Cough, cough!
The visibly dimmed mist coalesced back into the form of Nick. As for Cane...
He was gone.
Not only was Nick recovering from the Light Explosion, the audience outside the arena was too. Everyone could only stare in confusion.
"F*ck, he's gone again. How does he disappear like that??"
Nick frowned, but he knew he couldn't disperse and cover the arena once more, since he didn't have enough mist or energy to do it again. He coalesced back into the standing armour, wary of sudden sneak attacks.
Last time, he left that Plasma Pistol of his and somehow remotely activated it, blowing up a landmine and causing dust to fly up in the arena. After that, his ambush instantly knocked Isaac down completely...
So, all I need to do is destroy any objects he's left behind?
A somewhat confident smile grew on Nick's face. He quickly sent his remaining 2 clones to search through the arena, before following behind.
...
Holy sh*t! That was close...
Behind the crystalline walls of Hiding Spot, Cane watched Nick travel around the arena. Just in the nick of time, he'd managed to escape the Light Explosion. Of course, though the attack energy didn't hurt him (due to the walls of Hiding Spot), the light from the Light Explosion still passed through and blinded him temporarily.
Sszzz...
Cane held up the steaming, melted sunglasses and peered through the deformed lenses. They'd served their purpose properly, but instead of respecting the broken sunglasses, Cane was already pondering about buying a new pair.
Hmm.
Ah well, time for the second part of my plan. If this works...
I'll have an excellent ability to use in the future!
First, he slowed the perception of time immensely. Looking at the outside, the world seemed to be paused - nothing if not an impressive display of time perception! From there, Cane moved his way to the edge of Hiding Spot.
One should remember that Hiding Spot wasn't that small. The area he'd been privileged with was 1 whole square metre, giving him a pretty good amount of space to stand or sit. Thus...
Considering that the activation of Hiding Spot would send him into the very middle of the box, it meant that Hiding Spot moved with Cane, based on the location of his feet! It would then stay firmly in place after being activated.
Cane reached the wall, waited for Nick to face away, and deactivated Hiding Spot!
Then, as fast as thought, he reactivated Hiding Spot once more!
As expected...
A strange smile grew on Cane's face. To the audience, it seemed like Cane had just flickered in and out of visibility like a faulty hologram. Of course, Nick hadn't seen anything.
For Cane? Like walking, he traveled toward Nick, deactivating and reactivating Hiding Spot whenever he drew close to the crystalline walls. Due to the time perception within Hiding Spot being slowed, his movement inside the space was faster than light in comparison to the outside world!
Furthermore, since thoughts traveled quickly, he'd stay within the outside world only for a fraction of a moment!
The audience watched with stunned faces as Cane's constantly flickering body moved toward Nick from behind. Cane's speed was noticeably less than his regular speed, yet it was still exceedingly fast.
to those who watched, it seemed like he was teleporting toward Nick, half a metre every time. And ever so quietly, Cane made his way behind Nick.
"... BOO!!"
Hiding Spot!
As Nick turned around in fright, he quickly realised that no one was there.
Holy F*ck, how did he do that???
Flicker!
Nick's pupils narrowed. Had... Cane just flickered in and out of visibility, right in front of him??
Hmm, I don't know how you're becoming invisible, but I'm sure there are limits! There's no way you could become intangible, that'd be too strong. Thus...
Fwoosh!
As the thought passed through his mind like a flash, he lunged forward at high speeds, using his mist to form extra arms on his back! Nick held his arms out wide to hopefully catch Cane if he tried to escape, and then...
Nick passed through the area that Cane had just been, but nothing. The attack proved to be useless, which could only mean that Nick's previous conjecture was wrong. Cane's ability...
Nick felt a chill go down his spine. Cane could go invisible and intangible simultaneously???
He felt another chill go down his spine.
Wait...
He spun around, and as expected, Cane was there, blowing puffs of cold wind on his back!
"Hey!"
Half in anger and half in shock, he whipped his leg toward Cane's head, and yet...
Woosh.
Cane had disappeared again! Nick's leg only went through empty air, Cane being even less corporeal than Nick could be.
Nick began to feel nervous. Self delusions began to arise. F*ck, this must be some sort of hologram??? Maybe... maybe it's just that he has things buried underground to create this illusion! After all, it's impossible for him to have so many abilities.
In his panic, Nick in fact forgot that Cane had just blown air on his back, and instead began to go down the wrong path of thinking.
Tsk, I'll just have to start digging then.
...
BOOM!
"F*CKING HELL, ANOTHER BOMB!!!"
For the past 10 minutes, Nick had been combing through the arena floor, and every so often, he'd find what looked like some sort of highly sophisticated device. In truth, they were just regular grenades made to look a bit more fancy.
Of course, the moment they were uncovered, he had to be careful of if they were bombs or not. Some of them did nothing, adding to the deviousness. Furthermore, since they all looked like they were high-tech devices, how would he be able to tell which was the actual projector???
Another one was dug up.
But this time...
A strange light was flickering on it. It was different to the previous objects, and thus Nick decided to check further. He sent one of his clones down to peer at it, tense with anticipation.
"BOO!!"
Nick jerked back in shock as a loud BOO came from the object! It turned out to be a speaker. In surprise, he didn't notice a taser point at his back...
ZZzzzapp!
"AAGHHH!!!"
As Nick screamed in pain, a sudden, horrifying sight stunned everyone, including Cane. That was because Nick's entire body was warping and morphing in strange ways, like an alien attempting to imitate the looks of a human!
The mist in the surrounding area drew into Nick's body, as if attracted by some sort of magnetic force. As the mist particles merged with him, his body shifted even more, like some sort of eldritch horror!
The Wanderer - watching from afar - could only mutter to himself.
"It's just like those... "Picasso" paintings I once saw in one of the Story Worlds."
Meanwhile, Cane dropped the tasers hurriedly. Despite the taser stopping, Nick's shifting didn't. Cane reached out a hand, quickly catching Nick before he could hit the ground and sustain further injuries.
F*ck, this better not be permanent. Otherwise, won't I have broken the maiming rule??? Let's just hope that I look concerned enough that they might let me off lightly.
As the thought passed through Cane's mind, a sudden, short zap stunned him. And then...
ZZzzssap!!
All of the electricity that had been circulating in Nick's body was transferred into Cane! He froze in pain and paralysis, and Cane knew that it'd still last for a few more seconds. Meanwhile, Nick, in Cane's arms, began to revert back to normality.
Damn it... how could I have forgotten that the electricity would conduct back into my body...
Nick's bloodshot eyes opened wide, and then his had turned into mist, plunging toward Cane's nostrils and mouth! Cane watched in slow motion as it drew closer, almost about to enter his nostrils. Then...
Hiding Spot!
Cane successfully got away in time. He then deactivated Hiding Spot, reappearing to Nick with a cloned Tracking Grenade in his hands.
BOOMM!!
The shockwaves sent Nick's mist backward, and he reformed further away - still looking haggard and in pain.
"You... you disgusting filth, what the F*CK DID YOU DO?!" Nick shouted at Cane, whose face was still somewhat confused and disbelieving. At Nick's words, Cane frowned.
He didn't like being degraded as filth. Cane had already heard enough of that kind of language for a lifetime. Noticing Cane's discomfort, Nick's face split in a strange smile.
"What, did I touch a nerve?" Nick taunted at Cane as he re-entered his armour. Cane merely clenched his fist, not bothering to respond yet. A surge of anger rushed through him.
"Let me guess... You were probably some kid picked up off the streets, am I right? That's why the Northern Combat School didn't reveal anything about you."
He sneered at Cane, continuing. "I'd do the same, truth be told. If word got out that some beggar or thief was better than my carefully cultivated prodigies, I'd probably kill myself right then and there!"
"Then do it. Kill yourself."
Nick suddenly paused. "Hmm?"
ZZzzaappp!!
Without warning, Cane had shot at Nick once more, almost instantaneously. Cane's eyes even more bloodshot than Nick's, but it was in anger, not pain. The next moment, the taser once again electrocuted Nick!
Without regard to the pain Nick was feeling, Cane cloned his taser and gave Nick a double dosage!
"Hehehe, ha, haha, HAHAHA!!" Cane smiled in a vicious manner. "You should KILL YOURSELF, NOW!"
He removed the tasers, and this time - due to the armour that Nick had been wearing - the electricity didn't stay inside of Nick and instead dispersed.
As for Nick himself, he lay on the ground, no longer human looking. Instead, he was just like a puddle of mist, too weak and in pain to do anything else.
Cane looked at the puddle for a moment, then stomped on it.
Then he spat, before turning around and leaving.
As Cane left, Nick couldn't help but feel a chill go down his spine once more. Others may not have known, but Nick knew - and he knew Cane did too - that in that moment, Cane could've definitely killed him.
Permanently.
Perhaps, Nick's greatest lesson learnt that day was that he was not immortal, not some sort of infinite mage who could never die. The moment his mist ran out...
Well, either way, the final winner of the Tournament had been announced!
Cane won the first place!
But now... about that prize, hehe...