Lyren might have narrowed the space but there was no denying the obvious fact that he was still slow. Too slow at that.
He had to swing his sword few seconds earlier and also move his body earlier or else he was going to lose. His chest still hurt from the previous attack but he could feel the pills taking effect and the pain did not last longer.
The beast only had one direction it could come from and that was from in front of him.
He just had to time his attack when the beast moved but he could not see it or even hear its footsteps. Fireballs were not going to be effective and they would just keep draining his Elyria which was going to be bad news for him.
He was not sure if he could count on the tingle as it seemed to only come when the attack was a few inches away from him. That was not enough.
Also, the flames kept blinding him and he was not going to use them carelessly again. In the meantime, his sword lit up with the orangish-yellow flames.
He charged forward with his eyes closed as they were being useless. He dragged the sword behind him and the flames affected the grass below.
The beast saw this and charged too and it reached almost instantly swiping its claws at Lyren. Lyren smiled because now it was clearer.
He could definitely hear any movements around him in a two meters radius. Including those in the air.
His ears perked and he swung his sword upwards and the beast, a black panther, quickly realized that it had been trapped. It could not easily stop its momentum and it was bound to take damage.
It could only swipe its claw at the sword instead and this time though, there were no sparks and the sword was able to cut the claws and also leave a wound on its paw.
It was quick to draw back and Lyren's flames went off as his sword reached its limit and he pulled it back. His ears perked up once again as he heard the beast quickly retreat.
He sighed because his bet had paid off. The two meters was a very small buffer especially considering that the beast itself was faster than him.
Something told him that it was not moving at top speed yet. If that was the case, he was going to have to increase his timing.
Lyren was still deep in thoughts as he felt a tingle in his spine once again and to his dismay, the beast had appeared behind him and he could tell that it was biting at his neck.
He did not have enough time and speed. It appeared that it was taking this seriously now.
He recalled the first time in the ruins when he could see the sword piercing at his forehead and his body too slow to react. He had ended up forcing himself to bend by tripping his knee and the sword had left a scar on his forehead.
The situation was similar and he did not hesitate to trip his knee as he fell sideways and then he let himself fall forward.
The creature bit a few strands of his hair and it was forced to appear before him as it was already in the air. That was a sure kill attack but he had survived it.
Lyren did not waste time as he stood up and listened to the panther land before him a meter in front.
He swung his sword immediately but the panther realizing it could not turn leapt forward and increased the distance between them as his sword struck the ground.
Lyren lifted the sword again as he thought of what had just transpired. The creature was moving faster and the time the sound reached his ears, it was already on to him.
This made him even more desperately in need for his mind's eye. If only he could open it. Lyren calmed himself down as he realized that he was placing his victory to the fact whether he could open the eye or not.
He had hurt the beast already in the paw and it was obviously not that fast even if it decided to go all out.
Also, it had dawned that it was in the eighth stage and here he was desperately fighting it in the seventh stage. He took in a deep breath and as he did so, an unprecedented calm took over him.
He then slowly opened his eyes and to his surprise, he could actually make out the shadows and trees.
He could see the dark figure which was actually the creature looking at him. Their eyes made contact and the creature knew that he could now see it.
Lyren now had his ears and also the eyes though barely. His chances of survival had increased marginally.
The panther moved and Lyren was unable to keep up with it as it seemed to blend int the darkness. He chuckled at himself for thinking that he had an advantage.
What use were they if they could not keep up? He berated himself as his focus shifted to his ears and he smiled.
He had just found a weakness.
He could hear a single step from the panther and that was obviously from the hurt foot. This actually changed the flow of the battle instantly.
It was in pain and it did not want to increase it by using the too much. Lyren quickly swung the sword towards the direction it was coming from and when their eyes made contact, he could actually tell the surprise it had.
The panther halted and started taking steps back. It was a smart creature and if he could predict its move, it was not ready to dive head on into danger. He had scratched its neck and it was obvious to it that he could hurt it.
Lyren grinned when he saw this. A cautious creature like this was definitely uncertain whether to attack.
That was a huge advantage for Lyren who turned towards the creature and started performing the first sword.
He did the first swing and then the second and third. The panther watched the three swings wondering why he was swinging in the air.
But that did not last long. It was a beast of the wilderness and it could fell its danger sense kick in and it knew that the boy ought to not finish whatever he was doing.
It was already charging and at the sixth swing, it had a change in mind because the danger it felt did not allow it to charge anymore.
Its tail dropped instantly and it turned back ready to run for its life. Its eyes had sunk and fear took over it. Its fur was on edge as it made huge strides running away.
"Like I'd let you!"
Lyren finished the last swing and flames had already lit up on his sword and as he swung the sword, his sword did not miss the target and he appeared in front of the panther.
His sword had hit the ground once again forming a small crater and burning some grass.
The panther was confused when it saw him standing before it. It did not understand why and how he had passed it when it was obvious that it was the faster of the two.
It had a bad feeling but it quickly turned sideways ready to change course but it never got to turn as one of its halves arched and fell as the other half fell on the other side.
Its blood pooled on it and its eyes kept saying that it was running away from a danger. Lyren did not have to turn back in order to know that the creature was dead and he took in a deep breath and suddenly, he stopped.
What happened?