The pop of a firecracker could be heard as Alex once again disappeared from where he was standing, only to appear in the center of the clearing, once again clashing with Sponge. Alex used Impact on his sword, pushing Sponge's sword upward, and poising his sword to strick at Sponge's chest.
Instead of being met with the satisfying squelch of metal meeting skin, he was instead met with air as Sponge redirected his sword to the side with one hand before kicking Alex's already off-balance leg, causing him to fall onto the ground.
Sponge flipped his blade over into reverse grip and attempted to stab into the ground, only to miss his target by a hair's breadth as Alex rolled over. Alex stumbled to his feet, narrowly avoiding being decapitated by a particularly close sword slash, and once again used his trait to launch himself back and gain some distance.
Alex had no time to rest as just when he had gained his footing he had to quickly put his sword up to block yet another sword slash aiming to cut him in half vertically. "You know, you not half bad... For an A-Rank that is," came Sponges taunting voice. Alex didn't respond as he once again used his trait to send Sponge's blade back, only to be unprepared as Sponge brought his blade right back into the clash, knocking an unprepared Alex's sword off center and allowing a free strike at him.
Sponge didn't miss the opportunity as he sent a stab at Alex's heart, causing Alex to have to step to the side. Alex was rewarded with a deep gash on his left arm for his efforts but didn't let the pain bother him as he sent a slash at Sponge, who simply jumped back, landing a few feet from him.
Sponge was about to taunt him once more but stopped and watched as Alex made hand signs with his damaged arm before rushing at him. Sponge made to intercept Alex but had to jump up to avoid being impaled from behind by a now-recovered Adrian.
Sponge quickly put his sword up and parried the incoming shadow daggers which shot up at him and as he landed he quickly turned around to intercept Alex's attack which was poised to impale him. Sponge was about to punish but was caught off guard as his leg was wrapped up by a shadow tendril which sent him flying in the air towards a tree.
Sponge flipped mid-air and landed feet first in a crouch before jumping in the air, deflecting all sorts of projectiles that were sent at him before once again landing, much more on guard than he was before.
His guard was well warranted as both Alex and Adrian ran at him from both sides. Sponge blocked Alex's sword strike with his own while using his other hand to grab Adrian's clawed hand. Sponge swung Adrian around while deflecting Alex's sword to the side, kicking Alex away while he continued to press on off-balance Adrian. Adrian enveloped himself in a shield of shadows only for Sponge to cut through it, leaving a wide-eyed Adrian fully exposed. Adrian put his hand up to deflect a sword slash only for it to be a feint as Sponge dropped down lower and pierced Adrian through the stomach.
Adrian's eyes went expressionless right before he disappeared in a burst of shadows. "Tch, y'all really love your miss direction huh?" asked a clearly annoyed Sponge. Alex appeared in front of Sponge, ready to strike, only to be punched in the face, knocking him off balance. "Predictable" came the voice of Sponge as he slashed at Alex, leaving a gash on his chest. Sponge went to push the advantage, and made quick work of a wall of shadows that appeared in front of him, before attacking Alex. The two once again clashed in a flurry of parries and attacks, with Alex clearly losing footing to his opponent's overwhelming speed advantage.
Suddenly Adrian appeared in Sponge's blind spot and attempted to run Sponge through with a shadow sword only for it to be expertly dodged. The trio continued a dangerous dance of attacks and defense in the clearing, neither side gaining an advantage. Suddenly Sponge was launched into the air as the ground under him suddenly became a pillar of shadows, which sent him barreling towards a block above him.
