Their cloaks billowed in the wind, signaling the start of their battle. Emil moved first, seemingly becoming a blur. The gap between them had halved in size in a breath as Kaitlyn clumsily hurled one of her fireballs in response. She jumped back a moment later as Emil had arrived where she once stood, his dagger cleaving a horizontal arc, knicking the end of the already tattered hem of the cloak.
She launched another fireball, but Emil was already executing a spin, dodging the attack and continuing toward her. She continued backing away, nearly losing her footing in a puddle. She staggered backward as a blade passed. Saved by her ineptitude, she inwardly thanked the gods and conjured more fire. She lept back as far as she could, wishing that her power over flames could keep him at bay, or help with the distance.
The result was an explosive backward leap, propelling her some meters back, and noticeably higher than a human should be able to jump when going in reverse. She fell backward as she landed, the sound of a splash filling the air.
Emil stood, stunned for a moment. "Now their stories make sense..." He sighed and removed his tri-corn, casting it aside. "Better muddy than burned" he shrugged. His gaze shifted back to his target and he exhaled slowly. One of his eyes lit with an ocean-colored hue and he moved again, stepping across puddles as if they were dry ground.
Kaitlyn cursed her luck as she'd had the misfortune of being matched with a murderous saint as an adversary. He closed the distance, swift as a coursing river and it took a great effort for her to not scream in terror. She raised both hands, combining the fireballs she held, and wished for a pillar of flames.
At her command, the air was split by a searing beam, focused in the general direction of the man charging at her. She was off by a few hands' width, but the heat should've still been enough to give him pause, if not outright stop him. Emil merely turned to the side slightly, still moving forward, and corrected his stance as he ran alongside the wave of what should've been fiery death.
She trembled and nearly collapsed, but willed herself to stand. Emil was upon her in a moment and her last ditch effort at defense was conjuring a wall of flames before her. He moved through as if it were nothing, enveloped in a layer of muddy water. She mentally prepared for a knife to pierce her, but she instead had the breath knocked from her as she fell to the ground.
They rolled and tumbled in the mud and she punched, kicked, clawed, and fought desperately to escape the grip he now had on her. They came to a stop as she was pinned to the ground. She tried to shake free as tears began to form. Her last breath was moments away and she held her eyes shut waiting for it.
A moment, another, yet another. A fourth breath, a fifth. Her hood had fallen and she felt the cool air against her as even as she was enveloped in mana. She could hear her strained breathing, and his. She opened her eyes and looked up at the man who was to be her killer. He remained motionless, seemingly stunned speechless. She too, was stunned. His short brown hair, ocean blue eyes, one of which seemed to ripple like a calm lake while the other was filled with turbulent seas, and somewhat rugged yet youthful features made her pause. Yes, her last breath could be to someone like this. She could think of worse ways to die and had nearly experienced them.
Emil sat up slowly, his gaze having found her golden eyes. His gaze crossed every inch of her face, and he grimaced. After a deep sigh, he got up and effortlessly pulled her up as well. His attention turned toward the forces at the base of the hill, and Kaitlyn's glance followed it. The ruckus they'd caused had drawn the attention of the small horde of imbeciles below, and they'd ignored the village, going for what was now an obvious sign of their target.
Her attention was bought back by his voice, "We need to run, Miss Kaitlyn."
"Huh?" Dumbfounded words tumbled from her mouth. She was supposed to be dead by now, wasn't she?
"You got what you wanted, but not how you intended. The village should be safe, but we... probably ain't." He leaned his head in the direction of the village.
Emil's right eye then lit, and Kaityln was pulled away from the scene, after stopping for the briefest of moments for Emil to grab his hat.
I enjoyed the fight scene a lot her how she thought she was going to die. Then well no that didn’t happen. Hats are important.