Ethan stepped forward, planting his foot firmly into the ground and assumed a defensive stance, the battle would be tricky since his opponent was wielding two swords, those that didn't go well with one another.
Furthermore, there was no guarantee that this would be a one on one duel, the shadows at the other platforms could intervene at any time, as well as the Huntress, standing at the very top.
Ethan parried the long sword, and with one swift movement of his other hand, grabbed the left wrist of the shadow. He struck with his sword, but he didn't aim for the shadow, rather he slowed down his strike, so the shadow would have time to counterattack.
When their swords collided once more, Ethan didn't parry, he blocked the blade and pushed down with as much force he could muster. The long sword, guided by his own sword, struck the ground, and Ethan slid his sword up to the hilt.
With all weapons immobilized, Ethan wasted not a single second as he raised his right leg and kicked with as much force as he could muster, Exploding his Ki at the final moment to increase the force as much as possible.
He didn't let go of the left wrist, however, he didn't want his opponent flying back and getting a moment to collect himself. The kick was aimed at the liver, if this thing was even remotely human from the insides, his movement was done for.
If he was human, of course. Knowing that he was facing a being made of magic, Ethan didn't bet on that chance, and immediately raised his sword. The shadow shouldn't be able to swing his long sword at that moment, assuming it took any damage from that kick.
It may not be human and possess the weaknesses of one, but his kick had connected against something solid... There had to be some damage.
Ethan swung, making a clean cut on the Shadow's arm, severing his wrist. He raised his foot and stepped down on the cut wrist. The beast that the Huntress had fought him with was able to regenerate, Who knew what this one could do?
The shadow had regained itself, and the moment it did and made an effort to stab Ethan with his other sword, Ethan exerted all of his efforts on his grip, and headbutted the shadow in the chin.
'Uh!'
It felt as if he headbutted a rock, but he persevered through the pain, and stabbed the shadow through the heart, if it had any, he then swung his sword in an upward arc, cutting clean through the shadow.
'It's as if I'm cutting through stone...'
Unfortunately, he had to expend some Ki to make sure his sword cut clean. The body of these 'shadowy figures' had been tougher than expected. But he had done it.
The shadow fell lifelessly to the ground, the grip on its swords lessened, and the body began to disappear. However, as the body disappeared, Ethan noticed the mad smile on the shadow's face as he disappeared.
And if he had to admit, he was creeped out by it, but he shook it off soon enough.
"Eighty four percent."
He muttered, it was an accurate measurement of his remaining reserves of Ki. He still had eleven more shadows to defeat, and although this one had been easy to defeat, he had no idea how strong the other two would be.
Although, with the unique combo of weapons, he had thought the fight would be somewhat difficult.
As the shadow's body appeared, Ethan noticed an emblem embedded on the hilt of his disappearing swords, but before he could recognize it fully, the sword turned to ash.
Ethan shook his head and rolled his eyes, thinking it was just another illusion formed by the huntress. He turned to look at the other platforms, and he could already see the shadow at the eleventh platform begin to move.
This shadow was bulky, really bulky. It was like he was seeing Ravu once more, and this shadow wielded a battleaxe as large as his body.
"So it's you this time, huh?"
Ethan took a deep breath, taking every detail into account. The shadow approaching now far outclassed in strength and endurance, but he definitely had the upper hand in speed and flexibility.
However, he was worried about one thing, and that was whether if these shadows could use Ki. The one he had just dealt with had attempted to do it, and would have succeeded if it weren't for Ethan disposing of him quickly.
The tables could turn in an instant if Ki was involved, and although Ethan was confident he could defeat all the shadows... He would eat through his reserves if they also used Ki to combat him.
"Haha... Fuck."
He cursed, as the shadow jumped from his platform, its weapon raised high.
"Did I jinx myself?"