n

n

n

"This is the end of the line for you!

" Shamac declared, lunging his drill hand toward her, aiming for her head.

nHer last attack could have killed him, so it is only fair he returned the favor.

nWhile he was still within his shadow complaining about the unfairness of the fight, a sudden thought popped into his head. His master, Hexarion made the match so balanced out that both of them could fight at full power. Hexarion must have known Talia would be capable of such feats, which meant the sudden development battle was within expectation. Since this was the case... He also had something he could use to balance things out. After realizing this, it didn't take him too long to figure the rest out.

n

"Partial Shapeshifting

" He smiled.

nBy manipulating his own Aspects, he is able to transform a part of his body, rather than a whole. Not only is the process much faster compared to full transformation, it is more efficient and saves energy. The final and most most beneficial feature of this partial transformation... Is that he can shapeshift into many things at the same time.

n

"I'm sure she's shocked as to how I survived that light explosion. Well, I didn't. That's because I wasn't in it in the first place

" He thought within himself.

nBefore she finished preparing her light attack, he had covered his entire area with his shadow. Talia misinterpreted this as him strengthening his defense, however she was wrong. He didn't want Talia to see what was occurring within the dark confines of his trapped space. He shapeshifted into a mole-monster and quickly dug his way away from his position. By the time Talia's attack was launched he was barely outside the area of effect. Fortunately, he wasn't hit.

nThanks to the smoke and commotion her attacks caused, he blended with everything, transforming into no more than a bug. It helped matters that Talia decide to draw closer to the area he was hiding. Using her panicked state and confused status at that moment, he quickly flew to her back and transformed back. Since this happened so fast, and she wasn't even paying attention to her surroundings, he was able to drive his claw into her, leading them to the present.

nHis claw was lodged deep within her body, causing her immense pain and restricting her movements, and his drill was about to finish her off. The perfect strike. However...

n

"Arhhhhhhh

" Talia screamed.

nSuddenly, her wings began to glow brightly. The radiance blinded Shamac, causing him to cease his attack on her. As soon as the stun of the light wore off on him, he hurriedly launched his drill to finish the job, however, at this point he was already surrounded by many amped vines, curtesy of Talia. They lunged at him at great speeds, and though he had Talia in his grasp, literally, they were going to reach him before he reached her.

n

"Tch

" Shamac groaned.

nHe immediately transformed into a gnat, dodging the barrage of vines which relentlessly charged at him. Due to his new change in size, the plants missed him. However, the pressure of their attacks alone sent Shamac flying back, due to his small constitution.

n

"Damnit

" Shamac muttered.

nTalia had successfully generated some distance between the both of them again. Was he back to square one again?

n

"That was a close one. I won't be letting my guard down like that again

" She said to him, as she touched the bloody wound he inflicted on her.

nSlowly, light particles danced around it and the wound healed within moments. Shamac's jaw dropped at the sight of this.

n

"For real? Isn't this just cheating?

" He wailed in his little insect form.

nShe snickered at him and laughed heartily.

n

"Now then, let's resume. This time we'll have a decisive battle. So prepare yourself!

" She said.

nTalia knew her time was running out. Thanks to the use of the light explosion and then the healing of her body, she had expended more power than she originally planned. She couldn't have foreseen the possibility that he could have somehow escaped the blast. With less than 3 minutes left in her powered up form... She was desperate.

n

"I need to bring this to a close... Quickly!

" She resolved.

n

"I agree

" Shamac said.

n

"In that case... I'll show you what I've been saving up. With this... I'll win!.

"

n

"Form: Armor

" He declared.

nImmediately, his shadows covered his body, as though as he was wearing a dark garment. The darkness merges with his whole body, leaving no place uncovered. From the darkness of his shadow, his eyes glowed purple. A smoky aura emanated from the shadow and even Talia could tell that this form was dangerous.

nI watched this happen and to be honest, I'm impressed he came up with that. Talia has proven she won't be caught by his shadow extensions, and with her wings, she has better mobility. She can also attack from a safe distance, and of given enough time she is still able to produce one more of the light blast that will be fatal to Shamac.

nUsing this new form, Shamac has ensured greater mobility, offence and defense for himself. Since he usually stays within a spot and it is difficult for him to move properly when controlling his shadows, he is at a disadvantage when fighting Talia who can overwhelm him with numbers. She also has the attribute he is weakest against, light. Knowing this, the best approach to make is to make the battle a close ranged one. Talia isn't too impressive in a close range battle. She can be clumsy, and her personal offensive ability is low.

nShamac understands this and so by combining his shadow with his body, he aims to close the distance between himself and Talia. If he succeeds, it is his win. If Talia stops him before he reaches her, it is her win.

n

"Let's see what it will be

" I muttered.

nShamac took his stance and readied himself. His entire capabilities were heightened by his shadows. Plus, he still had his shapeshifting abilities, he wasn't going to lose.

n

"Here I come

" He whispered under his breath.

nTalia scowled at Shamac's new form. Overall she had the advantage, she had more power, more resources at her disposal. Yet...

n

"What's this uncomfortable feeling I'm having? I won't lose! I can't lose

" She said, raising two of her hands to attack.

nRaising more of her plants from the ground and powering them up, she launched them at Shamac.

nIn his dark shadow armor, he dashed with great speed. With nimbleness and peerless agility, he dodged the first wave of vines, climbing their surface to gain higher ground. The others launched at him from all directions, ensuring he had no way of escape.

n

"Don't think I can't attack too!

" Shamac declared.

nBringing out blades from within his shadow armor on both hands, he used them to slash at the vines, cutting them instantly. Talia's eyes widened in surprise.

n

"He... cut them?

" She stuttered.

n

"This armor is even denser than my previous constructs. The blades are sharper than Spider, the defense is greater than Anaconda... And the speed is higher than Whip.

" Shamac said.

n

"The smaller I make my shadow, the higher the quality. With the shadows only having to cover my body... They are currently at their peak!

"

nCutting off more vines that attacked, he dashed even further to Talia, who was already in a panic.

n

"2 minutes more

" The thought rang within her.

n

"Damnit damnit!

" She launched more plants at her.

n

"I'll just overwhelm you with their numbers!

"

nShamac smiled within his armor. True, if the number of vines were too much, even with his armor he wouldn't be able to cut them all. However...

n

"The numbers and powers of your attacks are meaningless if they can't hit me!

" He said.

nHe was just going to avoid them all, only cutting down those which stood in his way. He was running out of time too.

n

"I can't maintain this forever, you know?

" He muttered.

nIn a race against time they clashed with all they had. Shamac used the vines she sent as a platform to reach even higher until he got to her domain, the air. Before Talia knew it, Shamac was already a few steps away from her. Realizing the distance was to her disadvantage, she began to fly away from her position to create more distance from him, while still maintaining sight of him.

n

"If I just remove the vines...

" Talia said, deactivating her vines so he couldn't reach her anymore.

nHaving no more platforms to climb on, Shamac lost his footing and began to fall, along with her vines.

n

"Ha! It's my win! Now, eat this

" She said, preparing her final attack, another light ball.

nShamac smirked.

n

"So you fell for it... How funny.

" He muttered.

n

"Like I told you before... You seem to forget, I'm a Shapeshifter.

"

nSuddenly, wings grew from behind him, and his shadows covered them as well, increasing their power. He suddenly boosted himself from his position, rising higher into the sky to reach Talia.

n

"Shit, it's not ready!

" Talia said.

n

"Raaaaahhhh

" Shamac yelled as he stretched forth his hands toward her.

nShe stopped hesitating and decided to fire the light ball on her hand that way. There was no longer any time left. Shamac wasn't expecting this. Even a ball of that side would send him back down and since it would just ignore the defense of his armor, it would damage him greatly.

n

"Almost there!

" He desperately said, trying to reach her before she launched it.

nHowever, he was too late. Her hands, directly in front of him, had the light ball readied for launch.

n

"Die!!!!

" Talia yelled.

nSuddenly, the light dissipated, and Talia's wings disappeared.

n

"Wha...?

" Talia said in surprise.

nHer time was up.

nWith the light gone and her overwhelming power sealed away, Shamac rose even further unrestrained. Retracting his blades and giving her an old fashioned punch in her stomach she coughed hard with saliva.

n

"Gahhh

" She let out.

nHowever, Shamac wasn't done yet. He launched more fist attacks on her until she could no longer resist any longer. Then, stretching his hands, he reached for her legs,

n

"Haaaaaaaa

" Shamac said, grabbing her legs.

n

"P-Please don't...

" She begged.

nShamac didn't pay her any heed. He backflipped and flung her straight to the ground with as much power as he could.

n

"Kyaaaaa

" She screamed as she was sent flying to the ground.

n

"Serves you right... Bitch

" He said with a wheeze.

nSuddenly a massive surge of pain enveloped his entire body. The searing agony spread throughout every part in an electrifying way.

n

"Shit, it's happening already?

" He groaned.

n

"The aftereffect is... Urgh

"

nHe lost consciousness as a result of the pain and exhaustion.

nHis shadows faded away and he lost control of his body. Paralyzed throughout his entire body, also dived into the ground. Of course Talia crashed down first, followed by him. The both of them crashed to the ground and lost consciousness immediately, having severe injuries from the fall, Talia's worse of all.

nI slowly flew to the scene of the fall and saw the two unconscious slaves. I smiled.

n

"Great fight

" I stated.

nThis fight ended just the way I expected. No victor, no loser.

n

"As I thought... You both have your different uses, but you're useful in the end

" I said.

nWhen these two wake, we'll begin things properly.. The countdown for destruction starts now.

n