Chapter 29: Fight me for real this time ( 3 )

As Paul backed off from the spikes, I was able to regain my footing. After seeing Paul’s speed, it was most likely that I would’ve lost the moment he got within range. So attrition was the only battle I could afford to win.

I increased the length of the sword. For me, the mere size of an average sword was way too long already. However, I was a child, and Paul was an adult. He could casually reach that length without a problem. So, I need to cross that. No. I need to be even longer.

Of course, length alone wasn’t going to be enough; I needed enough control over the blade. So instead of a typical sword, I made a rapier. With its smaller and shorter appearance, it became more manageable for me to wield.

Worst-case scenario, Paul would break my blade, but better the blade than my arm. I could just make a new blade anyway. And on the other hand, I was pointing at Paul.

[Water ball] x 4

[Ice flower] x 4

Eight spells are cast constantly. Some at him, others on the wet floor. It may have looked random, but the total movement of Paul is within the field. In other words, the span of a square. And the flowers themselves are quite sharp, so staying near it wasn’t a good option.

No matter how Paul moved, he would face the tip of my sword. If he avoided it too much, he would face the ice flowers on the floor. If he were too focused on the floor, he would face the water balls hurling at him, sometimes sneaking an ice flower among them just to rattle him. And if he was too focused on dodging all of them, I would pull him around with telekinesis, knocking his concentration out of him.

Think, think, think. Constantly rack your head trying to find a way out, Paul. And when the time came, you’d be out of ground to run and tire yourself out from smacking and blocking these small, random strikes.

And as expected, Paul had been lured into the corner of the area, backed up against the walls.

“Ha. Gotcha. Didn’t think I would use the wall to my advantage, now did ya?”

I thought. I thought. And Paul, like a cornered rat, was ready to pounce. A bit surprising, but not out of the calculated possibilities.

[Quagmire]

Rudeus’s favorite spell. The same one he kept using against Paul, as well as the one that gave him the name Quagmire. If Paul had been in a normal state, he would have gotten out easily. But he was tired out from constantly waving off water balls. Not only that, he lost most of his footing. Slowly but surely, his foot would sink into the mud and end the battle.

This was revenge for both me and Rudeus for all the pointless smacking and whoosh-whoosh nonsense all these years, old man. Oh shit, he’s falling. I need to drag him off the ground before he slams into a flower. I thought as I swung out my arm, intending to grab hold of him. Ah no, he caught himself with his hands. Oh well, that’s-

“Holy—”

I dragged my body away with all my strength using telekinesis, dodging the blade Paul threw at me. But I wasn’t fast enough and got smacked in the head. While I technically didn’t lose since I got hit by the hilt of the sword, it still hurts, even if it was a wooden sword. Still, a blade? Paul? Paul threw the blade at me? Paul? THE PAUL? The same guy who refused to teach me North God Style because he looked down on it?

I stared back in Paul’s direction, but what I saw was a fist right in front of my face. Immediately, I pushed myself upwards to dodge like a jumping fish and turned back to shoot at the old man. But he wasn’t there.

Where was he? I didn’t know. But at that moment, I thought of one thing. And that was no matter where he was; I was always his target.

[Rabbit Hole]

Rabbit hole was a duo wind-and-earth spell. The modified advance spell of Earth Fortress, but instead of gathering earth from the surrounding area to pile up, the earth beneath one’s feet was used. In addition to that, Wind Blast was used from above to move me downwards instantly the moment the floor disappeared, all while blasting open the dirt from below, causing it to fly upwards, speeding up the process of Earth Fortress.

However, my head was right at the blade.

[Water Shield]

Instinctively, I cast a water ball to swing at the blade. It was a move to disrupt mana when someone else was casting, but it worked anyway, so I leaned in and poured my mana into that blob and turned it into the full round shield.

[Ice Flower]

Next was creating a water shield and letting water gather into different blobs, manifesting into an explosion of sharp ice flowers as they popped out of the circular formation. Finally, to ensure my safety, there was telekinesis, swirling those flowers to force Paul to back off.

It was a waste of mana, but I couldn’t afford to have Paul within range, not with my head spinning like this. In doing so, however, naturally, I was underground, buried and incapable of seeing. But that wasn’t really much of a problem, though.

Outside, a comrade stood as it stared down on the field through the window of my room. Mana was gathering as a spell was formed. It was never part of the plan, but it would work just fine.

…

Paul’s POV

…

Damn it. Paul had missed. Using the moment when Laurel was shocked by the sword throw, Paul went for Laurel’s face. And even under a surprise attack, Laurel pulled through and jumped upwards like a fish in a frying pan. It was without question that Laurel would spin around to take a shot at him, but it didn’t matter.

Paul ran to Laurel’s back side to strike him from behind with the Long Sword of Silence, even going as far as running on fours to make sure he was fast enough. But at that moment, the floor swallowed Laurel again.

As Paul’s blade was about to strike Laurel at the head, a sudden surge of water formed a barrier, blocking Paul’s sword. Then it condensed and popped into icicles of flowers as it circled the area, forcing Paul to back off.

The moment that Laurel was spitted back out from the earth, Paul rushed in on all fours with his Four-Legged Form technique like a ravenous wolf. Paul was already swinging a sword at him by the time Laurel saw him.

With shock-filled eyes, Laurel mysteriously pulled back as if he got grabbed by someone, his hands crossing to block a hit. Was it the skill he used to float on blankets? That would explain all the weird pulling feelings. Whatever the case, it was already too late anyway. With a twirl on his fingers, Paul was in the midst of striking for the second time. And this time, Paul wasn't going to miss.

“Got you no—ack! Huh? What the?”

Paul was struck by a fireball from the back of his head while on all fours. Laurel fell on his butt and stared at Paul as if he were seeing a ghost. At that moment, both had shouted the same words.

“Paul… How?”

“How?”

Surprised by the sudden hit from the back of his head, Paul turned to the shooter. Did Laurel not plan that? Then who was it? Was it Rudeus? Paul thought, but Rudeus had already left, so it wasn’t him. As Paul turned to the window, he saw the perpetrator. The culprit was…

“… Timmy?”

The caterpillar that Laurel taught to paint? The same one that helped color the family portrait? THAT caterpillar?

The memory of Zenith forcing Paul to sit down with everyone as they stared at the caterpillars coloring the family picture onto the canvas was something that no one would forget. At least, not Paul.

How did he get shot? It should have been an attack aimed at the back of his head, but the only thing there was the caterpillar. It’s not like a caterpillar could...

"Wait... TIMMY KNOWS SILENT MAGIC TOO?!"

“Running on fours? Are you kidding me?!"

… Apparently, for Laurel, the caterpillar shooting fireballs wasn’t as shocking as Paul running on fours. Paul stared at Laurel with a dumbfounded expression. Laurel was saying some weird gibberish about how this world’s swordsmanship didn’t make sense, but Paul wasn’t paying attention to his nonsense right now.