บท 36: Death Trap (7)
Orion narrowly avoided a strike from Derek's daggers, the blades swishing perilously close to his ears as the hunter's movements quickened, each swing precise and lethal.
Meanwhile, Thorn lunged from behind, aiming to stab Derek in the side. Yet, with a masterful dodge, Derek not only evaded the daggers but also grazed both Orion and Thorn in the process. His daggers seemed to dance through the air with a deadly grace.
Upon contact, the blades seemed to possess a sinister thirst, drawing the blood of both Orion and Thorn as if they were quenching their own dark hunger which only sharpened their edge.
Both Orion and Thorn found themselves in grave peril, their breaths coming raggedly as they struggled to keep up with Derek's relentless assault. Their bodies were full of wounds, each made by Derek who was mad with grief as he continued his deadly assault.
In his panic, Orion began his counter-attack, his white longsword flew towards the mad hunter who put his left dagger towards the longsword in an attempt to block it.
Most shockingly, the small dagger was starting to burn in a white light as soon as it touched the longsword.
Reacting swiftly, Derek withdrew his dagger, leaping back from the two gifted. However, not before one of Thorn's own daggers found its mark, embedding deeply into Derek's side.
Derek picked up the dagger from his side while blindly staring at the dagger, blind rage evident in his eyes.
Then, he looked behind himself, gazing at a headless corpse, his blind rage only intensified at the sight.
Then, in an act of blind rage, he started to cut his own body with the vampiric dagger, letting it drink his own blood to make both of them even faster, even stronger. What he needed was overwhelming power to crush those who took his brother from him.
Thorn and Orion just stared at the hunter who mutilated himself before them. "Orion, we need to come up with a plan." Said Thorn with one remaining dagger pointed toward the hunter.
"When I signal you, close your eyes for a moment," Orion instructed, his voice trembling in fear, mirroring the trembling of his hands. The gravity of their situation was evident in every word he spoke. "Then, try to subdue him with the strings."
The fear was palpable, hanging thick in the air, as they faced the bloodthirsty elite hunter who seemed determined to carve them to pieces, leaving nothing behind.
With a wicked expression, the Hunter watched their every move, his gaze filled with malice. Undeterred, Orion and Thorn locked eyes with him. Orion was the first one to make.
Driven by determination, he charged forward, the urgency evident in his every step. The Hunter, equally eager for the fray, cut himself one last time, a twisted grin stretching across his face, before lunging at the young gifted.
The collision between the two was fierce, Orion's strength matched against the mad hunter's agility. Despite Orion's raw power, the mad hunter proved to be swift and elusive, darting around with astonishing speed.
Derek unleashed a relentless barrage of slashes and stabs with his equally manic weapon. Orion, sensing the urgency of the onslaught, moved quickly to defend himself. He blocked the majority of the attacks with the blunt side of his sword, each collision between the sword and the daggers causing visible damage to the blade of the daggers.
Despite Orion's best efforts to block the onslaught, the damage inflicted on the daggers was short-lived. Unable to block every strike from the deadly barrage, the daggers managed to heal themselves from the blood they drew from Orion, replenishing their strength with each cut.
As the battle was drawn out between the two, instead of tiring out, the mad hunter only seemed to become faster, fueled by rage, and the replenishing effect of the vampiric daggers.
Orion was at the end of his rope, his mangled, damaged body was close to giving up on him, his mind raced in panic, 'It's bad… I need to activate it soon, but it's not the right time for it… not yet.'
As Derek persisted in his relentless assault, Orion found himself increasingly on the defensive, his body nearing the brink of exhaustion. In a final, desperate maneuver, one of Derek's blades struck deep into Orion's side, followed swiftly by another that pierced his guts. Unable to evade either attack, Orion's strength faltered, his body unable to withstand the punishing blows.
"Now!" Orion's command, though barely audible, carried a weight of urgency. His gift surged forth, engulfing the battlefield in a blinding white light that left almost everyone temporarily sightless.
Derek and the hunter, fixated on their combat, were caught off guard by the sudden brilliance. Thorn, quick to react, shielded her eyes in time, while Captain Grayson, observing from the sidelines, remained unaffected by the blinding radiance. Despite the chaos, his gaze remained fixed on the unfolding struggle, a frown etched upon his features as he observed the desperate maneuver of the young gifted.
After the blinding white light subsided in intensity, Thorn cautiously opened her eyes. To her relief, the others remained temporarily blinded by the aftermath of the brilliant flash.
In a hurry, Thorn unleashed more than two dozen invisible strings from her fingertips, all converging on a single target: the elite hunter consumed by madness, Derek.
In his state, Derek was unable to react to the attack coming his way, which proved to be his last mistake. The strings wrapped around every part of the hunter: his legs, his arms, most of his fingers, and even his neck.
horn had to concentrate all her energy on controlling her strings, shutting out the world around her in order to maintain their hold on Derek.
Some of the hunters regained their vision before the others, and all were shocked to see their fellow hunter ensnared by razor-sharp strings.
"Derek!" Shouted one of the hunters in terror, the hunter was clad in medium armor and wielded a low spear that was crafted from a mere green-rated beast.
The hunter charged at Thorn, catching her off guard as she remained unaware, focused solely on her strings entangling Derek whose hateful gaze bore into Thorn.
But moments before his spear could have taken Thorn's life, Aria's cracked morning star mace struck the hunter in the head.
The impact shattered the skull of the hunter, sending him flying backward, his lifeless body crashing to the ground.
Thorn remained entirely focused on her strings, unaware of the looming threat until Aria intervened to save her from the approaching hunter, with a small grunt, Aria stood in front of Thorn, defending her from the approaching hunters.
The invisible string made Derek drop his daggers, and the strength it gave him started to slowly leave his body.
"I'm ready to die, at least I can meet my brother again." Murmured Derek to Thorn, she barely heard his rumbling. "I will surely go to hell, and I'm ready to meet you there soon, the captain will make sure that you follow us soon you freaks."
These were Derek's final words, uttered in resignation as he realized there was no escape. The relentless grip of Thorn's strings only tightened further, causing him to bleed profusely. With one last powerful pull of her hands, the strings sliced through Derek's body as easily as a knife through melted butter.
Bloody chunks of flesh flew everywhere, staining the ground with a crimson color.
"Derek, no!" The hunters despaired as they witnessed one of their best being sliced apart. Anger surged through each of them, a shared feeling of loss and fury.
While the hunters grieved their brother, someone else was grieving too. Capitan Grayson was gazing at the bloody chunks, then switched his gaze to the beheaded corpse.
"Was it worth it? You idiots..." Cursed the Captain to himself as he held a small iron pendant in his hand. The pendant gradually turned to dust, the specks slipping through his fingertips despite his desperate attempt to hold onto them.
A singular tear rolled down his cheek, and he did not attempt to wipe it away. Instead, he continued to stare at the small pendant until it fully turned to dust.
Meanwhile, the hunters rushed at Aria, who stood alone against them. Thorn lay exhausted on the ground, barely able to move, while Orion bled profusely beside her.
A hunter wielding a short sword stabbed in Aria's direction. She evaded, but not without a cost, her left arm was grazed by the sword. In retaliation, she smashed his head in with her mace before he could evade.
Just then, a hunter emerged from behind her, attempting to stab her with his daggers. But before the hunter could strike, an arrow shot him in the neck, causing him to fall over and begin to suffocate while bleeding out.
The one who shot the arrow was Quinn, and beside him Talon and Rokara. The three of them arrived, but it was hard to say whether they had arrived soon enough.
"Thorn!" "Orion!" Shouted Talon and Quinn, their voices were full of worry as they saw the two of them lying on the ground, only defended by Aria who was wounded and exhausted.
The remaining hunters switched their gazes at the three newly arriving gifted. "They… lost?" Asked one of the hunters in disbelief.
Without answering them, Talon charged into the fray without a second thought, his first goal was to arrive at Thorn's side and help Aria to defend the two.
Rokara wasted no time as she rushed into the battle by Talon's side, meanwhile, Quinn stood still, his arrows ready to rain down at the hunters.
The remaining hunters numbered around fifteen, a stark contrast to the nearly fifty members of the ambush team that they started with, now they lay on the dead soil, their blood feeding the earth.
The hunters rushed towards the gifted. Talon began to activate his spear, its temperature rising, while Rokara prepared to unleash her own gift, ready to unleash her invisible force amongst the hunters. But before they could collide with each other, a loud shout stopped everyone in their tracks.
"Stop!" Everyone looked towards the source of the shout, it was Capitan Grayson.
He looked at his man, his face was solemn, but it was obvious by his eyes that he was grieving. "Hunters, go home back to the HQ!"
"But captain—" one of the hunters tried to retaliate but Grayson left him no time to talk. "These are my orders."
"But you don't have to worry. After I'm done, I will ensure that every hunter that fell today will have a proper burial," said the captain, his voice firm despite the weariness evident in his features. He turned towards the four gifted who could still stand,.
"The same is true for all of you. At least, you will have peace underground."
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