The moment he realized that the torch had gone out and before he could react, he heard the wind cut at high speed and in an instant he felt a surprise blow hit his face with a certain power that made him take a step back.
The swordsman had his guard broken as his body was forced backwards by the sudden blow, in the instant he thought.
"Shit..."
And before he could recover, he soon heard more sounds of whips cutting through the air around him.
Arthur placed his sword on the side in front of his two arms that closed in a crossed defense, trying to resist the blows that came.
The whips amidst the darkness were impossible to see, the sounds came out, but the blows were fast enough to make the sound irrelevant as more and more blows came hitting the swordsman's arms.
Arthur grunted as he was hit several times in a few seconds, even though his arms blocked the front they still hit the sides and made him grunt feeling the pain of the blows, being pressured.
Hearing the swordsman's grunts, Christopher gritted his teeth and screamed.
"ARTH!!!"
Christopher was trying to free himself, but what was around him was too strong and was squeezing him when he saw that he was trying to free himself.
All his vision was taken by the monster and soon he felt a shock in his head that made him grunt, little by little his mind seemed to wander and be taken to another place.
"CHRISTOPHER!!!"
The sword bounced off some blows and Arthur could see for a moment that the blows that hit the sword pushed it slightly, forcing him to retreat, but soon after the whips were cut by the blade as their parts fell into the water.
The swordsman stared in surprise, but soon a bigger blow came and hit the blade, pushing it against Arthur's arm and cutting lightly, making him feel the pain of the cut and widen his eyes.
His arms, legs and sides of his body were hit hard as he clenched his teeth feeling the pain of all the lashes as he thought.
"Damn it... I need a torch, but I don't know if everyone's gone... Damn it, Chris..."
As soon as he thought of his friend, he soon heard in the darkness a male scream coming from one of his sides, making Arthur widen his eyes noticing Chris who screamed, seeming to feel some pain.
In Christopher's mind, the complete darkness became flashes of vivid memories in his mind.
He saw in front of him moments jumping as if they were a sequence, in an instant Arthur's father was in front of him, with a calm and smiling expression as he always taught.
Training moments while he was being trained to be able to use [Activation].
Moments flowed by and he remembered some failures to use the technique, having memories of lying on the ground and bathed in sweat while looking up with a frustrated expression.
However, unlike him, Evans was smiling and approached with a bottle offering right after while he spoke.
"You're doing good, Chris. If you keep insisting, you will soon be able to use [Activation] to strengthen your moves."
Seeing the bottle and hearing the words, the blonde opened a slight smile still tired and extended his hand to the bottle, it was a pleasant memory as he saw his hand approaching the bottle.
But soon the smile faded and the memory changed, Evans hand that was extended to give something, was now pushing and Chris felt that he was falling while in an instant his vision witnessed the flames taking over the dojo where they were, also covering the body by Evans.
Chris' eyes widened and tears flowed as if the moment was passing slowly in front of him, as he saw the face of the hooded man being barely shown, pale skin and a strangely pointed ear peeking out from under the hood, seeing in a single instant, until that his sight was consumed by the flames that exploded from the dojo and hit his body.
In an instant, his body was covered in flames and all the feeling of having his body burned came back, vividly making him agonize.
Arthur clenched his teeth when he heard Chris and jumped back away from the whips that hit them with speed.
Backing up with a few more jumps, Arthur stopped a little further away and felt his back hit the wall as the sound made the creature scream.
Immediately Arthur heard hurried footsteps in the water seeming to go towards him, making him raise his guard again and frown.
Again the creature roared and the sounds of whips cutting the air were heard, Arthur made his defense while he did not know where to go, it was complete darkness and he could only see the exit in the distance, but soon it was covered by the appearance of a creature and then the whips came.
The blows seemed more aggressive and hit with violence, Arthur's whole body began to be whipped except for his head and neck that were protected by his defense.
The swordsman's legs and arms were hit hard, the sounds of the blows hitting his skin seemed to echo as if it was something being burst, even if the sword protected his face and cut a few tentacles, the blows didn't seem to diminish.
More blows hit and little by little Arthur felt the blows destroying his clothes while his whole body screamed, he clenched his teeth trying to endure the pain while he felt as if something was oozing where he was constantly being attacked and little by little his conscience wanted to disappear after so many blows .
It was like a storm of blows and in the dark he couldn't see anything or try to act, because he knew that if his guard was opened for a mere moment he would be hit and the result would be worse.
The pain seemed to scream even louder and Arthur's angry expression slowly turned into frustration, his energy was already close to the end and his injuries only increased while he couldn't react, hearing only the whips cutting the air and hitting him.
But in the midst of all that darkness, Arthur remained with his eyes open and gradually saw his vision clear as he heard hurried footsteps and a panting breath.
His mind wandered as he heard the footsteps, but noticing them, Arthur soon widened his eyes and lifted his head, seeing the image of the monster's whips slowly form.
The blows continued to come and Arthur noticed the image of the monster slowly clearing in front of him, meanwhile he looked to the side and saw someone approaching.
The approaching image had long brown hair, while wearing an ordinary peasant outfit that was slightly torn and weathered, her face looked scared as some tears flowed, but she ran while holding two torches in her hands.
As the place cleared, his footsteps approached and became louder, drawing the creature's attention and making it turn its face towards the girl while stopping its whips and leaving them raised, ready to attack.
The girl stopped running as if she was paralyzed when she saw the creature staring at her, again her memories were awakened and she froze as if she was paralyzed while holding the torches.
Christopher was still trapped by the creature as his face contorted and he clenched his teeth salivating, the images kept running, but unlike before he was awake and had heard the footsteps.
His mind wandered between reality and the image being conveyed, making Christopher clench his teeth even harder as the veins stood out in his face.
Hearing the new footsteps approaching, the monster prepared to advance as it opened its mouth full of teeth and screamed as it prepared to advance, but soon it heard a low and irritated voice speak.
"I found you..."
The creature raised its head slightly, remembering the presence that was nearby, but as soon as it turned its face and before it realized it, Arthur thought.
"Beruh Style: Divide"
A powerful horizontal blow was delivered to the creature's face with power, forcing it to retreat by jumping backwards.
Again, tentacles appeared on the monster's face as its mouth snarled and then roared, looking irritated by the blow, but soon after, Arthur stopped his sword beside his body and faced the monster while his expression showed that he still felt pain.
His arms were scarred and threads of blood ran all over his body from the constant whipping, however, Arthur seemed more focused and serious, sighing soon after still staring at the creature that remained in a snarl as he prepared to move forward.
In an instant, the monster raised its head and screamed, then moved its tentacles and attacked where Arthur was previously, however, Arthur took a quick step and the whip only hit the wall making some stones fly.
The monster raised its head when realizing that the swordsman was no longer there, but soon after, it heard a quick step that raised water on its side.
The creature was taken by surprise and noticed that the swordsman was closer by the sound it had made, realizing the danger, it turned its focus to Arthur while moving its tentacles quickly to hit the swordsman.
All the whips moved and Arthur who was closest to the monster looked up, seeing them all move more clearly in the light as he thought.
"Now I see clearly..."
Arthur widened his eyes when he saw the approaching whips and then his iris became lighter and lighter, giving a slight glow before taking on a slightly darker and more vivid orange hue, it was the [Activation] and then he thought.
"And you won't touch me anymore!"
The swordsman saw the tentacles move, appearing to be slower and then he moved his body to the sides while dodging the blows.
His steps were faster and raised water while alerting the monster that moved more whips to hit the swordsman, but Arthur managed to move and dodge as he approached the monster bypassing him.
Feeling that the steps were faster made the monster alert and position its legs to move forward, Arthur looked to the side while his eyes slowly went out.
In an instant the creature was advancing, opening its arms as its mouth full of teeth opened and roared with its choked voice.
"RUUUUUUUUUURRRRR"
Arthur watched the creature approach as his eyes dimmed, but unlike before, Arthur was calmer and soon widened his eyes, bringing back the orange glow belonging to his family technique.
The creature was close, but Arthur could see clearly through its whips and positioned his body, taking a step to his side and dodging the creature's advance.
In front of him the tentacles appeared and tried to hit him, but Arthur had his sword in hand and moved causing lateral and horizontal cuts, assuming an even lower posture while cutting the whips and opening the way for him to pass.
The creature's advance was prevented and Arthur stopped going a little further while trying to stop its speed with his feet, raising water.
Upon hearing the sound of water being trampled, the creature soon turned to Arthur, but in an instant another step was heard and the creature moved its whips forward, already knowing that that was where its target would come from.
A horizontal blow with two whips was delivered in front of the creature, but it only cut the wind and the creature was confused.
Still holding the torches, the girl saw Arthur disappearing at high speed and heading towards the monster, but in the blink of an eye she could see the swordsman above the monster in mid-air, wielding his blade as he approached the whips that held Christopher .
Even though she was mostly in darkness that was offset by the little light emitted by the torch, she could see that Arthur's eyes left an orange streak behind as he moved towards his companion.
The swordsman had jumped with a stronger step going towards the whips, previously his deviation aimed to stay towards the creature and the girl, being at the right angle, it only remained to jump.
By the light of the torch he could clearly see Christopher trapped by whips that intertwined his entire body while a larger one was spread across his face.
Approaching the tentacles that held his friend, Arthur left the sword horizontal and thought.
"Beruh Style: Divide."
The girl saw that the sword was wrapped in orange aura and a horizontal cut was delivered in an instant on the whips, the violence and force of the blow broke the whips with speed that gushed the brownish liquid, making the creature howl and freeing Christopher.
Arthur extended his arms and the speed at which his body was allowing the swordsman to grab Christopher's body, sending both towards the girl as they walked away from the monster.
Everything happened quickly and soon she saw the two going towards her at high speed, leaving her only wide eyes as the two passed over.
The fall raised water that wet up to the girl's knees, she turned around and saw Arthur crouched and Christopher still trapped.
The swordsman breathed hard as his orange eyes slowly faded, but then he took a deep breath and reached out his hand to Christopher's face, grabbing the tentacle that had joined the blonde's face.
Arthur touched and felt like it was a hard shell, however, he still grabbed and pushed, pulling from Chris' face making small black tentacles come out with traces of blood.
Due to the violence with which the mask was ripped off, Chris' eyes widened and soon after he noticed the brightness.
In an instant the blonde's eyes glowed yellow and he was straining against the whips that held his body, Chris looked irritated while little by little the sounds of the whips breaking were heard as some black parts began to break apart.
Christopher was irritated and clenched his teeth with even more force while his eyes glowed in an even stronger yellow, soon after breaking the whips that held him, making them split in half with such brute force.
He sat irritated, his eyes still glowing yellow, but gradually fading as he stared at the creature.
The girl looked at the two and saw that both were panting, but in a different way.
Arthur looked tired from the effort as he kept his head down, but Christopher looked irritated and soon she heard the blonde speak.
"You came, great..."
She looked surprised and lowered her eyebrows, the blonde's tone of voice was different from before and he was irritable as he spoke.
The two remained on the ground, but soon after Arthur gritted his teeth and got up, still panting as he turned to face the monster.
"I hate to admit it, but it was this light that allowed me to see this thing. Thank you, you saved us."
Arthur looked much more tired as his eyes got heavy and he remained with his head down still recovering, she looked worried and spoke.
"I…no…don't have to thank…"
She lowered her head seeing the swordsman, but soon after Christopher stood up and took one of the torches.
"We do, we don't have that much strength anymore and we need one more favor-"
The moment the sentence ended, the creature raised its head and brought its hands to where its eyes should have been and roared again as its tentacles began to twitch, making the three of them turn their attention to the creature as they stared.
Gradually the contorted tentacles came together and became thicker as the ends intertwined in an attempt to make something sharp, the two clenched their teeth in sync seeing that the creature still had one last resort.
Soon the tentacles became thicker and sharper whips, reducing their number in exchange for giving more power to their blows, Arthur frowned as he watched the creature's body retreat as it tried to hide or protect itself.
It seemed like a cowardly tactic that caught the attention of the two, but then the elongated whips moved at high speed as they hit.
They hit the water raising a large amount that went towards the torch, the girl widened her eyes and retreated, but soon Christopher advanced, blocking the water placing his body in front of the two torches.
The blows hit the walls and removed even larger pieces, making them fall into the water, emitting more sounds and making the creature try to hit even faster, protecting itself like a cocoon while its whips beat insanely.
Arthur glared and spoke.
"The whips cut easily before, but I doubt they're as fragile now. It's a cowardly tactic and he wants to keep us away."
"It's a chance to get away... but I doubt he'll let it."
"Then there is only one solution."
The swordsman walked until he was beside Christopher, the blond saw his injured companion with some traces of blood still falling, making small drops dripping in the dirty water that was there.
Christopher frowned and then looked straight ahead seeing the creature still in its cocoon, then speaking.
"Are you sure you can continue?"
Arthur listened to the questioning and slipped his arm under his chin, wiping away sweat and blood as he spoke.
"This is nothing… I'm not going to let this thing get away now, how about you? Can you fight?"
The blonde clenched his teeth and the handle of the torch while looking irritated, but then he sighed, still showing anger.
"Not after what that thing made me see… if it did that to everyone who was here, all that time in a nightmare… I'm gonna fucking murder it!"
The girl lowered her head as they joined their hands that shook slightly, her memories and nightmares surfaced, the images of creatures grabbing and attacking her came back, making her bite her lips and clench her fists while grunting in fright.
"Don't worry."
A voice emerged and the girl opened her eyes, slowly lifting her head and looking towards the two, seeing that the swordsman was already with his guard up and facing the monster.
"We'll take care of this thing for you, Kaila…just don't let the light go out."
The sentence made the girl's eyes widen as a trickle of tears ran down her face, seeing the backs of the two being lit by her torch.
Feeling her body calm down, the girl smiled slightly as she nodded after hearing the swordsman's sentence.
The two began to walk towards the creature and Arthur spoke.
"We won't pass this wall of whips normally, this may be this monster's last attempt, but it will also be our last..."
"Then there is only one solution."
The two widened their eyes in unison as they positioned themselves, their eye colors changing as Arthur's became a dark orange and his veins bulged, revealing an increased effort to maintain.
As for Christopher's, they glowed in a stronger yellow that lightly lit the place, the two would leave with the [Activation] from the beginning.
Kaila saw the two walking side by side, until a whip was raised against both of them and hit the middle between them that disappeared from the girl's sight in a blink of an eye, leaving only the orange trace and the yellowish glow behind.