Heacrim’s gaze was affixed to the controlled Bloodsucker. He turns his head slightly, glancing at Yi. He then looked to Arch, who was keeping his distance against the Shade, which was an anomaly Heacrim did not fully comprehend. His thoughts turned to examination and dissection. His excitement was only momentary, as his gaze soon returned to one of mild mocking as he looked at the Bloodsucker again.
“Yi, snap out of it would you?” His voice was deep, and it cut through the air. The paralysis that had overtaken Yi broke, and he gasped for air, savoring every bit of it as it flooded into his system.
His thoughts were in disarray, he had never told Heacrim his name. The thought entered and vanished in a moment, for he caught the side of Heacrim’s gaze and saw a deep fury building.
Miede’s eyes twitched, blood trickled down her nose. Heacrim had dispelled her spell, and she felt the feedback rattle through her skull. She was exhausted to an extent from her previous activities in the day, and the effort she had to exert to paralyze prose had dealt a great blow to her stamina.
The Bloodsucker roared and rushed forward. Its hands pulled it forward with each slam against the ground, it aimed to end Heacrim.
Heacrim intercepted it, the knife in his hand carving through the air with precision. The blade slid across the arm, and the side of the Bloodsucker before it could react. It roared in pain, and turned itself to slash him, but the knife had returned to its face as Heacrim dodged out of the way.
Each cut, each slash of Heacrims knife carved in surgically. Not enough to disable it completely, but the blood stemmed from each wound profusely and the collective effect was beginning to make itself obvious. The creature's ability to focus dimmed, and its movements became sluggish.
It threw a claw and missed as a cut was delivered in return. It bit the air, missing its target. The blade took out one of its eyes. Any moment it took to steady itself was responded to by another quick slice. Heacrim moved around it deftly, his foot not stopping still on the ground for a moment.
“Too bad.” Heacrim let out a laugh, cutting at the throat of the Blooduscker that was now too weak to move. The blade cut through cleanly, and the thing fell down to the ground. Heacrim flicked the blood off his knife, and lifted his head up. Looking from under the brim of his hat, his eyes matched Miede’s again. Even with the golden glow, they looked dark to her.
Heacrim turned to the side now, examining the Shade and Arch still in a stalemate. His eyes then fluttered over to Yi, who now had his hand on his quiver. He was waiting to take a shot, a vital one.
Heacrim chuckled, stepping over the dead Bloodsucker. His eyes focused on Miede. His steps were slow and unhurried.
The Shade had no time to stop him, as Arch approached it quickly. Blows landed on its body, largely ineffective, but Arch seemed to be gaining an understanding of the structure of the Shade with each hit.
Yi’s eyes constricted as he saw Heacrim casually walk past the two locked in combat, not for a moment showing any intent to help. He considers taking a shot on Heacrim’s exposed back for a moment, but a jolt of fear runs through him at the thought. Although he had no way of telling, he could swear that Heacrim felt the hostility the moment he thought of it. His eyes turned back to the Shade, waiting for his moment.
“Miede.” The name leaves Heacrim’s mouth with a hint of distaste. “I was expecting great things from you. What went wrong, what went wrong?” He turns to look at the Bloodsucker with an exaggerated twist of his body. “I mean, bravo on the puppets.” He turns his face back to Miede, as a dagger skims across his face. It draws a small amount of blood across his right cheek, but it falls down to the ground having failed its primary purpose.
Heacrim cracks his neck, a soft chuckle coming from his mouth. “Oh, no no no. You should use your mind, it’s much more effective. Such… meager efforts don’t suit you princess, not a bit.”
Arch’s eyes flash over to Heacrim. “SOME HELP?” He yells out, and veins nearly pop out of his face as he sees Heacrim lift his hand to his ear and feigns that he’s heard of hearing.
The Shade takes advantage of the moment of distraction, clasping its hands together and slamming them into the side of Arch. Arch spits out blood, and flies across the ruined hall. The Shade turns to Heacrim, as an arrow plunges through its side. A chunk of wooden flesh flies out, and the Shade staggers. Yi had taken his shot, and was quickly readying another arrow.
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Again, Yi feels his body completely paralyzed. Miede’s attention fully focused on him.
Heacrim’s voice echoes out. “Good! Keep doing what works, no harm in that.” The Shade turned its body quickly towards him, and its eyes go wide. Heacrim had already moved with frightening speed, standing in front of Miede. He matched her height perfectly, and he stared her in the eyes, two paces away.
Miede had no choice but to dispel the spell on Yi as she quickly tried to guard herself from Heacrim, throwing her hands in front of her. But at this point her actions were irrelevant, her right hand was severed from her arm in a flash of silver. She did not scream, but the pain contorted her face.
“Miede, I gave something of mine to you, and you lost it!” A snap of anger, followed by a return to form. “I thought I’d have a chance to retrieve it, I had hopes for you! Everything I heard was so devious, I thought you had given yourself in. But you’re just a person, pathetic and small!”
The Shade charged at Heacrim. From its right, Arch jumped across the floor in small furried bursts, his arms raised in front of him. He delivered a twisting jab forward, shifting all his weight into it.
Two of the extended arms on his right extended out, and were summarily shattered by the blow. This did not stop the Shade in its effort to intercept Heacrim. Its eyes were wide with rage and bewilderment. From Heacrim’s fingers, a black energy began to emanate.
“I placed it right…” The silver knife flashed again, this time cutting her chest in a x shape. The cuts were not deep or shallow. Heacrim’s hands reached forward. “In your heart. Where did it go?” Before his hand touched her, the Shade's left fist slammed into his head. It struck with a considerable amount of force, and threw him to the ground. In a move of dexterity and cunning precision, the Shade grabbed Miede’s in the same moment. Its eyes searched through the room, and it launched towards a corridor. Yi took a shot, one that he was quite sure would hit. It did come close, but seemed to veer away at the last second.
The Shade’s eyes spotted the cloak, and grabbed it with his remaining extendable arm. It disappeared into the corridor.
Heacrim got up, his hat now knocked off his head and an incredulous look on his face. “That thing… That bitch…” He nearly instantly left, before Arch stood to his side and stepped forward. His face was furious.
“There’s a story here, Heacrim, you’re not just a simple doctor.” Arch walked slowly to him, locking his eyes with Heacrim’s.
Yi had placed his hand back on an arrow, though it was clear he was quivering even from far away, he had intended to back up Arch with his life if he had to.
Heacrim snapped a response. “And your brother’s killer is down that way, is he not? Go deal with that, unless you think your friend's arrow actually had a chance at killing something?” His eyes scanned over to Yi. Yi nearly felt his soul leave his body, not wanting to look at the man for another moment. His skin was pale now, and his cadence changed a bit. “Go deal with your kinslayer. I’ll go deal with my business. Win, Win.” Heacrim took off.
Arch did not respond, he just silently watched as the figure of Heacrim disappeared from the room and headed after Miede. Arch muttered silently under his breath. “So your speed is only instantaneous. Not controlled enough to make a dash for them…” Arch made a mental note of the phenomenon, were their shaky alliance to break he would be ready for any action Heacrim took.
“I need to go deeper, Yi wait here.” The words sounded like music to Yi’s ears, but then he thought of the potential return of Heacrim and dealing with it alone. He would not disobey orders, but Yi was quite frightened by the prospect.
“Ye..Yes sir! But can I wait outside, at the entrance please?” Arch sighed, and nodded giving his approval. Yi scrambled backwards, out of the hall doors. Arch then began his hunter for his brother's killer, now alone.
Below in the dungeon, Alucire and Bart were hurrying forward the best they could, with Alucire carrying the incapacitated Epim leaned against his shoulder.
Bart had begun to grow quite distempered at Alucire and his refusal to explain his methods to heal Epim. He wished to voice his objection again, but as they came up on the area of the previous battle, Bart’s mind was only on the carnage before him, he had forgotten the extensive destruction Prose had caused.
“You… did you all do this?” Alucire was horrified, the chunks of rock that had embedded themselves in the floor, the walls, and the tattered bodies of the Bloodsuckers painted a gruesome scene he was unprepared for. “H… How?”
Bart was stupefied at the idea that he would answer the question before getting any answer of his own, but he acquiesced all the same. “They’re all decent fighters, but this was mainly the fairy’s doing.”
“A Fairy!?” The picturesque example of one popped into Alucire’s mind, and the thought of such a tiny thing tearing the Bloodsuckers apart betrayed his understanding.
“The very same who toppled the tower as well.” Bart knew that the explanation was not satisfactory or descriptive, but he did not care.
“Ah…” Alucire’s eyes went wide as they moved forward. “Truly an odd trio. The tree-like thing from before, a fairy capable of this, and…” Alucire glanced at Epim.
“Before we go any farther Bart, please tell me. Did they come for some reward, or did you make a deal with them of some kind?” Alucire sounded worried, he said the words a bit rushed and his pace slowed.
Bart shook his head, his distaste for the question evident on his face. “No such thing! They came because I asked them, and they’ve asked nothing in return. Their reason for coming here was a genuine concern for my people, caused by the destitute conditions of our village. The village you abandoned.” Bart thought he would again cause Alucire to hang his head in shame with his remark, but his eyes lit up instead. He seemed to be reinvigorated.
“You’ve met some wonderful people. I’m glad… I'm so glad!” He speaks the words with a somber timbre in his voice. “If only we had believed such people existed, then…” He shakes off the regret and his brows furrow. He looks forwards, and then back to Bart. “Come, soon your friend will be better. Just a little farther now, until…”
Bart follows along, knowing exactly where they were headed now. The path they were on was the same they took to meet Duncire, Alucire and Miede’s son. For what reason, he did not know, though Alucire’s previous remark of paying with his life made him feel a certain creeping dread.