Fractured God

Tibaut landed on the table and tripped backwards from the sudden momentum of the table.

He turned himself in mid-air quickly enough to land back on his feet and blocked a roundhouse kick of Ezekiel with a jumping knee.

Ezekiel’s face twisted in pain but with Tibaut airborne again, he brought over another chair, catching Tibaut’s leg and sending face first downward. Tibaut blocked with both arms but Ezekiel wasn't aiming for his face.

He delivered a cannon-like strike to the centre of Tibaut’s body. He could tell something had been broken by that move but thankfully it didn't seem too important, so maybe it was just a single rib.

Tibaut moved his hands down at the moment of the blow and shot a fireball directly at the floor, destroying the wooden floor and exposing the dirt underneath.

Given the chair caught on his leg and Ezekiel’s fist, it gave him clearance from the floor and initial explosion, while the explosion sent shockwaves through Ezekiel’s already weakened feet, along with some wood splinters that decided to sheathe themselves in Ezekiel’s lower legs.

Tibaut fell to the floor, kicked the chair off his leg and pushed himself off the smouldering floor, using his shoulders to slam into Ezekiel’s legs, sending the already reeling man to the floor.

Both men scurried to their feet, with a speedy chair to the back delaying Tibaut somewhat.

They both got back to their feet and the furniture approached Tibaut like a horde of hungry animals.

He jumped onto a chair coming from behind and attempted another knee strike. But his weight slowed the chair down faster than he imagined and Ezekiel slammed his leg into the edge of the chair’s seat the moment before Tibaut jumped off.

Ezekiel sent him flying towards him, back first upside down and landed a brutal-sounding lariat that knocked all the wind out of him.

(“I've gotten sloppy, I was aiming for a straight punch for his spine.”)

He thought he grabbed at Tibaut’s shirt.

He felt himself being dragged forward by the force of Tibaut and noticed Tibaut swung his momentum around in his grip and turned around to land another kick.

He let the boy go and the kick missed, the bottom of Tibaut’s shoe roughly scraping against Ezekiel’s arm.

Another chair came behind Tibaut and his lowered body sent the chair flying as if he tripped a person.

Ezekiel batted the chair away with an arm and blocked another blow from Tibaut that left his arms in agony.

Another chair came from behind and Tibaut jumped over it while protecting himself from any counterattacks from Ezekiel.

The two had now reached a stalemate where Tibaut was by most physical metrics superior but Ezekiel's magic was enough to even the gap.

Tibaut was forced to constantly dodge the wood being thrown at him, straining his brain and body trying to find an ample opportunity to strike.

(“Even with the gauntlets, one or two more punches isn't going to be enough.”)

He thought as he ducked a punch and shifted to the side to avoid a chair, with Ezekiel shifting away as well, though in a different direction.

He attempted another punch but he parried with his knee, with another table coming that Tibaut quickly ducked under.

(“Should I use a fireball? Nah, I won't have any time to form, plus the bastard might try to throw a chair at it. What can I use to even the odds? That fire veil is no good either.”)

He continued dodging and trying to find opportunities when they came but he just didn't have the speed to do so. He felt like he was forced to do the fighting of two people. Worse was the fact, he could feel himself slowing. Dammit, were his injuries this draining?

A chair clipped his gauntlet and he dodged another blow headed this way.

(“Wait a second. This should protect my hands, right? So that means I get a bit more rough with them, right?”)

But even still, would a point-blank fireball even work? Ezekiel seems to be adjusting to Tibaut now and has even begun parrying certain moves. If he missed he couldn't imagine Ezekiel saying screw it and leaving it unpunished.

But what else could he do to make use of these gauntlets?

A chair slammed into his back but he quickly recovered by blocking a heavy sounding blow with his gauntlets.

He dodged another and the top of it caught his pocket dragging him ever so slightly forward into another blow from Ezekiel.

He headbutted the punch aimed for his head and reeled back himself, Ezekiel’s fist feeling more like a block of cement than a hand made of bone and flesh.

(“Wait a second!”)

He thought as he and Ezekiel approached closer to meet each other. Another table was aimed at his back. And the space between Ezekiel and the table was far too small to dodge, he had to be hit by one of them. A light soon formed not behind Ezekiel but instead behind Tibaut and his mind went into overdrive trying to figure out a solution.

Ezekiel put every last ounce of strength he still possessed into this blow, believing his own punch combined with the force of the table would be enough to mortally wound Tibaut. His bleeding also seemed to have increased, with his lower half painted in the blood of his torso. He probably wasn't long for this world either way, but the sooner the better.

(“I got it. That time I condensed the fireball. Why if I unevenly condense it and make my punch go faster?”)

Tibaut’s brain was using as little power as it took to try and visualise his idea.

As he required a simple image, a rocket was the first thing that came to mind. What if he turned his fist into a rocket? Rockets are fast so his fist should go quicker, plus rockets hit things very hard.

So that's what he tried to make his arm. A rocket. He formed a fireball behind his arm, at the very back of his gauntlet, hoping to reduce damage and began condensing it.