The Mind World And The Outcast Hero

Round 2! A 3 Versus 1 Battle!

The air was blanketed by black smoke. The dark clouds grumbled from above and the sound of different explosions rocketed throughout the city. In some areas, metal clashed against metal creating a sound similar to sharp fingernails scratching against a chalkboard. It was a scene that the three friends had only seen in movies. 

They watched the Beast King intently as the wind blew against his tattered garment. His devious smirk wrenched their hearts like a torture tool. This man had brought so much pain to many innocent people. He needed to be stopped at all costs.

"Sindy, you take my left and Andrew, you take my right," ordered Nathan.

Andrew and Sindy then quickly got into position with their weapons in hand.

"Well, this is quite a surprise..." Began the Beast King callously. "I expected you all to be groveling in your failures but instead you're back on the battlefield. I must admit that I'm quite impressed."

"We decided that we wouldn't let you win. Those same Demon Beasts you control will be eating your corpse from the cold concrete in just a moment," warned Andrew.

The Beast King licked his lips as if he laid his eyes upon a scrumptious meal. He could hardly wait to break Andrew's confidence.

 "Is that so? Then we should even up the numbers first, shouldn't we? Beast Art: Human Mimicry!"

Utilizing his Beast Art, the Beast King summoned two human-like Demon Beast. They were the size of an adult human and had sharp scythes made from Spirit Energy.

"Now then, unlike the last time, I'll be taking this seriously! Don't die on me too quickly kids!!"

"Sorry, but that reservation is already set for you! Fire Art: Infernal Flare!" Exclaimed Sindy activating an Art Style.

Andrew also joined in with an Art Style of his own, "Water Art: Water Dragon Missile!"

Following this, the Arts exploded in a powerful explosion, coating the Beast King and his minions in a cloud of steam. This confused the Beast King considerably. Instead of having the attacks hit him directly, Sindy and Andrew had combined their attack to create a smokescreen around him. It was very evident that they had gained quite a bit of experience since his last encounter with them.

Due to this, he began looking around frantically in case of a surprise attack. This was when he noticed a slight shift in the smoke around him. He was certain that it was one of the assassins trying to catch him off guard.

"Too easy!!" He shouted as he swung his scythe towards the area where he had seen movement.

However, to the Beast King's surprise, it was nothing more than a piece of cloth torn from Nathan's uniform.

"Clench them damn teeth!" Suddenly shouted Nathan from behind.

Hurriedly, the Beast King swung himself around before blocking Nathan's sword with his scythe. Little did he know that this was exactly what Nathan had wanted.

Nathan then doubled his fist, pulled back his arm, and swung a ferocious punch into the Beast King's face. The power of the punch rocketed him backwards causing him to burst through the wall of smoke flying. The Beast King bounced across the road like a soccer ball before he could regain his balance. 

However, his minions were still a major threat. They lunged at Nathan ready to cut him down but Nathan knew he wasn't alone. Almost immediately, Sindy and Andrew appeared beside him before simultaneously kicking the minions back towards the Beast King. 

Slowly, the Beast King then arose to his feet wiping away a drop of blood from his nose. He could hardly believe how well the three assassins were working together.

"They marked my location within that smokescreen then created a diversion to catch me off guard. For a bunch of amateurs that was some decent teamwork," he thought to himself.

"Lightning Art: Thunderclap Strike!"

However, the three assassins weren't about to give the Beast King time to recover. Thunder boomed as Nathan threw himself towards him, ready to end the battle with one final attack.

 

Regrettably, one of the Beast King's minions managed to block the attack just in time. Following this, the second minion came with a downward swing of its scythe, ready to cleave Nathan in half. Fortunately, Sindy was not about to let that happen. She ran in front of Nathan before catching the attack on the blade of her knives.

"You've gotten better kids but now you're wide open!" Shouted the Beast King.

 

Quickly, the Beast King took advantage of the situation. He knew that Nathan and Sindy would not be able to react to his attack since his minions had them pinned. Ferociously, he then swung his scythe towards the two assassins. However, he had made a grave error. He had forgotten about Andrew who was now swinging his swords towards his neck.

Irritably, the Beast King was as skillful as ever. He swiftly dodged Andrew's attack before countering with a painful jab with the hilt of his scythe. The hilt jammed into Andrew's forehead, rocketing his skull with excruciating pain. But the Beast King wasn't done. Relentlessly, he then twirled himself around before delivering a violent kick to Andrew's cheek.

"Urgh..!" Screamed Andrew as he was thrown back into the arms of Nathan and Sindy.

"Come on Andrew, don't be so reckless! Individually, he's stronger than each of us. If we hope to win then we have to keep our attacks in sync and not stray too far from one another!" Reprimanded Sindy.

Andrew then slowly wiped a bit of blood from his lips before apologizing.

"Sorry, I got a little carried away there..."

"It's all good. At least we managed to destroy his minions while you kept him busy," comforted Nathan.

The Beast King frowned upon seeing this. He hadn't noticed that his minions had been killed until Nathan mentioned it.

"Destroy my minions, you say? I have plenty more! Beast Art: Mass Summoning!"

Suddenly, a hoard of low-level Demon Beasts appeared before charging towards the assassins. Hurriedly, the three then got into formation before swiftly cutting them down. Little did they know that this was merely a diversion. As soon as they killed all the Demon Beasts, they found themselves surrounded by a thick blanket of dust that complicated their vision. They couldn't even see the Beast King.

"Demon Art: Shadow Arms!"

Taking advantage of his diversion, the Beast King used his Shadow Arms to deliver a powerful punch to Nathan's gut. Luckily, Nathan had detected the slight shift in the cloud of dust and had guarded himself with his sword just before impact. This had prevented him from taking any damage.

However, the power of the punch still flung Nathan into the air. Sindy and Andrew had to take immediate action to catch him, cushioning his fall.

"Damn, he's tough!" Groaned Nathan.

"What do we do?" Asked Sindy.

"He's struggling too so we just need to keep up the pressure. We can win!"

Slowly, the Beast King began to approach them with a broad grin across his lips.

"What's wrong kids? Tired already? Because I'm just getting started!"

"I'll try to beat him in speed!" Declared Nathan. "Lightning Art: Fading Strike!"

Nathan lunged at the Beast King with breathtaking speeds ready to end the fight with one final attack. Sadly, this proved to be a slight mistake as the Beast King did the unexpected and dodged the attack. This surprised Nathan considerably as no one had ever been able to dodge his fastest attack before.

"What? You thought I'd fall for the same trick twice? I've been waiting for you to make that attack from the second I laid eyes on you. It was all a matter of timing!" Laughed the Beast King.

The Beast King then jammed his elbow into Nathan's nape, forcing him to his knees in pain. He then lifted his scythe, ready to deliver the final blow.

"This will be your grave, Mind Hero!!"