Noah closed in swiftly, his expression as sharp and unforgiving as the gleaming spear in his hand.
His foot shot forward in a sudden uppercut kick, catching Amy square in the chest.
The impact was brutal, sending her stumbling back. She barely managed to steady herself, groaning as she coughed.
Her breath came out in short, painful gasps, each one feeling like she was inhaling razor blades.
The thick, purple gas continued to swirl around her, hazy and cloying.
She tried to clear her head, forcing herself to focus.
"It has to be the gas... messing with my mind."
She muttered through gritted teeth.
She felt herself weakening, her senses dulled as her vision blurred at the edges.
But before she could finish gathering her thoughts, Noah was already upon her, his spear raised high, his intent deadly clear.
With a resounding clash, she blocked the strike just in time, her own weapon formed from hardened earth.
It was a sword forged through her earth element magic, its weight and solidity offering a temporary but strong shield against Noah's onslaught.
Yet the pain in her throat from the ice shard was agonizing, shooting through her neck each time she tried to draw breath.
She struggled to stand tall, inhaling and exhaling in shallow gasps, but each breath felt like it was clawing at her insides.
"He knew exactly what he was doing... by striking my throat..."
She thought, a flicker of rage cutting through the pain.
She clenched her jaw, fighting the urge to cough again, knowing that each gasp only worsened her condition.
Her mind raced, calculating her rapidly diminishing stamina.
Her usual speed of recovery was all but halved by this infernal wound.
She knew she couldn't afford to lose control over her breathing now, or it would all be over.
Noah stepped back, raising two fingers.
Thin tendrils of mist emanated from his hand as his fingers pointed directly at her.
Before she could react, another shard of ice shot forward, piercing the flesh of her thigh.
Amy bit back a scream, feeling the cold, piercing agony sink deep into her muscle, making her leg tremble.
"Damn it!"
{Blessing of the Elemental Heart: Vitality and Strength Increased!}
A burst of power surged through her, and with a single thought, the earth sword shifted in her grip, lengthening into a spear of her own.
She spun it with precision and struck forward, meeting Noah's spear with equal strength.
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The two spears locked in a deadly dance, the clash of rock and ice echoing down the darkened hall as they pressed forward with equally unyielding strength.
But Noah didn't flinch or shift his stance.
With one powerful thrust, he broke through her defenses, the tip of his spear barely grazing her shoulder.
Amy hissed in pain as she felt her blood trickling down her arm, but she didn't falter.
Her spear morphed again, transforming into a double-edged axe.
She swung it wide, aiming low in a move that forced Noah to step back and brace against her relentless strikes.
Noah's expression remained eerily still as he maneuvered his ice spear with startling efficiency.
He struck with only two moves: a sweeping arc to the left, then a follow-through thrust.
Over and over, he repeated this pattern, as if taunting her with the simplicity of his techniques.
Each time he struck, Amy had to summon her strength, her breaths shallow and pained.
"Does he take me for a joke?"
She muttered to herself, anger boiling beneath her skin.
"I'll make him regret looking down on me."
She activated another blessing, her system ringing in her ears.
{Ding!}
{Blessing of the Flame Tempest: Fire Attribute Increased!}
The earth in her hand reshaped itself once more, this time into a slender, curved blade crackling with fire.
She lunged forward with a speed fueled by both rage and power, slashing at him with a swift series of fiery strikes, each one growing faster than the last.
Noah blocked every attempt, his movements as controlled as before.
His eyes a chilling contrast of bright yellow and deep, malevolent purple.
Each strike met the same two-patterned response from him.
And each time he deflected her, a cold determination grew in his gaze.