Chapter 23 - The Fighting (F1)
-” Aaaaahh! “ I made an involuntary yelp as all of my muscles contracted uncontrollably. My back spasmed into an arch and, suddenly, I felt that I was falling to the ground.
I panicked as everything froze in a moment that lasted forever. I couldn’t move my body that was suspended into inexorable rigidness by my convulsed muscles.
Eternity passed in idle agony, as even my heart ceased its beat.
When I lost all hope and began chastising myself for the stupid idea that I had, my body shook suddenly.
*Thump*
A resounding tremor felt like a thundering avalanche, and it was followed by another one.
*Thump*
*Thump*
*Thump*
My heart was beating anew, with each beat pushing red power around my body.
*Thump*
But with most of my body locked in rigid paralysis I still couldn’t breath or move.
Suddenly, when I concentrated on it, the flow of power moved to where I stored my mana before. The grip on my muscles vanished and my body fell back to the ground, just like a puppet with its strings cut.
I took one shallow, grueling breath. For one moment I thought that I was back where I started, exhausted and helpless. Startled and worried Wolga was bending over me.
-’She must have dropped me when I convulsed suddenly. ‘ I thought idly.
*Thump*
One thing changed.
I could feel an itching sensation flowing around my body, it just begged to be tapped again.
-” This doesn’t change a thing! As I said earlier, she is the one that killed Forest and she was going to stab us in the back. Wolga, stand back, we will deal with her swiftly! “ Hamon’s commanding voice easily reached my ears. My senses were no longer dull.
His voice reminded me on what I should be doing instead of idling on the ground. I experimentally tapped a sliver of power into my hand and it clamped in iron grip. I tried again and this time I managed to make a tightly closed fist.
It was an alien sensation, to channel just the right amount of energy to move the corresponding muscles, as otherwise they were lax and unresponsive.
-” No, I won’t let you. Come and I will…” Wolga was facing Hamon, with her arms spread wide in baring gesture.
-’ I can’t wait much longer. ‘ I concluded hearing Wolga’s exclamation and concentrated desperately on channeling just the right amount of power into my mouth, throat and lungs. -” THatts Enghot! “
It wasn’t sounding right, but it interrupted Wolga and gathered the attention, which was exactly what I wanted to achieve. I focused the energy and rose from the ground, in one sharp and unnatural move.
I realised that standing was not as easy as I thought. I couldn't keep still, as I had to maintain my balance by tightening the muscles with energy, which made me wobble from side to side. In a long run this method of movement was both similar and alien to how I moved my body normally. I concentrated on moving same muscles, but then I couldn’t make them stay in the same position least they cramped with too much power or relaxed when my focus lapsed.
-” What… “ Hamon started, but I interrupted him too.
-” Enghou, I have grown weary of this farce. “ I was getting the hang of the speech too. -” As entertaining as it would be to watch you have a go at it, I find slaughtering you right here, right now, more entertaining. “ I wanted to laugh at their blank stares, I was not sure why I suddenly found them so funny, also spouting old cliches was fun too. -” Or are you too scared now, when I am not really that helpless anymore. “ I smiled provocatively at Hamon, and realized that he couldn’t see it because I still had my scarf on.
I kept my attention on Lysanthir, I was sure that sooner or later he would strike. I couldn’t wait to see his dumbfounded expression when it would fail.
Somehow I had this strange feeling enveloping me, all this wobbly movement made me want to laugh. Also, I no longer felt tired, but I still had to readjust my balance nonstop as my muscles kept failing me. I giggled unwittingly, amused by how alien my moves must seem. Wolga’s teary expression seemed really amusing for some reason.
Hamon readjusted his grip on the axe. -” I don’t understand what your game is, but I am going to cut it short. “
-” Please do try, haha. “ I laughed maddeningly at the wicked idea that I had. -” And try hard, or your dear friend will be killed again. “
That was too much for Hamon, and he rushed past Wolga with his axe held high. He swung it down, but I twisted the power and my body easily twirled to the side, making him pass me.
From the hurry, grey mist blurred in front of my eyes, and I giggled again, I felt a sudden rush of blood in my veins. It felt really cold for some reason.
Then my way was blocked by Wolga’s sturdy frame. She had uneasy expression on her face as she tried to grasp me, but I easily ducked below her arms, dancing my way past her.
-”Run, Forest! Run! “ Hamon’s thundering voice resounded at the same moment the prey came into my sight.
Forest sent me a panicked gaze and started running.
*Thump*
It made my heart beat faster, I was elated at the idea of a chase and I rushed after him. Initially I was gaining on him, with my wobbly glide, but as if feeling my breath upon his back he sped up. I tried to keep up, but couldn’t. Maintaining steady pace was not something that I could do while channeling the red power.
I gave up on chasing him and turned back to where I came from. I still had other prey hidden in the mist. Reflexively I tried to grasp the mist, in the same way as I did before, but the mist wasn’t reacting to my efforts. My patience was quickly snuffed by the impatient beat of my heart and I decided to go back.
I easily located Hamon’s and Wolga’s heavy footsteps somewhere ahead of me. When I had gotten so close I could almost see their outlines in the mist I noticed something sleek in my peripheral vision. On instinct, I made myself twirl back on the ball of my left feet and a spear rushed past me, piercing a spot that my chest occupied just a moment ago. I extended my hand and a turning motion of my dodge made it connect with the shoulder of my assailant.
Lysanthir was thrown to the side by the force of the blow and I was assailed with the untamable, fuzzy feeling in my hand. I didn’t know why, but I just couldn’t stop laughing. My maniacal chuckling was interrupted by Hamon, who came at me again, axe swinging. Idly, I bent down, letting the wheezing. horizontal blade pass over me, when I bent back up I reflexively responded with a low kick that swept his leg.
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Hamon’s feet was knocked from under him and he fell on his back. He lost his axe, which flew somewhere into the mist. As I cherished my victory I was suddenly grasped from behind. Wolga’s bulky arms enveloped me in a bear hug. I panicked and started to struggle fruitlessly.
Abruptly, my panic was suppressed by laughter as I suddenly remembered some of the things that I knew about the anatomy. I reached to her elbow and forced my fingers into the nerve that was hidden to the side of it. I was not sure if it would work, but it worked, as she yelped and lose her grasp on me for a moment. Instantly, I used that lapse to strike my elbow into her solar plexus. She was forced back and the wind was knocked out of her. I looked gleefully at her strange expression and wondered. -” What should I kill her with? “
I smiled widely and removed the scarf, it was no fun if they couldn’t see it. I walked past Hamon and gave him a kick to the head, so he wouldn’t cause problems. I soon found what I was looking for, an axe, and I picked it with my left hand. My right hand still felt fuzzy and made me laugh every now and then.
I soon returned and found Wolga sprawled on the ground. Her chest was heaving with effort, she probably had a cracked rib or two. I came in closer, with a smile, and with an axe that I was dragging. I was almost drooling at the thought of all the power still locked in a body of that big prey.
Suddenly there was a movement in the mist and I tensed up, ready to answer with deadly force. Though, as it turned out, I had no need to be wary, it was only the original prey that came back. My smile became even wider and I motioned the prey to stand aside.
-” Do what you want with me! “ He exclaimed with pale, but determined expression and blocked my way. -” But leave my friends alone! “
Somehow his words struck a bit of warmth into my freezing cold blood and I decided that big prey may wait a bit. The prey in front of me was so accessible, one almost wanted to strangle it directly, so I raised my free hand to grab his neck, but my arm just dangled uselessly making me laugh.
The dangling arm, the axe and the Forest, who stood in front of me, suddenly penetrated freezing and maddening feeling that enveloped me. -’ Damn, I got drowned in power like some little… ‘ I thought in the moment of clarity.
I wasn’t sure what exactly was going on, but I knew that I couldn’t reason with all of them this close, somehow that sneaky need of mine only became stronger in their proximity. So I dropped the axe and ran into the mist least I lose myself again. I felt bad for almost killing Wolga, to whom I had grown attached to, but I consoled myself with a thought that my goal of preventing her from falling on a bad side of her companions was accomplished. I knew that she was really fond of them and spoiling that wouldn’t feel right...
With each wobbly step I could feel the returning madness, that almost forced me to go back.
-’ I am not going to get affected again! ‘ I thought to myself in resolve, I couldn’t stand the thought of being manipulated by something. I concentrated on moving away from the spot where my late companions were. I could feel the urge to laugh and return increasing, but I kept it in check.
Travelling with my wobbly steps become increasingly difficult. My heart was beating like a drum but my blood was running cold. I felt some wetness on my lips and reflexively licked it with my tongue. The taste affirmed my fears, it was blood and it was coming not only from my nose but also from my eyes. I looked at my hand and found it pale and covered with a spider like net of broken up vessels, which had a barely visible red glow.
-’ I must have one hell of a look. ‘ I thought idly in resignation. I was sure that I messed up somehow while using the dark magic. -” Like using myself as a source… “ I wanted to laugh, but wary of what happened earlier, I stifled the need.
The things were not looking too good and I pondered the state of things to keep my thoughts away from the time when I unwittingly run out of magic and die from exhaustion.
-’ So this looks like some sort of Blood Magic, that uses vitality to elevate physical state, but requires said vitality to be drained from somewhere. “ I shook my head, almost straining my neck, to get a thought of going back to harvest something out of my mind. -’ Obviously, using myself as a source could be regarded as retarded in normal circumstances… At least my circumstances weren’t normal. ‘ I tried to console myself.
I still felt thunderous beats of my heart and they were coming more and more often, but the hollow note they struck increased with each passing beat. I wanted to sigh, but it was too hard to try. -’ Anyway, the energy seems to behave in a different way than mana. The mist is not reacting to it, since the mist is cursed they might share a common origin, which prevents them from intermingling - like magnets of the same pole. ‘
I stalled, but I couldn’t stop myself from voicing my last conclusion. -’ Soo... when one boosts one’s physical state it must bear burden on the body… If I would do that when my body was already drained of resources… this is not looking too good. ‘ I shivered at the thought of what will happen when my energy runs out, I hoped that my heart would just stop, as I didn’t want to experience the agony from before anew. -’ Or just from my shattered arm… ‘
I was looking at my limply hanging limb, that kept forcing me to smile with the fuzzy feeling it kept sending, when a voice asked from the mist.
-” Who goes there? “
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Hey~, Author’s here~
today’s chapter turned into doom and gloom, but it was fun anyway. Let me know what you think.
Cheers,
Mea
Ps1 We’re still hanging on. lol
Ps2 Owlbear General proofed the plot.
NEXT CHAPTER: Chapter 24 - The Enticing
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