Unlimited Power 02 - The Ranger's Domain

historical

                Ares eventually noticed that Athena suddenly stopped attacking. Even for her, assuming such a defensive stance for so long was unexpected. Ares could understand that she couldn't afford to let him grow angrier and stronger if she had any hopes to win that fight. Still, just boring Area wouldn't solve things either. He hated boredom, after all.

                Nevertheless, Ares didn't care much about that and began to attack mercilessly. At some point, he began to feel Athena's bones cracking, and he started to like the fight even more… even though Athena's calm expression never disappeared. Not only that annoyed him, but it also made Ares feel shivers…

"What are you plotting, Athena?" Ares asked.

                Athena didn't reply. She didn't even pay much attention to Ares' words. She just kept staring at him with her deadpan expression. That was really something since he could tell that Athena was having a hard time, even holding her sword with both hands.. Regardless, soon enough, Ares confirmed his suspicion. The next time he attacked and Athena blocked his sword, an Electric Arrow appeared a few millimeters away from his left eye. Somehow, Ares reacted on time and moved his head to the side before he could lose one of his eyes. However, the arrow still hit him in the head and paralyzed his nervous system for a fraction of a second. Athena used that chance to slam her shied on Ares' face. It has been a while since that had happened, and thanks to it, Ares really suffered a lot of damage.

                Ares hit the ground, and a curtain of dust emerged, but even before it could dissipate. Ares had gotten up and was ready to attack again. However, that scene a few seconds ago bothered him…

"What was that?" Ares muttered.

                Even if Athena was a decent magician, she created that arrow way too fast and way too close to Ares, considering that she had blocked a powerful attack. She wasn't supposed to keep her composure like that while fighting Ares… it was just surreal. However, Ares could tell that Athena didn't get nervous a single time during the fight… not even when Ares attacked her from all angles. Athena really had some steel nerves.

                Ares assumed that Athena got lucky and then dashed to attack again. Just like before, Athena didn't break her defensive stance and received the attack without making any moment to counterattack. However, once again, the very moment the sword and the shield collided, another electric arrow appeared in front of Ares' eyes. Thanks to the boost in his status, he once again prevented losing one of his eyes. Still, the arrow hit closer the target this time, and once again, Ares was slammed by Athena's shield.

                Ares got up again as soon as possible. The anger made his body grew once again, but he didn't let the blood rush to his head. The same thing happening twice in a row was no coincidence. Athena really reacted with a speed that she wasn't supposed to have and tried to take one of Ares' eyes. He wasn't exactly that good at magic or even sensing his opponents, so if he loses a single eye, things will become really difficult for him. He had to be careful…

                Instead of attacking while focusing one hundred percent on the offense, Ares decided to do so while keeping his eyes wide open. His speed should be at least twenty percent higher than Athena's, so he didn't have to let himself get carried away by two attacks only.

                When Ares attacked, he noticed that Athena's eyes didn't move a single bit. She blocked his sword and was pushed backward while looking directly at him in the eye. In the next moment, another Electric Arrow appeared. Still, Ares was with his shield ready and dispersed the mana of the attack. He was supposed to be faster, but Athena's speed and precision while casting those simple attacks were just… unbelievable. It was almost like she could see the future and where exactly to make her mana take shape… not to mention, her accuracy and speed were getting better.

                Ares imagined that he knew everything about Athena's abilities, but it seemed that it wasn't true. That was a bit troublesome, but it wasn't surprising. Even though they belonged to the same group, all the Olympian gods kept secrets from each other, even more so when their powers and abilities were in check.

                Knowing her, Ares predicted that she had developed a strategy or technique that worked well against all the elder gods. Still, in the end, even after using Absolute Appraisal, Ares didn't find anything out of place on Athena's skill list.

"Well… it doesn't matter," Ares said while he furrowed his eyebrows. 

                Ares was hot-blooded, but he wasn't stupid enough not to have a hidden card up his sleeve as well. The very moment Athena tries something funny with that weird ability to counterattack, he will split her in half.

                Since Athena was obviously on the defense, it means that Ares will have plenty of chance to prepare a big move. After activating all the buffs that increased his strength, Ares began to prepare a simple and plain concentrated strike. However, before he could do that for even a second, Electric Arrow appeared right in front of his left eye. Instead of dodging it, Ares used Mana Armor and blocked the attack… he prevented losing one of his eyes. Still, instead of celebrating, he bit his lips in annoyance and didn't even stop when he began to bleed profoundly. For Hares, that was probably the most humiliating thing he had to do in thousands of years… rely on magic to prevent a wound.

"You will regret this, Athena," Ares said.

                Even Athena felt shivers when she heard that. Ares wasn't joking. He wasn't the type of god who would joke around in the middle of a fight, after all. Regardless, Athena kept attacking, trying to damage Ares' eyes, but the Mana Armor prevented all that.

                In the end, Ares charged so fast that it seemed that he didn't move and didn't swing his sword to attack. It seemed that he skipped several steps before he split Athena diagonally.