I was in a real bind there, quite literally. The injured soldier had a surprisingly strong grip…

Do you know the difference between a good fighter and a survivor? A survivor fights dirty. A survivor does what it takes to come out on top, breathing, and in one piece. Alan was closing in on me, brandishing his Morningstar in the air as if to tell me, this is the last thing you’ll see before you kick it.

And I kicked it. Not died, but kicked the bastard who held me in the foot. He swore but tried to keep me pinned to him. I wasn’t about to let that Morningstar disfigure me. I was already ugly. I didn’t need a worse face job! The kick gave my elbow the extra inch it needed to nudge the soldier in the ribs. He let out a weak squeal. When injured, you can’t control your reactions, especially when you have an arrow scraping against your rib cage and filling your lungs with blood.

That was my queue. I kicked him once more in the foot before the Morningstar came crashing down.

I felt the hands that gripped me loosen up. I ducked just in time. I heard a sinister cracking sound. The Morningstar hit the soldier in the chest and crushed his breastplate. Holy hell this Alan is freakishly strong!

I rolled away from danger and picked up my fallen sword in the process. The bow was nearby too. I picked it up and threw it across my torso. It might get handy, who knows.

The injured soldier stumbled back as Alan let out a frustrated grunt. The swordsman had already changed course and was running toward me. I stood my ground. Against this bastard, I had a fighting chance. My small sword wouldn’t block his swing but it can deflect it. I had to use whatever minute opportunity I got. I couldn’t keep running from both. They’d eventually surround and kill me. The brute was holding his sword with both hands above his head as he ran toward me.

An overhand swing, I can deal with that, albeit with some difficulty. The sword would probably come in a diagonal downward swing. He wouldn’t bother aiming at a specific spot. One hit would be enough to kill or at least severely damage any part it touches. I positioned myself sideways, like a Boligne fencer, and held my sword forward. Its tip pointed toward my assailant.

The great sword will have the strength of its wielder, backing it up from the moment it leaves the overhand position until the middle of the arc. I jumped back to buy some more time, to hit the sword in its weakest spot.

The swing came, as predicted. I had to put enough force into the counter, but not too much. I shouldn’t risk damaging my own weapon. I swung my sword sideways just in time, with just the amount of force required. It needed to be perfectly placed for my counter to work.

Once it went beyond the second middle of the arc, gravity would be doing the rest of the job. That was when I had to hit. I had to be far enough for this to work though, hence the previous jump backwards. I hit the tip of the great sword as soon as it was beyond the second middle of its arc. I’d deflected it pretty easily, sending the wielder stumbling forward in the process. That’s the beauty of Boligne fencing, use the wielder’s force against him.

‘You didn’t expect that, did ya?’ I scoffed as I danced around him and slashed his tendons. The soldier wailed and tried to swing his sword at me. Too bad he didn’t have anything to put his weight on to turn and swing. He stumbled and fell, face down.

By the time my counter landed, Alan was already too close for comfort. I couldn’t finish what I started. I risked another slash at the other tendons then ran back. I wouldn’t risk him following us then holding me by the feet or something. I had to learn from my previous mistakes. I ran toward the trees, away from the injured soldiers, away from Alan who was slower than me.

“I’LL KILL YOU!” Alan screamed at me. He was running now, huffing and puffing as he did so.

Great! Lose your temper and get tired. I’ll find a way to slice your tendons then finish you up at my leisure. For now I had to retreat, make him think I was scared, tired. I wasn’t. I’d preserved my strength pretty well. I was quite proud of that.

‘It’s your Essence providing support,’ Eva commented. Was she reading my thoughts now?

‘You’re allowing me to do so,’ she spoke again. ‘Don’t lose focus!’

Alan was dangerously close. He swung his Morningstar and I dodged. I escaped death by the skin of my teeth. No surprises there, it seems narrow escapes from death was today’s theme. Another swing, downward this time, missed my left leg.

I jumped out of the way and ran behind the trees. There was no way I could block or try to deflect this weapon. My sword will get caught in the spikes. I’d lose my grip, or worse, lose my balance and fall victim to Alan’s gigantic hands.

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I feared his iron gauntlets as much as I feared the Morningstar. Both were deadly.

‘Can you help now?’ I asked Eva.

‘Don’t ask this question anymore,’ she said. ‘Unless you have a way for me to quickly regain Essence, you have a day before you can use the time stop again.’

Shit!

‘Can’t I lend you my own?’

‘You won’t be able to move then,’ she replied. ‘WATCH OUT!’

Too late… I saw the Morningstar heading for my chest. It was all going in slow motion. The kind where you see the inevitable coming, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

‘Fuck it! ONE SECOND!’ Eva’s voice reverberated in my mind.

One second was more than enough. I bent my back backward. The Morningstar missed but managed to rip my leather armor open. Damn this thing was sharp! I rolled backwards and felt like an earthquake had hit. My entire being shook. My legs faltered and I fell to my knees.

‘I’m on it,’ Eva told me. ‘I’m growing weak Stalwart. I’ll borrow some of your energy.’

Shit! Now of all times, I had to battle the energy inside?! ‘Do what you have to do,’ I told her. ‘Just leave me enough to move about. This bastard’s strong!’

Try to move when your body refuses to… It’s a tough thing to do I’m telling you, especially when you see a hulk stomping the ground toward you.

Move damn it!

My body wouldn’t respond.

Alan was getting closer.

Three more steps!

I tried to get up but my legs were suddenly pinned in place.

Two more steps!

Death was looming over me. Will I be able to escape this one? I began to doubt it…

He was now in striking range. His Morningstar brandished a good three heads above me.

BOOM!

An explosion was heard in the distance. It came from Raiya’s direction. Alan looked to the side. Something, or someone, was flying toward us. It zoomed past us and landed against a tree trunk. The body that hit the trunk bent at an unnatural angle. We heard bones crack even though we were a good ten feet away.

BOOM!

Another explosion and the sky rained men above us. What the hell did that woman do?

Alan turned to me. His eyes, visible underneath his visor, were uncertain. I’d regained control of my body. Thank you, your imperial highness.

‘I’m tired,’ she said. ‘I’ll hold the Fragment off, but you’re really on your own now.’

I grabbed a handful of dirt then threw it at Alan’s visor. The latter fought to take the dirt off. I used the opportunity to go around him. His spiky mace missed me by inches. He was strong, and had good reflexes.

BOOM!

A fierce fight was taking place by the tree. I had to do my part. Filled with a new resolution, I jumped behind a tree. Alan had taken his helmet off. He was a handsome beast of a man. He had the usual square face I associated with big, walking chunks of meat. His brown hair was cut quite short. It was curly, rolled inside and messy. His big nose was even bigger due to his flared nostrils.

“You think you can slow me down with cheap tricks?” He yelled at me, looking in all directions.

“Nah,” I replied, peeking from behind the tree. “I’m trying to kill you!”

I’d drawn the bow. Thank my stars I didn’t lose it when I fell backwards earlier. My shot missed, or perhaps Alan dodged, didn’t know, didn’t care. I was aiming for the head. It’s difficult to do so when you’re out of breath. So I just went for another scare tactic.

Why did I praise myself for preserving my strength earlier?

“Your cheap tricks won’t work against me!” Alan ran toward the tree.

Ha! Won’t work my ass! That was exactly what I was aiming for. Alan reached the tree trunk and I ran around it. He turned back to chase me, and I ran the opposite side. It was a cheap trick, I wouldn’t deny it. But cheap tricks usually work, especially with desperate men, trying to avoid calamity.

Another explosion ensued from Raiya’s direction. Another body landed not too far from us. I bet Alan wasn’t confident in taking the warlock anymore. He was probably trying to get rid of me so that he could retreat.

“Where will you run if you kill me?” I asked. I ran around the tree again, peeked at him, shot gibes then ran the opposite side once more. I enjoyed that, I wouldn’t deny it. He was stupid enough to follow me around.

“There’s nowhere to run,” I said once more as I kept running around. “The demon cat will get you.”

Alan ran faster to intercept me then swung his spiked mace as soon as he caught sight of me. That was what I waited for. I jerked backwards, just in time for the Morningstar to hit the trunk. I saw a spike dangerously close to my eye. Another had already poked the inexistent one.

That was one of the rare times I was glad I’d lost an eye. Alan grunted, frustrated, and tried to pull his weapon away. The force with which he swung the weapon caused it to stay stuck, deep inside.

I smirked and slashed the palms that tried to wrench the Morningstar off. Alan let go of the weapon with a loud grunt. He clenched his injured hands into fists and swung at me. I ducked just in time then slashed the inside of his elbow. The soldier winced.

He was a tough one, I’d give him that. He wouldn’t give up despite the heavy injuries he’d already sustained. A heavy punch made red stars sparkle in front of my eye. I had enough reflexes to dodge the second attack then step sideways.

Alan stumbled forward. He had tried to tackle me but I managed to dodge, even in my hazy state. My sword found the pit of his right knee and slashed it open. Alan fell to the ground, his brown hair a mess, and mingled with fallen leaves. I pulled him from his curls and cut his throat open. A nasty business, but it was the surest way to end this messy brawl.

“Stalwart?!” A voice called behind me.

Oh no!

No, no, no, no, no, no!

I turned around, as slowly as I could. I didn’t want to look at the person whose voice I recognized. It was as though turning slowly would delay the inevitable. But I didn’t care. I didn’t have the energy to deal with him now. I hoped against hope it was just a vision, my mind becoming delusional. I was drained, tired and, well, not in the mood for another life and death situation…

Did Raiya send him flying over here? Damn he was a tough one to survive that fall!