Mano Al Mano

After using Shadow Step afew times againts Angulimala earlier, Jeremy has already gotten use to using it instinctively as a means to escape.

Seeing the a shadowy blur fleeting above him, before the cold glint of steel could even be seen striking downwards, Jeremy has already activated the skill to enter the Void.

Swosh

Jeremy's body disappear into the shadow as the dagger sliced through where his neck would have been literally seconds ago.

Swosh

As soon as Angulimala noticed that his slash didn't connect, his body too started blurring and dissipating into the darkness. Unlike before however, neither Angulimala nor Jeremy reappeared.

...

Jeremy dropped to the ground surrounded by darkness barely avoiding the slash earlier. Once again, he is traversing the void.

He stood up and dusted himself, just as he prepares to move himself back into reality, Angulimala appeared and stood infront of him as if finally executing his strike from the other world to the void.

Because he was hit from within the void previously as he attacked Hana, Angulimala knew it would be disadvantageous for him to continue fighting in the real world and this decide to deal with Jeremy here.

"Interesting... While you still haven't master the skill, the duration you can stay in the void has increased in your berserk state..." Jeremy said as he noticed Angulimala could remain present in the void much longer than he could previously.

Unless the person has fully mastered the skill, the duration they can remain in the void at any single time was limited. Of course a person could just keep fleeting in and out of the void and reality but seeing how there is a difference of ten times in term of the time between here and there, executing it the second he fleets back into the world would mean ten seconds have past in the Void.

Angulimala stood silently as his white eyes glared eerily at Jeremy as if determined to end him.

Jeremy was truly in a pickle. So far, he has only manage to avoid those strikes via using Shadow Strike at the moment Angulimala used it to avoid his incomming attacks. As the Void is 10 times slower than the real world, it would give him enough time to move about and adjust his position to put himself in advantage before appearing in the real world in one tenth of the time he used in the Void.

Now that they are both in the Void, he can no longer use Shadow Step as a means to escape. In other words, in the real world, he could have used shadow step to apear to be faster than his opponent even though he isnt by using the Void as a loophole, but now that they are both in the void, all he could rely on was actual battle skills in order to not die.

How was he, a person who perhaps just a few moments ago was still walking home from work in a university will suddenly build the battle instinct to defeat a foe that kills on a daily basis? The only reason he was calm and collected earlier as he dodge the attacks was that he could teleport in and out of the void and use the time in the void to calm his nerves before reappearing in reality.

It was as if playing a fighting game with a someone and you had the ability to pause the game whenever and as long as you want. Sure its annoying for your opponent, but as the person doing to, no matter how tense the situation may be, being able to stop and think on your next course of action will surely calm ur nerves down.

And yet now... His only means of life preservation... Gone...

So far, he has only collected afew battle techniques, Shield Bash, Swift Strike, Critical Strike, Dart Accuracy, and Dust Scatter. In terms of magic spells, he has Firebolt but as he has only used battle technique and not magic skills, he doubts whenever he can use it successfully or not. Out of the skills he has, he can really only use Swift Strike, Critical Strike and Dust Scatter with the hatchet he has on hand.

'The best offence is the best defence...'

'No... I can still leave the void and bring the fight back to the real world. Over there, I have the advantage in numbers..."

Jeremy blazed through his train of thought as he planned out his next course of action. However, as per modus operandi, before he could, Angulimala had already send a back hand slash towards his face.

Alarmed, Jeremy blocked the incomming strike with one arm. The force of the strike was so strong that he flung the defending Jeremy at least afew steps to Angulimala's right.

As soon as Jeremy landed on the ground, as if anticipating an incomming attack, Jeremy feet slammed the ground, Dust Scatter. A thick cloud of dust filled the air obstructing all sight of anything that is inside. Seeing the huge cloud of smoke, Angulimala lunged straight into the dust, daggers first to perform a horizontal slash.

Klang Klang Klang Klang!

Immediately after he entered the smoke, Angulimala immediately changed his attacking motion into a defending motion as a continuous rain of slashes came from within the dust cloud smashing continuously on his dual daggers.

The slashes were remnicent of the techniques his fellow bandit friends were famous for, however its execution was much more exquisite and elegant, allowing for more powerful and faster strikes to hit in succession. However, the strikes itself lack power. In terms of strength, the strikes were far weaker than the one his bandit buddies could execute.

Once Angulimala realised the similarities between the executed technique and the one his fellow bandits used, he merely defended until the point where he knew a foward thrust was comming following which he parried it with both his dagger with enough force to push Jeremy back.

Jeremy retreated afew steps back from the force of the parry. As soon as that happens, Angulimala lunged forwards and performs a spinning back hand towards his jugular once again.

Klang!

Jeremy saw the opportunity. This wasn't the 1st time Angulimala use this variant of Critical Strike. Similar to when he saw the flaws in the execution of shadow step, he can now see the flaws in the execution of this variant of critical strike. Capitilating on this flaw, Jeremy swung his hatchet horizontally, performing a Critical Strike similar to what Angulimala has been performing all along after executing Shadow Step. The hatchet hits the dagger of Angulimala as he once again converts his attack into a parry.

The force from the strike cause him to rotate face up as he fell to the ground. This time however, Jeremy was ready, as Angulimala fell to the ground, he could seen the cold glint of steel from a hatchet far above Jeremy heads slashing downwards towards him... Mimicking what he executed in order to force Jeremy into this world previously...

Slash...

Thud...