NOVPUBRain was starting to reconsider his life choices and his goals… getting stronger was fine and all, but it was mentally exhausting to come up with Battle plans to face the people he loved.
As a guy, Rain could understand that punching another man in a ring and forgetting soon afterward was possible. Still, the same thing was very difficult against a woman. He could punch his father with no problem, but hitting the women in his family… just the idea left a bad taste in his mouth.
"I guess I will just employ a Rocky strategy," Rain thought. "Let her punch me and wait that only that will make her lose somehow. I am on the right path to becoming a full-blown masochist, after all."
Before long, Rain and Seara were called to the center of the ring, and then they assumed their fighting stances. Rain wondered if he should joke around a bit to dispel that kind of tense atmosphere, but he didn't want to disrespect Seara's focus and intention.
"Begin!" Esmeralda shouted.
Usually, the matches would start pretty intensely as the sign was given, but Seara just took some slow steps toward Rain with her arms raised… her stance was a bit weird. It seemed like a grappling stance since her arms were raised and far apart from each other, but Seara was a bit short of managing to pin down Rain.
All of a sudden, Seara charged in after she strengthened her arms. In the next moment, she trusted them forward. Even though Rain was still out of her reach, he still felt the urge to move his head to the side, and that truly helped him… in the next moment, he felt a tinge of pain on his cheek… a line appeared there and began to bleed.
"Is this the same thing that Jori used?" Rain thought.
Seara's attack method was unique and formidable, utilizing her arms as though they were tridents. Despite the initial assumption that Rain was safe from her reach, Seara's thrusts defied logic and cut through the air, closing the distance with shocking precision.
Rain, caught off guard by the unexpected range of Seara's attacks, attempted to defend himself by blocking her onslaught rather than evading it. However, this decision proved costly, as Seara's thrusts possessed a penetrating force that surpassed Rain's defenses.
The trident-like motions of her arms pierced through his attempts to block, resulting in the sharp pain of flesh being torn and the appearance of crimson droplets as Rain began to bleed on his arms.
As the assault persisted, Rain found it increasingly challenging to withstand the onslaught. The relentless barrage of thrusts from Seara, executed with a combination of speed and accuracy, left him struggling to maintain his defense. The realization dawned upon him that he couldn't sustain this method of defense for much longer…
Rain took several steps backward and waved his body around, and that helped him avoid the attacks, but Seara stepped in to follow him. Thanks to that, her attacks got closer again.
It seemed that her strategy relied on staying at a middle range… Rain didn't have much experience dealing with opponents like that, and considering that her technique was strong enough to pierce his defenses, Rain's only option was to charge in… but that answer was too obvious.
"It can't be helped…" Rain thought and then disappeared using his new incomplete technique.
In the next moment, Rain appeared on Seara's side and stepped in to counterattack, but Seara was fast… she joined her arms together and swung them to the side. Rain jumped backward when he felt the danger, but he still felt a sharp pain in his stomach.
Rain let out a groan, the echo of pain reverberating through the air as a sharp pain spread from his stomach. A perfect horizontal line materialized on his abdomen, a grim sign of the precision of Seara's attack. Blood began to seep from the newly formed wound, staining his clothing and the battleground with a vivid reminder of the battle's intensity.
Though the wound appeared superficial, the pain was a stark reminder that Rain had narrowly escaped a potentially dire consequence. His assumption that Seara's attacks were limited to thrusts had almost cost him dearly. The deceptive nature of her combat strategy became glaringly apparent as she swiftly changed her plans, countering Rain's attempt to close the distance.
As the battle unfolded, Rain's instincts were honed by the realization that underestimating Seara's capabilities was a grave error. The close call served as a crucial lesson, prompting him to reassess his approach and acknowledge the multifaceted nature of his opponent's fighting style.
Still, Seara didn't take advantage of that immediately… it seemed that she felt a bit guilty for using such a dangerous technique agaisnt her husband. She didn't mind breaking his nose with headbutts now and then, but she just used something really lethal.
Rain couldn't blame her, it was part of his fault since he wouldn't fight anyone seriously unless that someone truly forced him to show his cards. In any case, Seara saw Rain training, so she knew the current limitations of that short-range movement technique. Rain will need more than that to surprise Seara…
"She is Seadrei's daughter, after all… she can't accept not using everything she has in a fight like this," Rain thought. "I can't still bring myself to hit her with all my might, and she is waiting for the other tricks that I used on the other matches… so…"
Rain stepped in with all his might, and then Seara bombarded him with a barrage of her hand thrusts… it felt like Rain was evading hundreds of invisible spears. Still, Rain could tell where the attacks were coming from and where they would reach based on their origin point? Seara's hands.
Rain got used to their speed and then prepared his counter… but then Seara's speed increased… all of a sudden, the number of attacks doubled, and Rain found a wall of invisible spears blocking his path completely…
