"KAELITH!" I yelled as loud as I could, hoping dearly it would reach him in time but it was all in vain.
Aiden or rather the corpse of him suddenly stirred as a black inky liquid suddenly started surrounding his "Fatal" wound.
He got up, picked up Leo's sword and immediately stabbed the unknowing teen in his side before he could react.
'N-no. Not Kaelith.'
My pleadings weren't answered as the young man fell to the floor with a hole in his side.
"You damn cockroach!" yelled Adam as he once again swung his war axe at full might into Aiden.
But this time, with uncanny speed and strength, Aiden grabbed the hilt of the Axe.
"W-Wha--" He didn't even get a chance finish his sentence as his arm was suddenly decapitated. He couldn't scream as the pale terror swung the one armed man into the wall as if he weighed a feather.
The tanned man slumped against the wall. Unconscious. Potentially even worse...
H-how? How can this be?
He should have been dead. And where did all this power come from?
That's when I noticed the familiar marking in the center of his chest. A marking of an eclipsed moon.
A chill ran down my spine.
'Umbra'
The absolute worst beings on the planet. Even more monstrous than Rift beast, more corrupt than nobles and powerful enough to threaten nations. That's the organization the marking belonged too.
Aiden's empty eyes abruptly turned towards me.
My breath quickened as I grabbed sword with my trembling hand.
If I want to stand a chance, I have to use it one more time.
Aura
Even though I'm close to mana burnout.
Just like the last time, a thin blue veil surrounds my body. I feel my strength surging, my speed amplifying, and my senses getting sharper.
But I can also feel the immense drain on my mana reserves.
Can I really win? No. I have to win.
In the mysterious ruin within the forest, a battle for survival commences.
***
The night sky.
I wish I could see it again.
I wish I didn't have to be a Rift hunter
I wish I could be a normal teenager. One didn't have to fight for his life. One that didn't come back with bruises each day. One that could smile while working in a library.
Everything was going well. My dad was an awakened knight. Brought food on the table. It wasn't a lot but more than enough to get by for me and my sister.
But then. He died in a Rift Beast attack in the city. A true hero, they said.
But that didn't do anything for us. Their sympathies, their condolences. That's all the people could offer.
So I had to take matters into my own hands. I had to find a way to make enough money to get out of this accursed part of the city. And move to a better place.
And I was almost there. After nearly a year of doing this, I almost had enough money for me and my sister to get out. Today was supposed to be the last day.
But I let my guard down. I should've taken action way sooner instead of hoping for a good outcome. I let my dreams blind me.
Hahaha.
Hope is poison
The deadliest kind
And now I'm going to die.
And there's nothing I can do about it.
...
If I die, what will happen to her?
To Kayla?
Will she have to do all this work too?
Probably not. With the money I've amassed it should be good enough for her to move to a better city. She could work for a bakery, or in a restaurant. She was always a really good cook.
...
But...
I hate it.
For all my efforts to go to waste.
For all my struggles to be forgotten as the world moves on.
All because of my weakness.
I hate it. I despise it. I spite it.
I want to be strong.
Strong enough to dictate my own fate!
Strong enough to protect my sister!
And most of all...
Strong enough to kill that bastard.
***
Clashing blades echoed throughout the somber corridor.
In the middle of the corridor were two mighty individuals, battling for survival.
....One of them clearly having the advantage
I could feel it.
'My mana is running out.' I thought while wincing from the numerous injuries I received.
I... How long have I been fighting this monster for?
I don't know....
It's as if time flows weirdly here.
I'm interrupting as a black flash comes toward me at full speed.
I lift my blade to deflect it but I still got grazed in the shoulder.
I used the momentum swing to launch a kick toward the assailant.
The kick lands but the force isn't nearly as powerful as it was before.
I take a good look at my enemy.
His face is still a sickly pale shade and the wound he received earlier is still covered by that black ink.
But it seems even that ink isn't all powerful as I can see that its been receding slowly but surely. He's also rushing to end this fight judging by his increase in attack frequency.
'I have to end this now.'
I seem to be in an even worse situation though. I only have enough mana for one strike. If it doesn't end him...
I muster all the mana I can gather into my aura. I can't see what I look like, but I imagine I'm glowing brighter than I have before.
Aiden seems to be done waiting as well as he sprints toward me at full speed.
I hold my sword at a horizontal level and remember the special technique my father, a knight, taught me.
Hilton art....
Tornado sla--
All of a sudden a storm of mana erupts from the center of the chamber
"W-Wha,"
A storm of mana surrounded the body of black haired teen.
'A mana cyclone? Now?! He's Awakening right here?!'
The cyclone started crackling with strings of silver lighting as the air suddenly felt heavy.
After a short moment, a black haired youth came stepped out of the electric cyclone.
His dirty black hair shined with a majestic brilliance, while his previous dull eyes, electrified with will. The all the wounds and cuts on his face disappeared, along with the giant hole in his body.
'So this is awakening, huh'
I could feel an electrifying power surge from within my body, as I heard something shatter within me. It was as if the world finally acknowledged my effort and my being.
It felt... amazing.
But I knew it wouldn't last long.
I looked up to be welcomed to a familiar scene. The same somber chamber but now with 2 people in the standing there. One clad in a brilliant blue, while the other bathed in a sinister inky black.
They both looked wide eyed in my direction and I could even sense the relieve coming from one of them.
Towards the corner of the ruin, I saw a tall tanned man slumped against the wall, missing an arm.
'I should end this fast.' I thought while picking up the passed swordsman's blade.
In familiar fashion, the black haired man approached with startling speed and swung his dagger in downward arc.
It was indeed fast but...
Tink!
I held up the sword in a horizontal manner above my head, blocking the sword.
'I can keep up'
Not stopping at his shocked expression, I pushed him away and the bag that lay on the ground towards him.
He regained his composure and cut through the bag like fabric.
Only to be met with another dagger, the one I brought with me.
Though this one, had a lot more speed behind it.
Reacting quickly, he moved out the way of the blade's trajectory and the blade grazed his cheek.
He turned towards me, to start attacking again. But...
Hilton Sword art -
The quiet whisper filled the room as a high amount of mana gathered behind the dark assassin.
He turned around only to be met with Henry, holding his sword at waist height.
Tornado slash
Like a tornado, his slash cut straight through the air aiming straight for Aiden's neck.
Aiden, sacrificing his right arm, held it up in front of the blade's target
Shrrk!
Henry's blade cut straight throw skin and bone, decapitating the pale arm and grazing the leaving a scratch his cheek.
The pale man, becoming even paler, jumped backward in the hope of getting away from the young swordsman...
"Where do you think, you're going"
....Only to be met by the black haired teen, holding his first victim's sword.
"I'm not really experienced with a sword," He said, as a dark smile crept onto his unblemished face. "But even I can hit a target who's stuck in the air."
'Crap' Since he jumped back to avoid another attack from the aura user, he couldn't redirect himself midair.
With all the newfound power, he could muster, He cut straight into the Assassin's chest.
"Argghh," Letting out an unsightly bellow, the pale man fell to the floor with an 'X' mark on his chest due to the now 2 strikes he received.
"I'm not done yet," Unlike last time, he was going to make sure the monster was dead now.
The young man stabbed into his chest. And his neck, along every vulnerable part of its body. The entire entire space was filled with the sound of flesh tearing and the screams of pain.
The young man's power seemed to lessen by the second, until the oppressive energy around his body completely disappeared.
Pants came from the center of the chamber as the teen had lost all his strength.
Footsteps resounded from the corner of the room, slowly drawing closer.
"Kaelith... Are you okay?" he questioned cautiously.
I turned to look at the worn out swordsman.
"I'll live. How about you."
"I'll live too," he said tired.
"good," I said while falling backward on the floor.
"I'll be taking a nap."
This tiredness I'm feeling is most likely due to the awakening I just went through.
"Huh, right now! Hey, Kaelith. Hey!", Henry's yelling fell on deaf ear's as I fell into a deep slumber.
Neither I, nor Henry, who was still trying to wake me up, realized a silver orb entering my body and the fought over pendant shattering.