'This must be the poison's effects.'
Still he moved.
Towards the still moving spots of purple in the distance. Those blobs were the 2 goblins he hadn't finished off yet. He had to kill them. He had to. Otherwise they would continue to attack and endanger not only himself but Sia and Sammi.
Yet, with the first step, he fell to one knee.
'Fuck! I can't.'
His strength had left. The poison had zapped it all away, leaving him immobilized and breathing heavy. He could no longer continue to fight in this state.
Sammi, who was still on the ground, snapped to attention after seeing Kai stagger. She quickly got up and went to his side.
Although everything happening right now was incomparably confusing and hard to process, she understood what Kai had done for her. He had saved her life by risking his and as such she should repay the favor.
Filled with concern, she walked to him and asked, "Kai, you okay?"
When Sammi got close, her eyes shook as she saw the color drain from Kai's face. Then her vision slowly gravitated towards his blood soaked arm. Ravaged by injuries, it was a hideous sight.
Skin was torn, muscles were shredded. Specks of white bone peeked through the gaping wounds as sinisterly dark lines of purple highlighted his veins and arteries. It made his forearm bulge and swell.
All Sammi could think of now was the pain Kai was surely feeling.
'How is he still not screaming after that?'
She was impressed at how stoic Kai was right now. To endure such pain and continue fighting was a truly admirable quality in her eyes.
But this couldn't be further from the truth. Rather than ignoring it, Kai didn't even feel the pain. No, it was more apt to say that his body couldn't recognize the pain or any sensation coming from his left arm.
In combination with his adrenaline, the poison completely shut down the nervous system in his left arm. He could not send or receive any information to and from his arm. In essence, that arm was paralyzed and it was rapidly spreading throughout his body.
This numbness is going to consume him until his eventual collapse, leading to his ultimate demise. Kai was in a crisis.
Even Sammi could see what was happening. She remembered what Kai was trying to say.
'Poiso… did he mean POISON!?'
Sammi was alarmed by her realization.
"Kai, are you poisoned?!"
Placing a hand on Kai's right shoulder, Sammi faced him. She wanted to confirm it for himself. Kai didn't turn to face her, instead he pointed forward towards the goblins.
"Goblins… go kill… awakening might… might cure me," Kai said in a hoarse and haggard voice.
He raised the bloodied one legged stand, intending to give it to Sammi. His breathing grew heavier and heavier. Even though Kai didn't finish a coherent sentence, Sammi understood what he was saying.
In order to save Kai she had to kill the goblins. Recalling what the melodically robotic voice had said, their bodies will awaken by absorbing the life essence of the defeated monsters, but that only occurs at the end of each wave and to end the wave, all the monsters had to be killed.
She had to kill.
But did she have the resolve to? That was the question hanging in her mind. No. There was no time for her to question it. Whether or not she had the resolve didn't matter, she just had to do it.
Sammi took the stand from Kai's hands and turned to face the direction he had pointed at. There a single goblin stood. The other was on the ground, clutching at its chest as it coughed blood and bile.
'Looks like only one can fight… good…'
After eyeing her target, she took a step forward.
"SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"
Sammi was greeted by the feral shrieks of the goblins. Instantly fear consumed her. Her eyes focused on the monster's face.
It snarled, flaring out its long sharp fangs. Blood dripped from the top of its head to its mouth, causing it to exude a menacing aura. Its vicious eyes gleamed with murderous intent.
Such a sight caused Sammi to freeze. The monster stared at her like a predator stalking its prey.
It had set its sights on the weapon that had injured it, the stand she was holding. Having seen what the weapon was capable of, it had been wary of Kai. But now that it had changed wielders, the goblin regained its confidence. The most dangerous opponent was incapacitated by the poison of its fallen kin while the remaining opponent had just been cowering mere moments ago.
Its battle cry had intimidated its opponent, reaffirming the goblin's earlier suspicion that the creature in front of it was a coward. The corners of its lips curled into a sinister smile.
Without a moment's hesitation the goblin leaped into the air, closing the distance, all the while snarling, instilling even more fear onto Sammi. It was effective, she staggered backwards as sweat formed on her forehead.
She could feel her heart thumping. Her eyes narrowed as the goblin approached. In a couple seconds it would be right in her face. She wanted to run, to escape. But she couldn't.
Kai was behind her, if she ran, he would be defenseless.
"SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"
The goblin lunged into an attack. She had no time to dodge. Her mind exploded with panic thoughts, not knowing how to react.
'Fuck! No, I'm gonna die… Move, move, move. MOVE!!! Why can't I move?!'
Swoosh!
A blur of purple and red flew by Sammi's head, colliding with the incoming goblin. The force knocked it and the red-ishly purple object into the ground, causing the earth to crack and shatter.
Smash!
Crack!
In the wake of the collision, the goblin was sprawled on the ground with mangled limbs. Blood splattered everywhere. The only indication that it was even alive were the slight twitching of its spasming body.
'What!?'
Sammi would have been mortified if she had the opportunity to process this, but before she even had the time to be stunned, a voice came from behind her.
"Sammi! Kill them! Now! Before Kai dies!!!"