Chapter 41. Born Warrior

I had taken several punishing blows from the flaming dark hands of Lady Montay. Her strength was awe-inspiring, catching me off guard. A misjudgment on my part, I admitted.

I made desperate attempts to evade the relentless assaults she hurled at me. Rolling and dodging across the ground became my means of avoiding her relentless pursuit. Her hands were relentless, conjuring sharp-edged weapons from beneath the earth and even from the air itself. Swords and daggers shot forth towards her like guided missiles, only to be skillfully parried, shattered, or melted away by her expert defense.

All of my reinvented blades were thwarted. She seemed to have honed her abilities as a direct countermeasure to mine. Could she be a gauntlet bearer too?

My face was thrust into the dirt, the taste of parched soil mingling with the metallic tinge of my own blood. My left eye swelled shut, and the corneal area became a pool of blood. With just one eye left, I strained to observe her every move.

A mockin