Fight Night In The Forgotten Deserts

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 38, Post Number 927

-On the border of The Forgotten Deserts, 9:15 P.M.-

It was nighttime when Leona arrived on the border of The Forgotten Deserts and dispelled Winged Lion after climbing off of his back. About five hours ago she had received a job notice from the Order of Lightbringers concerning a mysterious man who had been attacking some of their forces lately and had already claimed the lives of twenty Knights and eight Clerics over the past week. Hours ago the Order had tracked the man to The Forgotten Deserts before pulling their scouts back for fear of losing them to the murderous stranger.

Clad in her green, white, and gold outfit with black bike shorts on underneath the skirt, Leona carried her Silver Longsword in its scabbard on her left hip, her Scout Laser Pistol in its holster on her right hip, and Ses Revanche in her right boot. She also wore her Argent Gloves on her hands and her Adaptable Armor on her torso. Leona was told to be prepared for a tough fight with the individual and to bring her best weapons and armor for the confrontation.

Bringing good gear was no problem for Leona, but the real trouble was going to be locating the man.

Since the scouts did not follow him into the desert the best instructions that the Order could give were to search for him somewhere in the sandy expanse. That was really vague, but it was the best that the Order could do. While Leona would have appreciated some more detailed directions, the Order had made the sensible choice to recall their scouts and take what little information they had already learned rather than risk losing the information when the scouts were spotted and killed by the person they were tracking.

Leona felt the night wind blow through her hair as she took a moment to recall her instructions for this job.

Leona was to find the stranger and either try to apprehend them or to kill them if apprehending them proved to be unfeasible or was made impossible. In the case that she was losing the fight and in danger of being killed her orders were to flee and return to the Order Headquarters as quickly as possible. Since the stranger had killed a good number of the Order's forces by himself Father Morris had made it a point to tell Leona that there was no shame in her retreating if she was about to be killed. Leona hoped that she was strong enough that she would not have to retreat from the fight, but knowing that she could do so without penalty was of some comfort to her.

Leona faced the desert sand looming in front of her and took a deep breath. This was going to be another long trek through the desert. At least the sun was down, so she did not have to worry about suffering from dehydration or heatstroke. She also had natural night vision, so the darkness would not be able to conceal the man from her. Then again, if he had single-handedly killed so many Order members in one week, he did not need to hide from anyone.

With those things in mind Leona started walking into The Forgotten Deserts to find her target and either apprehend them or kill them. Leona strongly suspected that she would have to do the latter once she caught up to them. She would find out once she got there.

[Post Word Count: 580]
[Total Word Count: 580/10,000]

-The Forgotten Deserts, one hour later-

Leona had been walking through the Forgotten Deserts in search of her target for the past hour and had not come across any signs that anyone had traveled through the area. There were no tracks on the sand that led either in or out of the region. Leona also did not see any tents in the distance to suggest travelers making camp the night. So far she had seen no one else around.

She figured that if the target was still in the Forgotten Deserts they would be somewhere deeper in the region, but how deep into the region they had traveled was a mystery. Leona kept putting one foot in front of the other as a light wind blew and kicked up a small cloud of sand in front of her, causing her to put her left hand over her mouth and nose to keep the dust out. As she walked she listened out for anything that suggested trouble like gunfire, the sound of running on the sand, or screaming. She was not hearing anything just yet, so she kept walking through the desert while listening for trouble and looking for signs of life.

-The Forgotten Deserts, one hour later-

Leona had kept going through the desert and had still not come across anything to suggest that people had been traveling through this area. She felt the wind pick up and looked at the sand in front of her, noticing how whenever the wind picked up it moved the sand. Perhaps the wind had been erasing the tracks of anyone who had been through the area. There was no way to confirm or disprove that hypothesis, so the Wizard Saint kept going deeper into the desert.

As she walked she listened out for anything that could indicate that people were in the area... talking, singing, playing musical instruments, a campfire burning in the distance, anything like that. Leona was not hearing any sounds of human activity nor was she hearing sounds of animal activity. Then again, this was the first time Leona had ever traveled through here at night. She was not sure what animals the region was home to, so she did not know what to listen for.

Oh well.

Leona stopped and took a brief break to catch her breath before she continued. When she paused she felt the cold wind blow and shivered a little. She was glad that she had worn long sleeves and bike shorts because had she not worn them the cold wind would have made travel more uncomfortable than it was now. Thanks to her choice in clothing she was only mildly inconvenienced by the cold wind, but she still wished that it would let up soon.

After a five-minute break Leona resumed her journey deeper into the Forgotten Deserts.

-Two hours later-

Leona had been walking for a total of four hours and she had not seen anyone else. She was beginning to wonder if the stranger was even in the Forgotten Deserts anymore. She was going on information that was several hours old and it was possible that her target had left the region long before she had left Silver Wolf Guild Hall. Leona was not going to give up just yet, not while she still had desert to search.

Leona saw someone standing in the distance about 100 meters away and paused for a moment. She was not sure if they were her target or not, so she refrained from drawing her Scout Laser Pistol just yet. Instead the Wizard Saint cautiously approached the individual and kept her eyes on them. They did not do anything until she got to within five meters of them. When she reached that distance the person looked at her; she immediately noticed that the person had glowing red eyes and the upper part of their face was shrouded in shadow.

"Howdy, stranger. I've been waitin' for you." The person said to her in a gravely male voice.

"Who are you?" Leona asked the stranger while slowly backing away.

"I normally don't talk to dead people, but I'll tell ya anyway 'cause I'm feelin' generous. I'm Mordecai." The stranger gave Leona his name. He then smiled at her in a wide smile that exposed his gleaming white teeth.

"We've done enough talkin', Blondie. It's time to fight!" Mordecai challenged her and produced a double-barreled shotgun from underneath his long black coat. Leona drew her Scout Laser Pistol and faced the stranger. The two looked each other in the eyes and sized each other up. A cold wind blew and kicked up a small cloud of sand that drifted between them and dissipated only two meters later. A tense silence filled the air as both duelists waited for their opponent to make the first move.

Mordecai:

[Post Word Count: 806]
[Total Word Count: 1,386/10,000]

The tension between Leona and Mordecai was so thick that it was palpable. At any moment now the Wizard Saint would begin the fight for her life against an individual who had killed quite a few of the Order's forces by himself. The double-barreled shotgun was a big clue that he used firearms, but she had no idea what other weapons Mordecai had hidden beneath his long coat. She also did not know if he had magic that he was saving to use later in the fight. She would find out soon enough.

The wind kicked up another small dust cloud that drifted between them and Leona took a deep breath. Seconds after the cloud passed by her Mordecai raised his shotgun and aimed it at her chest.

"You're mine!" He yelled. Leona jumped to the left as he fired both barrels of the shotgun, sending a cloud of pellets at her that grazed her right arm and stung badly but did not prevent her from retaliating with a laser blast to the chest. She watched as he looked down at his chest, then looked at her again.

"Nice shot, Blondie. Too bad that your fancy shootin' iron's worthless against me!" Mordecai complimented the Wizard Saint on her marksmanship before stating her weapon was useless against him. Not to be deterred, Leona prepared and fired a Charge Shot while the gunslinger reloaded his shotgun. The yellow laser shot hit him squarely in the chest and did nothing but make him laugh at her after he put two more shells into the weapon and snapped it closed.

"I just told you your fancy pistol's not gonna do anything to me, but I guess you've gotta learn the hard way. Since I'm such a nice guy I'll make it quick and painless. Just stand still for me and it'll all be over soon." He promised her a quick death. Leona was not impressed by the offer.

"Thanks, but no thanks." Leona shot back with words instead of her pistol, which she holstered because it had indeed proven to be useless against her opponent. She jumped to the right just as he aimed the weapon at her chest and fired both barrels at once. Leona sidestepped right and barely avoided the dense cloud of shotgun pellets aimed at her, then retaliated with a left-handed Wind Blast spell just as he completed reloading the shotgun. He yelled and staggered backwards, giving her just enough time to draw her Silver Longsword with her right hand and prepare and cast an Air Pressure spell with her left hand.

Mordecai ducked under the horizontal column of compressed air and fired a single barrel of his shotgun, sending another cloud of pellets her way. Leona jumped to the right to avoid them and he followed up with a second shot aimed at her chest. The Wizard Saint could not avoid it in time and took the hit, staggering from the force of the pellets hitting her in the armor. She recovered from the stagger and used a Zephyr Dash spell to close in with him while he was reloading, then slashed at him with her Silver Longsword. The sword made a shallow cut across his right shoulder, causing him to yell in pain and stagger back.

Mordecai quickly recovered from the wound and glared at Leona as she turned and ran away from him until she was five meters away.

"Not bad, Blondie. But this fight's far from over! I've got plenty of weapons left and I'm gonna fill you full of bullet holes before it's all said and done!" The gunslinger vowed to punish the Wizard Saint for hurting him. Leona scoffed at the vow.

"You can try." Leona said to him. Mordecai grinned widely.

"We'll see how long you keep that attitude, Blondie." He said threateningly. He then put away the double-barreled shotgun and pulled out another weapon. He pulled out a black metal revolver and pulled the hammer back with his right thumb. Leona prepared to dodge the hail of lead that was sure to head her way. Mordecai raised the pistol and aimed at her head, firing once. She ducked under the shot, then rolled right to avoid a second shot aimed at her head. He quickly fired a third shot that whizzed by her left ear.

Leona stood up and leaned right, avoiding a fourth shot aimed at her head. Mordecai fired a fifth shot at her left foot and she avoided it by raising her foot in time, causing the shot to kick up sand but otherwise leave her unharmed. The gunslinger frowned and opened the cylinder of his revolver, which was Leona's cue to strike back. She raised the index finger of her left hand and prepared a Wind Bullet spell, then fired it at the gunslinger's chest as he pushed the cylinder back into the revolver with his left hand and pulled the hammer back with his right thumb.

The Wind Bullet connected with the center of his chest and he staggered back, coming to a halt after five staggering steps backwards.

"Nice shot, Blondie, but yer gonna have to do better than that if ya want to kill me!" He said to her, raising the revolver and pointing it at her. Leona noticed that the places in the cylinder where bullets went were glowing blood red. She had better get ready to dodge whatever was about to be sent her way.

[Post Word Count: 912]
[Total Word Count: 2,298/10,000]

Leona watched Mordecai aim the pistol at her torso and hold off firing for a moment. When he finally opened fire he held the revolver in his right hand and rapidly worked the hammer with his left hand, firing off six blood-red shots in rapid succession. Leona quickly dropped to the ground, landing on her stomach and causing all six shots to fly harmlessly above her, forcing the gunslinger to reload his weapon.

Leona jumped to her feet and quickly put her sword back in its scabbard, then jumped straight up into the air and performed a Meteor Jump Kick. She descended at a diagonal angle towards Mordecai, who snapped the cylinder of the revolver shut and looked up just in time to take the Meteor Jump Kick to his face. He yelled and staggered backwards for six steps while Leona performed a recovery roll and ended up to his right. Leona quickly turned away from him and sprinted to get away from the man before he could shoot her at point-blank range.

The Wizard Saint sprinted until she was ten meters away from him, then turned around to find that the angry gunslinger was holding the revolver at waist level and that the holes where the ammunition went were glowing bright red again. Leona saw him repeat the trick that allowed him to fire six shots in seconds and ducked; she ducked under the shots and was lucky to escape being hit in the head when one of the rounds whizzed by her left temple. While she stood up Mordecai quickly reloaded the revolver and put it back into his longcoat, making her wonder what kind of weapon he would produce next. He pulled out a gleaming metal machete that had some worn edges... it had clearly seen a lot of use.

"If you wanna get in my face, I'm gonna get in yours!" Mordecai declared. He then disappeared in a flash of red light, leaving Leona to wonder where he had disappeared to. She saw him reappear in front of her and slash at her neck with the machete. She ducked under the slash and stood up, then punched at his face with a Mach Straight. The Mach Straight hit him in the face, but he did not stagger from the punch. Instead he made eye contact and frowned at her.

He quickly stabbed at her with his weapon and Leona spun right to avoid it, dodging the stab with a graceful spin and drawing her Silver Longsword at the end of the spin. He turned to meet her and she slashed at him with a two-handed diagonal slash going from left to right. He blocked the slash with his machete and kicked her in the left knee. Leona ignored the pain and aimed a kick of her own at his right knee, landing the kick and causing him to frown again.

He slashed at her twice and Leona blocked each slash with her Silver Longsword. He took a step back and made a lunging stab at her, which she avoided with another timely spin that saw her facing him while his back was turned and he was recovering. Leona raised her left hand and cast a Wind Blast spell that hit him as he turned to face her, causing him to groan in pain.

He faced her and raised his left hand, channeling blood red magic into it. Leona raised her left hand again and prepared a Wind Bullet spell, but Mordecai was quicker to cast his spell. He fired a beam of blood red magic that hit her in the torso, causing Leona to be knocked back two meters from the unexpected force of the spell and for her to lose her breath for a few moments. Mordecai grinned at her.

Leona frowned and raised her left hand to retaliate with a spell, but he was too fast. He disappeared in a blur of red light before she could do anything. Leona saw him reappear in front of her and ducked to avoid the attack, then stabbed towards him with her sword. He saw the attack coming and jumped back, then drew the revolver with his left hand. Leona knew what was about to happen, so she stood up, turned right, then used a Zephyr Dash to avoid the shot that had been aimed at her head. Leona reappeared 100 meters away and took the chance to catch her breath.

Mordecai was a more formidable opponent than she had expected. He was one tough customer and his weapons and magic packed a punch. Still, she had landed a few hits on him, so the battle was not entirely one-sided. The gunslinger faced her and the barrel of his revolver glowed red before he fired another shot at her. The Wizard Saint saw the projectile zooming towards her and ducked under it, narrowly avoiding taking the bullet to her forehead thanks to her quick reflexes and having enough distance to dodge the bullet. Mordecai frowned again.

Leona chose to keep her distance for the time being while she tried to come up with a good plan of attack. She still had not caught her breath from his surprisingly strong beam spell and was not going to press her luck by immediately going on the attack until she had recovered from his spell. She would let him come to her and overextend himself before she attempted a counterattack.

[Post Word Count: 910]
[Total Word Count: 3,208/10,000]

After dodging the bullet from Mordecai's revolver Leona watched as her enemy put away the revolver and disappeared in a blur of red light, reappearing in front of her moments later. Leona ducked under the horizontal slash of the machete aimed at her neck and was kicked in the face, but she kept herself from being knocked onto her back. She quickly stood upright and blocked a punch aimed at her face with her left Argent Glove, then kicked at the gunslinger's right knee with her right foot. Her kick connected and Mordecai grimaced in pain before kicking her in the right knee.

Leona jumped back a single leap and raised her left hand, preparing to cast a Wind Blast spell. Mordecai saw what was coming and jumped to the right, avoiding the spell. He ran at her and slashed at her throat with his machete. Leona blocked the machete swing with her Silver Longsword and punched at Mordecai with her left hand, hitting him in the face. He jumped a single leap back.

"Not bad, Blondie. You're more of a challenge than I thought you'd be!" Mordecai complimented Leona on her fighting skill. The Wizard Saint frowned. She was not in the mood for banter with this guy.

"But you won't live to tell the tale. I'm gonna mount your head over my fireplace!" Mordecai told Leona what her fate would be should she lose this fight. He was awfully bold in predicting that he would be the winner before the fight was even over. She had no intention of losing to the gunslinger.

"Good luck with that." Leona replied derisively. Mordecai laughed.

"Heh. I like that spirit. But you won't have it for much longer!" Mordecai retorted. His left hand began to glow blood red and he leaped towards Leona. The Wizard Saint immediately turned around and used a Zephyr Dash to retreat 100 meters away, narrowly avoiding Mordecai as he punched the ground where she stood, causing a red column of light to rise from the impact site. Leona turned around to face her enemy and saw him glaring at her from 100 meters away with an expression of hatred.

He raised his left hand and it glowed blood red before he drew back his left arm and thrust his hand outward, releasing a wide blood red beam of magic. Leona saw it coming and jumped to the right, but she was a bit too slow because her left arm was hit by the edge of the beam, causing it to take a sudden jolt and go numb. Her left arm hung uselessly at her left side, leaving her only her right arm to fight back with. Mordecai laughed at her before vanishing in a blur of red light.

Leona did not panic despite the temporary loss of her left arm. She remained calm and waited for Mordecai to reappear, then stepped left to avoid a stab aimed at her unarmored right leg. She turned to face him and retaliated with a right-to-left diagonal slash aimed at his right arm that instead cut him across the chest when he turned to face her, causing him to groan in pain before swinging his left fist at her face. She ducked under the punch and received a kick to her face instead. She quickly stood up and performed a Tornado Kick technique aimed at his face.

Her right foot connected with his right cheek, causing Mordecai to stagger back three steps and clench his teeth. He put away his machete and drew the double-barreled shotgun again. He leveled it at her and fired just as she jumped right, narrowly avoiding the cloud of pellets produced by firing both barrels at once. He frowned as he broke open the weapon, reloaded, and snapped the shotgun closed.

Leona turned and ran ten meters away from him before he could fire again, but he never fired at her. Instead he grinned and disappeared in a blur of red light. Moments later he reappeared in front of her and raised the weapon towards her face. Leona quickly ducked just before he fired and clenched her teeth in pain as the roar of the shotgun at close range hurt her ears. Leona stood up, took a full step backwards to get some room to effectively use her sword, and swung her Silver Longsword at him as he finished reloading.

Her right-to-left horizontal slash caught him on the right arm below the shoulder, making him yell in surprise and nearly lose his grip on the weapon despite the cut being a shallow one thanks to his thick longcoat serving as a sort of armor. Leona saw an opening and used her left foot to kick at the hand holding the shotgun. Her foot connected with his hand and caused the weapon to fire harmlessly into the space to his right. Mordecai took a step back in surprise and Leona decided to press the attack by taking a step forward and slashing at him with a diagonal right-to-left slash aimed at his shoulder. The slash hit him in the right shoulder, inflicting another shallow cut.

Mordecai quickly reloaded his weapon as Leona took a full step back. Before he could raise it to fire at her she swung at the right barrel with her sword in a right-to-left horizontal slash. The blade connected and forced the shotgun far left, making the shots hit the sand when Mordecai fired both barrels simultaneously. He jumped back a single leap and glared at her.

"You're gettin' to be really annoying, Blondie!" Mordecai snapped at her as he put away the shotgun and drew his revolver. Leona decided to refrain from attacking him right away so that she did not run into a wall of lead when he began shooting at her again. Instead she jumped back five leaps and tried to plan her next attack.

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[Total Word Count: 4,194/10,000]

Leona watched as Mordecai leveled his revolver at her and watched as he started firing. She ducked under the first shot and quickly stood up, then stepped to the right of the second as it whizzed by her left shoulder without hitting her. Leona jumped backwards between shots to put some distance between him and her so that she stood a better chance of dodging his gunfire. She dodged the third and fourth shots by ducking under the third and spinning to the left to avoid the fourth.

Mordecai was visibly incensed by Leona's refusal to stand still and be shot, so he fired his last two rounds at her and Leona dodged them with a carefully timed spin to the left that let her dodge both of them. When he went to reload Leona made her move. She used a Zephyr Dash to close the distance to him and caught him snapping the cylinder closed. While he tried to level it at her Leona swung at him with the Silver Longsword, chopping down at his right shoulder. She inflicted another shallow cut with her weapon and he swung at her face with his left fist. Leona sidestepped it with a step left with timing so close that she felt his fist pass by her face.

He turned to face her and Leona stepped left while slashing horizontally with her sword, cutting him across the front of the left arm with her weapon. Mordecai's thick longcoat protected him from serious harm, but she noticed that Mordecai was not quite as fast on the draw as he was because otherwise she would have been shot several times already. Leona took advantage of his slowness to continue the attack, slashing him across the left arm again with her sword and inflicting another shallow cut.

Mordecai turned to face her with the revolver and Leona knew that she had overextended herself. Leona took a leap to the left as he fired the first shot, timing it so close that she felt the bullet tear her right sleeve but miss her right arm. The second shot was fired at her head and she felt the bullet whiz by her right ear when she sidestepped to the left. The third shot was also aimed at her head and she dodged it by ducking under the bullet.

Leona stood up again and Mordecai aimed at her right leg as she took another step back to put a little more distance between him and her. Leona sidestepped left just in time to avoid taking the hit but was uncomfortably close to being hit because she felt the fourth shot pass by inches from her knee. The gunslinger aimed at her head and fired a fifth shot, but she avoided it by ducking under that shot too. Leona wondered where his sixth shot was going to be aimed for and anticipated another attempt to shoot her in the head because the revolver was aimed right for it.

Mordecai acted like he was going to fire at her head, so she ducked. Instead he lowered the weapon a bit and fired, hitting her right in the center of the Adaptable Armor. The hit caused her to stagger backwards for four steps and almost fall in addition to losing her breath. Leona was visibly surprised when she took the hit and looked down at her chest to see if the shot had punched through the armor. The bullet had not punched through, but her chest was hurting from the kinetic force of the bullet.

When she looked up her opponent had reloaded his pistol.

"There's plenty more where that came from, Blondie." Mordecai said menacingly. Leona took a few deep breaths and tried to think, but the freely flowing adrenaline was threatening to keep her from thinking clearly by urging her to throw caution to the wind and close in with her enemy so that she could attack with her Silver Longsword. The Wizard Saint was able to keep that impulse at bay and instead jumped back three leaps before Mordecai started shooting at her again.

Leona dodged the first and second shots with a well-timed spin to the left and sidestepped left to avoid the third. She quickly put her Silver Longsword in its scabbard and ducked under a fourth shot, then stood up again. She jumped to the right and avoided a fifth shot aimed at her left leg, then landed and watched the sixth and final shot zoom past her left ear. When Mordecai started to reload Leona raised her right hand and prepared a Wind Bullet spell, then fired it at his chest just as he completed the reload and looked up to face her.

The Wind Bullet hit the gunslinger and caused him to groan in pain, then glare at her. Leona's left arm was starting to regain feeling, so that was some much-needed good news. Once she had regained feeling in it she could cast spells with her left hand while holding her Silver Longsword in her right hand. However, Leona would have to be careful when going back on the offensive. She had already overextended herself once and had taken a shot to the armor for her trouble, so she would have to try and rein in her aggressive impulses before they got her into trouble a second time.

[Post Word Count: 896]
[Total Word Count: 5,090/10,000]

Leona braced for Moredecai to start shooting again and moments later he did so. He began firing with his revolver and aimed at critical points such as her head, neck, shoulders, and legs to try and kill her instantly or to hurt her badly enough that he could seize the initiative and keep it. Leona, accustomed to dodging for her life, gracefully ducked under and weaved around the bullets with little trouble. Once he had fired all six shots he started the process of reloading his weapon, giving Leona time to draw her Silver Longsword, which she did the moment he lowered and tilted his revolver to open the cylinder.

After she drew her sword Leona used a Zephyr Dash to close the distance and reappeared in front of him moments later, catching him on the reload. He was about to snap the cylinder closed when she suddenly swatted at the weapon with her sword, catching it at the barrel and forcing it to the far left. She had almost knocked it out of his hands, but he retained a strong enough grip on the pistol to keep her from disarming him. Undeterred, Leona slashed horizontally at his right arm and caught him with a slash across the wrist that inflicted a shallow cut, drawing a groan of pain as he stepped back to complete the reload.

The Wizard Saint saw what he was doing and knew that she was taking a big risk by staying close to him. She turned around, then sprinted for twenty meters away from him while he fired at her. Leona saw two of the shots go wide of her right side and heard the third shot hit the sand just behind her right foot. She stopped five meters later and spun around to face the gunslinger as he emptied the cylinder at her. The other three shots went wide since she dodged around them, causing him to put away the revolver and draw his machete again.

Mordecai then disappeared in a burst of red light and reappeared in front of her, slashing at her throat with his machete. Leona blocked that attack with her Silver Longsword, then raised her left arm to block his left-handed punch at her face with the Argent Glove. She blocked the punch only to get a kick to her right knee in return, but she managed to stay on her feet. She blocked another machete slash at her throat with her sword and ducked under the punch, then jumped back just in time to avoid another kick to the right knee. When she landed he rushed at her and slashed at her left arm.

Leona was unable to dodge and caught the slash just below the left pauldron of Adaptable Armor, groaning in pain as she began to bleed. Mordecai grinned at her. Leona frowned and slashed at his right shoulder, catching him with a shallow diagonal right-to-left cut. If he wanted to play that game Leona was willing to respond in kind.

Mordecai punched at her face with his left hand and she sidestepped it, then kicked at his left knee with her right foot. The kick connected and he groaned. He turned to face her and thrust at her armored torso with the machete but she spun around it, spinning twice and ending up behind his back. He spun to meet her and he blocked a right-to-left diagonal slash at his chest with his machete, then took a step forward to stab at her armored midsection.

Leona saw the attack and easily sidestepped it with a step to the left, then turned, took two steps forward, and attacked Mordecai while the latter's back was turned to her. He turned around just in time for her sword to inflict another shallow cut below the left shoulder, causing him to groan in pain before facing her. The gunslinger rushed towards her and punched towards her face with his left fist. Leona ducked under the punch and caught a boot to the left cheek instead.

The Wizard Saint barely managed to keep herself from being knocked over and kept her balance just enough to stand up, then kick at his right knee with her right foot. The kick found its mark and he clenched his teeth before lashing out at her with his machete, aiming for her throat. Leona ducked under the slash, then popped up and took another kick to the right knee before she could jump back three leaps to put some distance between him and her. Instead of pursuing her Mordecai remained where he was and made eye contact with her. She wondered why he was not trying to close in with her, but she was not going to question it too much... she needed the breathing space.

Leona kept her eyes on him as she took a few moments to recover from the kicks she had taken to the right knee, the slash to her left arm just below the protection of the Adaptable Armor, and the kick to the left cheek. Judging from his remaining in place he might have needed a break too. Leona knew that he did not have to be in close range to attack her when he could pull out a firearm and use it to attack from afar, so she watched him closely while waiting for the fighting to resume.

[Post Word Count: 900]
[Total Word Count: 5,990/10,000]

While Leona waited for the fighting to resume she felt the feeling to her left arm return and stay there. That meant that the effect of the spell Mordecai had cast at her earlier had faded, which meant that she could now cast some spells of her own without having to put away her sword. Instead of casting a spell right away she decided to keep that ability secret for a bit longer. When he closed in with her again she would cast a Storm Impact spell and give him an unpleasant surprise.

Mordecai kept his distance from her and Leona continued to watch him closely in case he put away the machete and drew a firearm. Mordecai continued to maintain eye contact with her as he faced her down, then moments later disappeared in a burst of red light. Leona knew what was about to happen and took evasive action. When he appeared and slashed at her throat with his machete she ducked under the weapon and jumped back a single leap to avoid the kick aimed at her right knee. She then jumped back a second time to give herself a little more space, then prepared a Storm Impact spell with her left hand.

Her timing was impeccable because the gunslinger rushed at her just as the preparation was complete. Leona then punched the ground with her left hand as soon as he got within melee range. The dome of wind expanded and caught the man by surprise, forcing him to stagger back three steps before he regained his footing. Leona took advantage of the surprise to close in with him and slash at his right shoulder with her sword. The diagonal right-to-left slash inflicted yet another shallow cut across the right shoulder and caused him to groan in pain, but he was still in the fight.

Mordecai retaliated with an attempt to kick her in the right knee, but Leona jumped back to avoid the kick. When she landed he rushed at her and punched at her face with his left hand before she could respond, hitting her in the left cheek with his fist. Leona staggered back five steps and he moved in again, attacking with a stab directed at her right leg. The Wizard Saint sidestepped the stab with a single step to the left, then quickly spun and attacked his left arm with a slash from her sword. He was unable to respond in time and took a shallow cut just above the elbow, causing him to spin to face her.

"You're good, Blondie. Not too many opponents have pushed me this far." Mordecai gave her a compliment that sounded sincere. He then grinned at her.

"I haven't had this much fun in a long time!" He said to the Wizard Saint. Leona wondered what he meant by that remark but swiftly decided that she would be better off not knowing. She had to focus on the present instead of worrying about the past. After making that remark he went on the attack again.

Mordecai rushed at her with his machete, making a lunging stab for her chest. Leona sidestepped the lunge with a step to the right and spun to face him as he stopped and turned to face her. He lunged at her again and she dodged it with another sidestep, then jumped back four leaps to give herself some distance so that she could cast a spell. Once she had achieved the necessary space she raised her left hand and prepared an Air Pressure spell. When it was ready Leona fired the horizontal column of compressed air at the gunslinger, catching him as he was running at her and hitting him in the chest.

The gunslinger groaned loudly and continued to rush at her, but Leona was ready. She waited for him to get close, then when he closed in ducked under the machete slash aimed at her throat and jumped back to avoid the kick aimed at her knee. She watched him frown and put the machete away... knowing that he was about to draw a firearm and begin shooting, the Wizard Saint turned away from him and sprinted to get away from him before he started firing. Leona sprinted twenty meters away, then turned to stop and saw that he had drawn the double-barrelled shotgun. If he could get close enough to hit her with the cloud of pellets produced by firing both barrels simultaneously she would be in trouble. It would be in her best interest to stay away from him while he wielded the weapon, but she could avoid him completely because of his ability to get in her face thanks to the spell he used that was similar to her Zephyr Dash.

Mordecai did just that, disappearing in a blur of red light and reappearing in front of the Wizard Saint moments later. He raised the shotgun to fire and Leona instinctively kicked towards the weapon with her left foot, redirecting the barrels to the far right just as it fired. The cloud of pellets flew off harmlessly to the right, leaving Mordecai with an empty gun. He glared at her and tried to punch her with his left fist, but Leona blocked it with her left Argent Glove and hit back with a kick to his right knee, causing him to wobble a little for the first time in the fight.

"Damn you!" Mordecai bellowed.

[Post Word Count: 910]
[Total Word Count: 6,900/10,000]

After cursing at the Wizard Saint for landing the kick on his right knee Mordecai quickly jumped away two leaps from her and hurriedly reloaded the shotgun, then closed the weapon and raised it at Leona. The Wizard Saint ducked under the first blast and felt the wind as a pellet or two flew over her head, then rolled to the right to avoid the second blast. Mordecai quickly reloaded the weapon as Leona stood up. He raised the weapon again and fired a single barrel as Leona ducked, avoiding taking some pellets to the head.

She stood up and saw him fire the second barrel at her. She ducked again, then used a Zephyr Dash the moment he started the reloading process. She reappeared in front of him as he was loading the weapon and kicked towards the side of the barrels with her right foot, kicking the weapon with enough force to knock it free from his grasp. The surprised gunslinger took a step back as Leona took a step forward and slashed at his chest with her Silver Longsword. The diagonal right-to-left slash hit him and inflicted a cut on his chest, causing him to yell and stagger backwards four steps while covering the wound with his left hand.

Seeing an opportunity to land some more hits, Leona pressed the attack. She raised her left hand and prepared a Wind Bullet spell, then fired the small silver marble at him while he was still recovering from the slash across his chest. The Wind Bullet hit him on the back of his left hand, eliciting another groan of pain as he staggered back three more steps. Leona was feeling a new surge of adrenaline as she was landing hits and forcing the gunslinger back without taking any hits in return. She had to rein it in before she got overconfident and suffered the consequences, but the opportunity to seize the initiative was just too good to pass up.

Besides, she could not win by staying on the defensive the entire time.

The emboldened Wizard Saint pushed the attack even harder, taking a step forward and slashing at his right arm as he reached for another weapon concealed in his longcoat. Her sword slashed him across the bottom of his right forearm, inflicting only a shallow cut thanks to the thick longcoat and not deterring him from drawing the revolver. He aimed it at her torso and fired, but instead of a bullet it produced only a loud CLICK.

"Damn it!" Mordecai shouted in surprise and frustration. He had obviously forgotten to reload the weapon the last time he had used it, which was a lucky break for Leona and an unlucky break for the gunslinger. She was not going to give him the chance to reload and stepped forward, punching at his face with her left hand using a Mach Straight technique. The punch connected with his left cheek and he groaned as his head snapped back, but he quickly rebounded from the punch and struck back with a kick to her right knee. Leona took the hit and struck back with a Mach Jab using her left hand.

The Mach Jab hit him in the left cheek and drew a groan before he quickly backpedaled from Leona and started to reload the revolver. Leona reined in her aggression just long enough to recognize the danger of rushing him and stayed where she was, opting to prepare an Air Pressure spell with her left hand instead. Once the spell was ready Leona fired the horizontal column of compressed air at Mordecai just as he raised the revolver to fire at her. He fired a shot at her a second before the Air Pressure spell hit him in the chest, causing him to yell from the pain.

A second after her spell had hit Leona felt a sharp impact to her chest. She looked down and found a hole in the Adaptable Armor where the revolver round had hit her but thankfully did not punch through. Leona looked up again to see her opponent firing more shots in her direction. She ducked under the second shot, then jumped to the right to avoid the third. The fourth shot whizzed by her right cheek as she stood still. The fifth shot went past her right ear and the sixth shot was avoided by her ducking... it whizzed by over her head.

Leona stood up and saw him reloading the weapon, so she took the opportunity to use her Forceful Tempest spell to boost her strength so that she could really dish out the pain the next time she got close to Mordecai or he got close to her. Leona began to channel silver magic throughout her body and a silver column of air started moving around her as the spell was being prepared. When it was finished the column suddenly expanded outward, leaving her with increased strength. The spell had been completed just in time because Mordecai began firing at her again.

Leona ducked under the first bullet and watched as the second shot whizzed over her left shoulder while she was still crouching. She stood up and the third shot passed by her right leg. The fourth shot passed by her right shoulder and the fifth one whizzed by her right ear. The sixth and final shot zoomed by her left knee. Leona heard Mordecai groan in frustration as he put away the empty revolver and pulled out his machete... it seemed he had grown tired of trying to shoot her and was going to rely on his melee weapon instead.

[Post Word Count: 942]
[Total Word Count: 7,842/10,000]

Sensing that she currently held the advantage, Leona chose to let Mordecai come to her and waited until he disappeared in a blur of red light, then reappeared in front of her. He reappeared in front of her and slashed at her throat, but she blocked the machete with her Silver Longsword. Next came a punch aimed at her face, which she avoided with a sidestep to the right. He turned to face her and slashed at her left arm, taking a hit just below the shoulder which inflicted another cut. Leona clenched her teeth and faced her opponent as he took a step forward and lunged at her, stabbing at her torso.

Leona jumped to the right and avoided the stab, but instead of rushing at her to continue the fight he turned and ran towards the shotgun that was lying on the sand. He bent down and snatched it up with his left hand. Mordecai aimed the weapon with his left hand and fired a single barrel at the Wizard Saint, but the cloud of pellets missed when she ducked to avoid it. He immediately fired the second barrel at her and she stayed where she was, seeing the pellets pass harmlessly over her head.

Mordecai put the empty weapon back in his longcoat and rushed at her again with his machete raised. Leona stood up again and stood her ground, waiting for him to close in while preparing a Storm Impact spell with her left hand. Once he was too close to escape the radius of the spell Leona dropped to a knee and punched the ground, hitting him with the expanding dome of wind when the spell was cast. She followed up by standing up straight just as he kicked at her; he had kicked where her face was when she was crouching, but thanks to standing up straight the kick had missed her face and instead connected with her armored midsection, causing her to stagger back three steps from the force of the kick.

He followed up on that kick with a lunging stab aimed at her torso, but Leona dodged it with a sidestep to the right. While he recovered from the lunge Leona took a step forward and slashed at him with a two-handed diagonal right-to-left slash aimed at his back. He turned around just in time for his left arm to be slashed instead... he sustained a shallow cut to the left elbow that made him yell in pain. He finished turning to face her and frowned as his left hand began to glow blood red.

"You're really gettin' on my nerves, Blondie!" Mordecai yelled at her. Leona then watched him leap towards her with his left fist drawn back. Leona, not wanting to hang around and get hit with the punch, quickly turned around and sprinted away before he could land and punch at her, causing him to hit empty air. Once she was ten meters away Leona turned around and spotted Mordecai holding his left hand out towards her as his hand began to glow blood red again.

Moments later he fired a wide beam of red magic towards Leona. She saw the spell and jumped to the right twice, avoiding the spell with ease. She saw him disappear in a blur of red light and knew what was coming next. Leona jumped a single leap back moments before he appeared again and waited until he had completed the slash before she took a step forward and slashed at his chest with a two-handed diagonal right-to-left slash. She did not hit his chest thanks to him using his left forearm to shield the more vulnerable part of his body, but she did inflict another cut on his left arm that actually cut through the sleeve of his longcoat.

Mordecai clenched his teeth and glared at the Wizard Saint. Leona waited on him to resume attacking her, but to her surprise he did not move from his spot. Rather he looked like he was thinking about something other than trying to kill her. Leona did not trust him and jumped back four leaps, then stopped and waited to see what he would do.

Was Mordecai going to go back on the offensive or was he going to give up?

Moments later Leona had her answer. His left hand began to glow red again as a column of red light formed around him.

"You win tonight, Blondie, but I'll be back! Next time you won't have it so easy!" Mordecai conceded defeat for the time being. He then disappeared in a flash of red light as the column expanded outward, forcing Leona to shield her eyes with her left forearm to keep from being blinded in case he was using the light to blind her before he reappeared and went back on the offensive. When the red light faded Leona lowered her left forearm and looked all around her for the gunslinger in case, but she did not see him anywhere.

Not willing to end the Forceful Tempest spell in case he was still around, Leona continued to look around her for Mordecai. After a few more minutes of looking around her and not seeing any signs of him the Wizard Saint could only arrive at one logical conclusion. He had truly conceded the fight and had retreated to recover and prepare for a rematch.

Once she was sure that he was gone Leona voluntarily ended the Forceful Tempest spell and put her Silver Longsword back in its scabbard. She had won the fight with Mordecai, but she had not managed to truly defeat him. Instead she had only bought herself time before the next fight, but a win was a win.

[Post Word Count: 960]
[Total Word Count: 8,802/10,000]

-Outside Holy Castle, four hours later-

Four hours after winning the fight with Mordecai Leona landed twenty meters outside Holy Castle while sitting on the back of Winged Lion. She slowly climbed off of his back and once her feet were on the ground she dispelled the summon. Leona then faced Holy Castle and began to walk towards it at a slow pace. Her face, left arm, right knee, and torso were all hurting from the wounds she had taken during the fight, but she was still alive. She would have to face him again, but for now she would be content with her victory over the gunslinger.

After a slow walk Leona eventually got to within ten meters of Holy Castle before she had to take a break. She had expended a lot of energy during the fight and needed to take a break before she walked the rest of the distance to the castle's entrance. As she recovered from the exertion and her wounds she saw the double doors of the castle open and spotted Amberlin and Father Morris exit the castle, then begin walking towards her. Leona saw the two and resumed walking to meet them... the trio eventually met about five meters from Holy Castle.

"Hello Leona! The fact that you came back alive means that you must have succeeded!" Father Morris greeted the Wizard Saint.

"Yes and no, Father. I managed to defeat the person the Order's scouts tracked to the Forgotten Deserts and make him retreat, but I couldn't kill him this time. He'll be back one day." Leona informed the client of her partial success. Leona was concerned that the man would hold her failure to kill Mordecai against her, but after a few moments he smiled at her.

"What did you learn about this person during your fight with him?" Father Morris asked the Wizard Saint in a calm voice.

"I learned that the person's name is Mordecai. He dresses like someone from a Western movie... thick longcoat, ten-gallon hat, the works. The upper part of his face is constantly shrouded in shadow so that all you can see of it are his glowing red eyes." Leona started off by giving her client the person's name and appearance.

"I also learned that Mordecai likes to use guns... he favors a revolver and a double-barreled shotgun. He also carries a machete that he uses up close. He also has a few magic spells, but I doubt that I've seen all he can do. I also think he didn't use all of the guns he has." Leona reported on what she knew of Mordecai's capabilities.

"What you told me matches the description that Order Knight Athena and Order Cleric Amanda gave us of the mysterious man who killed quite a few of our Knights and Clerics." Father Morris informed Leona that the description of Mordecai matched that of the person who had hampered a few of the Order's operations against the cult. Leona listened in silence as Father Morris continued to speak.

"You look like you had a tough time fighting this Mordecai person." Father Morris said to Leona. That was an understatement. Leona had obviously taken quite a few hits and her face showed it.

"Mordecai was a tough opponent. Whether I hit him with my fists, kicked him, used a spell, or used my Silver Longsword, he could take a lot of hits and still keep fighting. He hits pretty hard too, as you can tell." Leona confirmed Father Morris' statement and made a reference to her left cheek, which was hurting from the times she had been punched in it. Amberlin looked the Wizard Saint over, then made eye contact.

"You look rough, Leona. Your face is bruised, your right knee is bruised too, your left arm is bleeding, and your armor took a couple of bullets that didn't punch all the way through." Amberlin assessed the injuries Leona had sustained during the fight with Mordecai. Leona laughed a little.

"I feel as bad as I look." Leona joked to try and lighten the mood. Father Morris spoke to Leona.

"I am glad you survived the fight with Mordecai, Leona. He sounds like a tough opponent. It is little surprise that he managed to wound Order Knight Athena and Order Cleric Amanda. I am thankful that you managed to defeat Mordecai, even if it is only for a little while. We will need all the time we can get to prepare for his return." Father Morris said to her. Leona made eye contact with the man when she heard the names of two of the Order members she had worked with in the past.

"Are they OK?" Leona asked him. He nodded.

"They are badly hurt, Leona. It will take them a few weeks to heal from the numerous punches, kicks, and gunshot wounds they took, but they will live. I am thankful for that since so many of our other Knights and Clerics died at Mordecai's hands." Father Morris told Leona the news. The Knight and Cleric would need a few weeks to recover from their wounds, but they would eventually return to action.

"I'm glad to hear that, Father." Leona said to him. Father Morris gave a small smile.

"As am I. Those two are valuable members of the Order who I have come to rely on for challenging missions. They have come through for me time and time again and I would hate to lose them." Father Morris replied. He looked Leona over again, then spoke.

"Would you like medical treatment before you go home?" Father Morris asked her.

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[Total Word Count: 9,744/10,000]

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, Leona's room, six hours later-

Six hours after going to Holy Castle to report to Father Morris about the partial success of her fight with Mordecai the Wizard Saint was now in her personal room. Amberlin had healed Leona and stopped the bleeding from her left arm where the machete had cut her, but the physical signs such as bruising from the punches, kicks, and the impact of the revolver bullets against her Adaptable Armor would take a bit of time to heal. Leona could live with that. The most important thing was that Father Morris had considered Leona's mission a success despite her inability to capture or kill the gunslinger.

Leona was concerned that Father Morris would deem her mission a failure, but he understood the difficulty she had encountered. He had taken into account the fact that Mordecai had killed a lot of Order members and had wounded two of the Order's best members by himself. He had also given permission for Leona to flee if she found herself in danger of being killed. When all of those factors were considered Father Morris had praised Leona for eking out a victory over someone who had killed a lot of Order members by himself and thanked her for her hard work in tracking down Mordecai and fighting him until he was forced to retreat.

Now that her work was finished for the day Leona faced the task of dealing with the paperwork that had likely accumulated while she was out. She would deal with it in a few hours when she did not feel like she had been hit by a bus. She would go to the guild cafe and get a cup of coffee or two to make herself feel better. Only once she had had some coffee she would go to her office and deal with the paperwork. That might be an irresponsible stance for a Guild Mistress to take, but that was the stance Leona had.

Wearing her green athletic t-shirt and green, white, and gold skirt with boots, Leona left her room and started making her way to the guild cafe. She would get a cup or two of coffee and take her time drinking it. There was no need to hurry... if there was paperwork that needed to be taken care of within a certain timeframe she was sure that a guild staff member would let her know.

[Post Word Count: 408]
[Total Word Count: 10,152/10,000]