I'm not sure what I was thinking. As our little quartet ran through the corridor of the library, not once did I bother asking myself the question "What then?" What would we do after we'd find Amy? What danger could await us? How could we help her? None of those things even crossed my mind. I was running head-first into peril, blinded by my misconception of courage.
"HEEEELP! HELP!" Amy called out to me the moment we ran into each other. As she was running by me, I grabbed her and tried my best to at least slow her down, hoping that she can explain what happened here.
Didn't take long before others caught up to us, with Gier dragging Corwyn by his hand, which was probably the only method of convincing him to come along.
"Hey! Hey! Calm down! Breathe! What's going on?" I called out to our panicking teammate.
She only managed to let out a loud "Run!" before the danger presented itself to us as well. From the direction in which we were previously running approached a Guardian. It was walking a lot slower than one would expect and its footsteps were surprisingly quiet.
*Tick! Tock! Tick!*
I almost let out a giggle when I saw its appearance, which corresponded to a giant clock with countless extra hands running around the face with an overcomplicated design. Whether or not any of the present symbols were numbers was anyone's guess. As we all stared at it, the Guardian only kept on approaching with perfectly rhythmic steps taken by thin mechanical legs. Its proportions were absurd and if it wasn't at least two and a half metres tall, I probably wouldn't find it all that menacing. However, when my eyes landed on its right mechanical arm, my humour quickly abandoned me. I looked at the long, sharp blade that took the place of the creature's right wrist. Something so wide and big would probably chop us to bits within a few seconds.
"RUN!" Gier called out to us and interrupted our fascinated staring. Without a moment to waste, we listen to him and turned the other way. All it took were a few steps for us to notice that something was wrong. It was as if we were running slower. As if our own legs refused to listen as they were supposed to.
*Tick! Tock! Tick! Tock!*
The sound of the Guardian was irritating. It was like constantly feeling water drip into your ears. It was a loud and invasive ticking that just wouldn't get quieter no matter how much we ran. Afraid of the idea that the Guardian might be getting closer, I looked over my shoulder to check our situation. It was still there, exactly the same distance away as before.
"Quick! To the middle!" Rogier commanded and we all took a turn, heading back to the safety of the central room. Only after crossing the threshold of the bookshelf corridor were we finally able to stop running. We all took a moment to catch our breath. The creature stopped at the very edge and there it remained, staring at us with a non-existing head, and still emitting that horrendous sound.
*Tick! Tock! Tick! Tock! Tick!"
Some of us sat down. Despite it only being a short chase, we all felt incredibly tired. In the meantime, I looked closely at the Guardian. Every single one of their kind had a weakness, which meant even this one. I kept on trying to figure it out. Numerous little cog wheels were sticking out of its body and turning, just like the countless hands on the clock's face. Would those be the weakness? No, that was impossible. Getting close enough to even touch them would be certain doom.
*Tick! Tock! Tick! Tock! Tick! Tock!*
"G-Guys?" Corwyn spoke, breaking the silence that enveloped us. "We should probably head elsewhere. Maybe back to the first floor?"
"Sure, just... give us a moment. We need to catch our breaths," Rogier replied.
"B-But... We've already been resting here for like five minutes. I'm already feeling better."
"But we aren't," said Gier. "Anyone here feels more rested than before?"
Only Corwyn raised his hand.
"Fuck, it's making us tired!" Rogier growled. "I hate when they manipulate you like that."
"We have to kill it then. That thing will guard this floor. Going deeper with this fatigue would be dangerous for you rookies and there is nothing we can do on floor one."
"W-We can just leave, no? S-Signal the surface to pull us out?" Corwyn gently tugged on the carabiner attached to his belt. As he did, a small portion of the magical rope began reforming.
"If we leave, you all will fail the entrance exam, and I will be without payment," Gier swept the idea off the table. "We'll just have to kill it."
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"So you will be without a single salary, who cares?" Rogier replied.
"I do! I have a family to feed!" Gier barked at him. I almost didn't recognise him with such an aggressive reply.
"B-But... I can't fight," Amy muttered and sat down on the floor, pushing her knees closer to her chest.
"Don't worry, I'll deal with it," Gier said, back to his regular tone of voice. "I've dealt with other Guardians before. Even much scarier ones. Big blade and choppy movements, so it's probably slow. I know what to do." He pulled out his knife and rushed into the corridor. As he got closer, the Guardian raised its arm and swung the massive weapon right at Gier's head. With a quick reaction, however, he managed to block it with his magical blade.
I saw Rogier pull out his own dagger, grabbing it carefully by the tip of the blade while raising his arm.
"Don't throw away your only weapon!" I yelled at him.
"Relax, kiddo. I've been throwing knives for years. I bet the middle of the clock's face is the weak spot. Now... stand still, you freak," Rogier muttered and with careful aim, he throw his knife right at the Guardian.
*Tick! Tock! Tick! Tock! Tick! Tock! Tick!*
I could not believe my eyes. Not only did it manage to parry all of Gier's attacks with surprising ease, but as the other blade joined the fray, the Guardian's left arm moved almost completely independently of the right one. It grabbed the flying knife just as it was about to hit the middle of the clock.
"Watch out!" I yelled at Gier, but too late.
*Tick!*
We saw him crouch just in time as the other blade flew right his way. Its tip found its mark and left a long, bleeding cut on his forehead.
"OW!" Gier yelled out and for a moment, he lost his focus. The Guardian kicked him as he crouched, sending him sliding across the floor all the way to the far end of the corridor.
The Guardian turned around and began slowly and rhythmically walking towards Gier. We watched as he touched the gash on his face. He looked at his own bloody hand and then back at the approaching Guardian. Whatever happened next, I had no idea. Instead of getting back up, he was simply sitting there, leaning against the wall and watching his death slowly approaching.
"Gier?! Gier move!" I yelled at him. "Fuck, is your blade poisoned?!" I shouted at Rogier.
"Not as far as I know," he shrugged.
"Shit! Amy! You know any weaknesses of this thing?" My response didn't even seem to reach her ears. She was just sitting there on the floor, sobbing. "FUCK! Rogier! Do something!"
"Do what? I'm not a fighter. I'm more of a hit-and-run guy. I can try throwing your dagger."
"And lose another one? Fuck no! SHIT!" I was frustrated. There was nothing I could do. Half of our team was completely useless. No, all of us were. Gier was no match for the Guardian, and the rest were either poor fighters or too afraid to act.
"Corwyn!" I turned to my last companion.
"N-No! I can't!"
"I don't want you to fight. I will keep the Guadian busy while you slip past it and help Gier, okay? Just take him and while I'm fighting, get him to the middle through the other corridors, alright?"
"B-But... what if there are more Guardians?"
"WE HAVE NO TIME!" I snapped and slapped him across the face. They were all useless. Incompetent nobodies. Just like me. I was a nobody. I knew nothing. No self-defence, no survival tips, no academic knowledge. I had absolutely nothing to offer this team.
My hand moved almost on its own. I pulled out my knife and while making as much sound as possible, I ran against the Guardian. Rogier saw that and pretty much threw Corwyn into the corridor, despite his loud cries and begging.
"Do as he said!" he yelled out at him and then turned to Amy. "I will borrow this, alright?" He reached for her belt and took her knife before running towards a different corridor.
Corwyn and I sprinted head-first into danger. I can't say that I felt brave at that moment. Every part of my body was just screaming at me to run and save myself, but my own morality did not allow me to do so. There was no way I could simply leave Gier to his fate. Not after everything he did for me.
As soon as I got close, the Guardian started attacking. With each tick, it swung the massive sword at me, and with each tock, it raised it back up again for another strike. I dodged the attacks quite easily at first. With the Guardian following a certain rhythm, I was able to more or less predict when it would strike again and in which direction.
In the meantime, Corwyn slipped right past us and went further toward Gier, who was still sitting there on the floor, staring at us with unblinking eyes.
"Umm... Eliot?" Corwyn soon called out to me. "I... I don't know what to do. He's all weird. He won't listen to me and is breathing all... too quickly."
"Get him out of there!" I yelled back at him and unfortunately, that was enough for me to lose my tempo. As the Guardian went for a powerful upward slash, I didn't have enough time to dodge. Just in time, I raised my knife to block the attack. The size difference between our two weapons was almost comical. The impact struck the magical blade, but the force was so strong it sent me flying onto the floor behind me and sliding even a little bit further back. I quickly stood up again, ready to defend myself, but the Guardian no longer seemed interested in me. I raised my head just to see it turn around and head toward Corwyn and Gier.
"RUN!" I screamed at them as the creature closed the distance rather fast and prepared its sword for the finishing blow.
"FUCK!" I heard Corwyn yell out as he drew his blade. What followed was unlike anything I had seen before. Not only did he manage to dodge the Guardian's attack with flawless footwork, but before it managed to raise the sword again, Corwyn delivered a series of incredibly swift strikes into its body. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be very effective. The Guardian appeared unfazed by it all and simply continued its assault as if nothing was happening. Watching Corwyn dance between the blows while his blade flickered with each of the rapid slashes was so mesmerizing I completely forgot about the severity of the situation for a moment.
"Someone do something!!" Corwyn yelled at us, even though it seemed he wouldn't have any problems taking the guardian down himself.
Then, as if the heavens themselves heard his plea, a faint blue light illuminated the corridor. We heard the satisfying "whoom!" of a drawn magical blade. A single hand grabbed Corwyn by his backpack and pulled him backwards, away from harm's way.
"Take Gier and get him out of here!" Cristina commanded as she stepped into the danger's way. "I'll take it from here.