[The Valkyrie admires your fighting spirit.]
Edward’s eyes widened in shock, realising it's the same voice he disregarded earlier. How could he only now realize what it signified. It seems like he should really make his last stand a grandiose performance.
‘There might still be a way out of this after all.’
Tightening his grip on the sword and raising his shield, he started circling the group, moving along the wall.
Thinking he was trying to circle back to the only path in and out of this cave, the warriors started approaching slowly in a wide formation, attempting to pin him down to the wall.
Edward quickly analysed the opponents one by one. He couldn’t get through the shields before the others strike him from the back, his body was covered in painful reminders of how fast the female warrior can be. That only leaves the greatsword wielder.
Suddenly, two opponents launched an attack, interrupting his thought process. Edward put his shield in the path of the oncoming spear, simultaneously using his sword to deflect the slash coming from the right. He immediately dodged another strike, aimed from the left. Then he heard the air whistle and saw a giant greatsword approaching his face. Focusing his aura and using all of his strength, Edward barely managed to put his shield in its path. His entire arm shook from the blow. When he tried to regain his footing, a spear managed to stab him in the side. In a desperate attempt, he slashed his sword downwards. A deep gash appeared on the woman’s arm. No reason to celebrate just yet. Another two fighters have already launched their attacks. While he managed to block one of them, his wounded arm couldn’t hold on to the shield anymore. Accompanying the sound of a piece of iron hitting the ground was the feeling of a sharp sword slicing through Edward’s thigh.
He stumbled for a moment and leaned on the nearby wall. His eyes never stopped looking at the enemy. It was something imprinted on him during his training, and already saved his life more than once today. Swiftly dodging to the side, he heard a greatsword scrape against the wall behind him.
He took the opportunity to retaliate, but his strike was quickly halted by one of the warriors with a shield. His sword bounced away from the hard surface, and another foe exploited the opportunity, making a fast thrust with their blade. Edward slightly turned his body, receiving a deep wound to the abdomen in the process, but he managed to envelop the blade between his arm and torso. He quickly pulled the man close and inserted his sword deep in the neck. Blood spurted into the air, but Edward kept holding up the body. He kept it upright, using it to cover himself from more attacks.
Intense anger was fuming in his opponents’ eyes. They were eager to jump at a chance to tear him apart. Their faces seemed to distort in anger…or was it just his vision getting blurry? He squinted his eyes, but the picture was only getting more foggy. The enemy corpse involuntarily slipped from his grasp.
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Looking down at his body, he saw a dangerous amount of blood flowing from his wounds. His dark grey uniform appeared almost black, soaked in the substance. The skin would be visible through all of the holes if it also hadn’t been painted in blood. Even the once golden aura seemed to somehow acquire a tinge of red.
“You’re finally done, eh? Gave us some trouble, kid.” said one of the men.
Edward felt a powerful kick throw him to the ground. The impact made him drop his weapon, but the pain went unnoticed, blending into numerous other warning signals his body seemed to be sending.
The world spun around him, as he tried to focus. His hand blindly swept the ground, searching for the hilt of his sword. Finally grasping the leather handle of his sword, he desperately swung it in a wide arc trying to keep the enemy at bay.
“Oh, come on, that’s just pathe...” suddenly a bright golden light illuminated the sky from a distance. A fighter jet engulfed in flames flew over their heads, breaking into pieces a moment later.
“Shit, everyone let’s go, NOW!” the female warrior shouted, she threw her spear towards Edward, piercing his weakened body, and immediately rushed towards the exit.
“Leave him to die slowly, we’re out of time to play.”
“Camilla? What’s going on? We were just getting to the good part” said the man with a greatsword, following her lead.
“Don’t you get it? That vast golden light? That’s Alexander. I don’t know how it’s possible for him to be here, but if we don’t get out right now, then we’re fucked.”
An expression of pure fear was evident on the groups’ faces. They quickly disappeared in the thin passage not sparing Edward another glance. Afterall, in their minds, there was no reason for the living to concern themselves with a dead man. Especially when their very own lives were balancing on a knife’s edge.
Edward on the other hand already had one foot on the other side. He struggled to understand what was happening around him, and couldn’t move because of the spear pinning him to the ground. From what his senses told him, he eventually understood that help must be on the way.
Despite that, the only thing on his mind was how tired he is right now. At least he gave it his all. He managed to survive against five opponents for an impressive amount of time. Even managed to kill two of them, which was not a feat just anyone would be capable of. Most would agree, he proved himself a stalwart warrior.
Wait, that’s right. He was supposed to prove himself. Edward mustered his will, and tensed the muscles in his abdomen, trying to slow down the bleeding. He started taking shallow breaths. Each one excruciating, but keeping his fleeting consciousness attached to this world. He lay there, unwilling to submit, and when the moment came when he truly couldn’t resist any longer, he heard the ethereal voice once again.
[You have proven yourself in the eyes of a Valkyrie.]
[Thanks to your indomitable spirit and an unshakeable will to survive, you’ve been granted a minor legend – Legend of Perseverance.]
After that, the world faded to black. Edward’s body laid unmoving on the ground, but his heart didn’t stop beating. It’s as if something forcefully kept it going on its own. Were there somebody watching carefully, they would be able to notice the wounds recovering very slowly.