Then the energy fluctuation from both the beast and beast master stopped. The strigil took of to the ceiling. Where it began to circle. Then, there was a change in the beast master. There was a change in the beast master's eye. There was a red glow in it. If one looked closely at the beast, then they would also wee the same glow in the strigil's eye as well. The strigil was making its signature noise while it was flying around.
" Hoot"
"Hoot"
" Hooot"…
Ben was getting annoyed at the sound. But that did not distract him from the changes that were happening in front of him. The beast master had a change in aura. His muscles bulged a bit. The glow in his eyes were more pronounced and the nails in his hand looked more menacing.
Ben did not wait more. He attacked him using impact pulse. Claw after claw flew towards the beast master. Ben's aim and angle had improved. He was sending the attacks such that if the person dodged one, two will be targeting him. He did not have an extensive algorithm for that. But for the time being that was enough, because the speed of the claw attacks had increased. That was what Ben thought.
But to his horror, he saw the beast master dodging the attack effortlessly. A slight shift, a neat duck, a slight step. That was all it took to dodge those well timed attack. Ben stopped the long ranged attack and changed to close combat with his claws. He quickly reached the beast master using the aether leap and attacked with the claws. His opponent attacked back with his claws.
Ben was 100 % sure that those nails were laced with poison. Other wise the colour will not be this black. The aura reinforced claws clashed with each other producing sparks. In a matter of seconds , they exchanged at least 100 moves. At the peak of the exchange, Ben pushed the beast master back. While he stumbled Ben prepared for the next attack.
Right at that moment, something struck on his shoulders. The impact made him falter. He looked and saw several black feathers coming towards him at high speeds. He quickly dodged the attack back wards.
Right as he regained his footing, the beast master was pouncing at him with his black claws. Ben activated the humming shirt in an instant. The black nails struck the aura shield he had conjured around his body, stopping the impact. The vibrations spread the impact throughout. Ben caught his wrist and did a closed ranged attack using the revolving claw.
His opponent blocked the attack using an aura shield. But the impact still send him skidding back. Ben did not wait and was about to move towards him, when one feather struck him. Luckily, he had yet to deactivate the humming shirt. So the feather bounced of him. But it made him aware of the threat in the air.
Ben knew that he could not utilize his impact pulse. The creature was too intelligent for it and fast as well. He had one more thing to consider now.
By this time the beast master was up in his feet and was moving towards Ben. Now. Ben did not want to utilize the aether lupis form or the rush n' ram. He wanted them to be his trump cards. He decided to go with basics.
Ben calmed his mind. He activated the ' Jamadagni Bhavana' and 'Vasishta Vachanam' again. His mental faculties came to its peak. His aura now had a slight red tinge to it. His claws became smaller and more pronounced. His eyes became clear.
His opponent noted the change and put their guard up. The strigil in the sky also noticed this and its noise became more shrill and fast. Ben looked up at it annoyed. Then he looked at the beast master. A second, Ben clamed his nerves down and then, " BOOOOM"
A sonic boom was heard and Ben's attack crashed into the beast master's guard. He was reeled by the impact. Luckily, he used a technique to reduce the impact. Bu both his forearms were now swollen. He was stunned by this change. He did not know what changed. But before he could even fully acknowledge that, the next set of attacks came.
Ben made use of the principles of ' Agastya Parvam' fully. He struck at the right angles at the right time and right place. He dodged the claws of the beast master and the feathers of the strigil. His opponent was struggling to defend against this well timed attack, let alone gain upper hand like earlier.
When the strigil tried to attack using its feather, Ben would stop unnaturally and dodge it. Even if he changed the angle of the attack at the last minute, it was still making impact, making the beast master reel with pain. The feeling of the beast master was known by his companion. Hence, the strigil was desperately trying to incapitate Ben.
But unfortunately, the aerial attacks and the sense sharing were not working against Ben. So the beast master decided to change the strategy. Suddenly the sound from the strigil changed.
"Hoot, hoot, hoot…." At first it was annoying for Ben and then it became a melody. For a second he was affected. But he quickly regained his bearing. But that was enough. Several feathers struck him on his hands and his back. Luckily Ben dodged a feather aimed at his neck. That would have been game over. He quickly gained distance from the beast master.
While keeping eye on both of his opponents he healed himself. Ben shook his head and he was becoming gradually clear headed. That was when he heard it again. " Hoot hoot hoot…"
Ben became sleepy again and again he was struck by the feathers. This time the beast master was vigilant and he also attacked. He struck with his claw leaving a large claw mark on Ben's chest. Both the feather and the claws contained minute hallucinogens. All these began to work on Ben's body and he became dizzy again. The healing script was activated again. Ben also utilized the second level of impact pulse, forcing the beast master to maintain distance.
Ben could sense that the stored energy in the healing script was now low. This was because more energy was required to detox. Ben's body was still growing from the effects of the ' Kaya Kalpam'. Ben looked at his opponents with steeled and defiant eyes. But unfortunately, he could not think of a strategy.
The bird was unfortunately still flying on top of him chanting , " Hoot…..hoot…Hoooot!!!"