Chương 99: Surprise Visitor IV

Diana turned to face him, a small twitch at the corner of her lips.

"A spar?" She asked, her tone amused.

"You think you can keep up?" Evel stared directly into her dual coloured eyes, "Scared to find out?" Her soft smile widened into a crinkle-eyed grin.

"You're on." Evel grabbed onto the top hat by the doorway and lightly brushed past her as he stepped out into the streets. A cool gust of wind collided with his hat, but he placed a hand to keep it firm. He held the door open for Diana to walk out, then made sure he locked it this time. He didn't know if he could handle it if another surprise visitor like Bremin randomly showed up. Although in his case, I'd be able to sense him the moment I opened the door…

By now, the skies were streaks of dark orange as the day came to a close and the sun reflected off the clouds. For now, at least, the streets were still well-lit from the sun.

"Any fun places around here?" Diana asked, following close behind him as he led the two into the forest, but he went further north. He didn't want to go anywhere near the place where he'd recently had his fight. She cleared her throat. Snapping out of his thoughts, he replied with the first place that came to mind.

"The circus?"

"That's your job. Anything fun outside of it?" He considered the places he went to for 'fun'. In the end, he realized he didn't actually do much. The closest thing to 'fun' he could think of was the late-night runs where nobody was around. He was all alone and could enjoy the cool air. Since it was training, he doubted that's the answer she was looking for. In the end, he just shrugged.

"Training can be fun, I guess. You?" She hummed, scratching her chin.

"I had to take out a gang who was kidnapping kids and selling 'em off, so taking out the leader of that whole thing was pretty fun. The fat pay I got after was even more fun." Evel huffed with amusement, "That's your job, now. What about outside of it?" She thought about it for a bit longer. In the end, she also just shrugged. He figured as much.

"No rest for those like us who wanna climb, huh?" He sighed. Diana shook her head.

"No, I get eight hours' rest every night. It's important."

"That's not…" He shook his head.

"Sure, ok." The conversation ended there, and they continued in silence. But it wasn't an awkward quiet; if anything, it was peaceful. As they walked at a casual pace and passed by the city, Evel looked out for stores with glass windows. After a few glass windows, he finally found what he was looking for, a clock. 7: 58 He turned to Diana.

"Wanna see what type of stuff I do at the circus?"

"Sure." He effortlessly grabbed the deck of cards — a regular one — from his pockets. After a quick shuffle, he fanned the cards out in front of her with his right hand. She blankly stared at the cards. He nudged them closer. She looked up at Evel, tilting her head, then back at the cards. Right… Clearing his throat, he swiped over the cards with his left.

"Pick a card, but don't tell me which one."

"Oh, sure." She reached forward and pulled out a card, studying it closely.

"After you've memorized your card, return it to the deck." She gave him a quick look before compiling and returning the card. Evel did a flurry of shuffles and flicks in the air, keeping his movements as extravagant as possible. Diana raised an eyebrow, the doubt slowly washing off her face. But she hadn't seen anything yet. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Evel caught one of those cards in the air and confidently flipped it over.

"Is this your card?" She gave him a strange look, "No…" Evel blinked. He looked down at his deck and placed the card back. Then, he grabbed another.

"This one?"

"No."

"This?"

"..."

"Ok, what about this one?"

"People pay you for this?" From afar, a loud series of bell tolls began ringing. Diana's eyes snapped to the clock tower, but Evel pulled her attention back by slapping his forehead.

"Ah, how could I forget?" He grinned.

"I placed the card in your pocket! No wonder it wasn't in the deck." She narrowed her eyes and began checking her clothes for any foreign items. The clocktower got louder and louder until she finally found a card in her back pocket. As she slowly pulled it out, Evel extended his two hands in front of him, palms facing each other. He clapped. The streets flickered. Diana read the card in her hand, the Jack of Hearts. Her eyes widened.

Then, all at once, the street they were on, along with every building around, ignited with a sudden, artificial brilliance. Her eyes widened even further as she scanned the streets around her.

"Is that your card?" She took a sharp breath: "Damn."

"Not bad for a few Riak, huh?"

"What… how?"

"A magician doesn't reveal their secrets," Evel smirked. She had no way of knowing that half of Evel's deck was actually the Jack of Hearts, and he only showed her the other cards so she wouldn't accuse him of rigging. He had slipped the card into her pocket as they exited his house, preparing for the very moment. Preparation is everything!

"Shit," Diana muttered.

"Every time I think I stopped underestimating you…"

"Just wait until we spar." She snorted. Evel didn't actually expect to win the spar. In fact, even the Diana from the trials would probably beat his current self. But still, for some reason, he felt a great compelling urge to prove to her how far he'd come. Finally getting to the edge of the city, the two stepped into the half-indigo, half-green forest. He led her to an open clearing near the hill where he spent his sleepless nights. Diana placed her bow and arrows on the ground.

Then she unbuckled the belts and pouches around her tunic. Evel tossed his cards near her pile, then rolled his shoulders as he walked to the other side of the clearing. So much had happened today, yet somehow, despite the severity of everything, none of it seemed to matter anymore. Right now, the only thing he wanted to do was win this duel.

"No weapons or abilities?" she confirmed. Evel nodded, raising his hands.

"No weapons or abilities." He stared deep into her amber and silver eyes as she raised her arms to match, a satisfied smile on her face. They stood like this for a few seconds, enjoying the anticipation of a battle they both wanted.

"I expected you to begin running right away," Diana taunted.

"From you?" Evel mocked, knowing full well that if this were a real battle, he'd be on the run faster than she thought was possible. With a smirk, Diana kicked off the floor, exploding toward him. His heart raced as he matched her, charging right back. Before they clashed, Diana got low, sweeping her leg. She'd gone for the attack too early, so Evel halted his approach for a brief second, avoiding the hit. As soon as her legs had swept past him, he continued charging in.

She kept her spin going, using the full momentum to jump back on her feet. But that maneuver had cost her time, and Evel was close enough to pounce. Reeling back his right fist, he went for a jab. She was quick, smacking his forearm to parry his strike. Her smile widened, and a fierce look filled her eyes as she followed up. Evel tensed his abs as Diana's fist barreled towards them. BAM! Gritting his teeth, he continued the sequence and snatched Diana's extended arm, forcing her to remain close.

Then, he brought down the arm she'd previously parried upon her. Her body shifted in same direction as the attack and managed to mitigate the brunt of the hit. Even then, he saw how her face had tensed. How for the first time, she realized he was a threat. She kicked him off and jumped back to create some space. He staggered back. So did she.

"You're actually not bad." Diana slightly raised her chin.

"But not good either." She sprang at him again, this time far quicker. Getting close, she rained down a barrage of jabs and kicks. He deflected what he could, but she was far too quick and far too relentless to avoid them all. Occasionally, he'd try to return an attack, but he rarely saw any mistakes in her movements. Even rarer were the mistakes he could take advantage of.

If he were fighting to truly win, he'd switch strategies and try to catch her off guard in one all-in attack, but that wasn't the point of this fight. His breathing quickened, and sweat began clumping up all over his body as dodging and blocking became more difficult. She remained relentless, staying so close he could hear her heavy breathing and soft grunts. But Evel was no slouch. Half the 'training' he got was Albert chasing him around, so he'd gotten quite good at avoiding getting hit by superior opponents.

Diana was strong, but she wasn't impervious, and sooner or later she'd make a mistake. Thankfully, it was sooner. Diana went for a high kick, extending her leg too far out as Evel sidestepped. A glint flashed in his eyes as Evel wrapped his palms around her calves. Her eyes twitched, and her entire body shifted as she tried to generate enough force to push him off. Of course, Evel wasn't about to give up this opportunity.

He leaned back to avoid her counter-attack, and swept his leg to knock her off the one foot she stood on. Without hesitation, she yanked back the leg in his hands and abandoned her connection with the ground altogether. With the force she'd generated, she wrapped both legs around his torso and kept her momentum pushing forward. Shit! Her weight pushed forward, sending him toppling backwards. The ground shook with the combined weight as he let out a pained groan from the crash.

With most of Diana's weight pushing down on his chest, breathing became difficult.

"I—" Diana's hand snapped onto Evel's jaw, shutting it before he could surrender. His heart hammered out of his chest, and from the veins of her fingers on jaw, he could tell hers was all well. She reeled back her other arm high into the air, and curled it into a perfect fist. From her position. she could rain down a flurry of strikes on his face as many times as she wanted. He was defenceless; the fight was over.

"Well," the smile on her face hadn't faded.

"Looks like I won." She loosened her grip on his jaw, though her hand remained. It rested heavy and warm against his skin, her fingers just barely brushing his neck. Her breathing was almost as heavy as his, though she clearly had more control,"I'll retract my previous comment." She leaned forward.

"You were decent."