He swung with a fluent motion and was incredibly fast. Athena and I synced our attacks. We put as much pressure on him as we could. He was able to block all of our attacks and even do some of his own. His footwork was good. Every swing he threw was harder than the last and we both knew we had to end the fight quickly or we would lose. His swordsmanship was second to none.
Athena attacked high and I attacked low. He jumped and dodge. I thought I got him until he raised one of his swords in the air. Athena and I exchanged eye contact. We tried to run back from him. But he was faster than us. A loud booming sound rang through the air as our blades clashed and sparks flew. I stopped myself from sliding from the sheer strength of his swing. I quickly stood up and he jumped towards me. Athena immediately jumped into the fight again. But she was struggling to keep up. He raised his sword in the air and swung down. Her arms were shaking as she held her sword up to defend. As their swords clashed, I heard them cracking. I figured out a way to defeat him. We have to break his swords. I ran to them and struck him in the ribs and landed a hit, it was too shallow. He stepped back and Athena gathered all the strength she could and swung. She damaged the blade and there was now a visible crack running down the length of one of his swords.
We pushed him back and pressed our attack. We went on the offensive and forced him to block our attacks. We didn't give him any time to attack himself. Athena and I crossed our blades and looked back at him. She smiled and the adrenaline was building in me. Then suddenly Jack smiled. He began laughing.
"I underestimated you. Now it's time to get serious." he said
The atmosphere changed. The air felt heavy. He got stronger and faster. He kicked Athena in the chest and she flew backwards. Then he focused on me. He swung for my neck, but I was able to block one of his swords. But the other sliced my cheek. I wasn't ready for the blow he landed on me. He pierced my shoulder with one of his swords.
I gritted my teeth as he removed the blade and attacked me again. I had to keep my mind steady as my shoulder was injured. And I could feel I was reaching my limit. I swung my sword horizontally and he dodged it. Athena attacked from behind and was able to cut deep into his back. He ached in pain but quickly turned around to face her. My vision was becoming blurry and my legs were weak. But rage is a strange and powerful emotion. The pain I felt in my shoulder dissipated and I saw nothing but red. I was super focused. I dashed and swung at the base of his neck. He ducked and rolled out of the way.
"Something's off." he muttered
"Don't stop!" Athena shouted
We both ran at him and I swung down at the sword Athena was able to crack. As my blade connected its hit, I heard a clean snap and saw that it was shattered all over the grass. He dropped the handle and said something before swinging his other sword at us. We dodged and stepped back. My eyes were strained and my vision blurred. I could hear Athena panting. Jack no longer had a smile, but only determination written on his face. All three of us were reaching our limit.
"You guys are better than I thought!" he said, taking a few steps back.
"I'll die before I let you have this city." Athena said
"This was just round one. Get ready for the encore!" he said
He was sluggish now, but so were we. It took a lot of strength to block just one of his swings. Athena was able to keep him at bay and I would try to get an attack off, but he was too quick. He moved backward away from Athena and quickly moved to her side. But it was a momentary victory, for Athena was able to drive her sword into his shoulder.
He grunted and elbowed her face with all the power left in his body. She fell to the ground, stunned. He was about to strike her while she was on the ground, but I came up to him and kicked him away. He lost one sword and had a massive wound in his shoulder. At the same time, we both lunged at each other. My sword sliced down his chest and he managed to dig into my right cheek. Blood poured out of both our wounds. Athena stood up and joined me. We were overwhelming him. We could see the sweat dripping from his forehead as we rained blows on him. He jumped back and laughed.
"I didn't expect such a challenge! I love it!" he said
We weren't going to fall for his ploy to stall. We both kept moving forward. I blocked one of his swings. Athena swung a counter, but he blocked. I swung at him, and blocked again. He rolled on the floor and when he stood up I noticed he held the broken sword in his other hand. There was only around an inch of blade left on it. He ran straight for me and I barely managed to dodge. He followed up with a blindingly fast horizontal slash. I turned just before it hit my neck. I quickly stabbed at him and he swiped at my hand, cutting it. I bit my tongue and swung back, he easily dodged. Then he raised his arm up high and I dove to the ground. I looked back and he struck Athena's chest plate.
He thrust his sword and she blocked it. He kept pressing his sword against her. He got closer to her and her face showed visible pain. He stabbed her side with the broken sword. Athena hit his hand and kicked him back. She quickly pulled out the sword and threw it far away. Blood quickly flooded out of the wound. She kept one hand on it as she continued to fight.
Then we heard a loud pop sound followed by a swooshing noise. All three of us turned to look. A flare.
"Reinforcements?" Jack muttered, "Impossible."
"Rowan, they are about fifteen minutes out!" Athena shouted
I looked around. There were still many bandits and knights fighting. It didn't look like we could hold for fifteen more minutes. Jack became impatient. He ran towards Athena. In an instant he dashed and struck at her armor, cracking the chest-plate. He smiled as she quickly threw off the useless armor. She was breathing heavily. Blood was running out of her wound. We were worn down. He advanced and aimed at her chest. She put her sword in the way and with a moment of pure luck she managed to actually block. Jack smirked. I ran to attack.
"Not this time." he said, turning around and slicing my left arm.
I didn't feel anything. I pushed through the pain and continued to attack. I could tell he was done fighting as well. He picked up his pace. I kept swinging and swinging. My breath was so heavy. I grew fatigued and my feet dragged behind me. My mind was starting to shut down. My vision was blurry, I could only see shapes. I readied my blade and ran as hard as I could at him. Athena did the same from behind. Jack ran forward and tried to shove his sword through my chest. I stepped to the side and Athena struck his back again, making a red x on his back in blood.
Jack spun around and horizontally slashed her chest. Before he could make contact, I jumped in the way and blocked his mighty blow. He put all his remaining energy into a strong swing, at least he tried to. Athena raised her sword and drove it into his chest with all her remaining might. He grabbed her arm and squeezed tightly, forcing her to release her grip on the sword.
"What are you made out of?" she asked in shock.
He kept the sword lodged in his chest as he fought. Athena tried to pull it out but he wouldn't let her get close. She ached in pain and fell to the ground. I was amazed that I was still standing, and that she didn't fall earlier too.
"Now... let's finish... this..." Jack said, stumbling.
I couldn't stand straight either. But we continued our brawl. He cut the inside of my leg. I groaned in pain. He did the same to the other. All my muscles were burning and everything was bleeding and ached in pain. I wanted to give up. But I couldn't give up. Not until reinforcements made it.
"Why don't you give up?" he asked weakly.
"I'll never give up." I said in a low growl.
He managed to kick me to the ground. I lost grip of my sword and couldn't get back up. He stood above me, ready to drive his sword through my skull. I looked over to Athena, she was struggling to stand as well.
"This... was fun... but it... is... over now..." he struggled to say
He raised his sword high and before he could attack, I saw another sword impale him from behind. His body fell over and I saw Colonel Pole standing there. I let out a sigh of relief and looked over at the fort. They made it, just in time. Colonel Pole rushed over to Athena and a few medics ran over to us. Athena and I looked at each other and smiled.
"Rowan!" Kyle shouted as he knelt next to me and hugged me.
My body was so numb that I couldn't even feel his warmth. I tried to speak but I had no energy left. I could hear him crying and repeating my name.
The last thing I remember was Kyle trying to comfort me. I was already unconscious before they even lifted me up.
I was lost in a dark dream-like state. I couldn't move. I looked around and fear struck my soul when I saw a familiar man. Blood poured out of his skull and then I remembered.
I woke up screaming. Kyle immediately sat next to me and hugged me. I tightly held him and couldn't hold back my tears.
"It's okay now. You're safe, Rowan." he calmly said
"Where are we?" I asked
"The medical bay in Fort Zeke." he said
"Athena! Is she alright?" I asked
"Yes, she made a quick recovery. But you on the other hand, have been asleep for three days." he said
"What?" I asked
"The doctors weren't sure if you were going to wake up again." his voice broke.
I hugged him again.
"I heard that no civilian lives were lost." he said
"That's great." I said
We heard a knock on the door and turned to see who it was.
"Father!" I shouted
"Rowan! I'm so glad you are okay!" he said, sitting next to me.
Kyle quietly left the room and Mom walked in with Eve.
"Rowan!" Eve jumped into bed and hugged me.
My happiness was too much and I just held Eve and began to cry. Mom was in tears as well. The days went by and with little issue. I was forced to stay in bed and recover. I was told that there was nothing serious and I would be able to train in a few days. But our time was limited. Kent and I could feel that something sinister was just around the corner.