Chương 33: Falling from the sky

The opponent remained a phantom, vanishing from sight, their presence overshadowed by the imminent danger raining down upon them. The relentless onslaught of sharp darts commanded the five guardian's full attention, erasing any memory of the elusive adversary.

"Crap!" Tess cursed inwardly, swiftly dismissing her swords as she leapt away from the perilous area. The sheer volume of darts descending from above made it abundantly clear that slashing them away was an impossible feat.

Once out of harm's reach, Tess cast her gaze skyward, searching for any trace of the darts' origin. The azure expanse greeted her, only interrupted by the canopies of towering trees, offering no clues to the opponent's whereabouts.

Amidst the chaos, the commotion caught Tess's attention, drawing her gaze towards Szedra. Her arms moved with frenetic speed, slashing and swatting at the onslaught of darts. Each motion was accompanied by short, startled shrieks, a testament to the intensity of the moment. Yet, there was no sign of the opponent in Szedra's vicinity.

Suddenly, Zino's piercing scream sliced through the air, causing Tess's heart to skip a beat. Gripping the solidified handles of her swords tightly, she turned, only to have her view obstructed by a fleeting dark figure that flashed before her in a mere heartbeat.

A gasp of shock escaped Tess's lips, but she managed to summon her reflexes, swinging her right sword at the opponent. However, the adversary swiftly evaded her strike, retreating with an uncanny agility, causing her blade to slice through the empty air. Two more swords from her companions whizzed over the opponent's head, narrowly missing their mark.

As the opponent's feet landed gracefully on a log, they sprang into a graceful twirl, launching a flurry of sharp darts in all directions. Tess and her allies instinctively wielded their swords as shields, deflecting and slashing at the projectiles in a desperate bid for survival.

As the opponent vanished before Tess's eyes, a profound emptiness gnawed at her chest, carving a deep hole within. Her brows furrowed in disbelief, unable to comprehend the inexplicable occurrence unfolding before her.

"What the—" she muttered, her voice laced with bewilderment. Frozen in place, she stood, attempting to gather her thoughts amidst the swirling chaos. The vanishing act defied all logic and reason, leaving her grappling for an explanation.

Perhaps, hidden beneath the opponent's enigmatic mantle, lay a concealed mechanism controlling his prosthetics—just like the enigma of his disappearance, she pondered.

A distant scream pierced the air, jolting Tess from her contemplation. Her eyes scanned the battlefield, anxiety etching its way into her every fiber. There, she witnessed Lanse's futile attempts to engage the opponent, deftly dodging spikes with a desperate urgency. Zino, wielding twin swords, executed a swift twirl, slashing at the deluge of darts with practiced skill. Zack struggled, clinging desperately to a log after his unexpected fall.

The scream echoed once more, its source unmistakably Szedra's voice. Oddly, it emanated from above. Tess's gaze ascended, piercing through the vast expanse, until she spotted Szedra hurtling through the sky, plummeting towards the distant treetops. The harrowing sight ignited panic within her, as Szedra's voice resonated with raw fear, each passing branch amplifying her screams.

In that moment, Tess's instincts took over. She leaped onto the logs, propelling herself forward with determined resolve, intent on reaching her falling comrade.

"Szedra, hang on!" Tess shouted, her voice laced with urgency. With lightning-quick thinking, she swung her sword, aiming to lodge it into the lower bark of a tree in Szedra's trajectory. Her eyes caught the brief glimpse of hope as the blade found its mark, but Szedra's grasp slipped from the hilt, unable to halt her downward descent.

The doomed descent continued, Szedra's body crashing through smaller branches, a cacophony of breaking wood accompanying her downward spiral. Finally, she collided with a large branch, abruptly halting her treacherous fall.

"Auch." The sharp pang of pain shot through Tess's body, a stark reminder of the injuries she had sustained. With determination fueling her movements, she leaped from the last log, swiftly departing the treacherous battlefield.

With a subtle command of pressing the dent on her sword, it dissipated into nothingness. Liberated from the burden, Tess summoned all her strength for one mighty leap, propelling herself upwards, scaling the towering trees in her quest to reach Szedra.

Upon finally reaching her fallen comrade, Tess's concerned voice cut through the silence. "Are you alright?" She ran nimbly along a branch, its width akin to that of a door, to approach Szedra.

Szedra's black, curly tresses obscured her face as she struggled to push herself up from the dark-brown surface of the branch. Tess stood tall, peering down at Szedra's disheveled form. Concern etched across her features, she inquired, "What happened?"

Silence greeted Tess's question, leaving her puzzled. Glancing over her shoulder, she noticed their comrades still locked in fierce combat with the opponent. Determination flared within her, and she reached out, gripping Szedra's arm to assist her in standing.

The mere thought of the opponent besting Lanse the next time she glanced back ignited a fierce resolve within Tess. Gritting her teeth, she asserted, "We're wasting time. We need to head back."

Szedra promptly withdrew her hand from Tess's grasp, her wide-opened eyes locking onto Tess before pointing skyward with a single hand. Her words came out fragmented, delivered in disjointed scraps. "Sand... not quicksand. The sky!" she conveyed urgently.

Tess regarded Szedra with an odd mix of confusion and curiosity. Szedra rummaged through her pouches, retrieving a glow stick. Bending it to activate its radiant glow, she then leaped off the branch, descending towards the forest floor.

Tess couldn't quite fathom Szedra's intentions, but she found solace in seeing her comrade taking action, heading back towards the log-filled field. However, Szedra abruptly halted upon reaching the edge of the field, frustrating Tess's sense of urgency.

"Why are you stopping?" Tess exclaimed impatiently, her focus solely on defeating their opponent.

Yet, Szedra extended her hand, halting Tess in her tracks. With purposeful intent, she flung the glow stick downwards, watching as it vanished into the quicksand below.

Confusion mingled with frustration, Tess snapped, "We already established it's quicksand!" She attempted to move Szedra's hand out of her way, her voice tinged with exasperation. "Stop acting crazy."

Szedra's gaze lifted skyward, her eyes darting from corner to corner in search of something elusive. "Look!" she exclaimed, her hand pointing emphatically.

Tess followed Szedra's gesture, her gaze drawn to the canopy of trees above. Initially dismissing Szedra's actions as erratic, Tess's perception shifted as she found herself captivated by the scene unfolding before her.

Szedra, undeterred, gently held Tess's chin, redirecting her focus. As Tess looked once more, her eyes widened in astonishment as a faint shimmer materialized in the expansive blue sky, gradually descending amidst the dark forest foliage.

"No way," Tess gasped, her voice tinged with disbelief as she discerned the object's identity—it was the very glow stick Szedra had tossed into the quicksand.

"Yes way," Szedra responded, releasing Tess from her grasp. "The quicksand is linked to the sky."

"That's absurd," Tess countered, her voice laced with skepticism. "There must be a teleporter on the other side of the quicksand."

Szedra nodded, finding solace in Tess's reasoning. "That seems more plausible. But how do we communicate this revelation to the others? We should utilize this newfound knowledge to our advantage," she suggested, turning her attention back to the ongoing battle in the field. "We should learn to work harmoniously with our environment, just as Sensei instructed us."

Tess felt a pang of confusion. Szedra had never paid much attention during their Friday classes with Sensei, where the wise instructor imparted invaluable lessons. As she observed her other comrades engaged in combat, Tess's focus shifted to her forgotten sword, still lodged in the tree.

"I need to retrieve my other sword," she declared, preparing to move forward. However, Szedra held her back, an inquisitive expression gracing her features.

"What now?" Tess inquired, her curiosity piqued.

In response, Szedra clenched her left hand into a determined fist, pressing her thumb down to summon a sword. With a firm grip on the newly summoned weapon, she utilized the same glove to manifest another sword. Plunging it deep into the ground, she repeated the process, summoning yet another sword, all with the same glove.

"I get it now," Tess affirmed, her gaze fixated on her gloved hands.

"These swords are limitless," Szedra confirmed, her voice filled with excitement.

Tess sensed a surge of hope coursing through her as she incorrectly surmised she possessed one sword. A mischievous smile played upon her small lips as she shifted her attention to Lanse, who continued to struggle in capturing the opponent.

"I have an idea," Tess declared, her voice brimming with determination. She darted off towards the log field, with Szedra following in confusion. Coming to a stop, Tess began summoning sword after sword, releasing them to plummet into the quicksand, their sharp tips pointed downwards. Szedra quickly caught on and joined in the endeavor.

"That should do it. Let's regroup with the others and keep an eye on where they fall," Tess instructed.

"Shouldn't we inform the others?" Szedra inquired.

"No," Tess replied firmly. "We can't risk the opponent discovering our plan and foiling it. We need to bring this to an end," she added, purposefully omitting the part where she intended to be the one to vanquish their adversary.

Szedra nodded in agreement, and together they made their way back to join the others. As Zack caught sight of them, he had no time to question their actions, swiftly evading the incoming barrage of darts.

Tess and Szedra were taken aback when they beheld six spiked whips protruding from the opponent's black mantle, a sight that sent shivers down their spines. Tess couldn't help but wonder how the opponent controlled such a menacing array of weapons.

Even more unsettling was the fact that the hood of the opponent's mantle remained fixed in place, unaffected by his swift movements. His face perpetually concealed beneath the engulfing darkness.

With all five of them focused on launching attacks, the opponent no longer vanished, instead evading their strikes with agile leaps. The others, having observed Tess and Szedra summoning additional swords, followed suit. They maintained a cautious distance while unleashing a flurry of sword strikes upon the opponent.

A glimmer caught the corner of Tess's eye, drawing her attention away from the opponent and towards the vast expanse of the sky. It was a distant sight, obscured by the endless blue, but she knew those falling objects could only be the swords.

Calculating their trajectory and their inevitable landing spot on the field, Tess swiftly formulated her plan to manipulate the opponent's movements. She unleashed a barrage of swords, aiming them at him from a single direction, prompting him to retreat. Szedra followed suit, a testament to her shared awareness of the descending swords.

Lanse, Zino, and Zack assumed that Tess and Szedra were leading the opponent away from the hazardous terrain of logs and quicksand, allowing them to focus solely on the intense battle. Soon, all five of them converged upon the opponent, their swords striking relentlessly.

The opponent skillfully deflected the spinning swords, resembling razor-sharp disks, with each of the six whips he controlled effortlessly. The onslaught seemed endless, forcing him to retreat faster than Tess had anticipated.

Her eyes darted back and forth, alternating between the falling swords and the opponent below. Panic seized her as she feared he might miss the descending blades, jeopardizing her carefully devised plan. To worsen matters, his footwork remained impeccable, always finding secure footing on top of the logs, even as he moved backward.

Crap! Tess's mind raced, contemplating whether to shout a warning to the others, urging them to cease their attack. Would they heed her words? Or would it only serve to alert the opponent, compelling him to glance upward and spot the descending swords?

Only Szedra noticed Tess's abrupt cessation, mirroring her stillness. Unaware, Zino, Lanse, and Zack continued their relentless assault, relentlessly pushing the opponent towards the edge. Lanse, in particular, maintained an unwavering focus, resembling a starved predator closing in on its prey.

Tess summoned a sword and launched it with precision, sending it spinning like a razor disk, aimed directly at Lanse's head.