"I'm about to go on the attack." The gleaming arrows, now dropping their barrier, quickly launched themselves at Valeria, who was the closest target.
She evaded the first two with a graceful sidestep, but the third arrow materialized from her blind spot, its deadly path aimed at her head.
I watched as the blade sliced through the air, conjuring a gust of wind so potent that it altered the arrow's trajectory just in the nick of time. Instead of piercing her skull, it grazed her cheek, leaving a crimson trail in its wake.
"I really thought I had you there." Aurelia said, still having that confidence in her voice.
Zorro and Adante stood right next to Valeria, and I could see exhaustion on both of their faces. Only Valeria still seemed to have some energy left in her.
Valeria looked at Zorro and Adante, and with flawless coordination yet again, all of them lunged towards Aurelia at once, but before I could even register that they had moved, a huge shockwave from some attack sent me careening back yet again, and I crashed into the side of a building, all the pain finally surfacing in full.
This made me unable to get up or do anything. I was just out for the count.
As the dust settled, what I saw horrified me.
Valeria, Zorro, and Adante were pinned to a wall, with the three arrows pinning all three of them down. The sight of blood dripping down all three of their arms was something I wished I didn't see.
"Well, this is the real power of the triple-shot edge. These arrows are special. They can't be destroyed. And when needed, I can deploy them for defense or I can use them for offense, like I did right here." She explained herself to the groaning trio, hanging on to the wall and writhing in pain.
Aurelia seemed to revel at this sight, especially Zorro's pain.
She walked up to him, placed her hand on the arrow piercing his shoulder, and twisted further, causing him to scream in pain.
"Noooo! Stop!" I screamed from the other side. Now having enough strength to walk again, I lifted my blade and groggily made my way towards Aurelia.
She almost seemed amused at me. "Oh, if it isn't Eduardo, I never thought you'd be one to fight with a sword, but from what I saw, it's better than I expected, but still nothing to brag about. You know, I take it back. It was sloppy."
I could do nothing but just watch as Aurelia continued to berate me.
"It is such an unsightly scene to see the crown prince of Heraklion like this. I was unable to hold a candle even to this commander. Just how pathetic can you get, Eduardo?"
I could do nothing but just stand with an emotionless face as I took a stance.
"Oh, you want to challenge me? "Aurelia chuckled, her hand in her face as she tried to contain her laughter.
"Yes." I said, and seeing the determination in my eyes, her laugh soon waned and was replaced with a stern warrior's face.
I couldn't find any other word to describe it other than a warrior face. Her face was graceful, yet she had the strength to back up that beauty with a deadly punch.
My vision was groggy, my entire body was in a world of pain, and it just felt like the entire world was spinning at an erratic pace.
I could collapse any second. But I also knew that in this moment, no one was coming to save me.
The only person who can save me and the others right now is me.
So I did what any sane person would do right now.
I clenched my jaw, my fists tightening around the hilt of my sword. Even just doing this took a lot of the remaining strength I had, and my footing started to stagger a bit, but I steadied myself and stood my ground.
"Eduardo, are you alright?" Valeria asked, despite reeling from pain from being held up by the arrow.
Aurelia saw my state and went, "You look like you're going to die any second, and you still want to challenge me? I knew that you were an idiot, but I didn't expect such a man out of someone who had this kind of reputation. It's almost charming in its own way, you know?"
Me challenging her right now is the equivalent of me signing my own death sentence.
My mind suddenly drifted back to a conversation I had with Hagen a while back.
"Brother, how are you this strong? I remember asking him this question, and he looked back at me with the most serious expression and said, "Who said I was strong? I just believe I'm strong, and a large part of that belief carries me over the line a lot of the time."
"What would you do if you came across a foe who outmatched you in strength?"
Hagen put his hands in his pocket and thought about it for a second. "I would try my best to beat them. Even if I know I'd lose, I won't go down without one hell of a fight, you know." He said it, chuckling. I now found myself in the exact same situation I had asked him about, and I decided I'd do the same.
With Aurelia's eyes locked onto mine, I realized that to become strong, I had to believe in myself. I had to believe that I was strong enough to take on Aurelia, to face my fears, and to prove that I was more than the doubts that had haunted me.
In that moment, I found a reservoir of inner strength that I hadn't known existed. I took a deep breath, centering myself, and let go of the fear that had held me captive for so long.
I felt a new surge of energy in me as a crackling blue aura started to form around me, similar to the one that Hagen usually has.
Aurelia's expression shifted from surprise to begrudging respect as she saw the transformation taking place before her eyes. The air crackled blue with anticipation, and I couldn't help but smile.
"Ed!" Valeria shouted from behind, a mix of concern and surprise.
"Even if I go down... I crouched into a jumping stance, aiming to close the distance with one jump.
"I'm not going down without putting up one hell of a fight."