The snake was ready for him as he forged into the battle. It swiped at him with its tail while it kept its attention on Timi and he ducked down, slid along the snow and through the space between its massive bulk and the floor. He came to a turning stop beside Timi and pushed off the floor with a single hand. His shoulder still burned but it was lesser. The small spots on his face, however, flared with the manic enthusiasm of fire in the presence of sufficient fuel.
He stepped forward and cut at one side of the beast’s long body behind Timi as he came up. It curved and bent, and his blade met air once more. Timi stepped past him with a downward swing. Behind him he felt the soft disturbance in the air at the action just before the snake let out a wild howl. Its massive body balked again, twisted, turned, and Seth felt a splatter of something wet and warm against his back.
Shite! A mind cussed, and he echoed it appropriately. “Shit!”
Timi turned, stepped and cut again. The snake unfurled its massive body from around them and shot away from them, threw itself in the way snakes do.
Timi’s blade met air.
The beast crashed into a tree. It curled around it momentarily and the tree bent and trembled under the weight of it. Unable to resist, it bent further, then cracked. The tree shattered under the weight and dropped the snake back on the floor. Everywhere the blood spilled steam rose.
“Are you alright, brother?” Timi asked from beside Seth, stepping forward to stand between him and the snake.
“I’m fine,” he answered through clenched teeth. It was one of many lies.
----------------------------------------
[You Have Received Burning Damage.]
[You Have Been Poisoned.]
[You Have Been Afflicted with Multiple Instances of Poison: IronBlood.]
[You Have Been Afflicted with Reia Poisoning: Reia Density.]
[You Have Been Afflicted with Blood Poisoning: Bloodclot.]
[Insufficient Reia Reserves Discovered.]
[Reia Poisoning Reia Density Does Not Take Effect.]
[Reia Poisoning Reia Density is Now Blood Poisoning: Bloodclot.]
[You Have Been Afflicted with Blood Poisoning: Bloodclot.]
[You Have Been Afflicted with Multiple Instances of Bloodclot.]
[Bloodclot Stacks.]
[You Have Been Afflicted with Multiple Instances of Blood Trait: Hemophilia.]
[Hemophilia Resists Multiple Instances of Bloodclot.]
[Bloodclot Does Not Take Effect.]
[You Have Resisted Multiple Instances of Poison: IronBlood.]
[IronBlood Does Not Take Effect.]
----------------------------------------
Timi spared him a quick glance, took one hand from his sword, and pushed him. Seth fell more from the shock than the power of the shove. When he hit the snow he raised steam and the burning eased though it did not stop.
He pushed himself up to his elbows and stared at Timi in shock. He found his brother’s attention on the snake. As for the snake, it refused to move from where it was.
You know, a mind thought as he got back up to his feet. We think that things terrified of Fatso.
“And rightfully so,” he muttered.
Now on his feet he drew his second sword free so that he stood with a sword in each hand.
“Again?” Timi asked without looking at him.
Seth nodded. “Again.”
The fight with the snake stretched long. Seth swung with quick thrusts and countless slashes. The snake replied with curves and turns, strikes and hisses. In the battle Timi remained a steady deterrent. He stood in the path of the beast with his broadsword mostly held high. He fought with only slashes and no thrusts. There was neither flashy sword strikes nor fancy footwork. He was rigid but not stiff. Each swing of his sword carried retribution. Unlike Seth’s attacks that left lines of blood when they connected, Timi’s left literal gouges in the beast.
Seth went through a number of notifications that informed him of blunt force damage. But most of the notifications were of poisoning. His consistent resistance of the IronBlood poison—whatever it was—left him ignoring them.
Until he wasn’t.
----------------------------------------
[You Have Received Burning Damage.]
[You Have Been Poisoned.]
[You Have Been Afflicted with Multiple Instances of Poison: IronBlood.]
[You Have Been Afflicted with Reia Poisoning: Reia Density.]
[You Have Been Afflicted with Blood Poisoning: Bloodclot.]
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
[Insufficient Reia Reserves Discovered.]
[Reia Poisoning Reia Density Does Not Take Effect.]
[Reia Poisoning Reia Density is Now Blood Poisoning: Bloodclot.]
[You Have Been Afflicted with Blood Poisoning: Bloodclot.]
[You Have Been Afflicted with Multiple Instances of Bloodclot.]
[Bloodclot Stacks.]
[You Have Been Afflicted with Multiple Instances of Blood Trait: Hemophilia.]
[Hemophilia Resists Multiple Instances of Bloodclot.]
[Hemophilia Fails to Resist Multiple Instances of Bloodclot.]
[You Have Been Afflicted with Blood Poisoning: Bloodclot.]
[Bloodclot Resists Multiple Instances of Hemophilia.]
[You Have Been Cleansed of Multiple Instances of Hemophilia.]
[Bloodclot Takes Effect.]
[IronBlood Takes Effect.]
[You Are Poisoned.]
----------------------------------------
Seth’s next slash faltered and came up short. The snake’s tail flogged him aside as it ducked away from a particularly vicious strike from Timi and Seth tumbled through the snow.
He rolled a few times before coming to a sliding stop. The first thing he noticed when he tried to get up was the cold chill of winter’s touch. It bit into him, freezing both muscle and bone. Next was his breathing. It slowed enough that he feared to count how often it came. Then it became labored so that he gasped for air. His heart beat slower and he felt his body fight for more than just air.
He tried to scramble back to his feet, to go to his brother’s aid, not that Timi seemed to need it. His body stiffened, seized up, and he fell back to the snow.
Then panic filled him.
His muscles were stiff and his arms weighed down on him like lumps of stone. He tried again to rise again and fell, realizing it was all is muscles that suffered. They stiffened, seized up as his arms had. Panic worked its way through him as he struggled for control over his own body, watching helplessly as the snake turned and twirled around Timi, looking for a chance to strike.
Timi held out. He hadn’t gone unscathed in the battle. His cassock was torn and cut up. He bore a few bruises and a few bloodstains. Nothing compared to Seth’s, but that was only because he was proving the better fighter.
“We can’t leave him out there alone,” Seth croaked.
Agreed, his minds replied. Then a thought came to them. It was so quick a thought Seth barely caught it. But he did, and he obeyed without question.
Releasing his sword was a battle of will. His fingers uncurled from around the handle in forced trembles. His actions were slow, sluggish, but he fought through it.
Helping his brother was a priority.
He reached into his pocket and brought out a handful of meat and shoved it into his mouth. He chewed with the gusto of the starved, forced himself to slow even when he was not done chewing. His throat suffered the same fate as his muscles and it hurt him to swallow.
----------------------------------------
[You Have Been Poisoned.]
[You Have Suffered Multiple Instances of Poison.]
[Poison Stacks.]
[You Have Been Afflicted with Status Effect: Reia Poisoning.]
[Insufficient Reia Reserves Discovered.]
[Status Effect Reia Poisoning is Now Blood Poisoning.]
[You Have Been Afflicted with Status Effect: Blood Poisoning.]
[You Have Been Afflicted with Multiple Instances of Blood Poisoning.]
[Status Effect Blood Poisoning Stacks.]
[You Have Been Afflicted with Blood Trait: Hemophilia.]
[Blood trait Hemophilia is in Effect.]
[You Are Under Multiple Instances of Blood Trait: Hemophilia.]
[Blood Trait Hemophilia Stacks.]
----------------------------------------
Good, a mind thought, happy as he chewed. Keep going.
----------------------------------------
[You Have Been Afflicted with Multiple Instances of Blood Trait: Hemophilia.]
[Bloodclot Resists Multiple Instances of Hemophilia.]
[Hemophilia Does Not Take Effect.]
[You Have Resisted Multiple Instances of Poison: Hemophilia.]
[Hemophilia Does Not Take Effect.]
----------------------------------------
Shite, a mind cussed as Seth’s vision blurred and darkness ate away at its edges. We need more.
Seth’s body obeyed and he found himself chewing on another handful of meat. A distance away from him Timi turned to check on him. It was a mistake that cost him. The snake capitalized on his momentary lack of awareness and slapped him aside. It didn’t allow him land before striking at him with bared fangs.
Seth was already shoving another handful of meat down his throat. His second pocket was long since empty and he was beginning to feel the bottom of this pocket. He prayed there would be enough.
A new notification popped up.
----------------------------------------
[You Have Been Poisoned.]
[You Have Suffered Multiple Instances of Poison.]
[Poison Stacks.]
[You Have Been Afflicted with Status Effect: Reia Poisoning.]
[Insufficient Reia Reserves Discovered.]
[Status Effect Reia Poisoning is Now Blood Poisoning.]
[You Have Been Afflicted with Status Effect: Blood Poisoning.]
[You Have Been Afflicted with Multiple Instances of Blood Poisoning.]
[Status Effect Blood Poisoning Stacks.]
[You Have Been Afflicted with Blood Trait: Hemophilia.]
[Blood trait Hemophilia is in Effect.]
[You Are Under Multiple Instances of Blood Trait: Hemophilia.]
[Blood Trait Hemophilia Stacks.]
[You Have Been Afflicted with Multiple Instances of Blood Poisoning: Bloodclot.]
[Bloodclot Resists Multiple Instances of Hemophilia.]
[Bloodclot Fails to Resist Multiple Instances of Hemophilia.]
[You Have Been Afflicted with Blood Trait: Hemophilia.]
[Hemophilia Resists Multiple Instances of Bloodclot.]
[You Have Been Cleansed of Multiple Instances of Bloodclot.]
[Hemophilia Does Not Takes Effect.]
----------------------------------------
What?! A mind thought, flabbergasted, then Seth felt his body relax and the mind’s tune changed. Yes! We’ll take it! Now you’ve got to go!
Seth’s vision returned to him slowly and he felt his breathing come easier. The world revealed Timi gouging the neck of the snake in a heavy strike. Sharpened steel rend skin and muscle and drew blood. Then he stepped away from the spray of blood, sidestepped its splash in the snow, stepped forward, and cut again.
The snake’s mouth opened wide and its next action surprised Seth.
It spat on Timi. Its spittle shot out as a projectile and hit Timi in the shoulder. The force of it sent him reeling back, breaking his stance.
We’ve really got to go, Seth, a mind hurried him as he struggled to his feet.
His muscles were loosening up, his breathing coming faster. his blood was flowing better. But it was not the same. The winter cold didn’t flee him as it had been doing and his breathing didn’t come as fast as before.
It doesn’t matter! A mind chided. We can move. So move!