Fast, agile, nimble, flexible, and a brilliant sense of timing. These were all traits of the shadow fighter that allowed them to win every fight they had. The question that ran through Austin's mind was how was one meant to defeat someone like this.
Sure, he could bully his way to victory, using his large size and endurance to tire out his opponent and win the fight, but that wouldn't work in every situation.
A high kick aimed at his head, and raising one hand, he managed to block the kick just in time. Though the attacks didn't really hurt him, his face was feeling a bit sore due to the constant hits.
Immediately Austin threw a blind attack back, but didn't feel his fist connect with anything. The shadow fighter was already by his side and delivered a strong kick to his ribs.
"If I keep hammering away, you will eventually fall, right?" The shadow fighter asked, letting out a nervous laugh, as they themselves were not so sure.
'Focus, focus!' Austin thought to himself.
Having never been trained in any fighting style before, he had no guard, nor had he learned any fighting techniques that would help him deal with the situation. Carefully, he watched everything the shadow fighter was doing and, without realizing it, he had become obsessed like a wild beast.
As the shadow fighter moved to the side to get into a better position, Austin didn't move forward or backward. Instead, he pivoted from his position, making sure his front was always facing his opponent.
He was moving perfectly; there was next to no delay in his movements.
'How...how is he able to keep up with me? It's almost as if he knows where I'm going to move even before I do.'
The shadow fighter even tried to purposefully change their position to get Austin to fumble and then go in, but it wasn't working.
This was all due to Austin being a natural at fighting. He didn't realize it himself but he was picking up on every movement in his opponent's body. People, when fighting, telegraphed their moves, from kicks to punches and more. This was also true for professionals.
Some were great at hiding it, but it also meant there were those that were great at reading it as well.
The shadow fighter moved in, and as they did, Austin threw out another punch. This time, it was in the direction of where the Shadow fighter was going rather than where they were. Still, due to their flexible movements, they were able to twist their head, allowing them to avoid the hit.
They spun their body and went to kick with the back of their heel. It was a fast and fluid movement as if it was planned, but the shadow fighter was just a good improviser. It hit and made a solid connection, only it was with the back of Austin's other hand.
"I finally got your timing down," Austin smiled, his hand tightly gripping the foot. Only then did he realize how small the person's foot was. Focused on winning the match, he pushed forward.
The shadow fighter tumbled to the ground, and Austin quickly fell on top of them, pinning them down.
"You... you win," the shadow fighter said, huffing and panting.
With the difference in weight and strength, they knew there was no way for them to escape the current situation. The match was over.
"Hey, did you hear me? I said the match is over. You can get off me now, unless you really want to give me one, because of all the hits I landed on you!" The shadow fighter shouted.
Even in defeat, it seemed like the shadow fighter was still a feisty one. Austin quickly rose from the fighter and started to reflect on the fight they had.
He was extremely focused. Although he couldn't be as fast, nimble, or flexible as the shadow fighter, one thing he could do was improve his timing. Spot the openings, read his opponent, and use that to strike at the perfect moment.
These were skills that would take years to master, yet Austin was able to learn them in one fight. It made him think; this was probably the first time he had tried to learn something during a fight.
After getting up off the floor, the shadow fighter brushed the dirt off themselves a few times.
"Alright, a deal is a deal. I will help you with the whole Phantom Brawl situation," the shadow fighter said. "But we need to do it my way. I don’t want to end up getting killed because of all this. I hope you can understand. I'm not sure about taking on all of the Scavengers.
"But, I can figure out a way for us to get in and get Vlad out of this whole situation."
"Isn't there one more promise that you're forgetting?" Austin said. "I thought you were going to explain who you were and how you know so much."
"What about you? Don't you think you should also take off your mask, unless you're just hiding an ugly mug under there."
Austin quickly removed his mask; there wasn’t much for him to hide in the first place. It was just that if they did anything to ruffle a few feathers, people wouldn't associate them with the Howlers.
"I guess you're not that ugly after all," the shadow fighter said, throwing another small object towards Austin.
With quick reactions, he caught it and realized that it was a type of credit card.
"2223 is the pin number," the shadow fighter said. "Use that to stay at the Merlin Hotel. Every night at 9:00 pm, come down to the lobby. I might not be there, but eventually I will and we can go from there."
With that said and done, the shadow fighter rushed off, running away.
"Wait a second... I didn’t even get to see who they were or find out their identity," Austin said. "And to trust me so much with a card? Anyway, one thing’s for sure." Austin looked at his hand.
When he had fallen on top of the shadow fighter, his hand had slipped to a certain soft place. "I'm a hundred percent sure now, the shadow fighter is a woman."
*****
For updates for MVS and future works please remember to follow me on my social media below.
Instgram: Jksmanga
Discord: d.I.s.cord.gg/jksmanga
When news of MVS, MWS or any other series comes out, you will be abel to see it there frist, and you can reach out to me. If im not to busy I tend to reply back