Darkness flickers in my eyes as I kneel to the rocky surface of the ground and can no longer determine who is who.
But I can somehow hear the calls of Emily, Carol, and Alex as my head turns towards the direction where I heard their worried cries and somehow saw Emily firmly holding her shield as she defends the rest that is behind her, screaming as she looks at me with eyes eager to rush for my aid, but the circumstances she is in prevents her to do so.
I try to lift my arms as I reach out for my daggers that I dropped due to the recent attack I blocked using my body to save this someone, but the fatigue overlaps my will to move, and I eventually drop dead on the ground.
On my right-hand side, I hear Emily's repeating call, and on my left side… on my left side is someone I didn't expect to even risk my life saving, yet knowing more about what truly happened made me turn a blind eye on the past misconducts she made and realized that somehow, she is just searching for a reason to justify her existence.
Seeing her in her current state as she leans on one side while her face is covered in blood due to the cut on her head while on the same time, she tries to pull out the sword stabbed on her chest with every ounce of strength that she has left made me want to help her, my brain says so but my body would no longer listen.
I took a last look at Emily and saw her being thrown away to the side while her shield crumbles into pieces with that final strike she received, leaving Alex to protect Carol that is severely wounded.
And then…
There is darkness.
A few hours back in the cave, Kyle arrived just in time to save Carol that is being ravaged by the outlaw Luca. Using his newly honed skill, Kyle managed to toss away Luca before she could land a finishing blow to Carol.
"Took you a while to resurface." Luca said while dusting off the dirt and dust that are stuck on her.
"Yeah, I took a short nap before I found a way up." Kyle replied and then he rolls his eyes at Carol.
Seeing Carol's state, Kyle asked Luca a question.
"Hey, what did you do to Carol?" He asked but Luca, instead of giving him an answer, shows an insane grin instead and in that instance, disappears on Kyle's sight.
Kyle scans the area in front of him and somehow, he managed to predict where Luca would appear and strike him.
'Behind!' He thought and immediately joins his daggers forming an 'X' to block the swing Luca made.
"Not bad." Luca said.
Using her sword, Luca pushes Kyle a bit backwards to create enough space for her to make another swing horizontally on Kyle's left side.
[You used: Rolling Slash]
Seeing her upcoming blow, Kyle was able to block her attack once again using the dagger on his left hand, but the force of the swing from Luca made him lose his ground and was thrown to a distance but initially made instant recovery mid-air due to one of his class's passive skill.
[Requirements has been met: Aerial Recovery Activated]
After recovering from a hard blow, Kyle dashes back to Luca as he activates one of his middle-tier skills.
[You used: Dash and Slash]
With the help of the skill, Kyle breaks the boundary of the maximum possible speed turning his avatar's body distorted and immune to Physical Damage while in his current state.
Dashing forward, Kyle landed a lethal strike to one of Luca's vital points.
"Hey, that hurts you know!" Luca exclaimed as she throws a vertical slash at Kyle that is now behind her, but before the edge of her sword could even hit him, Kyle disappeared in a flash.
[You used: Dagger Blink]
Upon his disappearance, Luca could only wonder where he could be as she is currently stunned by the swiftness Kyle is showing to her.
"I thought you're already used to doing it rough?" Kyle asked.
Luca turns behind her upon hearing Kyle and found the man standing where he recently was before he made that slash.
"You know, I'm intrigued on how you've been able to pull that disappearing stunt of yours." Luca said, then shows a unique sword stance to Kyle, Ponting her sword forward, holding it using her right hand while resting the tip on the surface of her left thumb as if she is about to hit a billiard's cue ball.
Seeing her stance, Kyle prepares himself for a sudden attack coming from Luca as he holds firmly the hilts of his daggers. But the next words coming from Luca made him warier about what is going to happen next.
"Battle Mode One: Berserker."
[Battle Mode: Berserker Activate]
After saying the activation command for the skill, Luca's entire body began glowing in crimson, while aura waves flow out from her like vapor.
"Kyle watch out! That is a sword transcender skill!" Carol screamed, warning Kyle about the danger it could bring him.
Before Luca initiate an attack on Kyle, she first gave off a grin and then dashes forward at full speed.
She tackles Kyle using her shoulder sending the man flying again, but Kyle didn't worry that much because he knew that he will recover immediately but Luca also knew that so she chases Kyle that was sent flying by her, and swings her sword upward to continue her attack.
[Requirements has been met: Counter Attack Activate]
Kyle while still gliding in mid-air parries her slash and uses her sword as an incline to jump upwards to create a safe distance from Luca.
"Hey, don't leave me yet!" Luca said and pulls Kyle back before he could leave her reach and slams him down to the ground.
After slamming Kyle, Luca positions her sword for a ground stab, directing it on Kyle's head but because of Kyle's high agility, he managed to dodge it by tilting his head a bit to the opposite direction of the stab and kicks Luca's leg to stumble her.
Luca that is now off-balance tries to recover her ground but Kyle didn't give her the opportunity to do so as he chains his attack by kicking the sword that is helping her stabilized her standing position, at the same time he uses the kick to send him sliding further away from Luca and throws one of his daggers to her.
Luca while on the verge of stumbling to the ground saw the incoming dagger and dodge it at the last minute before she falls to the ground.
"That was a close one." Luca said while having a relief look on her face.
"Do you have a thing on my head?" She added while having a faint smile.
Kyle standing up answers her in the same way she would.
"No, I just want to stick something long and hard on that talkative mouth of yours." He said making Luca show him her aroused expression to Kyle upon hearing him say such words.
"Really now? I don't usually give that kind of service but you'll be a special case." She answered and immediately dashes forward again to Kyle.
The fight of the two is intense as they almost match in terms of sword skills, but the level difference is showing gradually as Kyle receives more damage over time than that of the damage he deals to Luca, yet, his will to defeat the woman is far beyond his physical limitations and their gap in level is just a minor hindrance for Kyle as he continues his barrage of attacks to Luca.
Watching them on the sideline, Carol is completely amazed by Kyle's performance in battle but is definitely worried because she knew that Luca is not giving her all yet.
Carol uses a potion in her inventory but the recovery that it gives her will take longer due to the limitations of the potion to recover her, but she could wait no longer so she tries to stand up to be of help but due to the damage she has and the strength that is left of her, all she can do for now is to watch the two and their ongoing Deathmatch.
After exchanging blows for a while, Luca and Kyle distance themselves from each other to grasp some air, as the two began feeling the fatigue after trading blows after blows for a while.
"Not bad for a newbie." Luca said, praising Kyle for lasting that long in a head-to-head fight against her.
"Trust me… I have higher physical endurance than you think." Kyle said while catching his breath.
"Then let's make this a bit more interesting shall we?" Luca said and then she pulls out the jewel she has for the second time, showing Kyle a somehow familiar gem but in a different color hue.
"I'm going to maximize the pain receptor for the both of us same as that of what I did to the lady over there, let's see who will last longer." She said with a grin and began tweaking the settings of bot Kyle and hers.
After confirming her desired setup, both Kyle and Luca kneel down to the ground as if strong gravitational pressure is squeezing them forcing them down as they feel the immense pain which is the outcome of their previous clash with each other runs to their entire body.
"Argh, damn it! That's so painful you know! My whole body's aching and I'm all swelled up!" Luca exclaimed as the pain from Kyle's recent attacks plunges into her while Kyle on the other hand is also crippling in intense pain.
'Shit! It's far more painful than last time!' he thought while assessing the pain he felt that is greater than the time he first felt pure damage and the time Luca stabbed him with a stiletto on his abdomen.
Luca tries to stand up, using her sword as a prop supporting her body while she trembles on the pain she is feeling at the moment.
Both of them are shaking continuously due to the pain but both are still eager to finish what they have started.
"Ready for round two?" Luca asked Kyle as she stands up from her kneeling position.
"Thought you wouldn't ask." Kyle answered her confidently to hide the agonizing pain he is experiencing right now.
Meanwhile, still inside the unknown cave, Emily and Alex continue their journey on searching for Kyle, and on their long walk inside, the two found a gigantic double-door made of stone with a Hydra engraving across it. Its nine heads embracing the corners and edges of the giant door.
On the center of the door is a dent in a shape of a perfectly cut gemstone with a polished interior that is as big as an adult's fist.
The two wandering explorers check the door out as they carelessly touch its rough surface.
"Hey Emily, do you think this is a dungeon of some kind?" Alex asked Emily that is leaning up to determine how tall the door is while scanning the artistic engravings on the same time.
"Based on my past raiding experiences, it looks like it. But there should be like, a notification on the door right? Like the dungeon level and whatnots." Emily answered Alex.
The two wonder what it would be and stares at it while thinking of different possibilities and probabilities yet nothing pops up in their minds.
Emily tries to push the door open, but the door won't even budge.
"Nah, let's leave that be." Emily suggested since she nothing even the slightest idea of what it could be and is about to walk away from the giant door when suddenly someone answered their inquisition.
"That is one of the secret bosses inside the game."
The two turn their heads in the direction of the voice and saw the guild master of Assault Crusade walking closer to them along with a convoy of heavily armored guards that are around twenty plus in numbers behind him.
"And that door can only be opened by using a relic item that is intended to serve as its key." He added while he touches the socket on the door, somehow looking annoyed for no reason.
Wondering why the guild master of one of the top guilds of the game is here, Emily asked the guild master why he is in such a place along with a huge crowd and is somehow prepare to be in a guild war.
"Uhm, sir, may I ask why you are here and what's with the crowd?" She asked casually.
"Hmmm? Oh! I didn't notice it was you Emily." He said as if he knows Emily and that she is somehow familiar with her.
The two began chatting until Alex felt a bit awkward with her current situation being the only person that is left alone with no one in the crowd to talk with.
So she walks closer to Emily's side and secretly bumps her hip to Emily's to grab her attention and succeed on her first attempt.
"What?" Emily asked Alex that looks so stressed at the moment.
"Aren't we still searching for Cael?" She whispered in Emily's ear and Emily realized that they still are true.
"Oh, yeah right, by the way, we are still in this kind of a… you know …" Emily stated and began making some weird hand gestures trying to explain what they are doing while at the same time trying her best to not reveal what they are actually doing.
The guild master could no longer understand what she intends to say, so he halts Emily from talking incomprehensible words by interrupting her.
"It's alright. I do understand where this conversation is leading to." He said
"Oh… So if you'll excuse us." She added and then drags Alex away with her.
Watching them flee, the guild master signals one of his men to come forward.
"I want you to keep an eye on those two." He said while pointing to Emily and Alex, and then walks closer to the stone door.
"Today, I shall redeem myself…"
"And have my revenge!"