I stared at him; he stared at me.
We waited for the first one to react. He still held Leah, who was struggling to fight back, by the hair, while I held the sleeping Mira in one arm.
"Let her go."
"Give me the little one first."
I wouldn't give him Mira, and he wasn't leaving with Leah. I had to find something to do...
"Listen, kid, I don't want the blood of two children on my conscience. Give me the little one, and I promise you, no one will die."
His look and his arrogant tone—he really thought I was going to accept that... Even if he wasn't wrong, I had no idea how strong he was, and I didn't know if I, with my disability and physical weakness, could beat him.
No, I wouldn't back down.
I slowly raised my sword toward his face, the orange light of the campfire reflecting off my blade.
"You've made your choice, kid."
I'm going to charge at him, and Balto will follow me—
What?
Black shadows with purple outlines began to form on the ground beneath him. I have to move.
But as I lifted my foot to move away, I stopped dead in my tracks when his shadows reached me in the blink of an eye. My vision twisted, everything went black, my body unable to react.
This situation is all too familiar.
I could feel my eyes being covered by his shadow, my vision beginning to blur, building immense anguish within me.
I don't think I can do anything anymore. I've failed.
"What?" he said, as only a thin fragment of my vision remained. His shadows returned to him completely, I regained control of my body, my sight returned.
He's distracted. "Ventus secare!" Leah seized the moment to cast a spell, her arm glued to the man's stomach, and in an instant, she was launched toward me. Leah fell toward me; it hurt, but she had escaped his grasp.
I don't know what distracted her or made her stop her attack, but he's going to regret it.
I placed Mira on the ground near Balto.
"Protect her." Balto immediately complied and positioned himself in front of her.
Now I have to find a way to defeat him... This will do. I approached Leah, who was on the ground.
"I'll buy some time. Do what you have to do."
Leah nodded, taking it in stride, as she stood up, her legs scratched, wiping the dirt off herself.
"Don't die." She looked worried, but she trusted me. I wouldn't let her down.
I'll show those arrogant people what a life of suffering can do.
"Come on, I'm waiting for you." He's surprisingly confident for someone outnumbered. I can sense his smile behind the mask beneath his muffled voice, which irritates me to no end.
I ducked, then propelled myself towards him with my legs, my sword swinging towards his face, but my movements were too obvious. He managed to stop my sword with his hand, catching the blade without hurting himself, the sound of his gloves clashing against the sword.
"You wield a sword like a child."
My teeth clenched. It disgusted me to admit it, but I'm truly terrible with a sword; I've never wielded one. Nevertheless; I wouldn't stop there. I pulled my sword from his hand and then brandished it a second time, aiming it at his face and spinning around. He caught it as easily as before.
Now I'm going to—
He punched me squarely in the stomach. I could feel the impact twisting inside me, an unbearable pain burning me from within. I couldn't even react. His attack was so powerful that it propelled me against a tree, the crack of the wood against my back was deafening.
"Enough playing around, let's finish this."
He approached me slowly, like a wolf ready to devour its prey. I could barely see him; my head was too dazed from the blow, and the pain in my stomach only made things worse. It hurt excruciatingly.
I tried to get up, but an intense pain shot through my back—I could barely feel it, I couldn't move.
I slowly raised my head, seeing his blurry figure approaching me, the dagger he hadn't even needed to use still in his hand. So I really didn't stand a chance, I might just die here... That's what I would have said if I'd foolishly lunged at him.
All this time, my diversion had allowed Leah to channel a spell in her hands. I hadn't known she'd do that, but it would do.
"Impetus venti!" The mass of air Leah was channeling in her hand suddenly released itself towards him in a lightning-fast spike of air.
The spell was so powerful that it slightly moved Leah as it was fired; its speed was absurd, to the point that even the air around it seemed to twist. Surviving an attack like that would be impossible.
And this man did the impossible. The very instant the spell was about to hit him, a small black mass appeared at the tip, absorbing the spell.
"Well done, too bad you met too strong for you."
Damn, I didn't expect it to backfire, I have to— I can't get up, my body aches like hell.
"Enough playing around, it's time to end this."
His irritating, egotistical voice echoed as he headed towards Balto, who had been protecting Mira this whole time.
"THE—" Blood gushed from my mouth as I tried to call out to Leah. I couldn't speak either; my injuries are much worse than I thought.
This smells bad, very bad.
"Don't come any closer!"
Leah stepped between him and Balto, got into a fighting stance, then charged towards him after casting "Punctum onustum," enveloping her fists in a mass of air.
Leah was faster than I was; unlike me, she could propel herself at the speed of a normal human. I had forgotten that she was a native of this world, and I shouldn't underestimate her.
Reaching his level, a trail of wind following her from behind, she swung her fist toward his face.
He easily blocked Leah's fist, catching it with his hand before it reached his face. The impact created a wave of wind around him, a muffled sound marking the end of Leah's attack.
"There's no point in being stubborn—"
But Leah didn't stop there. Her other fist, still charged with air, was used to deliver an uppercut.
The sound of the impact was sharp, cold, and clean, snapping the man's head backward. He released Leah's fist, and she fell back to her feet, panting slightly.
The man froze, then,
"How dare you?"
His arrogant tone—it was gone, replaced by a voice filled with anger.
Leah was surprised by the change in his tone, but she didn't let it throw her off. She stepped toward him, ready to launch another attack.
"Ventus seca—"
Leah stopped dead in her tracks. The man moved with astonishing speed behind her, a black trail following him, showing the path he had taken.
Leah's eyes went pale, wide open. Behind her, the man was in position to punch her, his back slightly bent, his stance low.
I couldn't do anything, and neither could Leah. His punch was almost instantaneous, unavoidable, striking Leah. She was thrown forward with tremendous force, a jet of blood gushing from her mouth, and she slammed into several trees before falling, leaving a trail of blood everywhere. She was unconscious—or even dead? I couldn't be sure.
Balto instinctively lunged straight at him, his mouth wide open.
But the man only raised his forearm in front of Balto to block the attack, and the force with which he pivoted his arm was enough to send Balto flying.
Balto's pitiful yelp pierced my ears.
That bastard, I'm going to make him regret this—
He turned his gaze toward me. His expression behind his mask was unreadable. And yet, my heart sank, my body trembled, the pressure was terrifying. His mere gaze awakened a primal fear within me.
"Still alive?"
He stepped toward me. His mere presence was enough to make me understand that we never stood a chance.
I couldn't protect anyone. And I won't be able to get out of this.
My body screamed at me to run, my arms barely able to move trying to push me away from him. I struggled to move, the pain making things worse.
I couldn't do anything. He came in front of me, grabbed me by the throat, and pulled me up to his level.
I tried to punch him. Nothing. I was too weak to even ruffle his clothes because of my injury and the pain.
I could feel his hand tightening around my throat. I could barely breathe. Everything seemed black. I couldn't think of anything but leaving or running away. His mask stared at me, hurting me to the very core of my being. I'm going to die. I can't even scream because of the pain. I'm scared.
He pulled out his dagger and stabbed me. The dagger was in my stomach; it took me a moment to realize it. I slowly lowered my gaze, and the pain slowly intensified with it. I could feel my insides being ripped open, blood gushing onto the floor. It hurts; I want it to stop. I couldn't move.
"What? But it's—"
The man released me, dropping me to the ground. I saw him; he was looking back at me.
"No... No... How?"
He stepped back, his voice filled with confusion.
"I have to go."
What is he talking about? What does he supposed to mean? Why abandon now?