I kicked off the ground and dashed forward, the sound of my figure cutting through the wind a faint whisper.
“Ready lances! Intercept him!”
I heard the clash of metal on metal, felt danger at my side. I slid to the left and leaped again, getting into position to fall from above on their flank.
“Dodged again. He’s even faster now! How, how?!”
“Stab the monster!”
Hear the whistle of a lance in the air and dodge. Now, parry with the sword in one hand, twist, sword singing in counterattack. Several of them fall. Turn again, jump to land on the ceiling, ready to launch down.
“From above? You sure this guy’s human?!”
Soften the landing and get in position. Slash right, spin left. So far so good. Now, intercept that attack with a vertical slash. Ah, resistance. Little nick to my right arm. Nothing I can’t handle.
“He got my hand! I can’t hold my lance!”
“Leave this to me. Watch my back!”
Dangerous target closing in. Low slash from the left. Follow it with a horizontal cut to the right. Phantom Flash. Parry the counter with a low left slash, then harry him from the right. Don’t let him get used to the rhythm. Four, five, six, seven strikes.
“Gah! How’s he so damn fast?! Ggrh. Now, impale him!”
More incoming. Grit your teeth and parry the lances. Crap, this is bad. Heavy hit to the left thigh. Not going to be able to move well, I should retreat.
“I won’t let you get awa— Guh!”
Crouch and jump back and to the right. Now, reach out and grab him with the glove. Feel the weight in your hand. Got ’em.
“Kkh. Ngh...”
Tighter, tighter. Don’t let go. Landing, now jump back again with everything you’ve got. Count the seconds until you hit the ground, and get ready to jump again once your feet touch. Don’t. Let. Go.
“Aoi, please, release him!”
Mary’s scream cut through to me. Sword, reload default settings!
My senses came crashing back, along with a monstrous headache. When I looked, the group of intruders was far away from my position. I unclenched my left hand, and one of the hunters collapsed to his feet, gasping and coughing.
“Did I grab him by the neck? Sorry.”
After apologizing, I looked around. One of them was out of commission, two were severely wounded, and Theodoran had taken a moderate injury. Two of them had lost their weapons as well. I had a gash on my right arm, and a big hole in my thigh, which hurt like hell! I reached out for my best potion, in the top pocket of my jacket holster, and broke it open. The liquid seeped in through my vest, the vitality potion penetrating under my clothes. The horrible pain retreated. The profuse bleeding stopped, and, as usual, I felt the wound closing itself at a speed that left me shivering. I didn’t think I’d ever get used to this feeling.
With every pulse of my heart, my headache throbbed. Even if I dropped my settings again, moving was going to be a tall order right now.
“Hey, Theodoran. Can we talk?”
I forced out a smile and addressed my attacker. My body was screaming at me to rest, ready to give out at any second. I wasn’t even doing anything, but my vision and hearing were fading in and out. I was not in good shape.
“Would you like to reconsider my offer of a contract?”
“Maybe if you make a few changes. I wouldn’t mind going at it until one of us is crushed, but at this rate, I think someone’s going to die. You’re not ready to go that far, are you?”
As a labyrinth manager, I was considered a Daemon, and Theodoran was thus my countryman. I wanted to avoid having to kill a fellow citizen, if at all possible.
“I acknowledge the offered price per unit was a tad low considering the current market. I miscalculated, assuming a novice labyrinth manager wouldn’t be savvy about their product’s value, and I am prepared to move on the price. That said, I will not yield on either the exclusivity clause or on my demands regarding manufacturing technique.”
“Those are not on the table.”
“Then I’m afraid this negotiation is over.”
Theodoran’s eyes blazed with determination. Was he truly just motivated by money?
“Draw daggers! Throw!”
“Aoi, no!”
Mary ran to stand in front me, holding out her shield. One of the hunters cursed.
“Knights don’t protect Daemons! If you’re gonna die, die for a human!”
Mary had positioned herself to deflect the daggers, but she stopped dead in her tracks, the shield falling to her side. She stood there defenseless as the daggers bore down on her.
Time slowed, and my thoughts accelerated. All I could think was, I don’t want Mary to meet a dead end here. Even if it means...
I didn’t even hesitate.
My joints shrieked in protest, but the cursed sword still moved me just the way I wanted it to. I wrapped my arms around Mary and spun her behind me as fast as I could. I felt the daggers hit home, stabbing into me one after the other. Even slicked with oil, they felt awfully sharp. These guys didn’t skimp on their equipment. Two sunk into my left leg, three into my back, and one of them pierced straight through my chest.
I wasn’t a goner yet. My hands trembling, I smashed two potions from my belt. Still, even moving now was going to be difficult. Theodoran’s next move should have been to send in his four remaining soldiers and watch from the back. If I pushed myself to the limit, I could take out four goons, but if I was wrong about that, the only things I had to rely on were guts and luck.
“Aoi? Why did you...?”
When my legs nearly gave out, Mary supported me, staring at me in confusion. Even when I tried to command the cursed sword to move me, all I did was sink further to the ground. If I truly couldn’t fight anymore, I was going to have to find another way. Forgive me, Mary.
“I’m protecting you. I’m not ready for our time together to be over, Mary. Are you?”
I was so far gone that I wasn’t sure I could even form words, but I tried anyway. I faintly thought, if nothing happened now, maybe I’d made a wrong choice and ended up on a bad route. But I still had faith. I believed we would make it through.
“Knight, seize that man. Aren’t you sworn to protect?!”
So, Theodoran was trying to make her betray me? I had a feeling he and I would’ve been good friends, if we were gamers. Hell, he didn’t even want her to kill me, just restrain me? I had to hand it to the guy for keeping a cool head.