Kill The King (III)

With renewed strength and rush of rage, Reyy threw a ball of fire at Michael, who dodged without breaking a sweat. He threw another, and another, but Michael wasn't finding it hard to avoid them.

Infact, it seemed rather convenient for him.

Reyy sped towards him, fisting a fiery punch at him. This time however, Michael failed to dodge, the punch almost breaking his hands and grazing his face slightly.

Michael felt his chin burn up, a stinging pain searing through him from that point. He adjusted his jaw and with all willpower, blocked the next attack from Reyy.

This is was his final shot. He had used the full recovery which could only be used once a day, if he was beaten there and then, there won't be anymore options left.

He had to be judicial about his moves now.

Reyy's attacks were now more forceful, and each one of them came along with burn, which was a double serial package of misery. The king's attack strength seemingly matched with Griffith's, and there was no way he could easily stop that without a weapon.

And as he did try to, his endurance slowly diminished, his hands burning out they parried away a buttstock fist of fire.

I have to attack now! He concluded, if he was to wait another minute, avoiding Reyy's punches— he would eventually drop down in weariness.

No, he could even die as he wasn't resistant to fire.

He hit against Reyy's chest, pushing him off a bit. He had learned martial arts enough from his uncle to know how to concentrate force into a push. He had also learnt counterattack to some extent, leaping in the air with a foot out at Reyy.

As expected, Reyy caught him midair, but it just gave Michael the balance to issue out his left leg, smashing it against the king's face.

Reyy staggered over to the side as Michael landed lightly on his feet, charging again without rest at his assailant. This time, he used the samurai's stealth, vanishing with the air and suddenly reappearing with a fist before Reyy, knocking him off with a punch to his nose.

Blood drippled down Reyy's nose as he skidded down to the floor, his feet sliding against its toughness.

"Your face finally got that color it so desperately needed." Michael spoke.

"I'm impressed." Reyy admitted, wiping off his blood. "No one has managed to make me bleed in such a long time."

"Really?" Michael asked, hinting at a sarcastic tone. "I'm curious, who else has been this 'honored' to make your majesty bleed?"

"Lena Saetell."

Lena...? Lena and Reyy once fought? And she made him bleed?

Is she that powerful? Wait, of course she was. She was Wisteria's Second-In-Command after all.

"Don't get distracted!" Reyy interrupted his thoughts as fast as he landed a heated punch on his cheek. Michael tossed off to the ground, as a deliberate amount of power had been tossed into that one attack.

But Reyy didn't hesitate, he threw consistent balls of fire at him, quite aware now that it would be harder to dodge while he was laying disembodied on the ground.

Michael felt sharp pain pierce into his back, and then another. Reyy's heat was exceptionally hot, and it slowly consumed as he kept hitting him.

[WARNING! HEALTH AT CRITICAL DAMAGE]

[WARNING! HEALTH AT CRITICAL DAMAGE]

[ENGAGING: HUNTER'S HIDE]

Hunter's hide? Oh yeah... Hunter's hide. It was part of the rewards he had gotten after he defeated the menagerie of ground dragons.

How did he not remember it?

[PLAYER IS UNABLE TO RETAIN MEMORY AT CRITICAL TIMES]

"Seriously?" Michael winced. "How can you joke at a time like this?"

He felt the hide materialize around his body, shielding him from Reyy's attacks. However, the one he had sustained still stung him so bad, although the hide was trying not to make it burn deeper.

Michael groaned as he sprawled on the floor, unable to regain to his feet from the burn that overwhelmed his back.

"You're still resisting?!" Reyy grunted, his voice less calmer as his talent was starting to make him go berserk. "Alright then, die!"

He raised his arms in the air, and out of the nothingness, his biggest fireball was formed. It was as large as two disco balls combined, and glowed fiercely against the faces of every observer, daring to bring the arena to ashes.

And as Reyy shot it at Michael, there was an explosion, one that lit the dim room with a blinding fierce light. Smoke surfaced, and everyone's eyes searched for Michael, trying to figure out whether he was still alive or not.

"He's definitely dead." A student said.

"Anyone would be, that attack was too powerful." said another.

[HUNTER'S HIDE HAS BEEN DISENGAGED]

"Is that all you got?" Michael asked from the nothingness, imposing tension into everyone's minds.

A vial bottle dropped to the floor, it's only content, a drop of golden liquid. Now. Michael had used up all his extra chances.

Reyy had been able to send him to the pangs of death again after he used up his full recovery, even cracking open his hunter's hide again. His DTP was going to start soon, but he had already been forced to take the healing potion.

And he still had to win this fight.

"He's still alive?" A spectator's eyes widened in shock. "Impossible."

"And he just dissappeared too!"

Reyy looked around the wrestling ring, trying to trace his Michael's voice, but he couldn't find him anywhere.

"Who in the world are you?" He asked still.

Who am I? Michael thought the words through, dashing with an advanced haste, a whish of wind coming from directions at Reyy.

Was he a human? Or someone who just got lucky? Was he truly a weakling within, or did he have the potentials now to become the rank which the system had given him?

The rank of a horseman.

Reyy couldn't tell where Michael was coming from until he felt something sharp slice his face open, letting his blood out in multiple dripples.

Looking behind him, Michael had reappeared, his body all healed from the wounds he thought he had sustained. There was no trace of a scar left on him, and his eyes now glowed a dim red color.

"My name is Michael Alastair..." He took an edged look at the king. "Rank E."

* * *

_______

THE FINAL VANISHING AND REAPPEARING SKILL IS A PART OF THE ASSASSIN'S BUILDUP CALLED "STEALTH MODE". IN THIS CASE, IT WOULD LIKELY BE CONSIDERED A TALENT AS IT REQUIRES AT LEAST A MINIMAL USE OF MANA.

BUT IT ISN'T.