Arrows were being fired like bullets from a gun. Adel ran towards one of the cages to hide from the attacks. The archer's aim was deadly like a hawk. Not only that, but the speed with which he fired was insane.
"Trying to hide, little mouse? is useless. I can put an arrow in the middle of your head even if I had my eyes closed." The archer had another arrow ready to fire at the mere sight of Adel.
Adel looked at his sword and deduced that the arrows were covered with some type of poison. He would probably die or be unable to move even if only one arrow hit him. This meant that he needed to beat the archer without taking any wounds.
He looked around the whole room. It was very big, with a lot of cages. He would have to move between cages, using them as cover, and close the distance. He ran toward the first cage.
It was only a few meters, but four arrows were shot at him in that brief period of time. He deflected two with his sword and barely managed to doge the other two by twisting his body in the middle of the air.
This guy is too good. He can see everything from that position. I won't be able to move like this. An arrow is bound to hit me even if I try. That brief moment was enough for Adel to realize the futility of his plan. He began to make a plan B.
The archer stood aiming silently at the position where Adel was hiding. He was patient. It was only a matter of time for him to win. The hissing of his pet snake on his shoulders reassured him of his victory. All of his arrows were covered with this snake poison. A mere scratch was enough to dull the senses and lose balance. If more poison was administered, then one would die of atrophy of the heart muscles.
Suddenly, a bright light appeared behind the cage. The next moment, the cage was cut open in one swift strike. Adel ran toward the next cage at maximum speed. The archer once again fired the arrows quickly, but Adel managed to reach the next cage safely.
Adel didn't stop to regain his breath, he cut the cage with his fire sword and began another race for the next one. The movement of the flames made the archer's aim a little off, and seeing a sword covered in fire was surprising.
Adel continued, one after the other. He ran through the room, cutting the bars of the cages and freeing the animals inside. In just a few seconds, the roar of the animals running wild in the room was loud enough to drown out all the other sounds.
The beasts began to fight each other, run to the corners of the room, or even try to attack Adel and the archer. The movements of the animals were too much for the archer to keep track of. When a giant monkey got on the top floor, he was forced to retreat and kill the beast before it could attack him.
"I see. You think if I lose track of your position, then you can close the distance and defeat me. Too shallow, a plan like that is too shallow little mouse. You also need to deal with these creatures. They are part of the collection of my master, deadly and wild animals. I don't have any problem with killing them all. That is my master's order. dead before letting any of them escape."
He shot a peacock that was spitting acid at him with two arrows. "Your second mistake is thinking that I won't be quick enough to kill you when you get close to me." He moved to another position from which he could see most of the room.
The animals continued to fight. Hiding below a cage was Adel. Plan B was in motion, but he had been hit by an arrow. A single arrow cut his right leg. The poison was already making him dizzy; the strength of his limbs was vanishing. The clock was ticking and any second now he could be found by a beast or the archer.
Is this it? Are you going to give up just when things get a little hard? He saw a figure of himself standing in front of him, admonishing him. Flashes of the fight in the Capital emerged in his mind. The memory of Kain almost killing him in the alley. He promised himself and his Master Thanatos, to become stronger.
Fuck, you're pathetic. How can you not deal with a single archer on your own? Stand up. You want to become strong, right? Or are you planning to be a burden to Thanatos for the rest of your short and useless life? Are you going to die like a weak child? Then you're still pathetic. Nothing has changed since that day.
Rage began to ignite in Adel's heart. He wasn't going to be a useless child like the day he lost everything. He was back in the Kingdom; the images of his town being destroyed, the screams of pain of innocents, the blood mixed with ash. Revenge against this country was only his desire. He clenched his teeth with such strength that they were about to break.
The flames erupted in a wild explosion. The archer noticed and aimed at the light. He was ready to fire without delay. From the light, a figure jumped toward the archer at a rapid speed. He could only make a shadow since the light was still too bright to discern completely.
He fired three arrows in quick succession, and the shadow was pierced. The impact made the body fly away to the side. Behind the shadow, Adel was flying with his sword. He had used the body of a beast as a shield.
"Not good enough, rat!" He screamed as he fired more arrows. Adel deflected them with quick strikes. One, two, three, four.
The archer began to feel fear. Adel was blocking all the arrows while still advancing. Impossible. How can he deflect them all? Then he fired with even more speed and intensity. A dozen of arrows, Adel deflected about eight, and the others hit him in the arms and legs. He was focused on protecting his body and face.
The poison was causing him trouble with breathing. Every step felt like he could pass out. Still, he ran. He ran because if he stopped now, he would die a weakling. That was scarier to him than anything else.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, and his sword ignited even more fire. The flames burned hot like never before, and with one swing, the arrows burned before they could reach him.
"W-What?" The archer's sweat was falling to the ground, and no matter how many arrows he fired, they were all consumed by the flames before striking his target. The heat was that intense. He backed away, trying to put more distance, but the fear made his legs shaky. Demon, he´s a demon.
He continued to fire, but every shot was useless. In a moment, Adel was on top of him. With eyes like a crazy person and surrounded by fire, he really looked like a demon.
"KILL HIM!" He signaled his snake to kill the infernal demon. "HHHHIIISSSSS" the snake jumped toward Adel with his mouth open, his fangs ready to inject more poison.
In one strike, Adel cut off the head of the snake and burned the rest of its body. The flames consumed it in a second. Immediately after, he cut the archer's right arm.
"AAAAHHHHHH!" He stumbled back, falling on the floor. The pain of his limb being cut and burned at the same time was secondary as the sword dropped from the top to bring an end to his life. He didn't have time to scream.
Adel decapitated the man with a final cut. The flames were finally extinguished.
"AH… AH… AH…" he stopped for a moment. The poison was making it very difficult to breathe. Before losing consciousness, he began to look in the archer's pockets. After a few seconds, he found a bottle. It was filled with a white liquid. It was an antidote.
"I knew you would have an antidote. After all, a coward always looks for a way out. You don't even trust your pet." He drank the bottle without a second thought and began to feel his muscles relaxing again.
Adel was still wounded by the arrows and his head was burning with fever, but he stood up and grabbed his sword, ready to continue with his mission. Several beasts surrounded him. He gave them a smile.
"Come on, fight with everything you got. This is the only way for me to become strong enough to stand at his side!"
"AAAUGHHH!" With a single motion, Captain Cadoc split open two more men. The remaining mercenaries looked in fear for their lives.
"SHIT WHERE IS THE BOSS?" One of them asked with a trembling voice.
"Give up already. Can't you see that it is useless!" Cadoc told the remaining men to lay their weapons down to save their lives. A few more soldiers were behind him.
It didn't look good. The morale of the mercenaries was about to break when...
"Hey, what are you guys doing? You better not be considering his offer." Rak appeared behind the door that connected to the theater of shows, where the rest of the nobles were hiding inside a secret room.
The mercenaries smiled and cheered for the arrival of their boss. They all seem to have confidence in his abilities.
"Nice star on your chest, mister captain." You have killed a lot of my men to make it this far, but it is not like the dogs of the army can feel anything when they kill. You guys just follow orders. You bastards could kill women and children without a second thought if your precious King ordered you to do so."
"Is that all you have to said for your crimes?" Cadoc didn't respond to the attempted provocation. "You say that we don't feel anything when we have to take a life. And here you're working for people that torture others for their sick pleasures and entertainment. We obey the King not because he is the 'King' but because he is always working to improve the lives of his citizens."
Both took a battle stance and jumped into the fight. The swords clashed in a violent storm. The strikes were colliding at a rapid speed. Not a single moment of rest. They were attacking each other and testing the abilities of each other. This man was the first to survive more than one hit from Cadoc in this whole battle.
In a quick movement, Cadoc points the tip of his sword at his opponent. "[Pierce]!" His sword turned white in a swift motion, almost piercing the chest of Rak like a spear.
Rak managed to block just in time with his sword. The impact sent him several meters back. "Eh, not bad. But you're going to need more if you want to kill me."
"Don't worry, I'm just getting started."
Before the fight resumed, a scream interrupted them. From the other door, a mercenary came running with tears in his eyes. "BOSS HELP M-" A tremendous sword pierced his back all the way to the front. A dark figure emerged from the shadows.
Cadoc and Rak could feel the deadly aura of this creature. This fight now involves an undead creature, a Death Knight.