Blaze meticulously surveyed his surroundings, refraining from haphazardly expending his energy in a futile attempt to flee. With bated breath, he utilized both his eyes and ears to vigilantly monitor any movements in his vicinity.
In a sudden gust of turbulent wind, accompanied by a razor-sharp blade, a branch plummeted towards Blaze. Reacting swiftly, he deftly evaded the impending danger.
Narrowing his gaze, he scrutinized the towering tree above him, yet discerned nothing amiss.
Another lethal gust materialized before him, its velocity unmatched. Slicing through a portion of the canopy overhead, it remained poised to strike at Blaze.
With remarkable dexterity, Blaze deftly twists his body, narrowly evading the blade's deadly trajectory. Although his hair remained unscathed this time, the Invisible blade grazed past his chest, cutting open his uniform and leaving a faint gash on his shoulder.
In this moment of peril, his forbidden markings were exposed, but he gleaned the origin of the stealthy assailant.
Fixing his gaze upon the distant sky, he espied a blackbird ominously hovering above his position.
Without hesitation, Blaze sprinted towards the hole, acknowledging that he couldn't catch the bird. He had already memorized the direction of the hole from the map.
'Is that why the hyenas abruptly halted their pursuit?' Blaze pondered, his senses heightened as he remained alert for any signs of imminent danger.
The moment Blaze heard the turbulent wind and rustling leaves, he moved to the side.
'I think I've mistakenly entered Temple Run Hadar,' Blaze thought, moving left and right, narrowly escaping the blades that left marks on the floor of the forest. Some of the windblade brushed past him, giving him a small cut. But they were too small to hinder him. However, Blaze knew that if they accumulated, the effect would be dire.
Slowly, Blaze started approaching his destination. However, a big and unforeseen problem occurred.
The expanse before Blaze appeared desolate, adorned only with a scattering of rocks. He realized that his attention had been solely fixated on memorizing the path to the hole, neglecting to consider the nature of the terrain.
In a swift, piercing motion, the resounding 'pew' of a wind blade emanated from behind, compelling Blaze to hasten towards the barren land.
Suddenly, the distinct 'cawing' of the bird reached his ears, heralding the onslaught of wind blades converging upon him from multiple directions.
Indeed, there were four wind blades unleashed by the encroaching bird. The tree obstructed the bird's performance, but now, they were in an open field and nothing could stop it.
"Run!" Aphrodite yelled.
Blaze, though lacking the agility and nimbleness needed to evade the onslaught of multiple wind blades, managed to evade two with a desperate maneuver. Unfortunately, the remaining wind blades found their mark, inflicting deep, intersecting gashes upon his chest. Crimson streams of blood stained his garments, saturating his trousers in a vivid hue.
"Go check for any cave, even if it's a lion in there. I would rather battle a lion than run in this horror movie," Blaze bellowed, his eyes ablaze with a bloodshot intensity.
Aphrodite nodded and disappeared.
The 'Temple run Hadar' of Blaze has evolved into a 'run-for-your-life horror movie.' Blaze commenced a zig-zag sprint, hoping to evade the wind blades.
Pewww!
Blaze, despite his inability to precisely ascertain the original path of the wind blades, relied on his instincts and made a calculated guess based on the auditory cues he discerned. Swiftly veering to the side, he narrowly evaded three of the deadly projectiles, yet one ruthlessly sliced across his back.
The wind blades sliced through his uniform with alarming ease, akin to a mere sheet of paper, leaving behind another deep and grievous wound. The severity of the injury bared a chilling glimpse of his exposed ribs, transforming him from a pristine figure to a bloodied warrior in an instant.
The agonizing and searing pain from the wound threatened to overwhelm Blaze's senses, but his tough will allowed him to maintain his focus amidst the turmoil.
Tilting his head to the side, Blaze's gaze locked onto the bird hovering above him, relentlessly spewing forth wind blades from its menacing maw.
With a swift and desperate motion, Blaze wielded the katana in his hand, attempting to intercept the oncoming wind blade. The clash between the wind blade and his weapon was fierce, resulting in the katana nearly splitting in two. Only a small fragment of the blade remained intact
The collision, though brief, unleashed a cataclysmic force, propelling Blaze through the air with an unsettling momentum.
Thrown into a tumultuous sequence of somersaults and rolls, Blaze's body rebounded and tumbled relentlessly against the unforgiving ground. Yet, his seasoned expertise and experience aid him. With his arms shielding his face and head, he stretched his body, allowing himself to fall freely, ensuring the preservation of his joints and preventing any dislocations or fractures amidst the chaos of the moment.
As his momentum gradually waned with each successive bounce, Blaze skillfully planted one hand onto the earth, executing a graceful backflip that propelled him back onto his feet. Without pausing to assess the toll on his body, he sprinted forward, driven solely by his indomitable determination.
Blaze's once-pristine form now bore the battle scars of his harrowing ordeal, adorned with a cloak of dust, streaks of blood, and a web of criss-crossing gashes. No longer did his hair exude its natural, black shining luster; instead, it lay subdued beneath a coating of clinging dust.
Perplexity etched upon the bird's countenance as it tilted its head, momentarily bewildered by Blaze's resilience. In a swift and decisive motion, the avian adversary descended, its predatory intent palpable. Sensing the imminent danger, Blaze instinctively dove and rolled to the side, evading the bird's lethal descent with nimble agility.
With calculated precision, the bird unleashed a devastating assault, employing its clawed feet to mercilessly smash Blaze's previous location. A sturdy boulder stood in its path, but it proved no match for the bird's tremendous might, shattering into fragmented remnants. Witnessing the raw power displayed by the avian foe, Blaze's heart skipped a beat, acknowledging the formidable force he faced.
At long last, Blaze caught a fleeting glimpse of his opponent. It revealed itself as a colossal black hawk, its regal presence heightened by eyes, beak, and talons that gleamed with a resplendent golden hue. The hawk, swift and resolute, swiftly ascended from the ground, ascending to greater heights.
Blaze looked ahead and saw that it was a cliff.
'I'm I about to leave its territory? That's why it's anxious and attacking at close range?' Blaze questioned inwardly before pouring all his heart into running.
Two wind blades fell from the sky, but Blaze adeptly dodged this time around. Abandoning his reliance on visual cues, he relied solely on his acute sense of hearing, a feat that proved to be mentally taxing. However, running while using his ears was not easy. Distinguishing the subtle nuances of his footfalls amidst the rushing wind and the ominous hum of the wind blades proved brain-damaging.
Yet, amidst the intense battle for survival, Blaze's eyes gleamed with fierce determination as each nimble dodge brought him perilously close to the cliff's edge. However, he sensed another unforeseen, bone-chilling threat, accompanied by a tumultuous gust of wind, compelling him to make a daring leap without the luxury of surveying the unknown depths below.
In a seamless display of acrobatics, Blaze twisted his body mid-air, utilizing every ounce of his physical prowess to maintain control in the face of uncertainty. He fell while facing the sky.
The hawk, hovering dangerously close to the ground, became the target of Blaze's unwavering resolve. Summoning all his strength and channeling his mana, he propelled the katana forward with a speed akin to a shooting rocket, hurtling towards the formidable avian adversary.
At the same time, a long, turbulent wind blade from the bird cleaved off the rocky edge of the cliff. It was very turbulent to the extent of causing visual disturbance and ripples in the air.
In a fortuitous twist of fate, Blaze's katana found its mark, striking the eye of the hawk with uncanny precision. The sudden pain and disruption caused the majestic creature to jolt upward, momentarily thrown off balance.
Blaze couldn't see if he injured the bird due to their distance apart.
However, fortune did not favor Blaze in his descent. Fate dealt him a cruel blow as he landed upon a jagged, pyramidal rock that jutted out, piercing through his back and out of his belly. Immobilized and unable to move, he lay there, gazing up at the vast expanse of the sky in a silent lament. Slowly, the world around him began fading into darkness, yet the distinct sound of the approaching hawk reverberated in his ears, an ominous presence drawing ever nearer.
'I didn't cross into another beast's territory? I guess I didn't keep my promise. This is where I fall,' Blaze thought in regret with distant and emotionless eyes that looked like they could see through the sky.