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Tymon and Avarice continued their heated battle on the desert ground; this benefited them both since their abilities could be spread across the ground beneath their feet. Tymon was wounded all over by Avarice's golden sword. He had discovered that Avarice could also use it to shoot out fast shards of gold unpredictably. This caught him off guard multiple times as he tried to block and parry Avarice's strikes.
He'd also learned the hard way about the sword's ability to extend into a whip-like weapon. The stiff blade snapped with unforeseen flexibility, cutting Tymon across the cheek. If he blocked with his arm in anticipation, it curved to his legs at the last second. If he protected his center, the blade whipped around him and carved into his back.
This disoriented his battle sense. He had to fight the instinct to guard where he thought the attack would land.
Tymon could tell Avarice found this amusing until he saw his blade begin to chip. Tymon had focused all of his Last Breath to mix with his aura with high intensity. It wasn't as potent as when he only used it for Black Fists, but after so many strikes, the effects finally began to take place. If Avarice continued to attack him, his weapon would have shattered. Tymon only had to withstand the onslaught.
But Avarice wasn't willing to take that gamble. Tymon observed as Avarice examined his blade warily. Still, he shifted his footing, ready to attempt to dodge, not wanting to let his guard down.
What was once entertaining for Avarice was becoming risky. Tymon knew Avarice was starting to get the sense of that.
"It's been fun. I admit you've gotten stronger—stronger than I anticipated—but it's time I end this," Avarice declared in a less joking tone. He tried to gather enough energy to transform again, but Tymon lunged at him ferociously and pressed him harder, refusing to grant him a moment to gather power.
Avarice was forced back as he defended. He grunted in annoyance.
"Desperation doesn't suit you."
In the midst of being pushed back, he tried to gain distance again, but Tymon kept him close and attacked from all sides with his claws and shadows. Avarice winced as one of Tymon's claws broke through a piece of Avarice's armor and left a trail of red blood as it slashed his chest.
Tymon was satisfied to see that none of Avarice's gold was holding up anymore. Even the sword Avarice was so proud of appeared severely cracked as he rained down blow after blow while pushing Avarice across the desert.
Avarice's eyes went wide. Finally, the golden blade shattered before them with a small burst of energy. Tymon could see Avarice's lab back in view in their path. He ended his flurry with a powerful kick to Avarice's stomach and sent him skipping across part of the ground, kicking up a dust cloud trail until he crashed into the mostly destroyed building.
Tymon blurred over to stand over Avarice, who was breathing heavily as he lay on the floor. Oddly, he was still smiling, even as his will over the gold around him weakened to the point that it lost its shape and trickled to the floor.
Finally...was all that came to mind as Tymon readied a claw and struck down at Avarice's face without hesitation.
Avarice caught it with both hands in resistance; however, he proved too weak to resist fully and had to maneuver Tymon's hand to the side as it ruptured the metal floor, preventing Tymon from grasping his face.
Tymon felt his hand get stuck within the flooring and tried to force it free, but Avarice's grip was relentless as Tymon watched him cling to his arm. Then, his free hand was melded into a golden restraint that erupted from the floor. As a result, Tymon raked his buried claw across the floor instead. He tore across the metal floor, trying to get it free so he could use it to maul Avarice, but ended up moving Avarice's entire body along the path as well.
"Who's desperate now?" Tymon said, pointing out the state Avarice was in. Then he noticed something shimmer through the gash he'd just created in the floor. Squinting into the darkness, his wolfish vision revealed an underground bunker filled with bombs, similar to the one he found beneath Base D.
"Is that..." He looked at Avarice expectedly.
Avarice smirked.
"You don't think I'm going to tell you everything, do you? I want some things to be a surprise," he laughed.
Tymon grew angrier. Everything about Avarice filled him with murderous rage, and he couldn't stand his facetious attitude.
"Fine. I'll go see for myself once you're dead." Tymon grumbled as he finally raised his fist out of the floor while simultaneously breaking his other hand free of restraint.
Avarice manifested a multi-layer shield of gold like before, but Tymon was used to his gold now. He smashed his Black Fists through the shields and ran one of his claws into Avarice's chest.
Avarice's expression was shocked initially, but as Tymon watched, he slowly laughed. Tymon saw gold spread from the wound, protecting him from the effects of his decaying power.
He laughs even in this situation...Tymon fumed. The dark clouds swirled overhead to match Tymon's mood.
"What's so funny? I can still kill you despite the gold."
"I can see it in your eyes," Avarice said through pained laughter.
"See what?"
He coughed up dark red blood before continuing, "Oh, it's been so long since my heart has raced this way—since I've felt adrenaline pumping through my veins. You all surprise me. The human has some real power now; you've all somehow gained additional power of your own, and now, I'm being defeated by you..."
"Hahhh," he exhaled before wincing from the pain of doing so. "Tell me, are you satisfied? Was this cathartic for you? You finally managed to take me down, after all," he spread his arms across the floor to emphasize his condition.
"It doesn't, does it? I can see it in your eyes. It's frustrating for you to know that it won't last. That you can never truly kill me for what I've done to you. That even this small victory was me at merely a fraction of my power that you, at your best, only barely have an edge against. That you will never truly close the gap between us..."
Tymon grunted and wrapped his hand that was plunged into Avarice's chest cavity around his beating heart, causing Avarice to cough up more dark blood as sweat ran down his face. He was in pain. Tymon liked that.
Avarice grabbed Tymon's wrist in a futile attempt of resistance but continued to talk.
"St-Still, after..." Avarice swallowed the blood that was rising in his throat. "After sensing how much you've all changed, I actually tried toward the end there. I wanted to finish you and reassure my children that we're still superior...ha, I suppose I'll have to do better in the next round."
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