A crash reverberated into the night.
The rumble of stone, the bent of metal, and the shatter of glass smashed into spinning fragments. And as if to be entertained by such noise, the sky had peeled its layers to give the constellations a glimpse of the scene.
For the first few moments, Hope was able to read the Awakened's actions. It was easy to predict how he'd react placed in the situation Hope was in; He'd ducked aside from the first blow, a side-step from a shoulder grab, and parried the third.
And that was where his luck ended. If he had much anyway…
Because that parry cost him more strength than he'd expected.
The Awakened hit him like an explosion and Hope, braced with his shield in time, was thrown sideways into a window. The shattering multiplied. Glints of fragments flew around as he soared into the darkness of the room. He hit and rolled, knocking over metal carts and whatever items piled on top before he came to a stop. The random smell of dry dirt filled his nose.
Hope groaned, reaching his arms out to find any support.
Ah. A counter.
Hope forced himself to move while holding his side.
'That's…certainly an Awakened's power…' Hope grunted as he made the steps forward.
But at the bottom of his vision, he caught a glimpse of what he landed on. Which was a broken pile of…pots…? Huh. Some sort of garden room. Although, not at all like Mave's lair where magic grew and blossomed petals or lit pollen. All the potted plants were dead, withered to dried leaves or limp stems.
Hope observed it all in an instant. He had turned and ran again just before the Awakened speedily landed where he once stood, causing an impact by his feet alone. Hope thought he'd heard the building creak.
'Fast fast fast-'
Hope quickly ran to a side door, seeing a corridor leading up.
The ache pulsed in his limbs as he surged forward, skipping steps to save what time he could spare.
'Back…' An instinctive voice whispered.
As he reached the next level, suddenly, with lightning movement, the Awakened burst behind.
Kwaaaang!
His shield was braced and impact rammed him back into a wall. The bones in his arms screamed and his back stung as he, surprisingly, held against the Awakened's weight this time.
But of course, their strength was far from matched.
The number of soul shards this Awakened had collected was obviously higher than his, but his rank alone was a leap of overwhelming power. Even if Hope could block like now, it was a crushing weight that made his arms tremble.
'Dammit…'
Hope gritted his teeth as he stared at the Awakened's ridiculous white mask and black hood, the pressure building in his muscles strain. But Hope did not submit. If he had to, then that would have to come down to his own bones breaking or whatever course of action he could plan next.
But what was going on in this guy's head? The hell was he so bent on chasing Hope for?
'Was he actually smart enough to connect me to the dead body…?'
Hope had a feeling it was.
'Seriously…?'
How unfortunate. A stubborn and smart Awakened. But even if Hope was forgotten by everyone, a detective could spot the culprit with the right pieces in mind: dead body, everyone congregated in the great hall, one person escaping, running from the sight of an Awakened.
"Huh…It's that obvious then…" Hope said aloud, not caring if the Awakened understood him or not.
But it seemed he did when he pressed harder into the shield, the blade's edge moving close enough to touch Hope's neck.
And with that previous tangent thought, one of Hope's Attributes summoned, tauntingly appearing before his eyes as if facing the Awakened wasn't enough of an inconvenience.
[Black Sheep] Attribute Description: "You are an outsider born into a disarray world. Forced upon a hero's fate, always against the odds, you wish to be seen."
"..."
Nevermind the 'always against the odds part...'
He got the damn idea from the Spell.
But 'wish to be seen…'
'The fuck does that mean?!'
Hope narrowed his eyes as he dismissed the runes.
To be seen by this Awakened was the last thing he would've damn wanted.
Or did the Spell have some poetic tier meaning backed behind those words?
Tsk. Even now, it hasn't failed in riling him up during a battle. The Spell was something he could deal later in the future.
Right now, he had to fight off this Awakened. The best knowledge, and a classic one at that, was to use his opponent's strength against him. But the key was to execute properly on how to. It would only work once; Hope would have to parry a while first, before understanding the attack pattern this guy had for him to dodge with more ease afterwards.
'Come on. Think. Think. Think. Think-'
An idea then crossed Hope's mind at that moment.
As Hope was pinned against the wall with the Awakened's sword pressing down on his shield, Hope baited the idea of leaning harder into the attack, pushing with all the might he could. And whether the Awakened was impressed or not by his attempt, he responded with force as well.
With the sword bearing more on him, Hope at the last second let himself go limp.
Before the weight could completely crush him, he twisted his body to the side and ducked under the sword. Blade struck the wall, leaving only a light scratch on Hope's neck.
Krrch!
"...!"
Giving him a brief window of opportunity, Hope nimbly leapt off to the side.
His shadow faithfully followed as night's blue light poured through the windows, the area reading more clearly of taller metal aisles with ceramic potted plants and jars scattered. But then there were the vines that hung like webs, almost tendril-like, ready to ensnare them in its entanglement. A dark undercurrent pulsed in the shadows-
Krkrkr.
Clay cluttered at Hope's feet as he retreated backward, quickly glancing out the window for a possible chance of escape.
Should he try…jumping out?
Shiing!
!!!
But a blade flashed. Vines reared from a direct slice.
Hope reacted, but not before the bastard of a thing took off a piece of his cheek.
Kakakak!
A rapid shuffle of Hope's feet straggled for balance. The Awakened gave no respite. A lunge became an upward slash, turning then into arcs. It was not even a minute pass and already did death guide the blade.
Metal rang into the air. Sparks flew from their brandished weapons.
Kwaaang!
And Hope's muscles burned.
Kwaang!
Burned after impact.
After impact.
After impact.
With each hammering blow, as if he were fighting a hulk-sized soldier, he barely parried and dodged each time.
Tails of broken vines flicked in the space, recoiling from the sweep of a blade.
And a shield straggling to follow.