Author’s note:

I split the chapters like the way I did because I needed to make sure I ended the fight in chapter 60. It is because I want the .5 chapters every five chapters from this point forward. All the 0.5 chapters will be the “Original Timeline” (Timeline A), and the regular chapters will be the “Alternate timeline”(Timeline B)

Sorry if it seems like too many cliff hangers.

Chapter 59- "Mud" Slinging

***July 5th, 965 A.F. (Night)***

***Mechanna***

***Ajax McGuire**

This is no joke. Wyn is prepared to attack with both a sword and magic. If I stay away from her, I would be attacked by long range magic. If I get close to her, I would be assaulted by her short range sword. Since this is a lose/lose situation, I should choose to stay away from her. I would rather deal with her magic.

First of all, all magic have cast times. When someone casts any magic with attributes, even if it chantless, they would freeze for just a moment. Even if magic has more damage potential, this split second difference should give me the edge to deal with whatever comes my way.

Secondly, I don’t have a weapon to block the sword attacks. I would be only dodging. If I keep myself at a distant and force her to use magic attacks, at the very least, I would have a chance to catch my breath. In between attack.

Lastly, I am already at a distant from her. If I want to challenge her swordsmanship, I would need to get close. Currently, I don’t have a strategy that will let me get close to Wyn safely. I already used my “Solar Flare” trick and it wouldn’t work on her again. I need to buy some time to figure how to survive...

That’s it! I don’t need to attack her, I just need to survive. I need to make it so that she can’t attack me anymore. It’s a lot easier goal to achieve, especially when I don’t know if I can even damage her with her armor on.

Still in deep thought, Wyn broke the stalemate and launched an attack. She threw the fireball in her hand at me like a grenade. At the same time, charged at me with the ready sword. Judging from the parabola of the tossed fireball, it’s going to land behind me. I see. She is trying to bait me to back stepping into the fireball. A fireball to the back and a sword attack in the front. I would be in trouble if this were a 2D fighter game.

I quickly step to the side as Wyn tried to land her diagonal slash. Just as she missed her attack, the fireball that she threw grew brighter. It was the universal sign that it was going to explode. I immediately jumped in the air, and cast spells give myself some protection to soften the blast.

[Clean up! Clean up! Clean up! Clean up!]

I was in midair as the fireball exploded. A thin layer of water dampened a bit of the impact and also protected me from the heat. Still I was knocked backward, sending me through the air. I rolled as I landed to mitigate the damage further. I was not heavily damaged. However, I can feel the damage accumulating. I don’t think I can take another blast like that without permanent damage.

Steeling my resolve, I stood back up as soon as possible. I raised both my hands above my head and activated my ring to summon a barrel of Belhern Whiskey. I had a couple of barrels stashed in my ring in case of emergency. It looks like my precautions paid off. I threw the barrel at Wyn with all my strength. The barrel was heavy, though. It didn’t travel far. Even with my insane stats I couldn’t fight physics. I didn’t expect to hit her with the barrel, though. That wasn’t my aim. The barrel landed just shy of a meter in front of Wyn. I snapped my fingers like Roy Mustang just as the barrel exploding, releasing its contents onto the floor.

[Ignite!]

The whiskey exploded into a fireball. An eye for an eye, an explosion for an explosion. I was expecting to deal some damage on her, at the very least, daze her a bit to give me time to regroup. Unfortunately, she was completely unfazed. Amidst the rising blue flame, she stood confidently. A spherical barrier surrounded her. Damn overpowered magic.

“Is that all you got? What other shit you have to throw at me?”

That remark gave me a nasty idea. Something that I completely forgot that I had stored in my ring. I smirked and replied Wyn.

“Oh, I got lots of shit to throw at you.”

I raised my activated the ring once again, summoning the large amount of water that I stored at from the previous trap. My target was not at her, though, it was the flame in front of her. As soon as the jet of water hits the fire, the water instantly vaporized, creating a dense fog. I needed to blind her to prepare for my next attack.

Wasting no time, I summoned the wet shirt I had on the ground. Never in my life, I would never think that this would come handy. I filled the inside of the shirt with sludge that I got stored in the ring when I accidentally dropped the ring into the latrine. After that, I rolled it into a ball. Using the sleeves as a sling, I swung it above my head. I tried not to be gross out when a bit of the sewage leaked on to me.

Before long the fog cleared up. Wyn was readied in a stance, holding the sword with both hands. I aimed and released the ball at Wyn. The ball flew through the air straight at her. She reacted instinctively and swung at the ball vertically, splitting the ball in half. However, the momentum carried the raw sewage forward and lands on her face. It had taken half a second before Wyn registered what covered her face.

*BARF*

Wyn hunched over, vomiting. Seeing the opportunity, I ran and closed the distance between us. The first thing I did when I got close was activating and storing her sword into my ring to make sure she can’t use it against me anymore. After that, I kicked with all my might from behind to bring her to her knees. I summoned my wet pants, twisting it into a makeshift rope and tied it around her legs. Then I pulled with all my might. With a bang, she fell flat on her face. I forcefully pulled one of the hands behind her back and tied it along with her legs.

The smell of the sewage was overwhelming. As a service to both her and me, I summoned the water that I had to clean up everything and to put out the rest of the burning flame. I laid on my back taking a few deep breaths. It was finally over.

Author’s post note:

I could have put this another cliff hanger, but I didn’t :P

Also, kudos to the people who guessed how this fight would end.