Chapter 35: A Mysterious Dark... Not Quite II
Ruthar knew from the steps he heard that it was clearly human and approaching him in secrecy.
A bang shook the entire cottage like an earthquake, with the ground below Ruthar beginning to crack wide open with a loud shattering noise.
This strange occurrence threw him off balance as he staggered from the cracks until he reached the wall of the cottage.
The cracks in the floor expanded, shaking the cottage abruptly. As it continued, things worsened, with the roofing starting to split apart, letting rain pour in from the openings.
For some reason, it looked like the entire house was shrinking on him.
"A user with the ability to destroy objects... It's an Exorcist."
Knowing the need to escape from the house before it was entirely crushed, Ruthar burst into a sprint towards the nearest window. As he reached it, he leapt outside through the opening and into the rain.
As he did so, the house stopped shrinking and everything went calm.
Well, not everything. There were three figures in masks like ninjas before him.
They must have used the house shrinking as a method to draw him out, knowing it would be dangerous to fight him head-on.
Ruthar straightened his stance and let out a wave of air from his mouth.
He watched the rain fall slowly past him but kept his eyes on the three figures. It was hard to see them, but he knew they could see him perfectly.
"It's Ruthar Hellborn."
As the words escaped one of their mouths, the ninja in the middle disappeared from its original spot, appearing before Ruthar and driving a fist into his jaw.
Ruthar staggered back, taking the blow.
As soon as he took the hit, he regained his composure and swung his leg at the figure, who withdrew her head to evade his attack.
Ruthar saw another opening, mustering flames in his hand and blasting them out at the ninja.
The ninja swatted the flames into dying embers perfectly.
"She must have experience!"
Ruthar folded his fists, adopting a stance he had been taught by Hendricks. He did not attack but awaited the ninja's next move.
"You are very good, boy, but you stand no chance of winning against us."
Ruthar had figured out this point as well. Winning against Tomaha was still a long way off, let alone real Exorcists.
"Still, I can't let them take me without a fight."
Ruthar placed his legs in a sprinting position before lunging at the Exorcist.
He flung a balled fist at her and blasted a wave of fire simultaneously. His attack was swatted away like before.
But Ruthar would not give up. He mustered his mana up to his legs, forming a wave of wind around him to aid his quick movements.
He threw another punch at the Exorcist, and this time his hit made it through, making the Exorcist groan as she stumbled back.
He attacked again during her moment of daze, swinging a flaming kick and landing it on her jaw.
A loud cracking sound echoed as the Exorcist woman fell to her side in the rain.
"I beat one... Just by luck though. She must not have been expecting my power boost. Would that work for the other...?"
Ruthar felt a sting in his body and ducked instinctively as a fist came at the back of his head. Thanks to his Fourth Sense, he had been able to sense the attack coming.
"You're good, but..." Unexpectedly, a kick smashed into his face faster than he could sense, sending him staggering a few feet back before gaining his footing.
"Tsk!" He spat out a wave of blood, folding his fists and analyzing his enemy.
The three Exorcists were on their feet with a new aura that made Ruthar shiver.
"They must have been taking it easy on me. Well, that was until I showed them hostility."
All of a sudden, the three Exorcists disappeared from his gaze, leaving only the wind as a trace of their existence.
Another sting! Ruthar turned sharply to let a sword attack graze the side of his face. Before he could get his footing, the next attack came as a knee to his gut.
The knee made a deadly impact, throwing him from the floor, into the air, and crashing on his side, gasping for air.
"Damn, these are Exorcists from the Spade Horus Kingdom..."
"Come quietly with us, Lord Ruthar, and serve your punishment for fleeing the kingdom's walls," one of them said with a scary tone in her voice.
"Fleeing? What the hell is she even saying?" Ruthar climbed to his feet, feeling his entire body reverberate under him.
As soon as he made it to his feet, he folded his two fists, having lost his sword in the previous attack.
"Fighting them is not an option. I'll surely lose..."
The Exorcist before him raised her left arm and placed her index finger on Ruthar's forehead slowly, and in effect, he began to feel very tired.
It was as though she drew from his energy, but for some reason, he refused to react to any of this. All he did was stare into her eyes.
"A mysterious dark..." He suddenly lost all energy in his legs, falling to his side in a puddle of water and mud.
The woman in the costume smiled at him. Was she happy because he lost? Or because he couldn't do anything? If only Vance was here? Maybe... Or... Not quite.
With that, Ruthar's senses zoned out with the last thought being:
The Spade Horus.