Chivalry of a Dark Knight [Batman x Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry]

CH6: The Yaksha Princess's challenge (prt 4)

There was a resounding clang.

The Yaksha Princess blinked seeing her iron fan blocked by the blade of the sword, the same sword he managed to heft in front of him despite it currently weighing like a tree trunk. She stepped backed and to her amazement, he propped himself up back up with the sword and got into his stance. But it wasn't with ease. Sweat was dripping down his face, his teeth was grit as he struggled to lift the sword and she could see his arms and legs slightly shake as they fought against the urge to buckle. Nene couldn't help but smile sadistically.

"Still got some fight in ya, huh? Alright, let's see how long you can keep this up."

She said this as she beckoned to him with a wagging folded fan.

He attempted to charge at her while slashing but the amount of weight exerted on him made him stumble more than charge and he was only able to swing the blade like it was dead weight. Nene easily side stepped him without care. He tried again and it was the same result, then again and again but kept missing.

Kurono and Yuuri watched silently as Bruce tried to steady himself, panting as sweat dripped from his face while Nene looked bored as she nonchalantly fanned herself. They could see that this match was turning incredibly one sided.

"I'll give him this much: it was very impressive that he's able to resist her Jibakujin, very few Blazers have that kind of strength." Kurono remarked.

"But with all that weight, he's only exhausting himself." Yuuri said worriedly.

The Director of Hagun nodded with a somber expression.

"Indeed. He might as well not be fighting at all."

Nene 'tsked' as she avoided another swing from him, he stumbled forward but managed to keep himself from falling.

"How long you're going to keep up with this pathetic display?" she asked, growing wearily annoyed.

With effort, Bruce turned towards her and hefted the blade up.

"I'm...not...done yet!" he struggled out with grit teeth.

"You are now. Jibakujin!"

Branwen fell to the floor with a heavy thump and dissipated followed by Bruce falling hard of his front. What earlier felt like boulders being strapped to him now felt like an entire hill was pressing down against him. With increasing difficulty, he bunched his arm next to his torso and tried pushing himself off the floor. He could hear the creaking sounds of his bones, feel his spine sagging downwards, his muscles painfully tightening, blood rushing downwards which turned his face red from strain. A capillary burst in his nose and blood dripped freely to the floor. He made sure to keep his eyes closed for he feared if he opened them, they might fall off. Despite the tremendous effort, all he could do was bring himself up to a kneel.

"He's done for." Kurono sighed with resignation.

Nene once again approached her immobilized opponent, this time with a look of disappointment.

"What a let-down." she pursed. "You should've just quit when you were ahead. Oh well, I guess you can't win 'em all."

She said so with a shrug, talking more to herself than to him. Her attention was drawn when she heard Bruce try to say something.

"B...B..."

"Hmm? What was that?" she asked with disinterest while leaning forward.

"B-Br-Brace!" he struggled the word out of his lips.

Nene blinked.

"Brace? What do mean Bra-AAAH!"

Like a football quarterback he tackled her before she could finish, causing her to yelp and drop her iron fans in startlement. It took everything in him to push himself off the ground and his body surged forward while holding on to her as gravity desperately gripped at him. He was essentially 'falling forward' and so he used his momentum to his advantage as he worked his legs to run and extend his 'fall'. The sheer pressure on his shin and feet bones threatened to snap them with every footstrike but he kept going.