The blade came at my neck faster than lightning but in time i could pull some trick ?
Neither Steps i muttered and the square formed instinctively, teleporting me three meters to the right within my Square's boundary. The red-eyed one's sword cutting through empty air like a physical thing but his expression didn't change as if he'd expected my dodge
"Fascinating ability," he said, voice eerily calm "But predictable ! "
I didn't waste breath responding. My mind was already a mess from all of the thinking, assessing, planning. This man before me moved like the monster Rakta, or even faster. If I hadn't set up my Square the moment he stood, I'd be headless already.
The five other Stones watched from a distance, while the armored one circled Jaipa. Their battle would begin soon, but right now, all my focus was on the crimson-eyed death standing before me.
"You have ten seconds to impress me before I remove your head," he said as matter-of-factly as if discussing the weather.
I channeled Tai energy into my blade, causing it to glow with a deep crimson light. And the three beads orbiting my head accelerated their rotation
"Just ten?" I replied, lips curving into what must have looked like a child's smile on my face " i'll only need five ! "
His eyes narrowed slightly the first emotion I'd seen from him. Then he disappeared
No, not disappeared he " moved " So fast that the air behind him cracked like the air had been hit by something
Now it wasn't a matter of good eyes or bad it had gone far further than that, i closed my and and i sensed rather than saw the attack coming from behind. I had one second to dodge and the obvious and beneficial douge was dropping flat on the ground as his blade whistled over my head, slicing off a few strands of my hair. Using my momentum, I rolled forward and spun, flinging one of my beads directly at his throat
He deflected it with a casual flick of his wrist. The bead ricocheted away, but I'd already redirected it mentally, sending it curving back toward his blind spot his lips curled up and he said
"You fight well for someone so small," sidestepping my next strike with insulting ease. "How many battles have you seen, child?"
I lunged, with my blade charged with enough Tai energy to slice through metal. "Enough to know that battle is fought without talking ."
Even that he parried my strike with such force that the impact nearly shattered my wrist. And my friend came for me the pain...that is what i always attached to everywhere and it lanced up to my arm, but I refused to show it on face Instead, I used the momentum to spin away, creating distance between us huffing
"Curious," he murmured. "Most who face a Stone always beg for mercy."
"Do you count everyone in that 'most'?" I replied, adjusting my grip on the blade my wrist throbbed, but the pain was already subsiding thanks to my healing ability
From the corner of my eye, I saw Jaipa engage with the armored Stone. The clash of their powers sent shockwaves across the battlefield, but I couldn't afford to be distracted.
The red-eyed one took a step forward, and suddenly the air around him changed as the pressure intensified, making it difficult to breathe or even walk
"Tell me, child," he said, "why fill a well with blood? What purpose does this serve?"
I sniffed and remained silent, watching his every move my three beads continued their orbit around my head, ready to strike at my command
He sighed. "Very well keep a little secrets of your and.." suddenly the air felt even more intensified " take it to your grave "
Then he rushed forward and attacked not with his blade this time, but with his bare hand a simple open-palm thrust being cautious i activated Neither Steps again, teleporting behind him, but somehow he even anticipated this. His elbow was already swinging backward, catching me in the sternum
The impact sent me flying i crashed into the ground twenty feet away, the breath knocked from my lungs. My ribs had cracked audibly, sending waves of pain through my chest
"That's one," he said calmly
I spat blood onto the crimson soil. "One what?"
"One bone broken i 'm counting with how many broken bones you can move "
Despite the pain, I found myself smiling. There was something almost... entertaining about his casual brutality. I rose to my feet, ignoring the stabbing sensation in my chest
"You should stay down," he advised like he was concerned about me "It would be less painful."
"Pain and I are Bond with each other..." I responded looking at my shaking hands
This drew a chuckle from the child-like Stone observing from afar. "I like this one!" he called out. "He's got spirit!"
"Shut up, 9th" the bandaged one growled
I used their momentary distraction to launch my attack i sent all three beads flying at different trajectories one directly at the red-eyed one's face, one curving toward his kidney, and one spinning in a wide arc to approach from behind
Simultaneously, I charged forward, my blade dragging along the ground, gathering crimson energy
He tracked the beads with his eyes, seemingly unconcerned. When I was three steps away, I activated Neither Steps again, forming the square and teleporting directly above him, my blade swinging down in an overhead strike powered by gravity and Tai energy
For that moment i felt as time had slowed down for a brief moment, I thought I had him
Then he sniffed
And with one hand deflected all three beads at once with some kind of energy wave. The other caught my descending blade between two fingers
" It was indeed interesting approach but you need to be more creative about it ," he said, looking up at me, suspended in mid-air " it was a futile attempt ! "
With a flick of his wrist, he sent me tumbling i crashed into a pile of knight corpses that we hadn't yet thrown into the well. The impact jarred my already broken ribs, sending fresh agony through my body for a moment i struggled to even stand, using my blade as support i stood up my breathing came in ragged gasps
"That's three more," he said, still in that infuriatingly calm tone. "Four bones broken total would you like to continue till you death ?"
I glanced at the well it was nearly full just a few more bodies and it would complete If I could just buy some time...
"You know," I said between labored breaths, "where I come from, it's customary to introduce yourself before trying to kill someone."
This seemed to amuse him "Is that so? Very well i am Crimson, First of the Seven Stones."
"Crimson? Really?" I put an affected laugh on my face, wincing as my ribs crying in pain "Let me guess it's because of your eyes?"
His expression didn't change. "Your name, child?"
I straightened as best I could, ignoring the pain "Rudra "
"No title? No lineage?"
"Just Rudra "
He nodded slowly. "Simple i appreciate that."
Without warning, he blurred forward again This time, I was ready to get him i activated Neither Steps, but instead of teleporting away, I teleported " toward " him, inside his guard. The move caught him by surprise perhaps the first genuine surprise I have gave him in our fight
And my blade, charged with Tai energy, sliced across his chest.
Or it should have. Instead, it met some kind of invisible barrier, stopping a hair's breadth from his body my energy discharged harmlessly against this shield of his
"A valiant effort," a genuine appreciation in his voice then his hand shot out, grabbing me by the throat
He lifted me off the ground, my feet dangling helplessly as i clawed at his arm, but it was like trying to move a mountain my bare hands
"I'm curious," he said, studying me as one might study an interesting insect. "What drives one so young to commit such atrocities? Was it the thrill? Revenge? Or something else entirely?"
Despite the crushing pressure on my windpipe, I managed to gasp out a single word " Survival ! Isn't that enough to commit thing that need..."
His eyes narrowed. "Survival? You slaughtered thousands for you lone
survival ?"
I couldn't respond people like them are everywhere wearing a mask of motility behind there deeds, as the black spots danced in my vision as oxygen deprivation set in with my fading strength, I directed my three beads to strike at his arm
They hit simultaneously, with enough force to shatter stone but he didn't even flinch Instead, he tightened his grip.
"Your potential is wasted on such petty goals," he said, almost sadly. "Survival is the ambition of lesser beings."
The world was growing dim around the edges i could feel consciousness slipping away in desperation, I reached out to my wooden blade, but before I could reach it, I saw my head laying on the ground alone like a distant star, my body remaining in his grasp...
"RUDRAAAAA!" And at last i heard a scream
Jaipa's scream it was ringing in my bodyless head...