Kenzo had already started counting in his head the moment Ophelia began the countdown, and his heart started pounding hard. It was time for him to stop merely defending himself and actually begin attacking, but that was much easier said than done. The specters were small, fast, and their unpredictable movements made every attempt at an offensive almost ridiculous. They're insanely fast, these things… he thought, tightening his grip on his broken spear. Their smaller size worked against him: they dodged his slow attacks as though they could see every one of his movements a second before he made it.
The effects of [Serpent] were already starting to show. His head was buzzing faintly, his muscles were vibrating as if they were about to give out, but he had to endure. The allotted time was slipping away, and he knew perfectly well that if their synchronization failed, the specters would reappear immediately. Eight seconds had already passed, and he felt the urgency tightening around his chest. That was when he realized something: the repeated attacks from the specters had damaged the shaft of his already-broken spear. With every dagger deflection, a new crack appeared.
That detail suddenly unsettled him. Wait… these are Void Creatures. Why are they doing so little damage? His arms should have been slashed apart by now, and yet… even though his dodges were far from perfect, the spear had lasted much longer than it should have. His weapon was not an artifact, so it should normally have shattered in the very first exchange. The specters were fast, perhaps even as fast as the Young Shoot he had fought… and Kenzo remembered very well what a single hit from the Young Shoot had done to him. These specters were nothing like that.
An idea crossed his mind, sudden, risky, but perhaps life-saving. The last time an attack had forced him to analyze the situation, he had tried something insane: striking the Young Shoot's little yellow flower… and his spear had exploded into pieces. Please, let me not be wrong… he thought, with barely twelve seconds left.
Two daggers rushed at him simultaneously, and [Serpent] allowed his body to contort in a movement that was nothing human. He flipped backward, balancing on one hand before landing with feline precision. The instant his feet touched the ground, he took his spear and deliberately broke it into two pieces. He kept only one fragment, barely longer than a forearm, but it was enough for what he intended to do.
He aimed at two specters without even thinking. With almost instinctive fluidity, he threw the two pieces one after the other, and each struck its target square in the head. He did not even have time to feel proud of that precision. He was already launching himself toward the third specter, the only one still intact. You're next, he thought through clenched teeth. Four seconds remained. If he failed, all twelve specters would reappear and they would have to start over.
Naturally, the specter saw a massive opportunity when it saw Kenzo leap toward it unarmed, like a suicidal idiot. The creature immediately raised its dagger, ready to cut him down midair. But when it brought the weapon down… nothing happened. The blow bounced off Kenzo's chest, absorbed by his bark armor. He felt nothing more than a slight impact.
– « Take this! » Kenzo shouted as he drove his fist straight into the specter's skull.
The creature dispersed in a burst of black mist. Kenzo landed heavily, short of breath, but alive.
I knew it… he thought, looking down at the place where the dagger had struck. The armor had almost nothing on it. A thin line was visible, like a scratch on thick wood, but that was all. If a simple spear had been able to take those hits, then a Condemned-rank artifact was certainly not going to give way so easily.
Kenzo quickly looked toward Ananta, then Ophelia, then Madame. More than anything, he feared being the only one who had succeeded. Finding a new strategy in only a few seconds would have been impossible, and he had noticed with the Young Shoot that Void Creatures could perhaps learn during a fight. Another failure might force them to face an even more dangerous version of the specters.
To his immense relief, everyone had succeeded. Madame crushed her last specter before moving back toward Lucian, certain her task was done. Ophelia, for her part, brought down her third target in one fluid and brutal dagger strike. Ananta cracked her whip, pulverizing her last specter with elegance. Neither of them looked as though they had even broken a sweat, and that irritated Kenzo a little.
– « You're not right in the head, » Ananta said with a teasing smile, watching the way he stood there, still breathless. « To risk your life that casually… » she continued, almost laughing softly.
Kenzo felt embarrassment creeping up to his ears. He looked away slightly, trying to steady his breathing.
Ophelia, however, made absolutely no effort to be kind.
– « It's stupid, » she said in a sharp tone. Then, pointing at Kenzo's chest, she added, « But at least now we know they don't hit that hard. »
A long gray mark stretched proudly across Kenzo's armor, proof of the direct blow he had taken. Nothing serious, but visible enough to show he had tanked the hit.
Ananta then approached the fragmented remains of her specter, carefully observing the fine black dust still floating over the ground.
– « Do we split the fragments? » she asked in a completely natural tone, as though that were the most obvious thing in the world after a deadly battle.
Ophelia crossed her arms, watching Kenzo from the corner of her eye as if waiting for an answer.
Lucian, still half-hidden behind his tree, was already watching Madame's approach with pride.
And Kenzo realized something, almost in spite of himself: for the first time since arriving in this Fragment…
he was no longer alone.