Chapter 202 - 202)Like Water

"He can...see through the dark...?"

"No it can't be, that's absurd. Is it some technology? Perhaps a serum that allows him to do so? I'm sure one of the other families is proficient in things like that," Basile theorized as sweat continued to drip down his forehead.

"We may just be falling for his bluff...it might just turn out to be a huge coincidence, we might've just gotten his weakness wrong....regardless I don't think it should matter, we can think about this later, for now, put an end to him. Make sure he doesn't get out of this place alive," their father said before he got up from his seat and walked deeper into the darkness.

"....Yes father," Basile replied as he gulped. He wasn't afraid of fighting Luke, but the thought that someone could see through the dark was absurd, scary even. It was funny to see Basile worry about something inhumane especially considering his monstrous strength that in no way could be considered human.

He turned back and stepped into the small circle of light, Elena and Luke were standing face to face, according to Basile, Elena was a dangerous opponent. She was ruthless and her proficiency over her techniques made her deadly. Every move was accurate and sharp, she always had a counter for nearly every move that her opponent made.

It was the result of years and years of ruthless practice, she practiced the same moves thousands of times, sparred with opponents who were years older than her, and much more physically gifted. More than brute force, she focused on exact movements and battle smartness. Elena would use her opponent's mistakes or their weight, anything that can be seen as a weakness would be blindly exploited.

"You should know I'm not the same as Arthur, there's nothing you can say or do that'll make me spare you. If you die here, then Player Night is no more. Don't think of me as cruel, these are but the consequences of your actions," Elena commented as she took her stance. It was a backward stance suggesting that she wasn't someone who enjoyed making the first move, or perhaps she was mocking Luke's ability and inviting him to make the first move.

"Hmm? Okay sure why not," Luke said as he looked at her stance. Both of their fighting styles were opposite in nature, Elena depended upon her martial arts that she spent years and years refining, while Luke simply followed his internal flow and stuck to his instincts. Of course, it wasn't as if his moves were all over the place, it was just that Luke never followed any known technique. He was like water, that flowed naturally.

As soon as he replied to her stance, Luke made a slight hop before shooting forward towards her. One of the biggest advantages he had over her was the fact that everything in the room was bright and clear, whereas Elena was fighting under dim lighting.

He stuck to his usual move, as soon as he closed the distance, Luke launched his right leg to her face, and to his surprise, Elena's hand swiftly deflected it away. However, she wasn't done, it was a good chance to strike, while his leg was in the air, he wouldn't have much room to move or dodge, at least that was what she assumed. She charged up her right hand and shot it forward, aiming for his stomach.

'Woah,' Luke thought as he could see the energy in her move towards her right hand. The most important thing to remember in a fight is to never casually underestimate your opponent. However, it wasn't particularly Elena's fault as she crossed out every move that was humanly possible. As her hand shot towards his stomach, she felt something. It was her body warning her of some danger. Unfortunately, it was too late, while Luke's right leg was still mid-air, his entire body leaned towards the right as he put all his force into his other leg.

*BHAAAT*

Before Elena's hand could touch his abdomen, Luke's leg landed on her shoulder, sending her flying towards the wall. The sound of her crashing into the wall was loud. Luke recognized her ability to fight, she was definitely one of the strongest opponents he faced, just one look at her technique was enough to know that.

"What...." Basile stuttered as he looked at Elena and Luke. It wouldn't be surprising if one of the Cirillo's or anyone else like them did that, what surprised him was the fact that someone he considered a normal citizen who knew a bit of martial arts was able to pull off such a move.

"Wow, that's some reflexes you have there," Luke commented as he looked in her direction. "You somehow managed to pull your hand back and block it huh? Nice," he continued as he massaged his chin, his leg was slightly bruised, but it was nothing he couldn't bear.

"Who....the fck....are you...?" Elena asked as she dusted off the clothes, she was furious, more so at herself for casually accepting the fact that there was no way he could pull of such a move. "And why do you know how to do that...?" she continued as she appeared in front of him.

"Me? I'm Luke Stone? I'm not sure what you mean, but that's quite the deep question....just who am I? Who is anyone for that matter?" Luke thought as he looked up towards the ceiling, "wow way to trigger my existential crisis," he said as he put both his hands on his hips.

"Guess I'll just beat it out of you then," Elena replied as she took a fighting stance, it was different from before, this time she was on the offensive. However, to Luke, an anime fanatic, the stance resembled that of a bushy-browed young man who relied only on his martial arts.

"Woah you watch anime as well? Wait if that's the case, I'll do the other one," Luke said as he stood with both his hands crossed, his chin slightly faced up as he looked at her. To Elena, who either trained or worked nearly all the time, it wasn't amusing in the slightest to see someone mock her in such a way.

"Speak with your fists!" she dashed forward, her right-hand shot towards Luke's face, who barely dodged it, however, that was only the beginning, as soon as she realized her hand didn't connect, she used the elbow of the same hand, while it did catch him off guard, it wasn't something he couldn't handle, he diverted the force of the elbow by grabbing her hand and pushing her aside.

The fight continued for multiple minutes, and all the time Luke remained on the defensive, he either dodged or negated her attacks. However, there was one instance where he attacked and that was to knock out Arthur, who according to Luke, very rudely interrupted his playtime with Elena.

"Stop playing around!!" Elena growled as she backed away from him. Right next to her was Arthur's unconscious body, who now seemed to be slightly drooling in his slumber. "Tch," she was frustrated. After all, she was Elena Richardson, she belonged to the Richardson family and was one of the acting heads. For the head of the family to be mocked in such a way was a disgrace to not only her but her entire family.

"Ah! So you admit it was playtime," Luke exclaimed, he was completely calm and composed. In truth, Luke wasn't having that much of an easy time. He chose to go on the defensive simply because it was safer. He knew the damage that would be done if even one of her strikes connected. It was an annoying match-up for Elena. She was someone who relied on the opponent's technique and exploited the gaps in it. However, Luke used a technique that never existed, in short, he was the only one on earth who was capable of using it.

Besides his technique, Luke's very nature opposed that of Elena's. He was more fluid and unpredictable. He was like water to her refined and sharpened blade. No matter how many times water was cut, it would simply reform, either around the weapon or naturally.

"Argh.....screw it! Basile, help me out here! Let's fight together this once, we can settle it for good," Elena said as she looked at him standing quietly in the side. He was a spectator until then, while it usually bored him, it was the first time he was astonished. It wasn't as if Elena lost, but it was just that she couldn't win.

"..." he thought about it for a second before accepting her request. While it did hurt his pride slightly, it also enraged him. An unbreakable hammer was arguably a better weapon to go against water, at least compared to a blade. "No....."

"What!! But why?!!" Elena asked, she was confused as to what he meant, this was an important task for both of them, so why would he risk it?

"I'll do it myself, so step aside and watch," Basile said as he walked forward. The smile on his face grew wider and wider as the vision of him bashing Luke's face was something he looked forward to. He was slightly ashamed, Basile realized that for a second he doubted himself, which simply went against his entire nature.

"Hoh? You're approaching me??" Luke asked as he saw his best friend's brother walk towards him.