It had taken a while for it to happen, but finally Abel's rather poor luck had gotten the better of him. Perhaps it was because he hesitated to use his full power; maybe Maddox had simply been more prepared this time due to each of the warriors repeatedly using these shield attacks for their offense. Whatever the reason was, this time the attack had been anticipated despite Abel's speed. Throughout his life, this sort of thing had always happened -- Abel had been an exceptionally talented young man who had been haunted by an ill omen of sorts which seemed to constantly loom over him like a wraith, waiting for precisely the right moment to bring misfortune upon him. This had probably been the most [i]crucial[/i] moment of the battle thus far, and it was in [i]that[/i] moment - when he finally took the offensive - that his metaphorical curse decided to strike. The first blow Maddox had unleashed was unavoidable, and it slashed across Abel from behind.

	"Ugh...!" Abel groaned slightly as the blade hit him across the back, though thankfully the damage it was able to inflict to his lightweight gear - or specifically inflict on his body itself - was relatively minor, largely thanks to the protective magic fortifying Abel's endurance. What should have been a strike to cut through the young man's back would have been met with a seemingly supernatural resistance, as if an invisible secondary suit of light armour was being worn.

	Due to the impact of the blow being considerably smaller than what Maddox likely desired, Abel was able to recover much faster than he might have otherwise, but the incoming secondary strike was still not something that could be easily avoided. His concentration had been broken by the first attack, resulting in his incantation failing - and the magic circle dissipating instantly, as if snapped by an invisible force - but his revolve nevertheless would [i]not[/i] falter. He had been wounded before, and in his many battles - both in training and against the forces of evil - Abel had become accustomed to pain. As a direct result of being lithe, the young man with platinum blonde hair had needed to work twice as hard as a man of more average build just to carry his equipment -- feelings of pain had often become numb to him throughout his life and it took quite a lot to actually keep him down; a fact emphasized by the detail that Abel actually frequently suffered from poor health. One would never imagine his constitution if they saw him in battle, as Abel was in a very real sense the embodiment of the phrase 'soldiering on' -- resiliency was definitely one of his strengths.

	"Tch..." muttered for a moment as he was pushed backwards - or forwards rather since his opponent was at his gear - but he maintained his footing on the ground and refused to let his resolve waver for a moment.

	"[b]Magicae potentia, defatigatio supplementum.[/b]" Abel chanted in a whisper once more, causing the magic circle to once again faintly become visible, not intending to give up just because of a single failure. Immediately turning around with his enhanced speed, Abel was facing Maddox by the time the man's next blow had lunged towards him. Given that the attack approaching had been another thrusting attack, the preferred reaction would have been to sidestep once again and take advantage of the rather simply avoidable technique, but - given how he was already recovering from the first strike and had needed to turn himself around quickly - Abel decided to guard himself instead this time. He really did not have enough time to see the move coming [i]and[/i] evade it after all of this.

	While it would usually take a direct blow in order to interrupt Abel casting a spell - and therefore blocking with his shield was often an ideal way to get his magic off without difficulty - the thrusting attack from Maddox had possessed a significant amount of power behind it in comparison to the first blow -- while this did not interrupt Abel's incantation it did make him glad that he had recovered in time to guard against it. As the sword connected with the iron shield, the young man kept a stalwart defence and prevented himself from losing footing as he allowed himself to take a single step back while maintaining his firm guarding stance.

	`Do not allow him any ground...!` Abel internally commanded himself as he immediately made another horizontal slash from his left to his right, attacking the moment Maddox pushed into him when their equipment clashed against each other.

	Even if he was attacking Maddox on the side that his wooden shield was absent - hoping to slash cross the Crimson Knight's mid-section while his arm was still out as a result of recovering from the sword thrust - Abel was not outright expecting to wound him with this particularly attack -- certainly, he held nothing back in the blow and it was entirely possible Maddox could take some damage, but the primary purpose of this strike was to force the man on the defensive again and give him more time to finish his magic. If Abel managed to inflict some damage then that would be a bonus, and with his spell activating moments later he would be ready to push on the offensive again. He could only hope his [i]misfortune[/i] would not make another move as well.

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[hider=Spell Casting]
[b]Fortify Fatigue[/b] - [i]Interrupted[/i]
[b]Fortify Fatigue[/b]
[/hider]
[hider=Active Spells]
[b]Fortify Endurance[/b] (12 seconds remaining)
[b]Fortify Speed[/b] (36 seconds remaining)
[/hider]
[hider=My Post vs. Game Mechanics]
The main factor being taken into account for my response was the idea that the damage of the first strike being relatively minor in your dice roll - together with the magically fortified endurance - would result in Abel being less off balance when the second attack was initiated, justifying him having enough time to defend himself instead of getting caught in a combo. The stagger being easier to recover from due to the young man's inner strength meant that only the first blow would hit him and it also gave him time to start his next spell.[/hider]
[@ELGainsborough]