Metz blade tasted flesh for but a moment, and then his grotesque foe out-sped him again, and Metz was forced to pull back himself. Unwilling to continue chasing the man up the sandy beach the man had no real purchase for his grab, and was unlikely to even attempt it as Metz himself seemed to back off. The Mage had of course realised he was working on borrowed time, the last dregs of mana burning through his body like the spluttering flames of gasoline. He stood there, knife in hand, weaving his last spell for the moment and visualising a spot a few feet behind him on the beach as he backed up, watching his foe for any signs of a sudden change in direction. It was impossible to guess what Shin would do, seeing as how he had been running from the Mage just a moment earlier  a frontal assault seemed unlikely, but then it seemed that way before when Metz had tried to cast a circle and the man had immediately ran towards him rather than dodging and serpentine like before. It was like he could pre-empt the Mage’s spells, which to some extent was true as Metz had not been aware of the ability to watch the other competitor’s matches.

Still, Metz only needed about two seconds to complete his spell, and he was confident he could earn himself that long. Behind him, at that point invisible, an earth circle was being prepared. 

“Give me a moment pal.” Metz said, keeping the knife at the ready, grinning viciously at his foe. In truth, the need to fort up so to speak was multi-purpose, for the effects to his vision were growing disorientating and he wanted to catch his breath from the earlier punch. However, should his foe charge him head on that fort could easily become Shin’s tomb, it was just that sort of day.