One of the kunai flew straight toward . It was so fast, I did not have ti to deflect it, so I did what I always do. I jumped sideways.
The kunai just missed by a hair’s breadth before embedding itself into the wall behind .
I looked at it, expecting an explosion. But instead, the kunai twisted and morphed into a shadow. From that shadow, a figure erged, and in an instant, it dashed straight toward .
A robed figure, face hidden in darkness, slashed at with a dagger. I quickly brought up Indra in blade form to parry the blow. Sparks burst each ti our weapons clashed.
But the attacks ca faster and faster. I could not keep up.
A sharp pain sliced across my hip, then my shoulder, and finally grazed my cheek. Minor wounds, but enough to make grit my teeth.
I tried to retaliate, first a wide horizontal slash, then a thrust. But this guy was fast. Really fast. He twisted, dodged, spun, like so kind of assassin dancer. Every strike I made missed him by inches.
I leapt backward, catching my breath, then extended my left hand. A green magic array lit up in front of my palm.
"Tempest Fang!"
Three crescent-shaped blades of wind burst out, slicing through the air toward him.
The robed figure flinched, clearly not expecting a spell. He must’ve thought I was purely physical type.
The first two wind crescents ca fast, one low, one high. He twisted his body mid-air, slipping right between them.
The third crescent ca straight for his face.
He ducked at the last second and slid along the rocky ground. The third wind blade whooshed over his head, spun upward, and curved back down toward him.
Damn, he was too athletic. I not gonna lie but I was a little bit jealous.
Then the crescents ca for him again, one from each side, another one above, closing in like scissors.
He crouched lower, preparing to dodge again.
But before he could move—
PANG!
A burst of red liquid erupted from his left thigh.
He winced in pain and staggered.
He looked down and saw blood streaming from the wound.
Then his eyes flicked toward .
I stood there, eyes serious, gripping Indra in its gun form with both hands steady.
The crescent winds struck the him a second later.
"No!" I instinctively shouted.
Splash!
I turned my head away. The scene was too grueso, blood sprayed across the ground like scattered ink.
I looked down at myself, my clothes were splattere by blood. On my left arm, on my chest... human blood.
Did I just kill soone? A human being?
I only ant to injure him, to stop him from moving... not this. I did not expect Tempest Fang to be so lethal.
My hands trembled. My forehead was slick with sweat. Nausea surged up from my gut, I covered my mouth to keep from vomiting.
"Hey, Alan! What are you doing standing there? There are more of them!"
Bob’s voice snapped back. He was clashing with another figure in a dark robe.
Then another voice ca from behind.
"It’s kill or be killed, Alan."
Beltimore said.
His eyes did not flinch at the corpse.
"I know the feeling of killing a person for the first ti," he said. "But if you don’t stop them, they might kill innocent people tomorrow. And if that happens, it’ll be your fault just as much as theirs."
My eyes widened. His words stabbed through like ice.
He was right.
But still... to kill a man. Who might be soone’s son, soone’s father, soone’s husband... it twisted sothing inside .
Beltimore watched in silence for a mont, then narrowed his eyes.
"If you can’t handle it, go hide sowhere safe. We don’t need soone useless getting in our way."
Useless.
Hearing that made my blood boil,not because I was angry at Beltimore, but because I was angry at myself. The mory of our encounter with the bandits flashed through my mind.My friends bleeding while I stood frozen. Feeling of helplessness and weak.
I clenched my fists.
Not again.
I took a deep breath, locking eyes with Beltimore.
"I’ll fight. With all of you."
Beltimore adjusted his glasses, a slight nod of approval on his face.
"Good."
He then go and face the other enemies.
I ran toward Bob, who was struggling to fend off two of the robed figures by himself.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
I fired several shots at the enemies circling him. They nimbly dodged my bullets and leapt to the nearby wall, landing as if their feet were glued to it. They stood nearly horizontal.
"Thanks, dude. You okay?" Bob asked, concern on his face.
"Yeah, I’m fine." I glanced at the two robed figures in front of us. "These guys are insanely fast. We need to be careful."
Then Bob blurted out to the enemies, "Hey you! Which hidden village are you guys from?"
I had no idea what he was talking about. Even the robed figures tilted their heads slightly, confused by the question.
Without answering, they raised their weapons, one wielding a dagger, the other a short trident-like weapon, a tekpi.
They launched forward, vanishing and reappearing in flashes of movent, their forms turning into streaks of shadow as they darted around us.
Ping!
Bob deflected a strike with his weapon.
Swoosh!
A sharp pain shot through my leg as I was slashed.
Ping!
Bob blocked another strike.
Swoosh!
My hand was torn by a second blade. I stumbled. "Argh—my hand!"
"How the hell are you blocking these attacks? I can’t even see them clearly!" I shouted, raising my weapon, struggling to track them.
"This is the result of my training with William! To beco a Vanguard, you need a strong stance and fast reflexes!" Bob yelled back.
And then—
Swoosh!
One of the figures landed a hit on his right shoulder.
"Argh! See what you did? You distracted !" he complained.
"Don’t bla for your mistake," I retorted.
I then activated Arcane Barrier, a skill from the mage class. A glowing, magical shield ford on my left arm.
Ping. Ping. Ping.
The shadowy figures’ attacks struck the barrier, but the enchanted shield deflected every blow. Their weapons clanged uselessly against it, unable to break through.
From my right hand, I shoot with my Indra.
I looked like police with a shield actually.
The two robed figures exchanged a glance, their frustration showing through their silence. This fight was dragging on longer than expected.
They nodded to each other in unspoken agreent.
Next strike, one target.
The weakest link.
And the one with the gun.
.
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