Elemental Cats

Toz and the pirate fought like gladiators as their weapons clashed repeatedly. The fighting was so intense that neither of them had time to look around and watch out for obstacles. Considering how familiar he was with the island, it would have been an advantage to Toz if it weren't for how smooth he and Nil had made the ground when they reinforced the island.

Though, as long as Toz continued directing the battle and using the times he shoved the pirate's machetes to steer the direction they were headed in, Toz didn't mind if the pirate didn't stumble and fall over a root. Although getting a lucky thrust in due to the pirate's bad luck would end the fight. Toz was almost hoping he would get to see more of the pirate's capabilities since it was the first time he fought against a high level being.

However, aside from the skill with his machetes, the pirate didn't display any other abilities. There was not a hint of aura or magic aside from him reinforcing his body with mana. Toz was beginning to wonder if maybe that was all there was to the pirate since they were about to reach their destination. And if the pirate didn't do anything special, and soon at that, he wouldn't be a pirate for much longer.

Although Toz was curious, the battle was too frenzied to allow even the slightest distraction, as was evidenced by several shallow nicks and cuts on both him and the pirate. The cuts were light enough that, after only some light bleeding, Toz's injuries had already started healing. The pirate couldn't compete with Toz's regenerative capabilities and was dripping blood here and there on the ground.

Blood ran down the pirate's arms, but he still held a solid grip on his machetes. However, he could feel that grip occasionally slipping when Toz struck his machetes and pushed them away. And although he wasn't sure what, the pirate had noticed that Toz was planning something. But he could tell that in one way or another, the fight was approaching its end. Fortunately for the pirate, his opponent didn't have a clue about his inclination.

Toz and the pirate continued fighting without pause, and they both started showing signs of fatigue. The swings of their weapons were accompanied by heavy panting, and their movements were a notch slower, barely noticeable, but still slower. Toz felt his arms, hands, and shoulders aching after blocking and clashing with the pirate's machetes repeatedly, but he didn't let that hinder him, and he kept up the pace.

However, as he gradually got into position and started preparing for the fight's climax, a bad feeling started growing and nagging at him. Toz had no idea what the source of the bad feeling was, but he could at least tell it wasn't one of the cats in trouble. It was directly related to his situation. And although he couldn't afford to be distracted, he had to stay alert to his surroundings in case another pirate had gotten close and was planning on helping the leader.

But in that case, why wait? If another pirate had decided to join, why hadn't they already attacked? Although Toz couldn't completely rule out the situation where another pirate joined the fight, it didn't seem like the most likely option.

Instead, Toz started suspecting that the bad feeling was due to the pirate he was fighting. Maybe the pirate had decided to use his inclination or was planning something else. But until the bad feeling bore fruit, there was nothing Toz could do to deal with it since he was busy fighting for his life against the pirate. Though, not for much longer.

Toz could finally see the scene where the last act of their fight would play out. He was worried that the pirate would notice what he was planning, but there wasn't anything to do about that. Despite Toz approaching the final stages of his plan, he didn't let it show on his face. And he didn't let it distract him from the fight either.

The plan hinged on the pirate not being able to react until it was too late. To accomplish that, Toz had painstakingly pushed and pulled the pirate around the island to a part of the forest that the pirate shouldn't have been familiar with. If Toz had just taken the shortest route directly to the edge of the island, the pirate could have noticed his intentions by recognizing his surroundings since that would take them to the place where the pirates had anchored their boats.

If the pirate had more time to figure out where Toz was leading him, it would increase the odds of him figuring out Toz's plan.

However, now, Toz only needed to keep the pirate's attention on himself and stop him from turning around and seeing how close they were to the edge of the island and the Void. But the closer they got to the edge, the worse Toz's bad feeling got.

Toz tried reading the pirate's thoughts based on his facial expression, but the pirate seemed to have been cursed with never being able to stop glaring. Toz didn't even know if the pirate was more frustrated than he had been after first arriving at the island since the pirate's face had always been steeped in a deep frown.

Toz couldn't determine what the pirate was thinking, but that didn't stop him from continuing his plan, and he kept pushing the pirate closer and closer to the edge. There were only a few meters left, and the bad feeling was worse than ever. Toz almost started panicking due to the alarm bells ringing in his mind. He managed to create enough leeway to take a quick glance at his surroundings, but he didn't see anything that could cause his bad premonition.

Since it wasn't anything outside the fight, it had to be due to the pirate. But Toz wasn't in a position where he could retreat all willy-nilly. Either he went through with his plan, or he kept fighting until one of them slipped up. And since the pirate was at a higher level and division, it would be riskier for Toz to continue the melee.

And finally, Toz had the pirate right where he wanted him. Toz sharpened his focus even further, preparing to dodge or counter whatever trick the pirate had up his sleeve. Toz also started preparing his finisher.

Toz stumbled to the side due to a horizontal swing from the pirate's machete. The pirate followed along and tried to drive home the next blow. Only to miss when Toz, who hadn't lost his balance, righted himself and stepped back. Toz pushed off the ground with his right foot, aiming to kick the pirate right into the Void.

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