John sensed something amiss but did not retreat; his ice spear still aimed for Lucas's skull.
A subtle shade of black flickered unnoticed in his eyes.
At the moment the ice spear made contact with Lucas, the unexpected occurred!
A blood-colored shield suddenly materialized around Lucas.
"Clang!"
John's ice spear collided with it, creating a thunderous noise.
The spear shattered, sending shards of ice flying in all directions, yet it failed to inflict any harm on Lucas.
"Blood Shield!"
This was the very skill Lucas had used when John had ambushed him in the Phantom Ruins!
With his ice spear shattered, John was left weaponless, and Lucas's blood sword was already upon him.
The sword, glowing red, created afterimages in the air as it sliced towards John with wind-like swiftness.
Lucas was certain, knowing John's Shadow Puppet was still on cooldown, that this strike could not be evaded.
Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!