Chương 32: Unwanted Words

Siv's second strike crashed through the bronze figure's other arm, sending splinters of bronze flying. He moved with a swiftness that Joel had only briefly witnessed earlier. The half-elf slid underneath the figure's roundhouse kick, slashing with the dagger in his other hand. Around and around, he kept the creature spinning between slashes and smashes. Siv whipped his head out of the way, fast but still late, as a lump of bronze ricocheted off of his barrier helm. A tiny split cracked on his protective helmet.

Though almost unbalanced, he nimbly sidestepped the monster's smashing fist, already reforged by the bronze. As if tired of dodging, he met the incoming follow-up punch with his shining hammer; the forceful velocity of the hammer blow pulverized all metal to the elbow. In the opened space, Siv clearly could let loose his full speed. He blitzed blow after blow, whether crushing a limb or stabbing through a joint. If Alis was explosive power, her brother was sharp precision. No movement was wasted.

Every swing and step was aimed at one goal alone — a relentless rush. Joel, still fleeing the bullet storm of bronze, felt the effects of [Berserk] completely fade. He tried to move closer to back up Siv, but the metal shards forced him further away.

"Your whore-goddess won't save you here," the bronze creature roared, throwing a swarm of strikes at Siv. Despite becoming faster, it all fell short of reaching its wily target.

"Just like she watched you writhe and plead all those nights. She was silent then, she'll be silent now!" If the words bothered Siv, it didn't appear on his face. His expression was hollow with indifference, his chilling fury expressed through a violent counterswing that smashed the monster's head back. The barrage that chased after Joel began to slow, bronze moving over to aid their master. Instead, the shrapnel descended upon Siv, who dashed away to avoid the hailstorm of metal.

The bronze figure flew after Siv, chasing at full speed. They became lost in the miasma but Joel could hear metal clashing against steel. Torrents of bronze crawled on the ground after them, now ignoring Joel. At first, Joel moved after them, meaning to follow and join the fray, before stopping. He had nothing to aid Siv with. No available features, no weapon, barely any HP. As cowardly as it sounded, the truth was that he would only get in Siv's way at this point. If he wanted to help, it had to be Alis.

He turned, running over to Alis, crumpled upon the floor. Her arm was bent all wrong at the shoulder, as if it had been twisted unnaturally far from its socket. Biting his lip, he swallowed the urge to vomit and knelt to check on her. Unconscious but breathing. Thank whatever gods there were. The only place safe to take her was past the wall. If Siv had managed to squeeze past, some of the massive wall had to have thinned. Hopefully he'd be able to go through with Alis.

Gently, he lifted Alis onto his back, careful to avoid moving her damaged arm too much. As he moved, she let out pained groans but didn't stir awake. One step after another, he carefully hurried over to the bronze wall. The hole that Alis had burned through remained there, dripping with dissolving bronze — all which slowly slithered off to renew the monster's form. Going through this sloppy passageway was more akin to swimming than digging, impossible without a barrier helm.

Alis had one, but he didn't dare to push Alis through. One of her arms was useless and the attempt could aggravate her condition. Most importantly, he didn't know if she would even wake up; her breathing had become shallow. Regret nipped at him. What a fool he'd been for using all of his [Lay on Hands] charges. Though it wasn't likely to have healed much, at least it might've relieved Alis of some pain. Joel lowered her delicately, laying her down close to the wall.

The thin film of his bubble helm was getting closer to his face, a signal to slow his breathing. He cast away any thoughts of trying to swim through on his own. The bubble helmet would immediately cave in, and once he got out the other side, the miasma would choke him. His chest went tight as the sounds of combat edged back closer to them. He pulled Alis back onto his back. If he couldn't find a safe spot to hide her, he'd carry her away from the danger.

Running alongside the wall, he hurried from the fighting, only risking a glance over his shoulder. A cyclonic exchange of blows, Siv and the monster emerged from the dissipated miasma, each attack thundering. Cracks splintered around Siv's glowing helm, but his expression remained unchanged. Though he wasn't slower by any notable measure, every movement and turn of his was now being matched by the armored creature. Joel ran as fast as his tired legs allowed, his back bent to keep Alis steady.

His steps slowed to a plodding pace until he finally saw where the bronze wall met the Sanctum's boundary. He laid Alis there, sitting against the invisible wall. She blinked awake with a groan.

"Wh-what's going on?"

"Siv's fighting with it," he said. Her shoulder, wrecked horribly, was a sick purple.

"Try to avoid moving or talking." That sounded like the right thing to say.

"Your sw—" The dissolving bronze walls shattered right next to them. Instinctively, Joel threw his body over Alis, chunks of bronze bouncing off him, and his bubble helm shrank drastically closer. No further harm though, for either Alis or himself. Swallowing the dread, he spun around, ready to face whatever came. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The emerald pommel reflected light from Al's barrier helm.

The former knight was breathing hard, his blonde hair damp with sweat. Alert, he caught their gaze and lowered his greatsword. His eyes flickered between the two of them, pausing at Alis briefly. The sound of approaching clashes made his head whip over into the dark miasma; the glimmer of Siv's hammer was drawing nearer. He raised a hand before Joel could say a word.

"This way! They're over here," he yelled over his shoulder, through the entrance he'd made. He turned back to them.

"Keep her safe." Without waiting for a response, Al charged forward, sword ready. Joel didn't need more instruction. The fighting was starting to get closer. Too close. He went back to Alis. They'd be safer past the wall, though it was less dense than he preferred. Half delirious, Alis pushed him away with her uninjured arm.

"We got to go," Joel said. She shook her head and held her arm out.

"S-s-sword." His head darted to the direction she was pointing to. The glint of his Seahorn cutlass. No more than a dozen or so paces.

"G-get it," Alis said. He sprinted over, racing against the approaching skirmish, and reached for the blade. The ivory hilt pulled away from his hand, lifting into the air and coming straight down at his skull. Joel leapt away, jerking his head back. The sword fell short of puncturing his bubble helm. Panicked, he slapped the flat of the blade away. As if insulted, the miasma-held weapon chased after him, a swirl of slashes and slices.

He pulled away from Alis, worried the sword's attention would turn to her, but that meant getting closer to the others' battle. Evading a stab, he kept dangerously close to the weapon's range while trying to only inch toward the clamor. The sudden approach of the fighting made his prudence irrelevant. Like a shark smelling blood, the floating Seahorn shifted its point away from him. Joel lunged in front of it, trying to catch its focus. It darted past him, chasing someone behind him.

"Sword incoming!" It was the best warning he could muster as he chased after the flying blade, which headed straight into the fray. Al and Siv moved in perfect unison, going blow for blow, but the bronze man looked relatively unscathed; its armor beautifully etched with mystical sigils. Furthermore, the armored creature had given up on using bronze as further projectiles, instead utilizing it to more aggressively reinforce itself.

The process worked — the bronze man had the speed and strength to juggle both Freewalkers. Joel's hand shot out, trying to grab the shooting sword's hilt, only for it to slip narrowly away as he stumbled. The blade made a straight line towards Al's back like an arrow launched from a bow. As if wielding some supernatural foresight, Al spun and clattered the soaring sword away with practiced precision. The split second was all the armored man needed, hurtling towards him, fist raised to crush the adventurer.

Al pivoted, preparing to block whatever came. A scream echoed from the armored man. The cry wasn't the strange plea for rescue or death, nor was it the arrogant, taunting tenor of the smoother voice. It sounded like a weeping anguish behind gnashed teeth.

"Enough to earn your stones?" The voice of a child. Al froze mid-strike, eyes widening. Siv, ever reliable and radiant hammer in hand, was already behind the creature. With a grunt, he aimed the hammer blow at the creature's skull. Several sharp brittle snaps filled the air and Siv's body momentarily stiffened. The horns of the armored man's helm had exploded into several tendrils, like ice upon a window. Piercing coils had shot at Siv's protective helm, most of them dinging off his barrier helm.

Yet, two punctured through previous cracks. The magical protection had restrained one of the tendrils from reaching his forehead. The other ran through Siv's left eye. The shining hammer in his hand faded, slipping away like dust in the wind.

"No!" Al broke from his stupor. He smashed the tendrils with the brunt of his sword, catching Siv as he slumped back. No more than a moment to lay Siv down, he parried another bronze tendril from the horned helm.

"Get him out of here, Joel!" Joel dashed toward Siv, who was clearly going into shock. So much blood, but still breathing. Taking the dagger from his hand, he pulled Siv's arm over his shoulder. He hobbled them away as best as he could, which was laboriously slow, each step slogging. He could hear the clinks and clashes of Al's sword against the bronze creature following them. His chest went tight, the monster must've been trying to pick them off while Al did his best to play defense.

Joel didn't bother to look over his shoulder, he couldn't risk it, so he gritted his teeth to push forward. But, no matter how much he strained, the sound of fighting chased them all the same.

"Is this the best the house Havret offers? How your ancestors weep!" the creature shouted, its voice interrupted by the exchange of blows. The crash of clashing metal behind Joel soon became replaced with heavy thuds and Al's pained grunts. Evidence of how powerful the reinforced creature had become.

"H-h-help him." Siv pushed Joel away, collapsing to his side. Blood poured from his stabbed eye socket, forming a shallow pool within his barrier helm. Joel stood there, stunned for a moment at Siv's shove. Then he turned with Siv's dagger prepared. Al was struggling and it was no fault of his own. He blocked a jab with his greatsword, only to have his head whipped back by another punch, barrier helm cracking. A thunderous kick threatened to cave in his breastplate, a foot-shaped imprint crumpled upon it.

"Pathetic! I know you have so much more," the armored man roared. Its horns fired again, splintering off into several sharp spikes. Two lanced through Al's side while another pierced his leg.

"I know you can harken upon the abyss. Where is your conviction?" Without hesitation, Al fought on, doggedly, smashing the tendrils with his metal bracer and swinging his blade out. His greatsword clipped the creature's head, shattering it — only to instantly reform. Speed, strength, durability, the bronze figure was superior in every metric. And it was making a show of its onslaught. Joel didn't know when, or how, to join the fight — the sheer tempo of attacks intimidated him.

As much as he tried, he couldn't stop Siv's dagger from shaking in his grip. A hand touched his shoulder. A flash of light. The bubble helm, dangerously close to Joel's face, popped loudly as a sphere of shining light replaced it. He could finally breathe easier — air more available and cleaner.

"Excuse me," Wirbald said. The former guildmaster's cracked glasses reflected the light, his held orb bright with magic. It flared out, blindingly bright. A sheet of light appeared between the armored figure and Al. The creature tilted its head, trying to tap on the magical light but its knuckles were being repulsed. Then it slammed its fist down, punching through the effect and striking against the barrier, a small crack forming.

"Enough of that." Wirbald's orb emitted two more bursts of light. The intersecting sheet of light expanded into a wall. Behind the bronze figure, another wall shimmered up. Wirbald turned to the rest of them.

"Well done, everyone. I'll handle this." The older mage clapped and the walls smashed together.