Free Web NovelChapter 145: Chapter 144 - Eden’s Outliers(Part 3)
Point-of-View: Adelmira Hartley
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"Hey, are you okay!?" I exclaimed, as Petra walked over, her face bruised and her lower lip bleeding.
"Yeah, I’ll live," She responded with a wry smile.
When that sick freak Osian restrained her and started groping her, I began to use my Aqua Skill to intervene, but Arisu noticed before I could and commanded me to stop...and as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t defy her.
Fortunately, Petra managed to save herself using her Portal technique, and I have to say, it was pretty satisfying to see Osian lose an arm like that. Too bad it seems like he’ll be able to get it reattached pretty easily.
Unfortunately, all the Blood that had been spilt during the fight seems to have really excited Astra, who was looking like she was raring to go, her cheeks flushed, her breathing heavy and a murderous gleam in her eyes, which sent chills down my spine.
"Hey, you, how long do you think it’ll take before you master the Portal technique?" Arisu asked Petra suspiciously, as she narrowed her eyes at her. freёweɓnovel.com
Oh, right, if she masters it, she’ll be able to potentially escape. But that’ll probably be impossible with the Condition active.
"I won’t be able to master it any further. Opening portals in places outside of my line of sight is beyond me...I can only improve on how fast I open them," She answered areluctantly.
Her Condition is stricter than mine, I can get away with small lies here and there, but she can’t. Thanks to her punching Trevor when she first arrived, the terms of her Condition are a lot more restrictive.
"Hm, I see. Alright, then, whatever," Shrugged Arisu, before turning to me and Astra, "What’re you waiting for? Get out there and fight already."
"Don’t have to tell me twice!" Grinned Astra, practically skipping onto the arena, a gleeful look on her face.
A while back, she’d added a short-sword to her arsenal...not for any tactical reason, only because burning people wasn’t enough for her anymore. By her own admission, she wanted to see more blood.
"Hey, uh, is that weapon really allowed? I mean, I’ll die if she stabs me in my chest, head or neck," I pointed out warily.
"Eh, I’m sure it’ll be fine," Shrugged Arisu indifferently, before yelling out to Astra, "Hey, if you get a solid stab in, the fight ends there, and try to avoid vital spots!"
"Huh? Well, duh, where’s the fun if she dies after one stab?" Responded Astra in a carefree tone.
Oh, right...for better or for worse, she won’t be trying to kill me with just one hit, that’s not how she operates. She’d much rather toy with me while keeping me alive so that I can feel all the pain she inflicts.
...yeah, I really don’t want to fight her. But, well, I guess I’d rather fight her than Osian, I suppose. They’re both awful and vile, but I suppose that she is the lesser of the two evils.
"Alright, then, begin!" Announced Arisu, signaling the start of the fight.
I fired out a blast of water as Astra simultaneously shot out a fireball, our attacks slamming onto each other and canceling out in a burst of steam, before Astra came rapidly zipping towards me, reaching behind her lower back and drawing out her short-sword.
I swiftly took aim, forming a funnel along my index finger and firing out the narrow, rapid water beam, which I’m calling Piercing Water Beam.
Before she could react, it struck her hand, piercing a hole through her middle finger, the handle of her blade and her palm, causing her to let out a stifled hiss of pain as she inadvertently dropped the blade, which hit the ring with a clang.
"Ouch, that really stings," She grimaced, before glancing at her hand, which was dripping with blood, and then shifting her gaze back over to me as she licked her palm with a smirk, smearing blood across her lips and chin.
So creepy. She probably needs to see a therapist...nah, never mind, I’d feel bad for the therapist who’d have to straighten her out.
As I took aim and fired out another Piercing Water Beam at her right shoulder, she swiftly spun across to evade it, my attack grazing her skin lightly, before she inhaled deeply and blasted out an immense wave of flames from her mouth, blazing towards me.
I quickly countered by raising up a wall of water to block out, a loud hiss echoing out as her flames struck my water wall and got extinguished, right as she sprang up around the left of the water wall, a swirling fireball in her right hand.
I responded by extending out several whip-like streaks of water from my hand, which wrapped around her limbs and torso, but as I began to swing her away, she burst out an intense wave of heat to evaporate my water restraints and freed herself, before firing out a sharp burst of flames upwards as I shot another Piercing Water Beam at her, narrowly evading it as she blasted herself to the ground, her right shoulder hitting the floor with a loud thud.
"Now, Icicle Barrage!" I remarked, as I fired out six sharp shards of ice at her...I’m still not very good with ice attacks compared to regular water attacks, so saying the technique names out loud helps me visualize and manifest it.
Except for with extremely high output levels, I can use regular water attacks at more or less the same level of effectiveness even without yelling out the technique names now, so yeah.
Anyway, she quickly rolled out of the way to just barely avoid getting skewered by my projectiles, before a massive blast of flames burst out towards me, engulfing my entire line of sight.
I quickly formed a spinning sphere of water around myself to protect myself, as the flames blazed around me. I then mixed in sand-like grains of ice into the water sphere as I felt the flames start to heat up the water, maintaining the temperature and keeping it from boiling me alive.
The flames continued to swirl and roar around me, fading far too slowly...damn it, she must be using Flame Control to maintain the mass of flames, and then compress them bit by bit as they start to fade out.
I can’t keep this up for long, I’m...I’m running out of oxygen, it’s slowly but surely getting harder and harder to breathe. I could try unleashing a mass of water at close to my maximum output, but that’ll be difficult to pull off without undoing this water sphere.
Damn it, I’m starting to get light-headed...and then, as the flames finally faded, I dissipated my water sphere and let out a sharp gasp as I inhaled deeply, before stiffening as she suddenly closed in on me with a smirk, flames swirling around her fist and sweat pouring down her face.
Crap, she must have stayed just outside the range of the flames despite the heat, so that she could close in on me the moment I dropped my defense.
Not good, I’m too disoriented to react in time...!
I let out a cry of pain as she slammed her fist onto my midsection, her flames painfully scorching my skin before sending me flying back and skidding along the arena painfully.
Ow, that really stings...I then quickly rolled out of the way in alarm as Astra suddenly sprang up above me with her right leg raised up high, narrowly evading as she slammed it onto the floor with immense force, the sole of her boot just barely missing my face.
This is really bad, she’s going in for the kill, if she lands another serious hit on me, I’ll-...
"Oww, fuck!" She exclaimed, as she raised her foot with a grimace, "Shit, I think something broke...damn, that’s painful!" ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
I don’t think she’s acting or pretending...did she seriously just break her foot? Her reaction was a lot more subdued when I literally pierced a hole through her hand.
Well, whatever, I’m sure as hell not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. While she was still distracted by her damaged foot, tentatively putting some weight on it and wincing, I quickly took aim and formed a rapidly swirling water projectile, narrowly it slightly before firing it with as much speed and momentum as I could generate.
"Huh? Oh, sh-...!" She began in alarm, as she noticed it too late, before I cut her off as my attack slammed onto her midsection, eliciting a sharp gasp of pain from her and sending her rapidly flying back across the arena.
Her back slammed onto the wall by the sidelines with an echoing thud, before she collapsed onto her knees and fell face first onto the floor, the force of my attack having knocked her out.
Yeah, I know, that was kind of a cheap shot...but I don’t care, and based on the amused reactions of the audience, they don’t care either. Agh, the skin around my stomach area really hurts, her flaming punch from before really burnt me badly...guess I should be glad it wasn’t any worse, huh...
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