Chương 74: Chapter 73- A Dance of Blood and Flame

Eli gasped and heaved for breath, as he slowly bled from nearly a dozen wounds, he flicked a finger over shoulder and without looking blasted a beam through the skull of a man that Astra would not have been able to pull back and parry in time. They had cut down many foes, but their numbers seemed endless, but as they hacked limbs and slit throats turning the dining room floor into an abattoir, the cloaked men only surged forward with an increased haste.

The walls, ceiling, and furniture had caught fire long ago, and the smoky air and slippery footing of the blood and viscera strewn floor only aided him and Astra. The butcher's bill had been high, and as they fought on, the pair slid and stamped back and forth, the blood on the floor long ago shifting from a massive slick pool into a tacky sticky mess that clung to their boots.

They made an effort to keep their footing clear, kicking away any dropped weapons, or severed parts, but the bodies themselves were too heavy to shift in the spare moments they had in between assailants. A heap of cooling flesh made a small berm in a circle around the pair, further fouling the footing and aim of their foes, giving them a height advantage, but also providing a small amount of cover as well.

Luckily there had not been many opponents armed with ranged weapons, but the small smattering of feathered shafts sticking out from the back of a body at Eli's feet showed how he had dealt with the few that appeared. Both Eli and Astra had tried to be sparing with their mana given their disparity in numbers, but there were plenty of loose weapons lying about at this point which could be turned into projectiles easily enough.

Elias had been struggling with the same pair for a couple minutes now, a spearman and shieldbearer that had stuck together as if joined at the hip. Astra had given him a breather a couple times, battering them back with her greatsword, but Eli could feel her being pressed by a combo of her own behind him. Eli struck forward in a flash as the man's boot slipped on a bloody corpse, stumbling as his shield lowered just enough to expose a tantalizing expanse of open throat.

As Eli buried a dagger blade in the man's throat, he grabbed the spear with his now open hand and yanked his opponent forward, using the teeth of the comb on his swordbreaker in his other hand to tear open the spearman's throat in a steaming spray of blood and flesh. Eli stepped back, wiping his eyes clear before recovering his blade and taking a quick breather to take in the room. Their opponents were dwindling but he and Astra had been fighting for what felt like hours now, even if it was likely only one at best.

Scattered pieces of furniture and viscera littered the floor as flames licked across the walls, and an ominous groan from the ceiling placed a timer on how long the pair had before they needed to get out. If we can get out. Eli could only hope that the Hostler's made it out in time, but he could barely spare a thought for coming to their rescue, the piled bodies, and the song weaving the pair's movements together were all that was stemming the tide.

The lack of bodies said that at least the diners had made it out of the front room if nothing else… A rising chorus warned him as he spun around and with a grunt swiped an arrow from the air that was sailing towards Astra's face right as she was being pressed in close by a man wielding a pair of short spears.

Eli flicked a beam at the archer before he could duck back around the edge of the upper landing of the stairs in the back of the lobby, and as soon as he thought that he was a better match, he could feel Astra's agreement as she turned and took his place facing the other direction. As he parried the spears with his blades, he could feel the mass of mana that Astra was marshalling behind him.

Motes of flames drifted towards her from across the room in streams, gathering into a whirling mass above her off hand, and with a gesture she unleashed a gout of liquid fire in a spray, driving back the group that had been pressing in behind the pair that Eli had been fighting. Stolen story; please report. Elias was blown away at the mastery she had of the element, even exhausted, and he could feel the sense of relief as the blast bought her a few moments to take a breather of her own.

As the fight wore on and both of their resources dwindled, worry began to grow in Eli's heart. There's no room for worry now, there's killing to do.

Eli flashed his resources back into his vision. Health: 0/200 Stamina: 29/250 Mana: 16/370 He knew Astra had checked her own at the same time, as they both cursed under their breath.

"Goblin Shite."

"Horse Shit." Astra gave a tired laugh, " Ah, the infamous." she grunted, "horses again." a meaty thud and a slap echoed behind Eli, " Are they defecating all over your glorious battle?" Eli laughed before groaning as he took a dagger to the left shoulder again, " Yes Astra, god damn these fuckers love my left shoulder." They fought desperately on, Eli well aware he was the weak link, slowing first even with the stamina that everyone tried to convince him was abnormal.

He could run and climb for hours, it was something he did for fun and exercise after all, but he had never trained for battle like this. Modern weapons just did not rely on physical strength anymore and the grueling nature of the battle had him wiped out. I should have evolved, I shouldn't have waited. He laughed at her repartee, but was startled as Astra leaned forward and reared back to kick his calf with boot sticky with blood and offal.

She speaking in fragments grunted out between heaving breaths of her own as she panted, " I felt that."" Do not."" Talk about my friend."" That way." Eli smiled as he bobbed and weaved, favoring his left arm, struggling to block, much less parry and counter, as he was down one arm. He kicked his current opponent back to give himself some breathing room, and tucked his limp arm into his belt as another man lunged forward. Grunting he drew his swordbreaker again.

The blade had done well by him, but he was starting to appreciate the value of different grades of steel as the dagger he had been gifted by Mira held up well, but the swordbreaker recovered from the bandit was dented, nicked, and missing more than a few teeth from the comb. He panted out back at her, " As."" You wish."" Your."" Ladyship."

The pair's movements had grown ever more in sync as the battle raged, to the point where Eli felt like he could practically see out of the back of his head, even if it was only a vague feeling instead of true sight. Exhaustion weighed heavy on their limbs, breaths rattled in dry tired throats, and while they had only suffered minor wounds so far, once their health pools had been exhausted they continued to add and pile up.

Elias winced in sympathy as Astra took another blow to the side, a lucky strike a few minutes ago had slipped under her guard, and just as he favored his shoulder their opponents had picked up on her wound as well hammering it home. She was doing better than he was with her deeper resource pools, but she was running dangerously low, just like he was. After a few more minutes, he grunted and flickered his resources across his vision again.

Health: 0/200 Stamina: 12/250 Mana: 19/370 A grimace flickered across his face, No more beams, and I probably only have minutes left on my stamina too. Elias had run his stamina out before in practice, and while mana exhaustion just left a blinding headache, but could be worked through, the few times he had ran out of stamina he damn near fainted." I'm running on fumes here." A sweat soaked back bumped into Eli's, as Astra heaved and panted against him, " Aye, me too."

They sighed in sync, fighting on for a moment without speaking. The pair oddly silent as the grunts, groans and struggles of their opponents filled the air. Eli could feel the tired smile as she sighed before she spoke, " Nothing for it but to show them our fangs." Eli grunted with a smile, " Ash and Steel, Astra."

"Born and Bound, Eli." They spun once more and he caught another glimpse of the wide smile on her bloodstained face, and his heart lurched once more as he was captivated again by her fierce beauty, his smile widened as he could feel a matching swell of affection from the small mote in his mind. Good Gods I love this woman, what I wouldn't give for just a little more time. Elias braced himself to give his last, to struggle, to bleed and gasp, to spend every last drop of blood as dearly as he could.

A familiar back pressed against his once." Together, my counterpoint?"" Together, always." Boom.