A red mist started spreading around Anna"s clones. The short man smelt a sweet aroma in the air, his senses slowly becoming dull. He tried to focus, but the four clones who circled around him were disrupting his thoughts too much. Biting his tongue, he cleared his mind. Just at that moment, one of the clones started to close the distance between them, attacking him from behind."Stone Skin!"
His body started glowing and emitting yellow light. He was using his energy to create a barrier around himself, close to his own body. It was like an extra skin. Anna slashed with her nails but wasn"t able to pierce through the barrier.
"OOU!"
A small cry was heard from the man. He slashed with his broadsword backward, in the direction from which the attack came. Anna wasn"t able to dodge that attack and the sword slashed through her. Strange enough, the man didn"t feel any resistance. "It must be a clone, then", he thought.
"Let"s see how much you can play this game. Once I detect who the real one is, this battle will be over." He gritted his teeth and waited for the next attack. That situation just p.i.s.sed him off. He hated to be on the defensive side.
"Hehe, I"m waiting for the moment when you are able to touch me. But can you afford to do it? You might not be able to stop yourself after that." The voice was so nice to be heard, the clones in front of him started dancing while still circling around, their clothes fluttering a bit. It was really a tempting scene. The man gulped and shook his head, trying to stay calm.
"You demon, I"ll gonna make you my pet, not my slave, and will play with you every day until I am tired of you! Then I"ll sell you to some brothel, that"s what you are for, aren"t you?" The man shouted and finally moved forward, attacking one of the clones. The two clones from his left and right started approaching him as well, ready to attack.
"WHIRLWIND!"
With that shout, the man"s body started spinning, a small tornado was created from the sudden acceleration and all the clones were pushed back, the sword slashing through their bodies. After three full circles on the spot, the man finally stopped and looked at his surroundings. His lips started twitching.
Anna"s four clones were once again surrounding him. There wasn"t a single wound on them. They kept a five meters radius around him.
"You are really a brute one, aren"t you? It seems like no one ever taught you how to treat a woman! Don"t worry, I"ll teach you today." The four clones" voices echoed, they licked their lips and started dancing around him again. The red mist started to condense more and more.
"I don"t believe I can"t wound you!" The man slashed at his leg, making a small wound to keep himself sober. That mist just messed up his awareness. He focused once again and prepared for the next attack.
***
The short man finally shot the chains forward, they started ricocheting on the walls and the statues of the men in the corridor, finally getting at Lyse from both of her sides. They were coming at exactly the same time.
Lyse pointed with the palms of her hands, her fingers spread. Magic energy gathered for a brief second on them and icicles shot out, parrying the chains.
"Not so easy!" She heard the cry of her opponent and the chains once again started moving in her direction, the fire on them getting stronger. More icicles started shooting from her hands, but she wasn"t able to parry again. The chains finally managed to hit her. The barrier around her trembled once again.
The chains bounced off from the barrier and the fire started flickering on them. They shot again at the barrier. Once more Lyse wasn"t able to parry and a small crack was finally made in the barrier around her.
"FREEZE!"
With her shout, the barrier repaired itself and the fire on the chains was extinguished. The chains lost their momentum and fell on the ground.
The short man looked at this scene with shocked eyes. Did she really have so much power? He forgot even to move at that moment. He shook his head and once more looked forward, only to see the icicles just a meter away from him.
"Aargh!"
With that shout, his energy burst out of him, making the barrier around him even stronger. At the same time, he pulled the chains back in his direction.
"Psst!"
"Thud!"
Four of the five icicles were melted even before they could reach him, but the last one managed to make a wound on his left leg. Sweat started pouring from his forehead from the pain, but he greeted his teeth, managing to suppress his cry.
"You really are a troublesome opponent." He barely said that, and once again icicles flew in his direction. The chains had finally returned to him and he started spinning them again, fully defending against the attack.
Lyse still didn"t say anything. She focused on attacking and defending, her movements more and more precise. She wasn"t like her normal self anymore. She was more like a machine, fixated on the task before her. Her gaze was indifferent.