Lionel’s opponent charged at him, but he leaped into the air, avoiding the attack. As his opponent made a U-turn, Lionel pounced on them and drove his knees into the enemy’s back. He then transitioned into an arm bar, applying immense pressure on his opponent.
“Here’s information on the enemy,” Kei said, bringing out a tablet.
Lionel’s opponent was Bart, a member of the special forces unit within the organization, and known for his impressive physical fighting skills. Bart overpowered Lionel and slammed him into the floor before striking him in the face with quick punches. The hero countered by grabbing Bart’s fist and twisted his arm. He swept Bart’s leg before launching himself into the man’s stomach with a standing moonsault.
“Feline scum,” Bart shouted as Lionel pummeled him with punches.
Lionel didn’t react to his insult and hurled Bart into the wall before dropkicking him. He lifted Bart up and decimated the man with a powerful vertical suplex. The hero strapped on steel knuckles and hauled Bart back up. Bart, still woozy, stumbled around in confusion. With one uppercut, Lionel knocked the knight unconscious.
“He’s fast for someone who has that much strength. Athletic too. He could pull this off,” Michael complimented.
Lionel dragged Bart back to the wall and then punched him in the stomach. The knight spat out blood and slumped against the wall. The floor beneath Bart opened up and he fell into it. Didn’t see that coming. Lionel removed his knuckles and waited for his next opponent.
“So that’s his next opponent,” Kei remarked, tapping her tablet.
His next opponent was Samuel, a seasoned mage with fifteen years experience. He wore knight’s armor as well. Two hunting knives were strapped to his belt and a shoulder strap full of small daggers.
“Disposed of Bart already? He was a third-rate knight with trash skills. Never liked him. You will not defeat someone as great as me. You’re hotheaded and temperamental. It’s an easy victory for me,” Samuel provoked Lionel.
Lionel only yawned as Samuel continued insulting him. When Samuel finished, Lionel made the first move. He wrapped his arms around Samuel’s waist and suplexed him before stomping on his chest. The mage rolled away from Lionel’s next attack, shock on his face. Lionel swung his fist but Samuel blocked it with a barrier. Samuel hurled two daggers, flames enveloping them. Lionel, wearing his steel knuckles again, deflected them. He back-flipped away as the projectiles exploded.
Samuel threw a cloak over himself and vanished. Lionel’s eyes narrowed. Kei closed her eyes and pointed at Lionel’s backside. The hero’s ears twitched, and he grasped something, tightening his grip. Samuel appeared and gasped for air. Lionel then choke-slammed his opponent and the ground beneath him cracked upon impact. S***, he was a completely different fighter than before.
The mage glared at Lionel with contempt before slashing him with his hunting knives. The hero parried Samuel’s next knife slash as his feline tail appeared. Samuel tried attacking Lionel’s backside, but Lionel whipped his tail, smacking Samuel’s face. Lionel spun and speared Samuel into the ground. His tail wrapped around Samuel’s leg as he locked in a submission.
“How dare you sully me with your hands?” Samuel broke free of Lionel’s submission and shot him a disgusted look.
Samuel cornered Lionel near a wall but the feline hero demonstrated his athleticism by bounding off the wall. He executed a well- timed neckbreaker, dropping the knight. The mage rolled away and hurled more daggers. Two struck Lionel in the shoulder and a sharp crackle occurred. Lionel dropped to his knees, unable to move. Daggers layered with paralysis? That was similar to Jen’s arrows. Samuel assaulted Lionel, pounding him in the face, and slashed his legs multiple times.
After the paralysis wore off, Lionel crawled away, coughing up blood. Samuel dived after him, but the feline hero kicked upward, knocking Samuel down. The mage hurled more daggers but Lionel knocked away with his steel knuckles again. They exploded around him but Lionel avoided all of them. There were only four more daggers remaining on his shoulder strap.
Samuel created another barrier but Lionel smashed through it. He tore off the man’s strap containing his knives and hurled it across the battlefield. Lionel lifted Samuel up into the air and planted him onto his right knee. The feline jumped up and landed on the man’s chest with both feet.
“It’s almost over,” Kisai remarked.
“How can you tell?” I questioned.
“Samuel’s magic is decreasing in power. He can’t control his magic flow anymore. Lionel targeted all the critical points with his attacks. I thought Lionel was a pure tank but someone’s taught him some new tricks,” Kisai explained.
“Your eyes look dry, Jin,” Kei observed.
Kisai removed his contacts and put on a pair of glasses. A golden glow appeared around Lionel. He hauled Samuel up by the legs and spun him around five times. He released him and sent Samuel into the wall. The hero rammed his right shoulder into Samuel and stole his daggers. With a loud roar, Lionel stabbed Samuel’s shoulders and shoved his head into the wall. A swirling vortex appeared and sucked Samuel into it. The broken wall returned to its original state.
“Can he beat the final person?” Kei moved closer to the panel separating us and Lionel.
“Depends on who it is,” Kisai answered, approaching the panel for a closer look.
Lionel ripped off the bottom half of his shirt and wrapped it around his wounds. The battlefield turned dark and then a spotlight focused on Lionel. His ears twitched and his tail swished around. I had a bad feeling about this.
“Nothing’s coming up on your screen,” Michael said, glancing over at Kei’s tablet.
“That’s strange,” Kei responded, holding her device up in the air.
Another spotlight illuminated Lionel’s final opponent. They wore a mask covering their entire head. Lionel’s eyes sharpened, staring at the mysterious person.
“Still nothing showing up. Just who is this guy?” Michael’s face pressed up against the panel.
The battlefield returned to its normal lighting. The masked person wore a robe, and heavy thumping noises accompanied each of their steps. Lionel’s entire body tensed up. Despite that, he dashed straight toward the mage but his opponent’s body turned transparent. Lionel ran right through him and stopped himself before crashing into the wall.
When Lionel turned around, the mage raised his hands in the air and lightning bolts shot toward the feline hero. It struck him and a large cut appeared on his left arm. The mage floated towards him. Lionel raised his fist but fell down as a sharp piece of rock pierced his injured knee from the previous fight.
“Shh!” they placed their left finger on their mouth.
They placed their hand on Lionel’s injured knee and the hero howled in pain. After releasing Lionel, they floated away and observed from a distance. A crimson bite mark appeared on Lionel’s knees and pulsated with a tinged red. The hero wheezed and clutched his leg.
“F***,” Kisai commented, concern on his face.
“What is that thing?” Lionel struggled to get back up.
“It’s a curse mark. It drains Lionel’s energy and transfers it over to the opponent. Only way to get rid of it is do enough damage to the original caster or wait it out,” Kisai revealed.
Lionel’s breathing finally returned to normal and he roared. Steel knee braces covered his legs and arm. In addition, spikes now lined his tail.
“Oh, he powered up!” Ichaival exclaimed, shaking Champ’s shoulder.
The robed individual floated further up into the air. A large leopard and lion appeared next to Lionel. The beasts leaped upward, mouths opened and fangs ready to sink into Lionel’s opponent. The mage zigzagged around and avoided the animals.
“That won’t work,” Lionel said with a cough.
The leopard and lion sprinted into the air, resuming their chase of the masked enemy. Well, they were magical beings after all, of course they could fly! The masked person fired magical projectiles but Lionel’s beasts avoided them. Eventually, both animals reached their target and bit them. Lionel’s opponent let out a stifled scream and plummeted down to the ground. Lionel limped forward as the mage set off an explosion, destroying the leopard and lion.
Lionel slashed his opponent in the stomach with his steel claws. They coughed up blood and then a chain shot out from underneath their sleeves. It wrapped around Lionel’s legs and sent him into to the floor face first. Lionel freed himself with one slash of his claws before stabbing his opponent in the stomach again.
They grasped their stomach and snapped their finger. Small sparkles of light appeared around Lionel’s leg wound before floating back to the mage. Their stomach wound vanished and he turned transparent once more. Lionel’s claw scraped against the wall, leaving gash marks. They appeared behind Lionel and fired a magic beam point blank. The man’s tail shot upward and deflected the the attack. Lionel turned around and released the steel claws on his knuckles at the masked person as projectiles. They knocked Lionel’s steel claws and blasted Lionel in the face with magic. Even though he was blinded, Lionel continued his assault, relying on his hearing now.
The masked opponent lifted Lionel into the air and powerbombed him. Flames enveloped Lionel’s body and burned the hero. Lionel’s eyes turned orange and the flames vanished from his body. The two exchanged punches before Lionel struck the masked individual with his tail. The mage grabbed his tail and swung him around before releasing him into the wall.
Lionel clutched his head after rising from the rumble of the broken wall. The masked person fired more magical blasts, but Lionel ducked, and grabbed them by the waist for a suplex.
“It’s time to end this!” Lionel shouted.
They created a barrier but it was destroyed instantly by Lionel’s fierce and swift kicks. The hero became a blur as he rained down punches on the masked individual. I lost count how many times he punched him when the barrage finally ended. Lionel’s loud roar afterwards shattered their mask, revealing a now unconscious man underneath it.
“You recognize him?” I pointed at the unmasked person.
“Never seen him before,” Kisai replied.
“That’s a protege of the guild knight leader. What’s he doing here?” Michael recognized him.
“A sacrifice,” Kei replied.
Lionel delivered the finishing blow, dropping his elbow down onto the knight guild member’s chest. The thick panel of glass shattered and then the set of stairs from before appeared in the distance.
“We can proceed,” Kei announced.
The curse on Lionel’s leg vanished but he was in significant pain. Kei tapped Lionel’s forehead.
“He has a fever,” Kei informed us.
“I’ll stay behind. Go on ahead,” Lionel urged.
“Actually that won’t be necessary. It’s time for this mirage to finally end!” Kisai shook his head as he pointed at the set of stairs.
