A clawed hand was wrapped around Sami's face, his body dragged across the ground. The pavement cracked and splintered from the force. Finally, the figure let go of Sami, letting his momentum carry him forward.
BAM!
A cloud of dirt went up into the air as Sami made a small dent in the wall that surrounded the city. Sami fell to the ground in a daze, his shirt torn from the friction. Before Sami had a chance to gather his thoughts, the figure grabbed him by the throat, lifting him into the air before slamming him back into the ground.
SLAM!
Sami's blood flew from his mouth as the figure continued to punch him into the ground.
"Do you think that you can embarrass me and I wouldn't return, huh?" the figure growled.
Each word was emphasized with another hit, a crater forming around them due to the force of the blows. When the figure threw another punch, Sami's body flickered, turning from solid to orange before shattering into tiny particles.
"You know, I kinda get why that academy douchebag loves that spell," Sami's voice echoed from behind the man, a grin playing on his lips as he sat on top of the wall, kicking his legs back and forth.
"How did—" the figure trailed off. "How the hell did you do that!?"
"Honestly? It's just… there," Sami commented, shrugging. "Sometimes when I see a spell, it just clicks for me. This one, surprisingly, felt incredibly easy to cast."
The figure's teeth began to lengthen. "Do you think you can keep getting away with embarrassing me?" he questioned.
"Is that a trick question?" Sami replied, sliding off the top of the wall and landing softly on the ground. "Because I don't remember meeting you. Trust me, I'd remember tall, pale, and ugly." Sami shrugged.
"YOU INSOLENT LITTLE—" the figure started, clenching his fist in anger.
"Blah, blah, blah," Sami cut in, stretching before getting into a fighting stance. "So, are we going to fight yet, or are we just going to sit here and chat? Fair warning, you're way too ugly for me to flirt with."
"YOU'LL RUE THE DAY YOU MESSED WITH CASSIAN!" Cassian roared, charging quickly at Sami in his rage.
"Oh, come on, seriously, who the hell says 'rues'?" Sami mocked.
Cassian didn't reply as he tried to swipe at Sami with his claws. Sami quickly dodged, letting the attack sail wide. Though the claws were faint, Cassian followed with a spin kick, which Sami completely blocked, sending a small shockwave rippling through the field.
The shockwave blew Cassian slightly back as he landed on the ground in a crouch. Sami didn't move as he looked at Cassian, bored.
"You're boring, geez," Sami taunted. "Are you actually going to start trying now, or should I just finish this fight?"
CRACK!
Cassian punched the ground in his fit of anger, his eyes locked on Sami.
"YOU BASTARD!" Cassian shouted as a purple aura began to cover him.
Purple energy surrounded Cassian as rocks began to float around him. Sami couldn't help but smile as he sensed Cassian starting to get serious. The energy he could sense matched Sami's strength right now.
Onyx's voice echoed in his head and warned, "Sami, be careful with this energy. It's familiar to me, but I can't explain why." Onyx earlier had sent herself to the familiar mark to not get injured during the upcoming fight.
"I'll be fine, Onyx," Sami replied.
"I don't like how being around Saint Anna has made you more arrogant," Onyx chastised.
"You know you don't have to call Anna a Saint, right?" Sami stated.
"Ugh, that's not the point, stop being so arrogant," Onyx groaned.
"It's not arrogance, I just love to fight. Plus, I can tell his strength barely matches mine when I'm holding back. I'll be okay with no issues, trust," Sami explained, trying to calm Onyx's worries.
Cassian charged at Sami once again, throwing a barrage of punches that Sami easily dodged. Cassian switched to a leg trip, and Sami casually lifted his leg up. Cassian used the momentum of his missed attack, whipping his upper body around, trying to deliver a spinning backfist.
Sami leaned back from the backfist, countering with a jab to Cassian's side. This caused Cassian to stumble back, holding his ribs. Pressing the attack, Sami lashed out with a side kick that Cassian barely blocked. Sami, continuing the motion of the kick, hit Cassian's face with a reverse roundhouse.
CRACK!
Cassian's head snapped back as small particles flew from his skin. He fell to the ground as cracks began to form around his cheek. Cassian stumbled back from the hit, holding his cheek in pain as he glared at Sami. His eyes turned black as the purple aura still surrounded his body.
Sami slowly lowered his leg as he returned to a neutral stance, his breathing normal as he looked at Cassian.
"OH NO!" Onyx exclaimed, her voice shaky.
"What's wrong?" Sami questioned.
"Sigh, so remember when I said that energy felt familiar?" Onyx recited.
"Yeah," Sami answered.
Cassian was impatient as he ran and jumped at Sami, lashing out with a flying kick. Sami blocked the attack, sliding back from the force. Cassian flipped over Sami, throwing a punch at the back of his head.
Sami dodged the punch, grabbing the extending arm, and flipped Cassian over his head, slamming Cassian hard into the ground.
"Welp, he's a vampire," Onyx revealed.
Sami was shocked at the statement. "What did you just say?"
Sami was distracted enough that Cassian was able to catch him with a kick to the stomach, following it up with a front kick to Sami's head. Sami's face hit the ground hard, causing more cracks to form.
"Okay, that actually hurt, fuck," Sami thought. "Onyx, we'll talk about this later. Let me finish up this fight before I get distracted again."
Cassian went to follow up with a stomp to the head. Sami rolled out of the way before doing a windmill, catching Cassian off guard and knocking him to the ground. Sami quickly jumped to his feet as Cassian climbed to his.
Sami this time didn't wait for Cassian to attack. Stepping into his guard, he delivered an open palm attack to Cassian's chest. Cassian stumbled back but didn't have time to recover as Sami followed up with a flying high kick.
Cassian flew through the air, barely moving once he landed on the ground. Sami felt a huge amount of magic energy get released as Cassian hit the ground. Looking at Cassian, he walked over and grabbed him by the leg. Sami took off running, dragging Cassian on the ground.
"Payback, bitch, for dragging my face into the ground," Sami growled in his head.
"He really needs to stop hanging around Saint Anna," muttered Onyx.