Chương 29: - Drifting Winds
Speeding off towards the battle, Lia was faced with the sheer number of people who were fighting, coming out to be around fifteen, not counting the ones she just killed.
'How have we not lost yet?'
It truly was a wonder how Lia and her group had not yet fallen to the onslaught of men as they charged forward.
Even Cain, who Lia thought would be the best off out of all of them, was struggling against the leader of the group and two of his men.
Of course she cared little for it, knowing that Cain would come out victorious. But what truly set her anxiety spiking was the sight of Rian being attacked from all sides by nearly twelve men. A feat that even he was struggling with.
'I guess this was why Cain wanted me to help him.'
She thought as she sped off into the distance, her eyes burning from the wind.
As she grew closer to the battle, she could see Rian, with one burst of strength, body slammed a man into the ground, smashing his head with his gauntlets.
The sight sent blood flying everywhere, and shocked Lia so much that she nearly over shot her target. A man with his back to her.
An easy kill.
'Wait, why am I thinking that?'
Not once in the entire battle had Lia thought about a person simply as a kill. Much less an easy one. So why now?
Shaking her head, she pushed the thoughts from her head, and focused on her attack.
Leaning back and reaching out, her body twisted with her hand coming in contact with the ground. As the world around her returned to its original speed, Lia's eyes never once left her target as her blade shifted to a position more advantageous for her.
'Focus.'
Pushing off the ground, her body shot forward once again at speeds she could never imagine. The man's body came rocketing forward in her vision.
Her reflexes did the job for her, coming out on the other side of the man, Lia felt blood splash against her face, knowing full well that her sword had found its mark.
But…
Not realizing her own speed, Lia found another man, a different man, on the other side of the one she just killed. As his face got closer and closer, Lia couldn't react in time as she smashed into the side of the man, knocking him to the ground.
-Thump!
Crashing against the floor, Lia rolled to a stop, her body aching everywhere from the crash.
Never before had she wished she wasn't fighting against solid ground.
Slowly opening her eyes, Lia nearly had her head taken off as the sight of a blade came crashing down on top of her, narrowly missing her by a hair.
In fact, if Lia hadn't rolled over in a moment of instinct, she would have found herself dead.
Quickly reacting, Lia rolled over on her knees, half standing up, and twisted her torso in a 90 degree angle, slashing horizontally at the man.
Blood soaked her sword, but not nearly enough to have killed the man, but only enough to have dealt a small cut on his side, which he clutched.
The attacker's face contorted in pain as he gripped his side, blood seeping from between his fingers.
"Bitch!"
He called out, rushing forward without a care in the world.
Seeing his mindless rage, Lia raised her blade once again, gripping the handle with both hands, her heart pumping in adrenaline.
As the man neared her, she felt her knees lock up at the sight of his anger filled eyes, eyes like a beast that wanted to kill her. It scared her.
'Lia, duck!'
Hearing the voice in her head, Lia ducked just in time before the attackers blade swiped through the air, directly where her head used to be.
Taking only a moment to notice the situation she was in, Lia brought her sword close to her chest, letting the tip rest on her shoulder, and sidestepped, avoiding the man, but also dealing damage.
With one fail swoop, Lia had brought her sword from her chest, and brought it around in an 180 degree angle, outstretched like an extension of her arm.
The cut was deep, but still the man did not fall, merely clutching his stomach, he leaned over and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Knowing the man wasn't dead, Lia turned around, bringing her sword above her head, clutching it backwards, and brought the sword down on the man's back.
His screams did not even leave his mouth.
-Thump.
With the man now dead and on the floor, Lia watched as the blood from his wounds poured out on the stone floor.
For several minutes she just stood there and watched, horrified by what she had just done, but strangely enough, she felt no emotions. Nothing.
No sadness, shock, or pity.
Where she normally would have hunched over and puked her guts out, Lia just stood stone faced by death.
With one silent turn, Lia tore her eyes from the man and back to Rian, whose number of opponents had decreased from nine to six in the short moments that had passed.
Focusing solely on the battle and not what had just transpired moments before, Lia found herself rushing forwards once again, slashing at the legs of an unsuspecting man.
"Gah!"
Wasting no time, Lia quickly brought her sword back into position just in time for the man who brought his own sword down on top of hers.
Bucking her knees, Lia pushed back against the force of the man, knocking him off balance.
'Lia, listen to me.'
Suddenly, time slowed down to a stand still.
Rain, the attackers, even Cain whose body was currently locked in battle against the silver haired leader.
''Drifting Winds' is the name of the skill you've just inherited. But it isn't just used for running. Quick burst of movements that you can generate over time.'
'What?'
'Think Lia. Focus on the move you want to attack with, and what the effects of such an attack will grant you. Once you do, vision yourself, step by step, during that attack, and your skill will take it from there.'
'But what good will that do me?'
'It doesn't matter. Just get rid of the man in front of you, then quickly shift your attention. Understood.'
So far, Cain's words have only ever been truthful, teaching her this power, and how to use it. Not to mention the countless times that he warned her about an attack.
There was no reason not to believe him.
'Alright.'
'Good.'
As time began picking back up, Lia envisioned herself fighting off the man.
'First I have to knock him off balance, then I'll strike his chest area. That should finish him off.'
Coming to a conclusion with herself, Lia readied her weapon, already putting the sword into motion.
However, what happened next, she didn't expect.
Once time retired to normal thanks to Cain, her attack that she had envisioned happened before her eyes, quicker than she could catch.
One moment the man was standing before her, ready to regain his balance, the next he had a sizable hole in his chest. Almost as if a large cannon ball had been shot through him.
The sight was so gruesome that Lia nearly fell victim once again to another attack, which came from a hidden attacker at her side.
Thanks to the momentum of her attack, she had inadvertently thrown herself out of the attacker's momentum, leaving only a cut at her hip.
Clutching the wound and stepping back, Lia envisioned her sword swiping horizontally across the man's neck.
And just like before, her attack happened within seconds, as the man's head flew off his shoulders even before she could regain her thoughts.
"Wh..What the hell?"
'Focus Lia!'
'R-Right.'
Turning to the battle before her, Lia brought up her sword and rushed forwards against another man wearing a shield.
However, unlike the first two, Lia was instantly made known of by this man, who brought up his shield in defense against her lightning fast attacks.
"Damn. This bitch is fast."
The attacker said from behind the shield, turning to the others who were locking in combat with Rian.
"I need some help over here!"
One of the men heard him, and rushed off in his direction, drawing out a second blade from behind his back.
However, unexpectedly, Rian burst through the line of men, and pulled the duel wielder to the ground, snapping his spine.
-Crunch!
"Oh no you don't you little pest."
Said Rian, who nodded at Lia, before smashing his gauntlets together and throwing himself back into the midst of battle, locking weapons against one of the three men left fighting him.
"Looks like it's just you and me."
Lia said while taunting the man.
Though her strength wasn't nearly as strong as the shield user, her speed greatly made up for that.
This was taken note of by the man, when he attempted to knock Lia off balance by pushing her back, only to find her below his shield, her sword aimed for his chest.
'Fast!'
Was all he could think as he moved his own sword, a thick and heavy piece of metal, in the palace of his chest as a shield against her atack.
Jumping back, Lia distanced herself from the man, and noted that he was much stronger than any of the men she had fought before.
Gritting her teeth, Lia raised her weapon with one hand, the other motioned just below her waist in case she needed to act fast and redirect something.
However, the shield user instantly saw what she was trying to do, and rushed at her full force with his shield outstretched before his body.
Seeing that she couldn't beat the strength and density of the shield, Lia thought back to what Cain had said before.
'Quick and simple movements.'
Letting out all the air in her lungs, Lia shifted her footing to the right, keeping her eyes locked on the man's.
And in one instant, she was gone, her body having moved several feet away.
The speed was so fast that the shield user had no choice but to come to an abrupt stop, before looking around the area for Lia.
Which nearly lost him his head.
As the man was looking around, Lia, from her position several feet off to the sides, had rushed forward, her sword hilt by her hip side, with the blade directed straight at his head.
Thankfully, to the man, he turned around just in time for the sword to graze just to top of his shield.
Quick to react to her situation, Lia bent her body downwards just in time for the attacker's sword to swipe above her head.
Pressing her foot against the ground, Lia focused on getting away from the shield man, trying to create distance between them.
Instantly her feet took her several meters away, her hair fluttering from the speed, and falling in front of her eyes.
Taking a moment to quickly clean it out of the way, Lia found the man rushing forward, his shield in a similar 'bashing' form he had used before.
Instantly, Lia moves again, avoiding his attacks. However, after the third evasion, Lia nearly had her own head taken off, when a sudden strike from his sword set her off balance, causing her to tumble against the ground, knocking into the nearby wall.
-Thud!
"Ugh…"
She groaned, trying her best to stand up, her sword acting as some sort of crutch.
'Damn it. How did he know where I was going to go?'
She got her answer in the form of a voice in her head.
'Because you kept using the same evasion tactic.'
'But I thought he couldn't see me?'
'He can't because you're moving too fast. But he can tell where you're going to end up after you do it so many times.'
"Ahhhh!"
The sound of the man's cries interrupted Cain's voice, as he rushed forward once again, using the same bashing attack he had always used.
'Listen to me Lia. He's using the same attack over and over again.'
'And?'
'So think. His weakness is not being able to change direction as quickly as he would expect. Use that against him.'
As the man grew closer, his cries getting louder and louder, Lia's voice betrayed even more fear within it.
'But how do I do that when he can tell where I'm going?'
'That's because you've been using Drifting Winds to cover large distances and ground. When this attack comes, use that skill to cover only a small distance, just enough to avoid his attack.'
'I don't get this Cain?'
'That's fine. Just listen to what I'm about to say. Don't step where you want to go, that will tell him where you're going to end up. Just flex your muscles and the skill will activate on its own.'
'How do I do that?'
'Muscle memory Lia. Think. Think about moving and your brain will tell your muscles to get ready. When that happens just create enough distance between you and the attack to avoid it. Do you understand?'
'I-I think so.'
'Good.'
The man was merely a few feet from her at this point, but it didn't matter to Lia. Quickly, she thought how best to avoid him as simple as she could make it.
'A step to the right. That's all I need is a few steps to the right.'
Instantly, after she thought about moving, she could feel the muscles in her legs flexing in preparation for the action.
Similarly, the skill began activating, time slowing down, and the man's attack, once a few seconds away, now seemed like it was minutes away.
Plenty of time.
It felt like she was moving in slow motion as the attack grew closer, even with time slowed down. The sound of her feet hitting the ground rang out in her ears, before the sound of stone breaking, metal scratching filled her ears.
As the dust settled, Lia's eyes met the attacker's, who seemed more surprised than she was at her avoiding the attack.
However, the surprise didn't last long as the man's left arm shot forward, his sword encompassed in his grip.
Ducking, and shooting her body forward in another short burst of speed, Lia was narrowly able to avoid his blade, as it scared the stone face, leaving sparks in its traces.
Quickly turning around, Lia came face to face with the man once again, only this time, his face was filled with an uncontrollable rage. Contorting with all kinds of frowns, Lia found his rage to be startling.
Regaining his form, the man broke into another run, just as Cain had said. His sword this time, however, was not hidden behind his shield, but rather pointed straight at Lia.
But it didn't matter. Lia now knew how to deal with him.
Picking a side to attack from, Lia chose the right, the opposite side of the shield from his blade.
Using Drifting Winds, Lia was able to appear directly beside the man, facing the opposite direction he was heading. But that was an easy fix for her, as she gripped her weapon, and rotated her torso in a 180 degree angle, slamming her sword into the shield.
Normally this wouldn't have done anything, but as Lia was using the short bursting mention of Drifting Winds, her sword smashed into the shield at speeds the man could not fathom.
The result of such a combination was the shield smashing to bits thanks to Lia's sword.
Distancing herself once again using Drifting Winds, Lia began another barrage of attacks, as her mind raced with adrenaline.
'Cain?'
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