Chapter 22 - Soul Domain

While Loki was distracted, a sudden blow pushed him from behind. He swiftly looked back, wondering what hit him, but when he did, he found nothing.

"Do you seriously believe you could deal with me with that kind of attack?" The woman said.

Loki darted his attention to every tree, bush, and rock as he had no clue where the voice was coming from.

"There's no point searching, you will never find where I'm hiding."

After those words, Loki felt something behind him; thus, he spun around and stabbed with his dagger. Yet, he hit nothing but air. Then another blow hit him from behind. Even though the damage he received wasn't life-threatening, it was painful nonetheless.

"Stop hiding like a coward and fight me!" Loki screamed in frustration.

"hehe, do you think I'm an idiot?" The woman mocked. "If you have an advantage, would you give it up so you can be called brave?"

Loki knew that already, his statement was a mere provocation, hoping the masked stranger would fall. Unfortunately, it was too stupid of a trick.

"Still, can you beat me with your lousy staff?"

"Perhaps not, but I'm not fighting to kill, all I need to do is buy enough time for my partner to finish cleaning the trash."

Dammit, she is right, we're the ones who have no time. But what should I do? I can't kill something I can't see.

As he waited another assault hit him on his waist, but it didn't stop there, after that, he got hit from his back, stomach, head, and chest. Yet, he hadn't seen his attacker. He tried to fight back by swinging his dagger like a madman, but all he accomplished was making himself a fool.

Is she invisible? No, that's not right. Even if she is invisible, she should still be making sounds, but I heard no footsteps.

"Think faster, my partner would be done if you keep your current pace."

I hate to admit it, but I do need to think fast. What do I have that can solve this problem? Think… Think…

The masked woman didn't let Loki contemplate in peace as she bombarded him with strikes.

However, Loki didn't react and endured it. His focus was solely on finding a solution. Then an idea hit him. He had other skills besides his Rogue abilities! With no idea what would happen, Loki used [Soul Domain]. A green dome expanded 10 meters in all directions, and he could feel everyone inside it: The long-haired, the masked swordsman, Leo, Pandora, and most importantly, the masked woman.

She was standing in front of him all along. Yet, he couldn't see her, as if something blocked his senses. The woman was still standing when another attack landed on his side, but he vaguely felt her presence before the attack.

How is that possible? As if there are two of them? Was it her skill? To make a copy of herself, is that why all my slashes hit nothing but air?

Now that he could sense the woman's attack he could dodge or at least block it. Without wasting time, he dashed towards where his enemy was. Even though he couldn't see her, he could feel she was moving to her left. Knowing this, Loki smiled and followed her.

"What?" The masked woman exclaimed.

"Surprise?" Loki smugly asked.

"How can you see me? My skill is still activated, so how?"

"Hehe, what am I stupid? Why would I tell my secret to my enemy?"

It seems she can't see the green dome, because if she could, she should have connected the dots already.

The woman tried to use her mysterious way of attacking but they wouldn't work for Loki anymore. The assaults were easy to evade and the force behind them was weak, so he didn't have a problem blocking them. Upon reaching the woman, Loki stabbed the nothingness in front of him, sure that he would feel resistance this time.

As he predicted, the tip of his dagger hit a hard material like perhaps the wooden staff of the woman. Loki grinned. "There you are."

"You obnoxious kid!" The woman screamed in anger.

Loki stepped back as he felt a blow landed on his stomach. Even though he could sense his enemy, the fact that he couldn't see her remained a struggle.

Loki's smile disappeared when he felt the woman was charging at him and using her mysterious ability to attack. He did his best to dodge and block all the assaults but he always failed to predict where the woman would bash him.

"If I can't predict your attack, then I won't give you time to do so," Loki muttered.

He wasn't trained with dual daggers, but if he wanted to make sure his enemy had no time to breathe, he had to bombard her with slashes and stabs. Unsheathing another dagger from his belt, he propelled his body and did what he intended.

He threw all he had to the woman, hoping his daggers would land a hit. However, even after attacking for a few minutes, he accomplished nothing.

That's right, even if she is a mage, she is more experienced than me when it comes to fighting. I need to think of another trick to catch her off guard.

Loki attacked while thinking. But soon, due to exertion, he slipped from the grass. The woman didn't let the opportunity go to waste and rushed at him. Without an option, he activated [Evading Blink] and teleported behind the woman. He also took the chance and used [Backstab].

Nevertheless, he felt the same resistance as before.

Of course, considering how common Rogue is, I'm sure she has plenty of time fighting them, so a trick like that won't work.

Loki started to feel the consequence of his unyielding attacks as they depleted a large chunk of his stamina. And using his skills gave it no help. Due to this, he decided to retreat and hid behind the trees.

"What now kid? Do you have any spare time to waste?" The masked woman mocked.

Loki still could sense the presence of the long-haired; thus, he was still alive—at least that was what he thought, after all, he didn't fully understand his ability.

I can't think of any trick to defeat this woman, and I doubt Pandora could help me. How can she tangle her if she can't see her? Wait… no that isn't right, the masked woman isn't invisible, but she is using her skill to deceive my senses. Therefore, Pandora can still see her!

"PANDORA! Helped me defeat my enemy!" Loki shouted, alerting everyone of his plan.

Loki didn't care if his enemy knew what his intention was. It was better that way because they would become wary and act more reserved.

When the woman heard him, he sensed her stopping, clearly concerned about Pandora's skill. This was also good for Loki as he could replenish some of his stamina. He didn't need much, just enough to finish his battle in one fell swoop.

However, it appeared the masked woman changed her tactics and ran towards Pandora and Leo. Loki smiled, this was the best outcome he could ask for. He was concerned if Pandora's skill could reach the woman, but now his enemy herself solved that worry of his.

After waiting a few seconds, he followed the masked stranger, intending to fight her near his party member.

When the woman was near enough, Loki fastened his ran and threw a small knife to slow her down. He didn't waste time, he rushed forward and rained her with attacks again.

"Pandora if you can see her, use your skill," Loki informed.

The woman tried disengaging, but Loki didn't let her and chased her non-stop. Soon, she stopped running, as roots entangled her feet. Loki took the opportunity and dashed forward. However, he knew the woman would manage to block his assault; thereby, he used feint and ran past her. Then, with a quick succession, he utilized [Backstab].

This time, his blade got through to something less solid, and upon retracting his dagger, red liquid coated its blade. But Loki didn't stop there, he swung his other dagger, intending to cause more injury. Unfortunately, the woman blocked it.

Loki didn't get discouraged, he jumped back, wanting to catch his breath. Bleed inflicted the woman, soon she would become desperate and do whatever she could to finish the fight. Otherwise, she would become weaker as time went by.

Upon successfully removing the roots that hugged her feet, the masked woman distanced herself from Loki and his party. Furthermore, it appeared she stopped using the skill that blocked the senses as he could finally see her.

"L-Loki, she is using her skill on me, I can't see her anymore," Pandora warned.

So that's your plan. Pretty smart, considering it's almost useless against me.

"What are you taking so long? Finish your fight already!" The masked woman screamed.

"I know! Do you think I don't want to? This guy has a lot of tricks!" The masked swordsman replied.

Loki smiled. "Do you have time to waste? That wound will slowly kill you just so you know.