Lucian took a deep, calm breath while steadying his body. With lightning-fast reflexes, he moved his sword up to parry the attack, causing Dmitri's claws to scrap against the metal. 

Determined to put an end to Lucian's very life, Dmitri unleashed a flurry of frontal slashes without leaving any breathing room. Dmitri repeatedly leaped into the air and descended like a spring, aiming to deal serious damage to both Lucian's upper and lower body.

By targeting multiple areas of the body rather than pinpointing a single one, Dmitri tested Lucian's defensive abilities since he knew it would be difficult to block all of his incoming attacks.

With every slash that Dmitri sent Lucian's way, Lucian dodged without breaking a sweat, not allowing a single scratch to come even remotely close to his skin. 

Lucian moved with a speed and grace that was otherwordly, a feat that an ordinary human wouldn't be able to pull off. Sparks were sent flying into the air each time Dmitri's claws collided against Lucian's steel blade.

As soon as Dmitri slowed down the speed and strength of his swipes from temporary fatigue, Lucian timed it just right and found an opening. He swung his sword with all his strength, causing Dmitri's eyes to widen in horror as if he were witnessing his life flashing before him. He did two backflips to increase the distance between him and Lucian to prevent the blade from slicing into his abdomen.

"What's the matter? Why are you there while I'm way over here? You can't tell me that's all you got. For someone who wanted to see me so bad, I'm disappointed that's all you have to give me," Lucian taunted, hoping to get Dmitri angry enough to make a reckless move to come charging at him. 

"Oh, you want to play, huh," Dmitri threatened under his breath as he reached into a pocket inside his jacket to pull out a dagger. "Let me introduce ya to my little friends; they're just dying to meet ya," Dmitri declared before sending one of them Lucian's way.

Lucian reacted as though he could read the dagger's mind, giving away its trajectory and where it would hit. "Missed me," Lucian pointed out as he skillfully leaned slightly to the side while the dagger flew past him.

Dmitri gnashed his teeth while his eyes blazed with frustration since he couldn't seem to land a single hit on Lucian. With a powerful swing, he sent yet another dagger hurtling toward Lucian.

Time seemed to move in slow motion as Lucian, in a split second, leaned his upper body backward at nearly a ninety-degree angle. The dagger glided by his face, missing it by mere inches, while his lower legs remained firmly planted on the ground beneath his feet, leaving Lucian's body unscathed. "Missed again, better luck next time," Lucian mocked.

"Hold still, you fuckin pest," Dmitri snarled as he released three more daggers from his hand Lucian's way.

Lucian held his hand in front of him, summoning a barrier of light to protect him from receiving any damage. One dagger missed him completely, while the other two hit the barrier but soon clattered against the ground since they could not break past it.

"I didn't know you were skilled at using daggers. It looks like we have something in common," Lucian declared with a smirk. Just like before, with the snap of his fingers, he summoned a row of daggers, which appeared between each of his fingers of his free hand.

"But let me get one thing straight: whatever you can do, I can do better. Now it's my turn. Have fun dodging these," Lucian announced while he twisted his body before letting his weapons fly from his hands one by one to put more force behind his throws.

Dmitri let out a gasp while his eyes widened in shock. He artfully contorted his body in different directions and dodged four daggers. But despite this, Dmitri could not evade the fifth dagger, which ended up piercing through his right thigh, leaving him howling in pain.

"And you call yourself strong. You're awfully weak if you ask me, but don't be too hard on yourself; we're not all built the same," Lucian taunted, preparing himself for the next move that Dmitri would make.

"Oh, you've asked for it now," Dmitri sneered while his lips curved upward to form an insidious smile. Dmitri, going for broke and ignoring the pain in his leg, let out a frustrated cry before rushing full force at Lucian at an inhuman speed.

Lucian moved in the opposite direction of Dmtri's first swipe, dodging it effortlessly. He ducked just in time to avoid Dmitri's claws touching his skull. In a frenzy, Dmitri aimed for Lucian's legs but missed since Lucian leaped into the air and did a back flip, landing perfectly on his feet.

"Damn, you really suck at this; here, let me try," Lucian declared while wildly swinging his sword. 

Dmitri leaped backward, narrowly avoiding the first slash that missed grazing against his chest by milliseconds. With impeccable agility, Dmitri also managed to dodge the second strike by shifting his body to the right while Lucian aimed left. 

When that failed, on the third attempt, Lucian, while keeping his eyes fixated on Dmitri's left, instead swung right to catch Dmitri off guard, landing a hit and slicing into Dmitri's shoulder. Dmitri cried out in pain as he pressed his hand against the fresh injury that Lucian had inflicted.

"There's more than one way to crush a bug," Dmitri hissed, using all the remaining strength in his legs, regardless of the injuries he had received, to propel himself into the air and onto the post of the carnival sign. 

Dmitri climbed to the top at a frightening pace, determined not to let Lucian beat him by gaining higher ground to give him a strategic advantage. Once Dmitri reached the top, he glared down at Lucian and gave him a sinister grin.

"You're pretty good at dodging, huh? Well, let's see how well ya dodge this," Dmitri called out, cupping his hand around his mouth to project his voice from above before ripping off the blinking carnival sign. 

"I've fuckin got you right where I want you now!" Dmitri declared. Not long after those words escaped his lips, Dmitri began swinging the sign roundhouse style before letting go, sending it hurtling toward Lucian in a desperate attempt to squash him. 

Dmitri hadn't taken his eyes off the sign, which appeared to have landed directly on top of where Lucian stood. "Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" Dmitri exclaimed, pumping a victorious fist into the air.

Dmitri leaped to the floor from above to investigate if Lucian's body would truly be lying there, crushed underneath the sign he had thrown. Dmitri cautiously snooped around but didn't find any sign of life from Lucian.

"Man, what a fuckin pain in the ass. What happened, Lucian? It looks like you weren't great after all; you were just a big talker!" Dmitri said as relief washed over his features while he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

A dumbfounded expression consumed Dmitri's face when he felt a light tap on his shoulder, which could only have come from one person. Dmitri's eyes widened in horror as Lucian whispered close to his ear, "Looking for me, I'm right here; sorry, but you missed by a long shot."

As Dmitri turned to face his nemesis with claws drawn, Lucian locked his eyes on his prey. His free hand reached into his cloak to grip a small glass bottle. Not giving Dmitri a chance to unleash another attack, Lucian popped off the lid and threw the contents into Dmitri's face.

Dmitri tumbled backward as he howled in pain. His skin burned where the liquid was splashed. "Water blessed by the goddess! Shit, it burns like fuck!" Dmitri snarled, lunging forward again and mindlessly throwing multiple claw attacks aimed at Lucian's neck.

Lucian quickly shifted his body weight to the left and right to dodge Dmitri's incoming attacks. He delivered a bone-crushing kick to Dmitri's chest, causing him to gasp in pain and fly backward before landing on the ground.

Lucian moved swiftly on his feet, leaping forward to close the distance between him and Dmitri. "I'm afraid that you're killing days are over; this ends now; any last words before I send you on a one-way trip to hell," Lucian said with a murderous look in his eyes as he clutched onto the hilt of the sword. He held the tip near Dmitri's throat as Dmitri coughed up a bit of blood, knowing that he was finished.

"Looks like you're the real deal after all," Dmitri reluctantly admitted before cackling, spitting up a bit of crimson onto the ground next to him. "Go ahead, do your worst I fuckin dare ya, like I give a shit! But just so you know, my big brother's gonna fuck you up real good if anything happens to me, so think real carefully about your next move!" Dmitri menacingly threatened.