Chương 19: Chapter 20: Skydart II

The massive pupil blinked. Then it slowly receded, letting the evening light return. Evel finally let his breath go, the silence of the hole feeling like a temporary shield. It was a second too early; the Skydart hadn't given up the hunt. CRACK! The earth around the opening burst inward as a massive beak speared down stopping just a few hair's breadths from his head. Evel slumped lower, pressing himself into the bedding, slouching his body. He desperately made as much distance as he could.

The noise of the impact was like a thud against a thick wall, contradicting what Evel was seeing and hearing; the world felt surreal. A small stream of dirt trickled down as the beak retreated back above ground. The evening glow returned once more. CRACK! It tried again, this time the beak reached deeper. The earth forming the base of the pitfall crumbled under its weight, and allowed it to reach closer. Evel's breath got shakier as he waited. He was completely trapped and at this rate, he'd die.

He had hoped these pitfalls would never have to be used, it meant things had gone out of control. But now there was nothing he could do but trust in Diana and Bremin to save him. Light returned once again, as the bird prepared for another assault. But the crash never came. Evel couldn't make out what had happened due to the noise suppression, but he didn't relax. Thump. Thump. Thump. Small vibrations spread through the ground. But this time, the intensity decreased. Evel let out a long sigh of relief. I live.

After taking a moment to regain himself mentally, the look on his face changed. The desperate, thankful face morphed back into one of focus, as he began his ascent of the hole. The job wasn't done. Separated from Diana, Evel's arrows were no longer effective against the Skydart. Various injuries littered his body, as he escaped his bunker of safety. There has to be something I can exploit.

His shots from afar were inconsistent, and although they could do a bit of damage, should the Skydart teleport to him, he would be left as food. I could remain by pitfall traps… That would give Bremin and Diana a bit of space… Something more decisive… It looked seriously hurt when it tried to drop on Diana. The Skydart itself probably didn't expect the increased weight would make its crash so much more violent. if I was just able to force it to do that again…

But every iteration of that plan he considered resulted in one of the three of them getting crushed. There's gotta be something… He thought back to the behaviour of the bird from the beginning of the fight. The intense staring. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. The repeated jab attacks. The teleportations. The crows… Evel reached his hand into his pouch, feeling the soft touch of cloth. After a second of hesitation, he closed the pouch. Not here.

Then he started to move, making his way to the first crater. … Locked into a melee, the Skydart pounced at Bremin, but it always missed by just a hair. He was dodging and weaving masterfully, a task impossible without his insane speed, but every few exchanges, he'd be forced to take an unfavorable block. He had fought and brought the Skydart back close to the clearing once again, preparing an opportunity for Diana. Just then, an arrows flew in from the treeline, giving Bremin some needed leeway.

The Skydart shook its head in a fury, and screeched at Bremin once more. He gripped tightly onto his sword, preparing to block, but the attack never came. Poof! Bremin got sucked in once again, as the bird teleported away. With a roll, he caught himself. To some degree, he had already adapted to the displaced air from the teleportations. He turned his head into the treeline where the arrows had come from. The next destination of the bird was clear. Bremin sprinted. …

A violent gust pushed outwards as the beast appeared before Diana. But by now, she had also learned its patterns. Knowing what was to come, she positioned herself facing away from the bird. Using the gust of wind, she accelerated far into the distance with speeds she'd never be able to manage on her own. The Skydart could try to chase, sure… Diana turned back, a smile appearing on her face. Bremin had already caught up. Diana controlled her movement as she slowed down, grabbing another arrow from the quiver.

Despite the teleportation ability being somewhat neutralized, the fight was still a difficult one. Diana knew Bremin had blocked several vicious attacks, and the trauma alone may have already broken some bones. Right now, she needed to support him the best she could, he wouldn't survive without her cover. … Bremin continued trading blows with the Skydart. He dodged where he could, but each block pushed him further and further.

So far, he had managed to avoid taking any direct blocks, and had been able to angle his body whenever necessary, but he could feel his own movements slowing down. Sidestep. Partial block. Threaten an attack. Backstep. His movements became mechanical, as the exhaustion seeped into his bones. An occasional arrow came his way, giving him slight respite. Defending himself got increasingly harder. Bremin rolled to the side, dodging an attack from the wing.

But as his body collected dirt, he was unable to dodge the next attack in any form. Raising his sword, he took the attack head on. BAM! Bremin went flying into the distance, slamming into the ground violently. His body continued in a roll, hitting a clump of roots causing him to fly back in the air once more. Bremin's sword stabbed into the ground, slowing down his fall and gaining some control over his body. Quickly he got up to his feet. Bremin coughed, splattering red across the floor.

He assessed the abuse he had taken. His shoulder hung wrong. He grabbed it. Twist. A wet pop. Almost blacking out, Bremin fell forward before just catching himself. But ultimately he remained standing. The Skydart's left wing had gotten very heavy with Diana's continued efforts so although it struggled to take flight, that inversely made its attacks far deadlier. Bremin ignored his grinding joints and instead focused on the tremble of his hands. He needed them for what was to come.

Looking forward, Bremin made eye contact with the Skydart, but just as it prepared its charge, it was interrupted by an arrow to its back. BOOOOM! A violent explosion pushed the Skydart forward, causing it to tumble forward and fall on its face. The damage on it was severe. Multiple arrows littered its wings and torso. Its scaly hide had suffered through multiple targeted explosions. Its talons were marked by light blade marks.

As the Skydart tried to heave itself up, its right foreleg gave way with a sickening, inward hinge where no joint should be. The beast's chest slumped, unable to hold the impossible new gravity Diana had forced upon it, yet the fury in its eyes persisted. Bremin's hands continued to tremble as it loosely gripped on the sword facing the dying beast. He wasn't faring much better. Another arrow flew in, hitting the back of the Skydart's head. No explosion followed.

In fact, the Skydart hardly reacted, the arrow leaving but a scratch. Diana was out of Energy. Evel was nowhere to be seen. Bremin didn't have full control over his own limbs.

"Ding!" A soft chime of a bell broke through the muffled noise and permeated in the air. The Skydart twitched slightly, before picking itself up with its wing, and began its charge to Bremin. It could hardly be called that. A crawl. Bremin closed his eyes and inhaled as much as his fractured lungs would allow. He coiled his entire frame, holding his double-edged sword behind his head with both arms, and leaned back. His eyes snapped open.

He drove his heel into the dirt, ignoring the scream of his joints and hurled the blade. The sword became a blur of spinning steel, barreling towards the looming beast who had already begun flapping its wings. Each flap was heavy, and hardly gave the Skydart enough height, but in the end, it was able to just fly above the sword. His attack had missed.

"Ding Ding Ding!" More muffled chimes could be heard, causing the beast to claw at its own head. Its wings still flapped at maximum capacity, slowly raising the avian to the skies, no more than twenty meters off the ground. The world narrowed to the looming shadow over him, and the soft, rhythmic bell that felt all too clear despite the otherwise silent world. The Skydarts wings folded back, giving in to the impossible weight.

The battle had transitioned from one of fighting a beast, to surviving a natural disaster. The wind from its descent whipped Bremin's unkempt hair across his face, his breathing paused. Twenty meters. Ten. The ground beneath him shuttered as Bremin braced, eyes locked on the plummeting mass, waiting for the split second the bird's trajectory became locked. In the next heartbeat, time would either resume, or vanish.