[Hostile detected.]
Thanks for the update, Jinyoung thought.
The spear wasn’t just blindingly bright, it was blindingly fast thanks to the hands wielding it. For something that was completely clad in armor, it moved quickly and attacked hard.
As soon as it “drew” its spear, Youngho stepped left and Jinyoung stepped right. Basic battle tactics against a more powerful enemy was to split your opponent’s attention and throw it off-balance.
At first, it seemed to be working.
While Jinyoung had never fought alongside his adoptive father, the man had trained him from an early age. And through months of training, he had honed movement, attack and defensive maneuvers with the old man.
So instinctively, Jinyoung could see his own movements mirrored in Youngho and vice versa. The second Youngho stepped in to deliver a flurry of punches, Jinyoung knew to back up and circle around to attack from a different angle. And as soon as Jinyoung moved in, Youngho stepped out of the way to give him the leeway to swing wildly without worrying about friendly fire.
It should’ve been perfect.
But each strike was turned away with simple parries or exceedingly strong blocks. Together, Jinyoung and Youngho attacked with increasing strength and with a wide variety. But each swing of the sword was easily stopped while Youngho’s fists were pushed aside. And with each encounter, the figure didn’t attack. Jinyoung could feel it watching from behind its fully armored helm.
Jinyoung [dashed] back. Under normal circumstances, a short retreat would only have bought him a few seconds. A minute at most. But the armored creature didn’t close the distance. It simply stood and watched, holding its spear made of light in a ready position.
Soon, Jinyoung’s anger got the better of him and he cried out, “Fight back, damn you!”
It was almost imperceptible. So slight that he barely caught it, but the masked helm tilted slightly, almost as if in recognition.
“[Scan].”
[(oading…]
“Got anything?” Youngho asked.
Jinyoung shook his head in response, sending cold sweat flying off his face. Battles had a natural rhythm to them. One moment you could be conserving your energy and the next, you’d expend it on an attack or a parry. But attacking non-stop like they had for the past 10 minutes was exhausting.
“How’s your hand?” Jinyoung asked, pointing at the bandages.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
The old man flexed his hand. Earlier, it had felt stiff and his wound burned. The burning sensation remained, but the stiffness had abated. If anything, he felt fine. “Nothing I can’t handle. You rested enough boy?”
Jinyoung cocked an eyebrow and shot Youngho a grin. “Me? You’re the one who can’t keep up!”
Youngho laughed in return. A barking hoarse laugh that Jinyoung hadn’t heard in years.
“That’s what I wanna hear, boy!”
***
The corridors went on endlessly, but Hana pumped her feet and ran as hard as she could. She’d given up on listening for any footsteps aside from her own. More than likely, the slippery rogue had something to hide his own movements and sounds.
For the first few minutes, she had followed the marker in her vision. She could see it moving slightly from side to side as the corridor bent at a slight angle or twisted slightly. But now, the marker was completely gone from her vision.
I think I’m closing in on him, she called out.
The marker only appeared when they were further away from their target. But within a given range, the marker disappeared from view. The fact that Hana couldn’t see the marker at all meant that she was closing in on the Frenchman.
We’re approaching the main silo bay!
There wasn’t a response, but she hadn’t expected one. Whatever her brother and father were fighting, it would require everything from both of them. And as far as Willow, she could only pray that where she was, Seunghyo was there to protect her.
Sunbae!
Hana was jolted from her trance. Willow? Where are you?
Seunghyo and I are heading down the main silo to you. There was something glowing until-
She didn’t get to finish her thought before Hana cut her off. The marker is for the research drive and the sample of sin. Henry has them! How far out are you?
She had barely spoken the words before she saw them heading towards her.
“Right here, sunbae!” Willow said excitedly, waving her arms as she ran.
“Hold it right there!”
Hand slid to a stop and scanned her surroundings. The corridor was plain and faceless. There were no doors along this hall, only the entrance at the main silo and the door leading to the control room where she had come from.
“He had to have come this way!” she shouted. “Keep your guard up!”
Seunghyo unsheathed the short sword he had found in the rubble above ground. He had long since run out of arrows and left the bow behind. “Look for a shadow! The bastard can blend in if the shadow’s big enough.”
The corridor’s lighting was brighter than the emergency lights that had been placed throughout the north. But aside from a few crates and some discarded machinery, there wasn’t much here to cast a shadow.
“Okay, so what do we do if we find a shadow?” Willow asked.
Seunghyo shrugged. “I’m out of arrows, but you could blast it with a spell-”
He didn’t finish the thought before two daggers launched out of a shadow behind a rusting table. The only warning was the slight rush of wind before Seunghyo pushed Willow to the ground. Another dagger flew out, but Seunghyo knew what to expect. He swung the short sword and batted the dagger harmlessly away.
Meanwhile, Hana ran in and aimed for the shadow.
“[Shield bash]!”
The table flew up from the force of the skill and a man tumbled out of the shadow. His body slammed against the wall with a whumpf before sliding along the smooth floor.