As her sword arched through the air towards the hobgoblin, she was blinded by a flash of light that came from the other side of the goblin. Kim didn't know what had caused it, but she wasn't bothered by it. At least for the moment.
While she couldn't see for the moment, she still kept her swing moving. She was sure of the trajectory of her sword as well as the distance between her and the hobgoblin when she started swinging it. While she knew those factors remained true, her swing would connect.
As it is, when her blade connected, she could feel that it was biting into the goblin rather than being deflected or blocked. Regardless of what caused the light, she had landed a serious hit on the goblin. She just wished she could tell what it was. From the sound of it, the hobgoblin hadn't expected Kim's strike to hit, but that was a small comfort. However, because she couldn't see anymore, at least temporarily, she kept herself in a defensive position, trying to make it look like she wasn't blinded.
It was a weak bluff, but it was the best she could think of. Especially since if she tried o press the attack, she knew that her opponent could counterattack her and she'd be left wide open. There would be no way she would be able to either dodge or block such an attack in her current state. Her best option was to try and remain as defensive as possible. Maybe then she could survive until her eyes recovered.
She wasn't sure how long she waited, but she could tell that the hobgoblin wasn't moving, although it was still alive. She could tell that the others in her group were all alive, though she couldn't be sure if anyone else was blinded by the light.
Vaguely, she could also hear sounds in the distance. Some was coming from behind the hobgoblin in front of them, while others were coming through the doorway they'd fought at when they had the sea of goblins to contend with. Which made her wonder if whatever they tried to lose was back on their trail again.
With her current condition of being blind, that wasn't a comforting thought to her. She especially didn't like the thought of another enemy appearing when they were still dealing with the one in front of them.
While she knew the hobgoblin hadn't moved while she waited, after a minute or two, she found that her eyes were starting to recover. It was slow, but she was starting to be able to make out shapes again, though her vision was still full of the afterimage of the burst of light.
Suddenly an annoyed thought came to her mind. Why wasn't Elin healing her of this condition? She hadn't even heard Elin moving around to even heal any of their group. Was there a reason for that?
She didn't want to say anything because she suspected that if she did, it would only create a rift between them. Though, she also wondered if her saying anything would merely embarrass the girl. It was possible that she'd forgotten about her healing spells, but it didn't seem that likely to Kim.
Yet, as the sounds from whatever had been hunting them drew closer, Kim knew that they couldn't wait for their vision to return, especially if Elin wasn't going to treat it.
So, Kim took a deep breath and swung her sword, stepping into range of the hobgoblin, determined that she would end this, one way or another. That way she wouldn't have to be worried about being caught between two enemies.
As she expected, her strikes were less than effective. Each swing either missed completely or was blocked. She'd hoped that she would be able to have gotten lucky, but it seemed like the cards she had weren't so good.
Suddenly the hobgoblin screamed in pain. Kim wasn't sure what had caused it, but she didn't care. Whatever the cause was, it was helping her out.
She continued to press her attack, not caring if her own attacks were getting through. What mattered was that someone's attacks were getting through. After all, they were a team and weren't fighting the hobgoblin separately. Working together would be what would end this threat.
The team was made up of individuals, but each of them had a reason why they had agreed to be part of this team. While each might feel like they weren't contributing enough at various times, the fact that they were able to keep going was due to the fact that they would contribute what each of them needed to when it was needed. After all, Elin didn't do that much in the way of combat, but her time to shine was when it came to healing their injuries.
Jonas also might not be the best at frontline combat, but his ability to help keep them out of danger by being able to be aware of it was where he shone brightest.
Elmo might not be Kim's favorite person, but despite that, his spells often helped keep them from being overwhelmed. He also seemed to be growing on Kim. More like a fungus than anything else, though.
She knew that she herself did best when it came to fighting. Aside from that, she wasn't very useful. Not that she'd really thought much about it.
All around, she knew that each of them wanted to get back to their own worlds and try to pick up their lives, wherever it was left off from, provided they returned to the times in which they had been pulled from it.
Kim wasn't sure when it happened, but suddenly the hobgoblin fell to its knees before falling over. While she couldn't say if it was dead or not, it did seem to be down for the count at the moment.
"I'll finish it off," Jonas said.
Kim nodded, not really sure if she'd be able to be able to do that herself. However, she turned her attention to the sounds of whatever was coming at them from where they'd come from.
While she wasn't sure what it was, she at least knew that she should be ready for it. That way, she'd be in a better position to deal with it when it appeared. Even if her eyesight wasn't back to where it had been.
She felt more than heard or saw Elmo and Elin take a place behind her. She felt comfort knowing they were there, even though she wasn't sure if they'd be able to do anything against what was coming.
Whatever it was, it didn't make much sound other than the noise it made as it made its approach. Kim felt her heart beating faster in anticipation more than anything else. She was starting to find this more enjoyable than her job had been. At the very least here, things were rather unpredictable. Which she found oddly satisfying.
When she saw whatever had been coming up behind them before, she merely asked Elmo, "What is it?"
"View Stats," Elmo said, his voice coming from behind her, to her left.
Whatever it was approached carefully, walking straight for Kim, as if it deemed her the greater threat. Either that or because she was the closest threat.
"It's a doppelganger. It'll change into whatever form it thinks is the most beneficial to it. It'll gain whatever skill you have at the time it takes your shape, but it can also revert back to its original form whenever. When it takes the shape of another person, it also gains the characteristics and knowledge of that person. Its threat depends more of whose shape it takes than any threat it poses on its own," Elmo suddenly said.
Kim nodded. She wasn't sure if any of that was really helpful, but couldn't deny that it didn't hurt to know it. Besides, her eyes were getting better and she was starting to be able to make out depth in addition to shapes. Though, finer details still weren't available to her.
Kim sighed and closed her eyes. She wasn't sure where Jonas was, but didn't doubt that he had a good reason for not standing with her against this opponent. Besides, since her vision wasn't back to how it had been, she couldn't say that she merely missed him when he went by.
When the doppelganger was about ten feet from her, she leapt forward, swinging her sword, hoping to get a strike in before it could change shape. However, as her blade flew threw the air, she could see the air distort abound the creature in an instant and before her sword could reach the doppelganger, it was stopped by an identical sword to the one she was wielding with a sharp ringing sound from the blades meeting.
Kim backed up a step, suddenly wary. In front of herself she found a copy of herself, though the expression on the other her wasn't one she was familiar with on the face she'd see in the mirror. This face was one that not only was full of contempt for what she saw in front of her, but also arrogance. Almost as if the other her thought of herself as better than anything around her.