Part 11

On a red steel bridge, the tip of the spear dragged across the floor, creating sparks that followed its path.

A woman was walking toward Haruko.

The sound of her heels as she walked broke through the silence.

"Looking at you now, it's hard to believe that Eduard lost to you. I believe I should be grateful; you got rid of one weak link before his majesty moved forward with his plan."

Elora began twirling the spear at her side.

(Who the hell is this lady?)

To Haruko, the woman before him was far more brash in her attitude than the man who attacked him earlier.

(Is she with that person? Who is this majesty that they keep referring to?)

Elora stopped twirling the spear and started running toward Haruko.

If he was hoping that her heels would hinder her movement to give him any advantage in this fight, or what she called an execution, he was dead wrong. She moved around as if her heels did not affect her.

Haruko dodged as she swung her spear vertically towards him, barely missing.

As he ducked, Elora spun her body around in a 360-degree motion, dragging the tip of the spear on the floor as sparks trailed behind.

She swung the tip of the spear upward. Haruko stepped back to dodge the tip of the spear, almost losing his nose in the process.

He was sure that he dodged the spear, but a ringing sound rang out, and suddenly he was blasted off his feet into the air by a huge gust of wind that rattled the bridge.

(What the hell?) Haruko thought as he was blown into the air.

Haruko landed on the concrete floor and rolled about, causing the contents of the plastic bag to spill out on the floor.

There was a coughing and wheezing noise as Haruko struggled to pick himself up off the ground.

His body was in a lot of pain.

(Dammnit, my body is in no shape to dodge whatever attack that was. Even when I barely dodge the attack, it still hits.)

Using the steel frame next to him, Haruko picked himself up from the ground.

Once again, Elora ran toward Haruko.

(Here she comes; I have to get away.) Haruko thought as he attempted to run away.

Before he took a step, he paused.

(As long as that order exists, she will always be hunted, if not by me, then by others.)

Those thoughts echoed in his mind as he stood there.

As she approached, Haruko did the unthinkable: he stood there and closed his eyes.

(…you can’t protect her forever, and you can’t protect her as, how do you say, unsure of yourself? You will only doom yourself to ruin like this.)

Haruko tried to shut out the thoughts in his head.

He heard the woman's footsteps coming closer, and she noticed that he closed his eyes.

"Giving up already!" Elora shouted out.

(I don’t understand what is going on with you, but I have a feeling, one I can’t explain, that you need help.)

(…..No sane person would go this far for a person they just met. To go into the deep end of the abyss. To travel into hell and try to find hope just to save me…..)

With his eyes closed, Haruko could hear the tip of the spear dragging across the floor.

(I don’t care how many people are after you, whether it's a few dozen or the entire world; I said I'd help you. I don’t give two shits if they come after me because I decided I was going to help a girl, and the world made its enemy. For me, that’s all the reason I need to help you.)

"PREPARE TO DIE!" Elora yelled out as she raised the tip of the spear off the floor in an attempt to cut the teen's head off.

(And if this girl or anybody else was in hell or the deep end of the abyss where the idea or hope that she can’t be saved exists, that is pointless to try.)

Haruko opened his eyes and raised his arms.

(Then tell the devil to make some room, because I’ll join you at the end of the abyss, and I’ll pull you out of it.)

The spear connected with his body.

BOOM!!

There was a loud sound that echoed across the silent bridge. It shook the whole bridge with a gust of wind, creating cracks in the ground and flickering the light on and off.

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(What? He blocked the spear.)

There was an almost quiet ringing sound coming from the spear as it vibrated in her hands.

Elora stood there, watching the teen as he stood there.

Haruko had managed to block the spear strike with his right arm. He grunted out in pain as the spear came into contact with his now-bloodied arm.

It felt like a huge force of wind was pushing down on him, trying to slam him to the ground.

It took every fiber of his body and every inch of his willpower not to crumble under the pressure of the wind, but still, he was standing.

He couldn’t fall here.

The ringing sound faded as the spear stopped vibrating.

"You know, if anything, I think I have to thank you, dipshits."

"What?" Elora exclaimed.

There was a dripping sound on the concrete floor of the bridge.

Blood.

"For the longest time this night, I was angry at myself because I could not find a way to save the girl you jackasses made a target, so forgive me if I chose an unhealthier method to deal with my anger…."

Blocking the spear with his right arm, Haruko grabbed the spear with her left hand, surprising the woman.

"But I think that it better that I hate you dipshits instead."

Blood was pouring down the right side of Haruko's head onto the ground.

"What are you getting at? Elora was cut off as Haruko's right fist came into contact with her cheek.

She let out a grunt as the teen's fist pushed her body back.

There were several loud thuds as her body bounced off the floor. Elora grunted as she stabbed the spear into the ground to stop herself.

As she came to a complete stop, she put her hand on the bottom of her chin, as she was bleeding from her mouth.

Elora looked up at the teen standing with his left arm out. She watched as he lowered the arm to his side. The look on his face was one of anger and determination; his blue eyes were shining through his black bangs.

Haruko now ran toward her, determined to end this fight here and now.

Elora quickly stood up and started to twirl the spear over her head, building momentum. As the teen quickly approached in front of her, she swung the spear sideways with all her might.

There was an ear-splitting sound that sounded like a high-pitched scream that rang out as she swung the spear, attempting to hit the teen.

Haruko ducked as the spear came towards him.

He raised his left forearm to shield his face. Dodging the spear was one thing, but the next oncoming attack was something else. Haruko quickly rose.

There was a slight ringing noise as Haruko braced himself. Suddenly, a huge gust of wind hit him.

Haruko let out several grunts as he took the full force of the wind blast, attempting not to get blown away.

He took one step forward.

Elora watched as Haruko crouched down, his face nearly touching the ground.

(What…?)

Haruko thrust his body forward and swung his arm around towards the side of the woman's face. There was a loud sound as Haruko's fist connected with the side of her face as Haruko hit her with a haymaker.

She grunted as she staggered back several meters.

Blood from her mouth was dripping on the floor with a loud sound. She stood there in shock, as the entire situation had changed.

She watched as the teen ran towards her. Haruko let out a loud yell as he punched her in the face again, knocking her off her feet and causing her to slide across the ground.

On the ground, she looked at the teen with such anger in her eyes. She began to slowly pick herself up so that she was kneeling on the ground. She closed her eyes.

With both hands, she slammed the tip of the spear into the ground in front of her and started breathing hard.

Haruko watched as the breathing slowed.

She opened her eyes and stared with such ferocity that, if looks could kill, Haruko would be dead a million times over.

She removed the tip of the spear from the ground and threw it in the air.

Just then, a large purple magic sigil appeared in the sky above the bridge.

"What the hell?" Haruko said to himself as he looked up at the sky,

A dark void opened in the sky.

As Haruko looked into the black void, he could see nothing.

Suddenly, there were several small flashes in the black void.

Several knight helmets began appearing from the void. More and more of the knight’s armor began revealing itself to the world, emerging from the void. The knight suits began falling from the void and started to land on the bridge with enough force to shake the bridge.

Haruko lowered his arms from his face and looked at the suits of armor.

There were six in total that stood in front of the woman.

There was a whirling sound as the spear fell from the sky and stabbed itself into the ground.

Elora grabbed the spear and lifted it, pointing the tip at the teen.

"Kill him," she said in a soft tone.

Suddenly, there were several loud metal klangs that broke out as the suit of armor began moving towards the teen.

Haruko braced himself for the upcoming assault. As one of the suits approached him, the other spread to his side, and he quickly threw a front jab at the helmet, knocking it off.

Haruko paused.

The amour suit was empty inside, completely hollow.

He didn’t have enough time to fully comprehend what was going on as the armor suit began to swarm around him.

(Those are ordinary suits of armor. Through conjuring spells, we can summon these hollow knights.)

As the knights swarmed on the teen, he let out a painful groan as he was slammed into the concrete ground. Haruko started to struggle but was of no use as the Hollow Knights pinned his limbs down.

Elora watched on with a sadistic grin on her face.

(As long as mana continues to supply energy, these knights will never rest and will never fall: The Ultimate Army.)

As Haruko was struggling to move and escape on the ground, one of the knights placed its palm on the teen's face, covering most of it.

His eyes widen as he peeks through the finger of the knight and sees that it is raising its sword overhead. The light reflecting from the moon shone above the bridge.

He could do nothing but watch as the knight started to bring the sword down on him.

(Shit.)

Haruko closed his eyes.

BOOOOM!!!!

A loud sound erupted on the bridge as a huge force of wind hit him, blowing the six suits of armor away into the air.

(What's happening now?) Elora thought as she stabbed the spear into the ground, trying not to be blown away by the shockwave of wind on the bridge.

The shockwave of the wind caused Haruko's body to roll and bounce across the floor, stopping once his back hit the guardrails. He watched as several armor suits were blown off the bridge.

The wind began to die down.

(What the hell is going on?) Haruko thought. (Another enemy?)

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps could be heard on the bridge.

Elora yanked her spear out of the ground with a loud grunt.

(Someone is approaching this space, but how?)

She places her hand on the ground.

(The spell was still up, so why?)

The barrier spell deterred all from coming here within this space, so it should be impossible for anyone to enter this space. Even if one got past the first spell, there were two more they had to deal with. She shifted her attention to the person approaching.

Debris and smoke were floating in the air, causing the teen to cough into his forearm.

"You know, when Reiko explained what she thought you were getting into, I would have never guessed that it would be anything like this," a male voice spoke out.

Haruko stopped coughing and raised his head in surprise as he recognized the voice.

The Medical Director.

Haruko turned his head and saw him walking towards them. He had his hands in his pockets, and on his left wrist was a black convenience store bag.

"You’re..." Haruko said.

The medical director walked past Haruko and stopped a few feet away from Elora.

"And who the hell are you supposed to be?" Elora asked as she rested the spear near her side.

"I am a simple doctor, and I kindly ask that you don’t assault my patients."