Sacrifice: Time of Mine

Standing in the air without making any movements. If this old man was an Elementalist, it would be pretty understandable. However, that wasn't the case.

With a blink, Long Hair suddenly appeared in front of Avion.

"Huh-?!"

Avion was taken by surprise. By the time he could react, his fist had already struck his neck.

An intense pain was brought over all his body. Nerves and veins popped out, each pulsation brought a tide of suffering!

'Revert!' Avion desperately thought.

"I knew it, there's something with your body!" Long Hair exclaimed before Avion saw the old man flashed like a shadow up to the air where stayed.

'I have tried Wind Walk but how can you physically float without moving!?' Avion couldn't understand what method Long Hair was making.

"Huehuehue... it is impossible for you to see behind my technique." Long Hair laughed before disappearing.

With acute senses, Avion retreated, barely evading the attack from his behind.

Long Hair had a wide face of pride.

"Hm?... What's this?" 

In the next moment, his brow was raised.

"It seemed like you have something in your mind?"

Long Hair asked since Avion had a serious expression on his face. It was not the face of confusion, hopelessness, or alerted Long Hair always encounter when he uses this technique.

"But with my level of skill, you wouldn't be able to tell what I'm doing." while saying that, Long Hair floated again before appearing above Avion.

-Pak*

There was a crisp sound before a figure was thrown away.

"Eh?"

The old man, Long Hair had a face of confusion as he wiped the blood off his mouth.

'What happened?' he paused and recalled what just transpired.

'I used the technique, he shouldn't be able to react. But why did I meet his foot instead?'

Long Hair felt like karma slapped his face for being smug earlier. Frustration built up within him.

'No one had ever figured this technique out! I just began using it, there's no way that he had already figured it out!'

Thus, with stubbornness, Long Hair repeated as he floated above.

But before he even disappears, -Pak!*

"Hey!"

The old man landed on the ground on his knees, anger evident on his face.

"Are you trying to kill me!? Why did you make that hit harder?! If I failed to deflect most of its force, I wouldn't be standing right now!"

"I thought we are having a deathmatch?" Avion asked. The solemnity on his face had yet to fade.

"Y-yeah... but at least explain first how you figured it out?!" Long Hair shouted as if he was throwing a tantrum.

At that moment, it was Avion's turn to be smug, "With my level of intelligence, you wouldn't understand even if I explain it to you."

Long Hair's eyes widened.

"You! Is this how you treat your elders!?"

Before his voice finished speaking, his body disappeared but Pak!*

"Cough* How!? Your eyes couldn't follow me..." Long Hair groaned as he was hit in the face.

"My eyes, huh..." muttering these words, Avion was able to prove the guesses in his head.

Meanwhile, on the side, Raff was very confused.

"What are they playing at?" he mumbled.

"At first the old man just jumped forward. The way he jumped forward was too horizontally straight. It was a weird jump. The next moment, he raised his clothing and ran towards Avion with his fist forward. Although he was fast, Avion seemed to be confused by it and let himself hit."

Hearing his mumbles, Marin woke up and glared at Raff.

"Who are you and let me down or I'll pulverize you to death a thousand times that even your soul will be crushed, by then, you'll look like a single father who had just left by his cheating wife for a rich fat ugly bastard and with ten children to feed and raise on his own while your minimum wage job suddenl-"

"Here!" Raff couldn't understand what Marin was saying but feeling her great killing intent, he dropped her like she's a living bomb.

With a tired face, Marin elegantly stood up and asked, "What's happening?"

She looked and couldn't believe her eyes, "Old Long is on the losing side!?"

Long Hair heard her which made him stood up. His confused face suddenly shifted into that of sagely expression, one that nothing can affect.

"It is good that you are faring against a tenth of my skill. Now let's see if you can go against my full power."

His words reverberated with wisdom and patience.

Raff and Avion looked at each other while Marin sighed.

"Whew, I thought the person that I've been receiving orders is a weakling. I knew Old Long has the power to defeat Elementalist even as a mortal, or else, I would've killed him in his sleep that he dared to order me around with his useless self."

Hearing this, Avion and Raff slowly nodded in understanding. If not for their convenient explanations, no one would've understood anything.

Long Hair had the face of "help me" when Marin sighed but as soon as her eyes were watching again, the old man's expression returned to being sagely.

'But truth to be told, if I didn't use Revert, in our first bout, I would've died already.' Avion took a deep breath just from imagining how large the disparity between him and this old man in terms of skill.

'If I didn't stop time and look from another perspective, I wouldn't know that he is just playing tricks on my eyes by showing full confidence that he can do what he was about to show. In addition to his bursting silent movements, an illusion of him versatile in the air was created.'

'So being a martial artist can be like being a magician too huh...'

Avion's interest was piqued, 'If what he says is true and he only showed a tenth of his skills, I am a long way to go before I can match this old man without relying on my time abilities.'

Meanwhile, Long Hair was about to perspire as he inwardly panicked, 'That was already my best... what do I do? Do I need to use a Si-i? Is it worth sacrificing a few weeks of remaining life?'