Closing the Distance
Once he understood the strange condition affecting him, Steffan immediately began adjusting.
Slowly...
Carefully...
He experimented with each movement.
His body was still resisting against his instincts but bit by bit, he began regaining control of his own movements.
Julian D’Aurelius observed him closely from a close distance, his golden eyes only narrowing ever so little.
"So you’re adapting already..." he murmured.
"As expected of the so-called Martial Art King of the Farlands... if you dont able adapt maybe i look down on you my intrest in you lost!"
Without wasting another moment, Julian emptied the remaining rounds from the handgun.
Click.
Click.
The slide locked back.
The weapon was empty.
He didn’t hesitate for even a heartbeat.
With a flick of his wrist, he hurled the empty handgun straight at Steffan’s head.
The metal pistol spun violently through the air with a sharp whistle.
Steffan instinctively tilted his head aside.
Whoosh!
The handgun narrowly missed his temple before crashing into the marble floor behind him.
Julian couldn’t help clicking his tongue.
"What a shame."
"I really should’ve brought a Thompson submachine gun."
He sighed dramatically.
"Then I could’ve shouted, ’Times have changed, old man,’ before emptying an entire magazine."
"I’m honestly curious how you would’ve dodged that."
Lina Ashford blinked.
"...He’s joking in the middle of a life-and-death battle?"
Liza Voss merely shook her head.
"That’s just Julian."
Watching Steffan slowly regain control over his movements, Julian’s relaxed expression gradually disappeared.
Almost thirty seconds had already passed.
He knew he couldn’t allow any more distance to open between them.
The Chaos Mirage Mist only remained effective while he stayed close enough for its influence to linger.
If Steffan completely escaped its range...
Things would become far more troublesome.
Without another word, Julian advanced instead of retreating.
His footsteps echoed softly across the shattered marble floor.
Each step was calm.
Measured.
Confident.
Steffan noticed Julian approaching but showed no intention of retreating.
Turning his back on an opponent during a duel between experts was practically asking for death.
Even though his body’s movements were still partially reversed, he clenched his jaw and forced himself to attack.
His right fist shot out—
—or rather, attempted to.
Because of the lingering effects of the Chaos Mirage Mist, his movement became awkward and unnatural.
His shoulders twisted strangely.
His balance shifted.
The punch lacked its usual explosive speed.
Julian calmly leaned to one side.
The fist sliced harmlessly through empty air.
"So slow."
Julian smiled faintly.
"You’ll have to do better than that."
Steffan’s face darkened.
"Damn you..."
Although furious, he couldn’t deny that every attack now felt unbearably awkward.
Each movement required conscious correction.
His body simply refused to obey him naturally.
Seeing the perfect opening, Julian immediately pressed forward.
With the confidence of someone who firmly believed in fair and open competition—at least according to his own completely questionable definition—he drew two gleaming daggers.
The twin blades flashed beneath the mansion lights.
Their cold edges reflected Steffan’s furious expression.
Julian cursed without hesitation.
"You bastard!"
"That insult toward my mother..."
"I’m paying it back in full."
"Take this!"
Julian exploded into motion.
In Steffan’s left hand the dagger became a venomous serpent, its chilling blade cut through the air before driving straight for his ribs. Fortunately for Steffan his instincts saved him. At the last second he managed to contort his body to the side in an ungainly desperate twist.
The blade only just missed.
Rip! His clothes ripped and a fine line of blood appeared across his waist. Not deep but painful enough for Steffan to feel a sharp stinging across his body. Before he could regain his footing, Julian attacked again.
He seamlessly turned with the momentum from his previous attack and his body twisted in the air as he lashed his right leg across the floor in a vicious low sweep.
Bang! The kick connected with Steffan’s supporting leg. Unable to process what was happening in his distorted world, Steffan was too slow to react.
His balance evaporated and his feet slipped out from under him. He hit the polished marble floor with a loud thump that seemed to resonate through the hall. Julian gave Steffan absolutely no time to recover.
He surged forward, sticking close enough to him for the Chaos Mirage Mist to take effect.
The swirling mist wrapped around him like invisible chains, his perception twisted and every effort to regain his footing was thrown off balance. Once Julian was sure of its effect... A cold light flashed in Julian’s eyes. Without any hesitation he drove the dagger in his right hand downward.
To where?
Steffan’s groin.
It didn’t matter how strong a cultivator became, how fearsome their cultivation or overwhelming their power; every human being had a weakness. If brute force couldn’t get the job done, then hitting them where they least expected would. The dagger plummeted downwards with an astounding speed and silver light split the air.
Steffan’s eyes widened, pupils shrinking to pinpoint sizes as a freezing terror washed from the base of his spine to the top of his head. Every ounce of his being, his survival instincts, every instinct within him was screaming danger!
"AAAHHH!!"
A furious roar, full of pure panic, erupted from his throat.
Disregarding everything, Steffan violently threw his body backward in a desperate attempt to evade the blade descending to the one part of him no man could afford to lose.
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Authors Notes: Dear Readers, Thanks so much for joining me on this adventure! Your enthusiasm, feedback, and encouragement really keep me motivated to keep bringing *Villain of Fate: The Tyrant System* into existence. If you’re loving the Chapters, I’d love it if you supported my book with a Powerstone, review, or even a Golden Ticket—it helps me develop as a writer and lets more readers enjoy the story. I look forward to hearing your ideas and thoughts, so please don’t hesitate to share!
With love,
Saturn_Virgo_777
Creator of Villain of Fate: The Tyrant System
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