Feline didn’t stay shocked for long, acting swiftly. It quickly moved its left hand to the waist, pulling a short sword out of its sheath.

But Phisola was faster.

The only thing Eric saw was a familiar club connecting with the feline’s temple, creating the cracking sound he got so used to at this point. The blow was so strong it blew the feline off a few feet away.

Jumping in front of Eric, Phisola pressed with the attack, swinging at the armored figure from above, going straight for the head. But the figure reacted on time, blocking the blow with its shield. The warrior reached for his sword, trying to pull it out, but didn’t manage it on time. Kneeling sideways, Phisola tripped him with her leg, making him lose balance and fall on his back. She quickly moved her other leg on top of the armor, pushing the shield away and stepping on the arm with as much force as possible. A vicious grin showed on her face as she raised the club high with both hands, to which the armored warrior reacted by putting his free arm in front of his head in desperation.

But just when she was about to strike, her head jerked to the side, narrowly avoiding the arrow that shot straight through her hair, tearing some of it away. Looking in front of her, she saw that the elf was already reading the second arrow. Instinctively, she threw the club at the elf, managing to knock the bow out of the elf’s hands. She lunged forward, but the elf drew a dagger quickly, holding it at chest level with both hands so Phisola would impale herself on it.

That didn’t work though, as Phisola went head towards the earth before reaching the dagger. Landing on both hands, the inertia carried her lower body forward, landing a strike to the opponent’s head with one of her heel bones, her long legs ensuring she stayed outside the opponent’s reach.

That took only a few moments, yet it was enough for the armored warrior to get up and draw his sword. Realizing the immediate danger and understanding that Phisola was busy dealing with the elf, Eric decided to act. Grabbing the short sword that the feline had dropped in front of him, he ran towards the warrior, trying to figure out any weaknesses in the armor along the way. And while the enemy wore full-plate armor, he realized that he could reach the neck at a certain angle in time. Even though the helmet and the armor stacked one on top of the other nicely, Eric’s height advantage helped him realize there was a slight gap between the two when attacked diagonally. He did his best to be both fast and silent, and although the silent part didn’t work out, his opponent was too focused on chasing after Phisola to notice.

She turned around in time to see a diagonal slash coming from above, avoiding it deftly with a sideways squat. She did a low kick at the opponent’s feet in the same motion, but he was ready for it this time, shifting all his weight to his left leg and not budging one bit. And just when he was about to correct his previous miss with a swing to the right, Eric attacked from above.

He managed to strike at the golden gap in the armor, but his short sword didn’t go far. It didn’t manage to pierce not even half of the inch in. Still, the blow did have considerable energy behind it, making the armored warrior lose his balance and fall to one knee with a grunt, but he managed to steady his posture with the shield, using it as support.

Realizing his strike didn’t do much, Eric panicked and started stabbing furiously at the neck, missing the gap every time and hitting the thick plate armor.

Still, his strike did enough. It was enough of a distraction for Phisola to pick up her trusty club from the ground and swing it towards the enemy’s head once again, but with a furious roar this time. And since the enemy had to use the shield for support so he wouldn’t fall to the ground, his head was completely exposed. The sideways blow was so powerful that it deformed the entire side of the helmet, making it fly off the head it was supposed to protect as the limp body fell to the ground.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Phisola victoriously rested the club on her right shoulder, turning towards the last remaining enemy. The elf wasn’t up on her feet yet, but she had regained composure, crawling towards her bow as fast as she could.

Phisola didn’t interrupt her though, walking towards the same bow at a steady pace. And as soon as the elf managed to get her hand on the bow, Phisola stepped on that same hand.

“Oh, nooo,” she said teasingly, “isn’t that a shame.”

The elf stared at Phisola in distress for a moment before accepting her fate and putting a solemn look on her face.

“Now, that’s better,” Phisola grinned from ear to ear as she raised her club high, “Die like the fighter that you are!”

“Stooop!!!”

Seeing what was happening, Eric rushed between Phisola and the elf: “Stop! We don’t have to kill her!”

“Why not?”

“They lost! They aren’t a threat anymore!”

“So? They attacked us first!”

“Still, they’re not a threat to us anymore!”

“Not now, but if we run into each other again, they’ll attack us for sure. And the next time we might not be as lucky. Or …” Phisola’s grin turned into a sly one, “… waaiit … do you have a fetish for pointy ears?”

“What?” Eric’s face turned from alarmed into a surprised one.

“You didn’t give a fuck about that armored guy as you stabbed away wildly, but look at you now! Now when a pretty elf’s life is at stake, you suddenly turned into a pacifist. How strange.”

“Because we won! We gain nothing by killing her!”

“Oh, I see! You want to take her in as a sex slave!”

“No, that’s not …”

“You know what, why not? We can take her in,” she glared down at the elf with a twisted smile of satisfaction, “She is a beauty, after all. Just look at her! I could use someone who knows how to use a tongue properly.”

“No, that’s not what I’m talking about! Besides, we’ve just murdered her friends! I don’t think she’d cooperate with us.”

“Exactly. Which is why we should kill her.”

“Why can’t we just let her go?”

Putting her free hand on her hip and lowering the club, Phisola gave him a look of disappointment: “Why can’t we let her go … do you really want to know?”

“It’s a legitimate question! I see no reason for why we must kill her.”

“Ok, then I’ll show it to you. Step aside.”

Eric didn’t move, looking somewhat uncertain: “Can you promise you won’t hurt her?”

Phisola moved her foot away from the elf’s hand before bending down to pick up the bow, tossing it aside: “Step aside, and I’ll show you why we can’t let her go.”

“Will her friends come to save her?”

“Step aside!!!”

Not wanting to annoy the devil any further, Eric obliged.

“Up! Get up!” Phisola motioned to the elf with her hand.

Looking at Phisola, then at Eric, the elf did as she was told.

“You see, she’s obedient right now,” Phisola said, “She knows she has no chance now that she’s disarmed, so she doesn’t feel like starting anything. Perfectly natural, perfectly reasonable.”

Then, Phisola took a few steps to pick up the knife the elf dropped during the fight. Getting the knife, she walked towards the elf. The elf didn’t move, although fear was obvious in her eyes.

Phisola stopped right in front of the elf, and they engaged in a short starring contest. Then Phisola brought the knife up between their faces. She rotated it with one deft move, the blade ending between her fingers. Then, she slowly turned the hilt towards the elf.

They stared at each other for a few moments like that before the elf understood what she was supposed to do. Slowly and reluctantly, the elf took the knife from Phisola.

With no words said, Phisola turned around and started walking away from the elf. The elf stood there, looking utterly shocked by what was going on. Then she looked at Eric.

As Phisola started gaining distance, the look on the elf’s face changed. It was no longer solemn, accepting, or disturbed. With each step Phisola took, the elf’s grimace became more predatory, angry, more furious.

And while Eric didn’t understand what was happening, his subconscious screamed at him to run.

Which he did.

“What the hell are you doing!” He screamed while running to catch up with Phisola.

“What?” She responded, turning around nonchalantly, “I let her go. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“Yeah, but …”

THWACK!!!