Even with Kumiho’s assistance, it was taking everything in Dan’s arsenal to keep up with the man opposite himself. Every ounce of bestial force, every plate of mana armour, each punch laden with the energy of the black dragon, all of it had to be perfect. At the same time the world swam with possibility. Dan was not seeing the future but a myriad of potential outcomes at once. Kumiho was making the most likely outcomes more prominent, solid where the other possibilities were smoke.
With all this in mind, it was with no small amount of surprise that Dan realised he was keeping up.
The excited smile that had plastered the old man’s face had fallen away, replaced with a toothy grimace as the wounds started to take hold. Dan was carefully chipping away at him, though there was no telling whether this was the man’s full strength. If he showed even stronger healing capabilities, Dan would stand no chance regardless. Dan would have to hope that his attacks stayed somewhat effective, in this case leaving searing brands where Dan’s fist connected, and avoid all incoming damage.
Simple, when you word it like that.
In practice, Dan was as close to death as he had ever come. Punches that could smash hills to pieces were missing him by the length of a bee’s stinger. His legs threatened to lose all strength at any moment but he pressed on. However with each passing second, a certainty came over Dan. He was not going to win this fight by stopping the powerhouse before him. He could only escape. Victory existed in getting himself and his friends out of this nightmare alive.
“What are you, boy?” The first words that the two had exchanged caused Dan a moment of pause. The combat lulled as the two fighters looked at each other warily. “I may be out of practice but you fight like a monster.”
Dan did not have an answer for the old man, nor did he think it was sensible to let him catch his breath. Dan ran forward, each footfall as heavy as a boulder. A cloud of possibility covered the man, each one promising death or dismemberment. His attacks were simple, so these portents mostly looked like being punched to death as Dan approached.
Luckily, Dan had something close to training in using this power. It was so similar to what Yurie’s ability asked of him that Dan found it natural to follow the flow the ability desired. He slipped the punch, ducked a spinning kick and then, finally, the moment came. Dan had been using some of Yurie’s power to avoid spots of certain death but the world fell into a golden glow as his enemy made a slip.
Frustration had been mounting, the threat of losing the fight starting to set in and Dan’s opponent was through playing around. He drew the weapon at his belt. A vicious looking whip with many heads. It thrummed with power and Dan’s eyes began to blur as he looked at it, unable to make sense of the magical power within. The whip itself wasn’t important at the moment, just that it was being used at all.
Dan lowered his body to slip the first attack, ducking under a forehand swipe. The second lash of the whip was a backhand and much more destructive than the first but Dan jumped high to avoid it. The labyrinth behind him and below him cracked and shattered, a testament to the impossible power the man was wielding.
Then he kicked hard.
Dan’s foot caught his opponent on the wrist, disarming him. His jump had put him in exactly the right place and his heel caught the man’s hand perfectly. There was a moment of blissful panic which Dan read clear on the man’s face, both of them watching the whip sail through the air. Before he could react, Dan threw another kick right into the middle of the old man’s chest.
It felt like kicking a forge. Dan was the one who ended up moving away, the force of the kick sending him back as though he had leapt off a wall. The whip had soared off in the other direction, which had been Dan’s goal to start with. The combat that he had sought to finish had ended, Oblax and Steel Fever both devastated by the sudden loss of assistance. Now he just needed to escape with everyone else.
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As Dan had expected, his opponent became frantic with worry upon being separated from their magical item. Even though he was clearly a force to be reckoned with without the whip, once the man decided the only way to win was to use it, being disarmed of it was essentially the end of the fight.
Making use of the man’s disarray, Dan slipped off to the small path that Fa Lian was cutting for the others. He said a profuse thank you to Kumiho, who simply said it was her pleasure before disappearing into the deeper part of his mind. Dan caught up with Hyun, Fa Lian and Yurie quickly and without a second thought, placed a hand of healing energy on each of them in turn. For the most part, their wounds were superficial but seeing the cuts and burns fade away filled him with more comfort than he could explain.
“You should have saved it.” Fa Lian was dismissive but the other two were thankful. They did not stop pushing through the line to the entrance Dan had made. The horde was thinning substantially due to the battle below, the crypt becoming less hostile with each destroyed skeleton. Within a few minutes, they had escaped the clutches of both the empty church and the cave itself.
Except Dan had not really planned to go back to Allusia with the others.
This was quickly noticed by Fa Lian who was clearly also not leaving. “My brother is in here somewhere. I agree that we need to get Yurie out but even Hyun should stay if he can.” She looked back over her shoulder, away from the freedom of Allusia and back towards the still roiling mass of bones. Their enemies were still in there, somewhere, licking their wounds and growing their anger.
“I… have to know.” Dan didn’t even know what answer he was seeking. He knew that they were inside this room though and the idea of leaving was, to Dan’s mind, the same as giving up on answers forever. He had also promised Fa Lian that he would help her save her brother.
It seemed like the other two both knew this was going to happen already, from the look they gave each other. The look said “these two are hopeless, right?” Dan could not disagree, really. There were so many reasons that meant this fight was no longer theirs to fight but Dan wasn’t looking for reasons. There could be a thousand reasons to turn away but Dan only needed one to stay.
“He needs help.” Dan offered these words as an explanation and an excuse.
“Nothing more to say then.” Hyun Soon proffered his fist and Dan bumped it happily. A reinforcing burst of energy poured through the connection as Hyun gave Dan as much energy as he could spare. Even as the effect drained him, Hyun began to look sheepish, even upset. “Sorry.”
“No, no, no,” Dan quickly stamped out that train of thought, turning the fist bump into an embrace instead. “Thank you. Thank you for protecting Yurie. No one else could have. The job isn’t finished yet though, right? Get back to Allusia, get Xiaomei and go hide somewhere.”
Dan pushed the nearly fraternal hug apart and looked up at Hyun Soon to make sure he agreed. Dan saw that he did, the large boy’s jaw setting as he started to nod. Dan was glad Hyun seemed to understand. It was still a big question mark whether or not they could affect any change here. Hyun must have noticed a flash of doubt on Dan’s face because he looked at him carefully, thoughtfully, before speaking his mind.
“You’re special. Both of you are, I think, but I noticed you that day on the field. Remember? You were staring off into space but somehow, it made you look worried instead of dumb, like me.” Dan made to interrupt, defend his friend’s intelligence, but Hyun held up a hand. “We don’t have time. We have to go and you two have to save everyone.”
Fa Lian barked a laugh at that, showing she had been listening. “He’s right. Time to move.” Yurie and she were both looking at Dan and Hyun like they had grown two heads. Fa Lian turned to Yurie, a look of false concern on her face. “All these goodbyes, it’s as though we’re walking into danger and not coming back.”
“It does seem a bit morbid.” Yurie smiled with a squint, a forced and obviously mocking concern. Now Fa Lian laughed again and this time, there was no false mirth in it. Like a wildfire, it spread between the four of them and then there was no helping it. Each time the situation reared its head, a skeleton wandered over and needed to be dealt with or an unexplained sound from within the cavern echoed, the group would invariably find a new source of humour.
“I think the adrenaline and fatigue are finally breaking you all.” All unprepared, the shock at hearing a new voice caused the laughter to stop instantly. Dan was immensely glad to see Shade appearing, literally, from nowhere. “Xiaomei is holding Po Daiyu in a cell at the Barracks, I thought it more safe than the church.”
Dan could find no argument there and quickly filled Shade in on the situation. “So,” Shade surmised, “there are soul relics abound, an ancient monster riding the body of Fa Lian’s cousin, Calliope is still missing and they’re all heading there.” Shade aimed his sword at the tip of the huge bone tower.
“That about sums it up.” Fa Lian rolled her neck, looking satisfied as it cracked loudly. “My breath is caught, you’ve got one more minute before you’ll need to catch up to me instead of going with me.”
Dan was as ready as he could be. Brimming with the energies of his friends, allies and even some from people he would have called enemy, Dan felt lean and bloated all at once. His own mana was sluggish and lethargic but with the help of his friends he was stronger than ever.
“Ready?” Fa Lian stepped away from the tunnel and back towards the carnage. She turned the dragon scales into its traditional staff. Dan and Shade took up positions to either side of her. She may not have put the point on her staff but there was no doubt that Fa Lian was their spear. “We might die, you know?”
“Better that,” Shade said, “than never having tried to live.”
With that somewhat morose thought at their heels, the three of them blasted forward into the cavern as Hyun Soon and Yurie returned to Allusia.