The Broken Halo

“I am Honourable Sonya, and I can do whatever I want. Do not lecture me little kitty.”

Simon’s right eye twitched at her words, and he blamed himself for taking this runt seriously.

’Yeah. I’m definitely using my demonic energy against her.’

His feet shifted as he was about to charge forward, but Sonya suddenly smirked beneath her mask.

Simon’s instincts screamed.

Boom!

The ground beneath him exploded upward again, and three thick stone pillars erupted from below simultaneously.

Simon immediately kicked one pillar sideways with his legs glowing with a dark emerald-orange light, then he twisted his body in midair to avoid the second.

The first pillar shattered into pieces, and the third pillar grazed his shoulder and tore part of his sleeve apart.

Before he could fully recover…

Tap

Sonya lightly stomped again.

The shattered debris around Simon suddenly floated upward, then they shot toward him like bullets.

Simon’s eyes flashed coldly, and his demonic energy surged through his arms as he punched rapidly.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

Stone fragments exploded apart one after another.

Dust filled the battlefield.

And from within the dust, Sonya’s voice echoed.

“Fucking hell. Your punches are so rigid and straight. No wonder master said you punch like a swordsman.”

Simon’s eyes narrowed.

A fist suddenly burst through the dust cloud, and Simon tilted his head sideways.

Whoosh!

The punch barely missed his nose.

But Sonya spun immediately, the earth mound she was using to level her height with Simon’s crumbled and her small leg whipped toward his knee.

Simon jumped and the kick swept beneath him.

Crack!

The ground behind him exploded apart from the pressure alone.

Simon landed and countered instantly.

His fist shot toward Sonya’s face in a perfectly straight line as she was falling to the ground.

Fast

Precise

And deadly.

Sonya tilted her head slightly.

The punch missed by less than an inch.

Then she laughed as she landed on the floor.

“There it is again.”

Her hand slapped his wrist aside.

“You keep punching like you’re trying to stab somebody with a sword!”

“Don’t you have claws little kitty?! You have the bloodline of a beast!”

“Use it! Stop fighting like a rigid swordsman and be wild like the beast that you are!”

Simon’s gaze was calm despite her words, and he immediately followed with an elbow strike toward her temple.

Sonya ducked beneath it effortlessly.

Too effortlessly in fact.

She moved before the attack fully came.

No…

That was wrong…

She felt it.

Through the ground.

Through the tension of his muscles.

Through the shifting of his weights.

Simon’s eyes flickered slightly.

’Tch. She’s beginning to get into it. Fighting a Kragh is like fighting a demon that can see the future but all they use is vibrations.’

’… So annoying.’

Sonya stomped once more just as he was about to continue his chain of attacks.

Bang

The ground beneath Simon softened instantly and became comparable to sand.

His foot sank slightly, and his balance shifted for half a second before he was able to correct it.

But that half second was enough.

Sonya appeared directly in front of him, and her tiny fist buried itself into his stomach.

Boom!

Simon’s eyes widened slightly.

The impact folded his body forward, and before he could recover…

Another punch followed.

Then another.

Then another.

Then another.

Till her fists became a blur.

Unlike Simon’s straight and decisive attacks, Sonya’s punches flowed endlessly into one another.

The power behind each punch was explosive and compact, and Simon was truly in a pickle because Sonya was in a range he was not comfortable with.

She already knew his weakness due to the fact that his foundation was that of a swordsman, and that was fighting in short range.

He was fast, but she was also very fast, so all he could do was block and sometimes dodge a punch.

But his bones and flesh were screaming in pain.

Every movement of hers connected naturally into the next, and she attacked like the earth itself.

Her attacks were relentless, heavy, and unstoppable.

Bam!

Bam!

Bam!

Simon blocks two strikes and dodged another, but a fourth punch slammed into his shoulder.

Crack

Pain shot through his arm and the sound of his bone breaking echoed in his ears.

Sonya grinned viciously.

“What’s wrong little kitty? Your body can’t keep up?”

And this was another problem Simon was having.

Because Sonya was reading every single movement of his and was also predicting them, his reflexes were not so efficient against her and at such close distances.

Though he had a few disadvantages and was not using everything he had because he wanted to learn and because this was not a life or death battle, he still had a lot of experience… more experience than the runt.

He suddenly grabbed her wrist after dodging it.

Sonya blinked.

Then Simon yanked her toward himself while throwing a punch at her chest.

It was a clean counter and a very experienced one at that.

But Sonya smirked.

“Smart. But you still-”

Boom!

The ground beneath her feet erupted upward, and the sudden force launched her body over Simon’s punch entirely.

She flipped over him midair, her lips curling into a smile beneath her mask.

“… You still cannot defeat this honourable.”

Then…

Wham!

Both feet slammed into Simon’s back, and he stumbled forward, nearly falling to the ground.

Sonya landed lightly behind him.

“You know what your problem is?” she asked casually.

Simon turned calmly.

“You talk too much?”

Sonya chuckled, then she rolled her shoulders.

“Your problem is that you think fighting is about winning perfectly, taking as very little risk as possible while hoping to achieve the best result.”

Simon remained silent.

Sonya pointed at him.

“Maybe it might work if you were using a sword, but brawlers always take risks. Only a fool, a mad man, and a risk taker would choose to fight somebody with a sword, axe, hammer, spear, or whatever with their fucking bare hands.”

“So, if you think you can become a brawler by taking very little risks, then you’re not cut out to be a brawler.”

She shook her head.

“Stop thinking so much during battle, and stop making every movement of yours to feel calculated.”

“Be fucking wild!”

Bang

She stomped lightly, but tiny cracks spread beneath her feet.

“A real brawler overwhelms.”

Boom!

She vanished again.

This time, Simon did not retreat.

The moment she entered his range, he attacked first.

A straight jab toward her throat.

A low kick toward her ankle.

An elbow immediately afterward.

He was fast, efficient, and ruthless, but there was a tinge of wildness to his attacks that was not present before.

Sonya’s eyes widened slightly behind her mask.

Then she grinned.

“Better! Entertain this honourable!”