Chapter 590: Self Sabotage


    ‘Three moves? Why the fuck would I make such a stupid deration?’ Leo wondered internally, as although he boldly dered that he would take down PinkLotus within three moves, internally he had no solid n to be able to make it happen.


    “Very well then, I shall also strike your cheek within three moves!” PinkLotus dered back, as she did not ept Leo’s arrogant attitude lying down.


    ‘Fuck… since things have already came to this point, then my only hope of winning is to close down my distance to her.


    I have already thrown two of the five daggers I have avable here and fighting from a distance makes no sense…’ Leo analyzed internally, as with a swift burst of energy, Leo started to close the twenty-five-meter gap between, his body moving like a blur.publish?d on websit?: ?ov?l1st.c0m


    Leo’s muscles tensed, then released in a perfect flow of motion, as each step that he took was calcted, every muscle working in harmony to minimize wasted movement.


    The wind whipped past him as he darted forward, dagger gripped firmly in his hand, poised for his first strike.


    *Swoosh*


    PinkLotus attacked, not wanting to let Leo get too close, however, already being in motion, Leo managed to evade the attack easily this time, as he zoomed past it and arrived upon PinkLotus with momentum. “One—” he muttered softly, as he thrust forward his dagger with precision, aiming directly for PinkLotus’s heart.


    The strike was quick, lethal, and direct and for a split second, PinkLotus’s eyes widened—as she hadn’t expected him to close the distance so fast.


    Her body reacted on instinct, twisting her torso just enough to dodge the deadly blow. Leo’s dagger all but grazing the fabric of her tunic, leaving a thin cut in the cloth but no more.


    ‘He’s faster than I thought,’ she realized, her heart pounding, as for the first time now, even she felt the threat to her life.


    The brieffort she had felt earlier in the fight when Leo was not counterattacking evaporated now, as she quickly felt the blood from her body rushing to her head, as her brain function went into survival overdrive.


    Up until now, she had been confident, even a little cocky, with her range advantage. But this… this was different. Now that Leo was in close, she could feel the pressure mounting.


    ‘He’s dangerous at this distance.’ she concluded, as she could feel the fight or flight response being triggered in her body now.


    Leo smiled cockily as he effortlessly shifted his body, pulling back the dagger just as swiftly as he had thrust it.


    Here, the fluidity of his movements astounded Alia, who understood that she couldn’t afford to let her guard down for even a moment.


    But she refused to back down. ‘I promised to scratch that face of his,’ she reminded herself, steeling her resolve, as her ego made her fall precisely into the trap that Leo hadid out for her.


    ‘I have to act fast before he gets another chance.’ PinkLotus thought, as instead of noticing how Leo did not make his second move and instead just lingered around her at close range, PinkLotus made the novice mistake of showing her hand to her opponent, as she stupidly tried to attack his face.


    Swinging her sword upward in a sharp, decisive arc, she aimed directly for Leo’s face, just as she had vowed.


    At this point, she could almost see it—a single strike that would mar his perfect, arrogant expression. But unfortunately for her, Leo was ready.


    “Two” he said, his eyes gleaming with anticipation as he saw her deing for him.


    ‘Perfect.’ he thought, as this was exactly what he had been waiting for—a predictable strike, aimed right where he wanted it, as with a swift pivot of his body, he sidestepped her strike with almost insulting ease, his dagger spinning in his hand as he slipped past her de.


    In a sh, Leo’s free hand snapped forward, gripping her wrist and twisting her arm. PinkLotus’s eyes widened in shock, as her grip on her sword faltered.


    *Snap*


    Leo applied just the right amount of pressure, using her momentum against her, and within a heartbeat, her sword was wrenched from her hand and sent ttering to the ground.


    *ng*


    Her sword fell to the ground, as disbelief became stered all over her face.


    ‘How?’ she wondered, the question screaming in her mind as her heart pounded, adrenaline surging.


    ‘He was so much faster, and I hadn’t even seen the disarming.’ she analyzed, but unfortunately for her, all this analysis came in way toote.


    Before she could recover, Leo was already moving, closing the distance between them even further, as he brought his dagger up to her throat with terrifying precision.


    “Three” he said arrogantly, his nose only an inch away from hers, as he stared domineeringly into her eyes.


    The cold metal of the de pressed against her neck, just hard enough to draw a single drop of blood, as Leo pettily made her bleed ever so slightly as a reminder of her failure to beat him.


    “That’s enough Leo, you win!” Luke said from a distance, as Leo pulled back his de but kept staring into PinkLotus’s eyes, as if to prove to her that she was not on his level.


    PinkLotus’s breath hitched, and for the first time in her life, she felt truly powerless.


    Right there, staring at him, the overwhelming realization finally sank in that she had lost quite pathetically to her opponent.


    Seeing that expression, Leo’s gaze softened, just a fraction, but the smug smile never left his face.


    “I told you,” he said softly, his voice dripping with confidence, “three moves.”


    Gulping, PinkLotus felt unsure on how she had lost the spar, however, because Leo dered that he would defeat her within three moves and actually achieved that goal, she felt as if she was truly not his match.


    A small part of her brain told her that the difference in their abilities was not thatrge and that although she had lost this spar, she could perhaps win a rematch, however, anotherrger part told her to ept the results of this spar as they were.


    ———


    /// A/N – Chapter 2/4 for the day. ///