Arrows crash one after the other against the glowing spear the woman wields with incredible speed, they shatter into a thousand splinters as she swings so fast that it whistles loudly, And I reach her as she spins around and thrusts forward. I jump and the spear vanishes only to immediately appear again from her gauntlet; In a swift swing, she slams it on my side and sends me flying far away.

The impact forces all air out of my lungs, but by the time I crash on the ground I force my lungs to breathe in; I'm growing used to this. She takes only a couple of steps in my direction before another barrage of arrows forces her to step back as she demolishes every single arrow close to her, but a pair do manage to reach her, only to either bounce off or leave the smallest of cuts possible, what is she made of?

After the barrage has been dealt with she looks at the huani and throws a few spears at them before being forced to defend herself again. They miss except for one that lifts the man off the ground and slams it against a tree, blood gushing out of his mouth and then from the hole in the middle of his chest as the magic spear vanishes from existence, making him fall to the ground in an ever-growing pool of blood.

We already lost too many men in the raid, I can't let her weaken my war band any further. I hit my chest hard, the air needs to flow faster, and then take the horn in my hand, if the arrows can barely harm her, then a crossbow may prove more effective. I try to blow it only to notice that while the wound in my mouth doesn't interfere with my skill in combat, I can't use-

I jump back and throw the horn away as I'm forced to dodge and reach for my other war pick, the woman having jumped the distance towards me. I barely grab it in time to exchange blows with her. The sound of our weapons clashing isn't the usual metallic melody I usually hear, it is similar yet fake.

Each hit is monstrous in strength, throwing me from side to side with brutal force each time I defend myself until I'm completely lifted off the ground, keeping myself mid-air by the sole exchange of blows. I can feel the immense strain in my wrists as keeping hold of my war picks is taking most of my strength.

I can return to the ground as a barrage of arrows forces her to focus her attention elsewhere. I run, my eyes focused on the horn laying on the ground near a corpse.

Then, I hear the booming sound of the woman jumping off the ground, even the tremor of the ground by the force of her jump. I look up and see her falling towards me, her smile wide as she seems to be enjoying herself. I grin.

This reminds me of something, even if it is connected to someone I want dead.

Once she is close enough I step to the side just in time, and jump as the spear vanishes, before she can summon it again and as the smile slowly changes into surprise, I swing my war picks.

Her obsidian arm raises too fast and takes my attack instead of her head, a metallic sound echoes all around as both war picks bounce back and vibrate. Not even a scratch. That same arm strikes me and sends me flying further than ever before, this time I can feel my bones almost give in and fracture right there, but instead they crack.

I slam my back hard against the cocoon of roots guarding the other two people. Sliding to the ground I hear the barrage of arrows strike again, my mind rushing to come up with a plan again. This is a fight I don't think I can win, I need to blow the horn.

As I struggle to raise from the ground I look at the roots of the cocoon, they extend and dig themselves from and to the ground, like tree roots.

"LINA!!"

Nojus words force my attention elsewhere. I look up and see Lina running towards the woman, no bow in hand, fists clenched, is she suicidal? The woman grins and summons her spear, charging at her. But before she can thrust, Lina suddenly halts and throws a bunch of dirt she held in her hands at the woman, who is forced to cover her face but is too late.

She screams in frustration as the dirt harms her eyes, and Lina rushes past her as fast as she can, reaching out for the horn, but the woman turns around, her expression pure anger, arrows reach her in full as she ignores them completely, they either bounce or simply cut her back but she is focused on Lina.

With a powerful throw she almost impales Lina, but the girl turns back just in time to see it coming, but if the throws don't reach her, at the speed the woman is running, they won't be what will kill her.

I hear the mocking, maddening laughter of the nameless voice as I get whatever adrenaline is left in my body and raise to my feet. Breathing burns, and each step sends a wave of pain throughout my body, but I don't stop. With the speed, only my bloodlust can provide I reach them before the woman can kill Lina.

With a beastly roar, I force the woman's attention to shift to me as she stops her pursuit and swings her spear, my eyes see red as I dodge to the side. She roars as well and the exchange of blows commences again, but this time she isn't forcing me off my feet. I jump hard and fast, possessed with my desire to shed her blood I manage to match her blows, zig-zagging around her I don't allow the huani to shoot, but also force her to constantly move, never getting a good enough footing to thrust.

Finally, the horn is blown. It is loud and echoes all around, but in my muffled mind, it also draws my attention to it, giving the woman that split second needed to adopt a stance and thrust. I don't think, there is no way I can dodge it. So I jump forward.

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The spear impales me, piercing my stomach slightly to the right, but in my fury, I push forward, impaling myself further but shortening the distance with the woman, who is also leaning closer to me, with another cooky smile. Let me fix that.

She sees it coming, and manages to jerk her head back, but I was counting on this, so I didn't aim at her head or neck. My war picks hit right above her clavicles, managing to pierce through her iron skin and dig themselves into her flesh. It's not deep, but I do not mind as my ears are blessed by her screams of pain.

The spear vanishes and I force her to lean closer to me, the blood gushing out of her wounds is a dark red, with outright black mixed in. So close I can see she has a very pretty face and delicious-looking lips.

So delicious I can't help myself and bite into them, forcing a piece much smaller than what I was hoping to get to be torn off as I jump away from her before she can crush me with her arms, if my jaw wasn't so damaged I would have torn half her face off.

I fall on my feet but stumble, the hole in my body bleeding profusely, I fall to one knee, spitting the disappointingly small chunk of meat to the side as I see her fall to her knees as well, another barrage of arrows hitting her from the back she winces in pain and her face twists in anger. The arrows penetrated? No.

"BOSS!" Jorr shouts as his eyes widened at the scene, the rest of the hobgoblins running into the field, unsure but determined to fight as they lay eyes on the woman " A Djhalhanar" Jorr says, he looks bewildered.

The hobgoblins carrying the crossbows begin to put in new bolts as the hobgoblins begin to run toward the woman. Who looks at them in genuine fear, before laying eyes on me and mixing in a bit of wrath. She raises to her feet and summons a new spear, thrusting forward I try to stand up but know I can't make it in time.

But what greets me is not death, but Lina's back as she jumps in front of me, with a shield and a spear. The impact is so strong that she is pushed back but seems all the training paid off as she doesn't fall back, standing her ground, and once the initial force has been fought back, Lina steps to the side, allowing the rest of the thurst to slide harmlessly as she thrusts her own.

Striking the woman on the stomach as it manages to pierce a bit, Lina yells as she does her best to push the spear deeper but the woman slaps it away, running away to the cocoon. Lina loses the grip of the spear and is thrown away by the woman's swipe, falling to the ground face-first.

She stands up quickly, reaches for the spear, and turns around, our eyes meet and I nod. She nods back.

The woman shouts and I snap my head in her direction, forcing myself to stand up. A hole opens up in the cocoon and she puts her arm inside, pulling out a small vial with a black liquid within. Another barrage of arrows is shot but this time what looks like a tree, sprouts from the ground shielding her from harm.

The small tree then quickly twists and turns, until it becomes a recognizable humanoid shape at least three meters tall, as well as four extra ones appear from the ground. I see they come from roots beneath the dirt that whiter and die in an instant as soon as they obtain their humanoid form. I think back on the roots of the cocoon.

The woman crushes the small vial in her hands as she drinks the dripping liquid. And in a few seconds, I see all her wounds heal. I think first that it is a healing potion, but when black claws painfully grow out of her fingertips, and bony spikes pierce the flesh of her forearms I know this is something else.

"Badmer, we don't have torches! You and you! Head back and bring some oil and lit torches NOW!" Jorr orders as he reaches me, a pair of men quickly running back "Boss, what do we do?" Knowing trying to speak is a waste of time I point at him and then at the tree-things, he called Badmer, then I point at me and at the woman, Jorr doesn't seem content "In this state? You are insane"

The badmer begin to run towards us, their speed is more akin to a fast jog, but the woman outright blasts off the ground. I don't have time to argue, I don't have time to think, am I screaming? Or is it the voice? I can't do this without it.

I let it take over.

"RIP HER TO SHREDS!!"

The woman doesn't bother to summon her spear, we are like wild beasts. She slashes and punches while I do the same as if my war picks were my claws and fangs. Her strength is absurd, and even if I hit her I can't pierce through, so I turn my war picks around and begin to slam her body with the blunt part, causing a much greater result.

My men engage the badmer around us, while occasionally trying to join in the fight against the woman, but she simply punches them once to send them flying. I hear the sound of shouting, the smell of fresh blood invades my nostrils and I know it is all mine, but I can't think, I can't see anything around me except for this woman that I must kill.

Her claws are like steel, sending sparks flying each time they connect with my war picks. She slashes my chest and blood paints the grass red. I slam her head and she loses her footing, I slam her knees, then hands, then ribs. I'm a whirlwind of attacks that knows not of pain, my mind is completely consumed by bloodlust.

Once again I see the fear in her eyes as my hits grow in strength, and if I stop even for one second I know I will lose whatever mystical grip I have over myself and collapse on the ground. Swing, dodge, defend, swing, dodge, defend, swing, dodge, repeat. Again and again, until she is no longer attacking back.

Again and again, until she is stepping back and falls to the ground.

Again and again, as I smash her head repeatedly, breaking the fingers in her hands, crushing her teeth, until the slippery war picks fly off my grip.

Again and again, as bloodied knuckles smashing her face until-

"STOP!!" a man screams.

I'm chocking, how long have I been without breathing, oh no-

I take a few steps back until all strength abandons my body and I fall on my back. It's a strange sensation, my entire body begging for air but being unable to provide it. I'm lightheaded, and can no longer feel my wounds. I couldn't stop fighting, or this would happen.

Looking around I see the badmer break down and turn into a pile of branches, I see some of my men laying on the ground, and many others cheer together, Jorr runs up to me together with Nojus.

They speak but I don't hear them, I don't hear anything.

Everything gets dark...but It is not me, because they see it too. As if suddenly it became midnight. Nojus and Jorr look all around but fail to lay eyes on the culprit, however, I can see it clearly.

From above falls like a giant drop of blood a creature that looks like a giant bird with black, oily feathers, yet a perfectly made human face instead of a bird. Now my men see it, the creature stands too close to me and everyone quickly steps away. Out of nowhere, it melts.

Leaving behind a woman with red eyes and black hair that snaps her fingers and summons a dozen of flaming skulls, and blue flames. The skulls open their mouths and large blades appear, then they fly all around and I turn to see my men getting either struck or harmed by them. But I can't look at them for long, the new stranger grabs my face and forces me to look at her.

"You are not him...but I think she will want to meet you anyways"

I close my eyes.