Kyle’s hand moved to his belt. Fear Blade was still there. But against two enemies? A dagger wasn’t enough.
`My sword... Where did it land?`
He scanned the ground. There—twenty feet away. Half-hidden in the mist.
He pushed himself up.
The swordsman saw him move. "Don’t let him—"
Kyle ran.
Not toward his sword. Toward the stocky man!
The man’s eyes widened. He quickly raised his fists.
Kyle slid at the last second, ducking under a wild punch. His dagger slashed across the man’s thigh. Red blood sprayed.
Not deep. But enough.
The stocky man roared—not in pain, but in fury. He swung his other arm. Kyle couldn’t dodge in ti. The fist caught his side, sending him stumbling.
He rolled with the impact and ca up near his sword. His hand closed around the hilt.
The swordsman stood up already. But he was shocked by his friend’s action. He had helped their enemy to get close to his sword!
He sighed and took off quickly. His blade was coming down.
Kyle parried. The impact shook his arms. He parried again. And again.
The man’s strikes were relentless. Each one is faster than the last. Kyle could feel his strength draining.
`I can’t keep this up forever.`
He needed to end one of them.
***
Kyle’s eyes flared crimson.
`Hesitate,` he commanded the swordsman.
The man’s blade paused for a split second—just long enough.
Kyle stepped inside his guard and drove his sword into the man’s heart. But the man twisted away at the last mont, which made the blade sink deeply into his shoulder.
The swordsman scread and stumbled back.
The stocky man charged.
Kyle raised his sword to block, but the man didn’t swing. He grabbed Kyle’s blade with both hands.
Kyle stared at him. The man’s palms were bleeding. But he held on.
"Now!" the stocky man grunted.
Kyle’s split mind scread a warning.
He turned.
The swordsman was already swinging.
Kyle let go of his sword and dropped. The blade whistled over his head. He rolled backward, pulling Fear Blade from his belt.
The stocky man threw Kyle’s sword aside. It clattered into the mist.
Now, Kyle was truly unard. Just a dagger against two enemies.
`Damn! Why do I always lose my sword?!`
He looked at the children. Virgo had her hand over Leo’s mouth. He was crying silently. Nightmare stood in front of them, four wings half-spread, golden eyes glowing.
`If I die here, they will die also.`
Kyle’s jaw tightened.
He couldn’t let that happen. So he changed tactics.
Instead of standing his ground, he retreated. Backward, step by step, deeper into the mist.
"Running?" the stocky man growled. "Coward!"
The two n followed him.
The mist was swallowing everything, making the sunlight pale.
They both stepped cautiously between the trees. Trying to hear any sound from him.
"Where did he go?" the swordsman muttered, clutching his bleeding shoulder.
"I don’t see him," the stocky man said. His body was still larger than before, muscles tensed.
They scanned left and right.
Then—a sound. Not in front of them. Not behind.
"ABOVE!"
The stocky man looked up.
Kyle dropped. Fear Blade aid at the man’s neck.
But the stocky man was fast—faster than soone his size should be. He raised his arm at the last second. The dagger didn’t hit his neck. It sank deep into his forearm instead.
The man scread in pain.
Kyle twisted the blade and pulled it free. He landed on his feet and rolled away.
The stocky man grabbed his arm. Blood poured between his fingers. His face twisted in rage.
"You little—"
Kyle didn’t wait. He lunged again, slashing at the man’s leg, his side, his other arm. It was not a deep cut. But each strike made the dagger’s red veins pulse brighter.
The stocky man stumbled back, swinging wildly. His fists were still heavy, but his movents were getting sloppy. The blood loss was affecting him.
The swordsman tried to intervene, but his injured shoulder made his swings slow. Kyle dodged easily.
He slashed the stocky man’s arm again. Then his thigh. Then his back as he turned.
The man’s eyes were getting unfocused. He was shaking his head, trying to clear it.
Then, finally, Kyle found his chance! His eyes flared crimson.
The stocky man’s body jerked from range. His fist swung forcefully into the man in front of him.
The punch landed square on the chest.
"HAHAHA! DIE, YOU BASTARD!"
The blow was so powerful! So much so that the sound of bones shattering was audible. Kyle was imdiately thrown.
He hit the ground several tis before his head hit a tree’s trunk with a sickening crack. He slumped to the ground, unconscious. Maybe dead.
The stocky man was laughing with joy. He is finally getting rid of that annoying bug that had been bothering him.
But his laughter gradually faded. The stocky man froze and his eyes widened.
"What... what did I...?"
There, on the ground, his friend’s body was lying from the hit. He didn’t hit Kyle, but his friend!
Kyle wasn’t stabbing the big man in order to kill him, but for the dagger effect! The dagger’s ability was to reduce a person’s ntal stability whenever blood was drawn from them.
Finally, after the stocky man’s ntal defenses dropped, Kyle took the chance and gave him a simple command to bypass his ntal barriers.
Suppose your friend is your enemy, Kyle!
Kyle smirked. `One down!`
He didn’t waste a mont. He lunged toward the fallen swordsman.
The man was unconscious, maybe dying. But Kyle wanted to make sure to finish him so he could fully focus on the other man.
He raised Fear Blade high, ready to kill the fallen man.
Then—
Thwip.
An arrow buried itself in Kyle’s shoulder.
He felt the impact, the sudden weight lodged in his muscle. No pain—his skill still held. But his arm jerked.
Thwip.
A second arrow.
Kyle twisted his head at the last instant. The shaft whistled past his ear and thudded into the tree trunk in front of him.
He froze.
There were three of them!
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