The Cycle of Fate

Chapter 67: Black Scorpion

Bang!

Margot hastily dodged the thrust of the sinister short blade, but the revolver in his hand failed to follow Lumian's downward lunge. The bullet struck the opposite wall, sending stone chips flying.

With a metallic clang, "Fallen Mercury" once again flew past Margot's side, landing a short distance away. Lumian snapped his body upright, and with a swift movement, he stomped on Margot's foot to prevent him from raising his knee to strike Lumian's abdomen.

What followed was a barrage of close-quarter attacks: Lumian's hands slashed and hammered, his elbows blocked and parried, his feet delivered low kicks and heavy stomps, and his knees jabbed and thrust. Margot was overwhelmed, unable to properly aim and fire his gun.

The rogue felt as if he was caught in a relentless storm. Lumian's attacks were unending, always pressing close, never giving Margot a chance to put distance between them to use his firearm.

To Margot, this style of combat was both unfamiliar and perilous.

**Bang!**

Margot's elbow slammed into the wall, causing the whole structure to shake slightly.

**Crack!**

Lumian twisted Margot's right wrist backward, forcing him to drop his black revolver to the ground.

Lumian's hands, elbows, knees, and feet followed up in a rapid sequence of strikes, driving Margot back and leaving him barely able to keep up.

In the end, Margot was merely reacting on instinct, his thoughts unable to keep pace with Lumian's movements.

However, Margot felt that he had begun to grasp the rhythm of Lumian's attacks. He believed that soon, relying on muscle memory alone, he would be able to defend against all of them.

Just a little longer, and he would counterattack!

Following his instincts, Margot lifted his right foot to block another low kick.

But nothing came.

Lumian's left leg extended with a flexibility beyond human limits, hooking the silver-black short blade that had been lying quietly on the ground nearby.

The furious assault earlier was merely a tactic to drive Margot closer to the "Fallen Mercury."

The sinister silver-black short blade flew into the air, aimed straight at Margot's thigh.

Pinned down by Lumian's relentless pressure and standing on one foot, Margot found many of his movements restricted. He could only barely pull back his right leg and turn his body slightly in an attempt to dodge.

"Fallen Mercury" grazed his thigh, slicing through the sailcloth pants and leaving a shallow cut.

**Crack! Crack! Crack!**

Lumian resumed his frenzied close-quarters assault with the techniques Aurore had taught him. Margot, unable to deal with his leg injury, was once again forced on the defensive.

Fortunately for him, the wound was shallow, with only a trickle of blood.

**Bang!**

Margot's back slammed against the wall.

At that moment, his raised arms found nothing to block.

Confused and stunned, Margot saw the bandage-wrapped man deliberately retreat, putting some distance between them.

Then, the strange man turned and ran, kicking up the silver-black short blade and catching it in his left hand as he did so.

Margot froze for a second before starting to give chase. Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed from the mouth of the alley.