The three won moved at the sa ti the mont Crimson Mage spoke. Their weapons flashed as they rushed toward Rohan from different directions, clearly accustod to fighting together. One of them swung a curved blade at his neck while another raised her hand and released several sharp ice spikes. The last woman moved behind him with surprising speed, aiming a thrust at his back.
Rohan imdiately stepped sideways, allowing the blade to miss by a few inches before bringing up the White Sword to deflect the ice spikes. The impacts pushed him back several steps, and before he could regain his footing, the third woman’s spear was already in front of him. He twisted his body and barely avoided having his chest pierced, though the spear still cut through part of his armor and left a shallow wound on his side.
The room quickly beca too small for the battle. Tables were smashed apart, shelves collapsed, and glass containers shattered across the floor as attacks flew in every direction.
Rohan found himself forced onto the defensive almost imdiately. The won were stronger than the guards outside, and unlike those guards, they knew how to work together. Every ti he blocked one attack, another followed from a different angle. Every dodge led him into another dangerous position.
The woman using ice abilities continuously restricted his movent by freezing sections of the floor while the spear user pressured him from the front. The swordswoman waited patiently for openings and attacked whenever Rohan’s attention shifted elsewhere. Within a short ti, several new cuts appeared across his arms and shoulders.
Despite being pushed back, Rohan remained calm. His eyes moved constantly between the three won as if he already knew where every attack would co from. When the spear user thrust toward his throat, he knocked the weapon aside with the flat of his blade and imdiately ducked beneath a horizontal slash from the swordswoman. At the sa ti, he kicked a broken chair toward the ice user, forcing her to stop casting and avoid the debris.
The opening only lasted a second, but it allowed him to retreat to a better position.
His breathing had beco heavier, and blood slowly dripped from multiple wounds, yet his movents remained precise and efficient. He never wasted energy and never made unnecessary motions.
The won gradually noticed sothing strange. Although they were clearly stronger and had the advantage in numbers, they could not land a decisive blow. Every attack that should have killed him sohow failed at the last mont.
Rohan seed capable of predicting danger before it happened. He knew when to retreat, when to block, and when to take a small injury to avoid a fatal one. The swordswoman beca frustrated and increased the speed of her attacks, causing sparks to fly whenever their weapons collided. The spear user unleashed a barrage of strikes powerful enough to leave cracks in the walls, while the ice user covered the room with frozen mist to limit his vision.
Even then, Rohan continued surviving through pure skill and experience.
A powerful kick finally struck his stomach and sent him crashing into a wooden pillar. Blood escaped from his mouth as pain spread through his body. Before he could recover, the spear user appeared in front of him and thrust directly toward his heart.
Rohan narrowly shifted his body, and the spear pierced the pillar behind him instead. Taking advantage of that brief opening, he slamd the poml of the White Sword into the woman’s jaw before rolling away from the other two attacks that imdiately followed. He rose to his feet again and wiped the blood from his lips.
The three won stared at him with growing disbelief. By all logic, he should have been dead already, yet he remained standing, battered and injured but still fighting as if battles like this were completely normal to him.
Finally, the man also joined the battle.
"By all ans, you should have died, you vile creature!" the man yelled as he struck his odachi forward, causing Rohan to slide between his legs and position himself behind the four foes.
"There, there, Tom Tom. Don’t use harsh words against a teenager. That’s a bad example for an adult," Rohan teased.
The man turned and spat.
"Teenager my foot! You bloody evil thing! I’ll make sure to kill you, and you’ll never co back this ti!"
The three won exchanged glances after hearing those words. The confusion in their eyes only grew. Crimson Mage was one of the strongest Hunters in the entire First Pavilion. Not only that, he was old enough to be their father. Yet the masked intruder was speaking to him like an old acquaintance.
Rohan rolled his shoulder and stretched his neck. Blood continued dripping from several wounds across his body, yet he looked more annoyed than injured.
Crimson Mage tightened his grip on the odachi. The anger on his face slowly disappeared and was replaced by caution.
"You should be dead," he said.
Rohan nodded.
"I did die."
Crimson Mage’s expression darkened.
"You really are him."
"Of course I am." Rohan shrugged. "Did you think so random Hunter would know your old nickna? Or should I remind you of Jade of Swords?"
Crimson Mage’s face beca red with anger.
"Shut up!"
His energy exploded outward. The wooden floor beneath his feet cracked instantly.
The three won imdiately retreated as heat began gathering around the odachi.
Rohan’s grin widened beneath the mask.
"There he is. I was wondering where the old fool went. Not the full strength I wanted, but this will do."
"Die!"
Crimson Mage swung.
A massive wave of fire burst from the odachi and rushed through the room. The walls blackened instantly, and the remaining furniture exploded apart from the heat.
Rohan imdiately threw himself sideways.
The fire missed him by less than a ter and blasted through the wall behind him.
Before he could recover, the spear user arrived. Her spear shot forward three tis in quick succession.
Rohan deflected the first strike and avoided the second, but the third cut across his shoulder and sent blood spraying into the air.
At the sa mont, the ice user completed another spell. Several chains made of ice burst from the ground and wrapped around Rohan’s legs.
The swordswoman lunged. Her blade descended toward his neck with perfect timing.
Any normal Hunter would have died.
Rohan simply smiled.
Although they couldn’t see his smile behind the mask, the won suddenly felt a strange chill from the calmness of the mysterious intruder.
The White Sword moved, and the strike was blocked.
Despite being trapped, injured, and fighting four opponents stronger than himself, he still managed to react.
Uncertainty surfaced on the faces of all four Hunters.
Rohan slowly raised his head.
"Finished warming up?"
The four felt their hearts sink.
But to their surprise, Rohan dismissed the White Sword into tiny golden specks and stepped forward.
"Tom Tom, long ti no see. If anything, I really want to kill you, but this newly awakened fragile body of mine doesn’t give that privilege. Why don’t we do this another ti? Maybe by then these won will still be helping you satisfy that stick between your legs. I really enjoyed battling with you ladies."
Crimson Mage yelled,
"Cut the crap!"
He suddenly burst forward, crimson flas raging from both the odachi and his body.
"Ah, really eager to kill ? Ladies and Tom Tom, let’s et again."
’Do it now,’ he commanded inwardly.
Suddenly, he disappeared into thousands of insects and disappeared out of sight.
Crimson Mage’s odachi struck thin air, and he imdiately roared in anger. After a few seconds, he cald himself and turned toward the swordswoman.
"Call for a eting with the Seven Epochs. Tell them..."
His expression darkened.
"He’s back."
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