he swung it towards Xerxes, aiming for his waist from the other side.
But Xerxes was too fast.
He simply rotated his wrist and pointed the tip of his wooden blade at Voidborn’s wrist, giving it a sharp swing-smack.
Pain shot through Voidborn’s entire arm and it grew weak, causing his grip to loosen.
His sword dropped to the ground.
Voidborn frowned, but he did not stop moving. He was already swinging the weighted dagged by the chain, purposefully jumping backwards, before hooking it around Xerxes’s arm.
He gritted his teeth and ignored the numbness in his right arm, yanking the chain back towards himself. Once the sword was back in his hand, he tugged the chain tied to Xerxes as hard as he could, trying to pull him forward so he could cut him down.
Rattle.
The chain was stuck.
No matter how hard he pulled the taut chain, Xerxes remain fixed to his spot, smiling widely.
“Weakness number one,” he said. “You shouldn't use this move on someone physically stronger than you. Otherwise, this—”
Xerxes gave a small sharp tug, and the next moment, Voidborn was sent flying towards him.
“—will happen.”
A mini crater exploded in the ground around Voidborn’s head.
Xerxes had raised his other arm as Voidborn was flying towards him, which he promptly clenched it into a fist, slamming it downwards.
“Elian!”
Jimin screamed in horror again as she watched her boyfriend who once again had his head bashed into the ground.
“I see why you’ve bought it,” Xerxes said, squatting down to help Voidborn up. He motioned to Asa to throw him another potion, which he popped the vial open and poured it into Voidborn’s mouth after casually catching it. “You're trying to compensate for your lack in range.”
Voidborn acknowledged with a grunt and propped himself upwards, his injuries healing quickly once again as his dizzying vision stabilised.
“I can only do so much with my enhanced strength and speed as a Rebirth 1 Savage,” Voidborn said, bending down to pick up his weapon which he had dropped from the hit. “I have to diversify my moveset.”
“Valid,” Xerxes said, flicking his fingers and motioning for Voidborn to get into position again. “Then why not consume a tier 2 stone? How close are you to advancement?”
“I just need enlightment,” Voidborn said, lying with a straight face as he took his position. “I prefer the safe route.”
“Again, valid. What else can your chain do?”
“That’s it,” Voidborn answered.
“Then come,” Xerxes said. “Show me more of your skills.”
Voidborn nodded and lunged forward this time, each of his hand holding on to the sword and shortblade.
He swung left and right, mixing his attacks with feints, aiming to slice his opponent apart with any opening that he could force Xerxes to make.
“You're really exceptional at close combat,” Xerxes praised, swinging his wooden sword down to deflect an incoming stab from his right. “I’d dare say that you're even better than majority of Rebirth 2 and 3 Savages I’ve fought.”
“Thank you,” Voidborn replied flatly as he tried at a low kick, but he simply stepped backwards.
“What other weapons are you skilled with?” Xerxes asked.
“A spear.”
The moment Voidborn said that, he lightly hopped back and pushed a small dial on the chain’s lotus.
Whirr.