Oliver's eyes widened in alarm at the Elf's first, lightning fast thrust. Barely bringing his own sword up in time to deflect the blow, his alarm only grew as the razor-thin rapier was retracted before he could even make contact- only to dart forward again like a striking serpent, forcing him to backpedal.

Instantly on the back-foot, Oliver didn't expect his opponent to stop... or the look of disappointment on Oakheart's face.

"I was expecting more, honestly." The Elf sighed, shaking his head. "I will try to end this as quickly and cleanly as I can- out of respect for our polite conversation, if nothing else."

"I've fought people faster than me, and people that were better than me. Never faced someone that was both, until now." Oliver said softly, a small smile on his face. "Thank you for reminding me not to get overconfident."

Oakheart nodded at the thanks, though he clearly didn't take it to heart- and why would he? The reminder would mean nothing after he killed his opponent... and, while he didn't technically have to kill Oliver, he knew that this man was the biggest obstacle to completing his mission and obtaining his rewards.

"I wish you well in your next life, Oliver Si-"

Oliver's sudden lunge cut off his sentence, forcing him to quickly sidestep the thrust. His own blade struck out in return, barely drawing blood before he was forced to abort the attack- Oliver having shifted his lunge into a sweeping cut.

Oakheart seemed to dance around Oliver's attacks, constantly circling as he dodged by the most narrow of margins, only to strike back with rapid thrusts. Across the deck, around the mast, and back up past the wheel, the fight swept across the ship like a storm.

Despite his greater speed and skill, Oakheart found himself frustrated- and more than a little concerned. His opponent attacked almost madly, only bothering to defend against strikes that would be lethal. Dozens of shallow cuts dotted Oliver's body, though no blood seemed to flow- it seemed... unnatural.

Worse yet, none of the wounds were truly debilitating, as any time he tried to commit to the attack he was forced back by a furious counter before he could do more- like Oliver was willing to accept a crippling wound to kill him.

"Death by a thousand cuts it is." He said with an air of finality- though Oliver simply grinned in response.

Oakheart gave up on trying to end the fight cleanly- or even quickly. No more did he aim for the vitals, or even for crippling strikes. His rapier darted through the air, always keeping his opponent at the very extent of his reach, and small cuts and stabs began to mount...

When the sword disappeared from Oliver's hand, Oakheart thought he had given up- only for a halberd to suddenly appear, already sweeping across in an attempt to bisect him.

Caught by surprise, he only managed to interpose his blade before the heavy polearm slammed into him and sent him tumbling across the deck. Rolling quickly to his feet, Oakheart ignored the ugly gash on his side- his hasty block had prevented being cut in half, thankfully, and the wound wasn't terribly deep...

He silently chastised himself for growing complacent- he hadn't expected Oliver to have other weapons... Though, considering how his sword had just appeared from nowhere, he realized he should have thought of the possibility.

But, with Oliver already closing with him, he didn't have time to lament his error. Stepping back from another swipe, he spun around the ax-like head and began to close on his opponent- only for it to vanish, replaced once more by a sword.

"Now that I know your trick," Oakheart growled softly. "It won't work again."

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

"Who said I only have one trick?" Oliver smirked, his free hand whipping forward in a throwing motion.

Hurriedly retreating, Oakheart's blade rose to intercept the thrown object- and a moment of confusion crossed his features as he realized it wasn't a blade, but instead an odd, tube shaped object. A hint of panic flashed through him, as the possibility of it being an explosive occurred to him a second too late.

His blade swept across the object, splitting it instantly in half... and an unknown powdered scattered through the air.

Throwing himself away from the airborne powder, he hurriedly covered his mouth with the edge of his cloak. "You would dare unleash poison!? Where is the honor I believed you to possess?" He snarled, fury welling in his chest.

A small smirk flashed across Oliver's face as he eyed the distance between them. Oakheart's frantic dodge had carried him almost all the way to the prow, while Oliver still stood near the wheel- far to the rear. "Poison? Nah, just some garlic salt- probably my favorite trick..."

A small chuckle escaped Oliver as he raised his hand, a ball of fire rapidly forming in his palm. "I just needed a little space to work."

Oakheart's eyes widened in surprise- this human possessed battle magic! Why did he not use it sooner? 'My shield stops mundane projectiles... He could have ended the fight instantly! Why didn't he?' The Elf's mind raced, not understanding why a mage would engage in a sword fight when he possessed potent offensive spells...

When Oliver's hand whipped forward, launching the fiery projectile, Oakheart flinched- then grimaced, as he realized the true target.

The explosion rocked the boat, and pieces of wood, cloth and rope went flying in all directions as it ripped through the rigging above... And was quickly followed by a second, then a third.

"Killing you was never my objective, as you'll recall." Oliver said with a bright smile. "And, while I certainly enjoyed our fight... I'm not sure I would have won by fighting fair."

"You really are quite good..."

"So, I just... flipped the table, so to speak." Oliver shrugged, a small grimace flashing across his face as the motion pulled at his numerous cuts. "That should delay this ship for a while, at least- which is all that really matters."

"A couple weeks, at least... assuming they have enough spare sails to even replace it all." Ram muttered in shock as he stared at the burning debris- and wondered if the fire would spread to more of the ship before the pirates could contain it.

"Now, if you'll excuse us." Oliver bowed dramatically as he backed up to the railing. Plucking his AK from Ram's hands, it disappeared alongside his sword, and he motioned the large Demon off the back of the ship. "We still have things to do."

"It was nice meeting you Oakheart, even if it was as enemies." He said and, with a wave, hopped off the ship to slide down the rope he had tied off earlier.

"What an interesting fellow..." Oakheart muttered, carefully sheathing his sword before pressing a hand to his wounded side. As pirates flooded onto the deck, rushing to put out the fires, he sighed softly- he had failed in his mission. "On the bright side... that was a fairly entertaining fight." He consoled himself.

"You could have done that at any point, couldn't you?" Ram semi-accused.

"I mean, not exactly." Oliver shrugged as their raft skipped across the waves, quickly heading away from the pirate ship. "It takes a couple seconds of focus to cast, and I couldn't afford to do that in the middle of the fight."

"Then why the hell didn't you just do it from the start!?"

Oliver sighed, not entirely sure how to explain magic to his Demon companion. "Well... Uh... Think of magic like a gun, ok? I've only got a limited number of shots... But I've also got other ways to use it besides huge fiery explosions. So, if I spend them all on making things go boom, I can't use them for other stuff."

"What other stuff?" Ram asked, curiosity and confusion warring in his eyes.

"Like healing..." Oliver said slowly, glancing at his mana- which was down by a third after their little adventure. Knowing he wasn't doing well at explaining, he had Lita retract from the numerous cuts and stabs scattered across his body. As the blood began to flow, his hand glowed for a second as he quickly cast his healing spell. Lightly touching his own arm, he took in the shock that flashed across Ram's face as the wounds began to close.

"Yeah, didn't want to blow my load early... And I wasn't expecting the fight to be quite that tough... Honestly, I wasn't expecting someone like him to show up, and having superior guns made me a bit complacent..."

"Poli is going to be pissed..." He muttered softly. "I bet I get a lecture- I mean, I guess I deserve it..."

"It was a fun fight." He sighed, glancing back at the burning ship. "Probably for the best if I don't run into him again for a while, though..."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.