The prisoner's feet pounded against the forest floor, as they sprinted through, panting heavily as they strained their bodies against it's normal limits, all for the sake of freedom.
The only sounds louder than their panting were the distant voices of their pursuers.
"Halt! Stop!" came the cry, cutting through the stillness of the morning.
The sound of boots striking the earth followed, growing nearer with each passing moment.
Victor, ever the strategist, led the way, had already assembled a plan in his mind on how to escape their predicament.
Making use of his sharp eyes, his eyes were sharp, searching the trees for cover. A sharp turn came, and with a fluid motion, he veered off, slipping behind the thick trunk of a towering oak.
The bark scraped against his back as he hid, barely a shadow in the growing light.
The two others—Evan and Vin—charged forward, without hesitation as they too barely noticed Victor.
Then, the first knight passed without a sound, his heavy armor clinking as he ran, unaware of the man hidden just a few feet away.
Then the second knight followed, and Victor's muscles coiled like a spring. His breath caught, and with a fierce grunt, he shot out from behind the tree.
His arm swung wide, a clothesline of bone and finely made muscles that struck the third passing knight in the chest with a brutal crack.
The knight's breath left him in a rush, a wheezing sound escaping his mouth as he fell to the forest floor, his body twitching in surprise. Before the man could react, Victor was upon him.
The knight's armor was no protection against the merciless strength of Victor's hands as he snapped the man's neck with a single, savage twist. And just like that, there were only two left.
The other knights, on hearing the commotion behind them, skidded to a halt. Their heads snapped around, eyes wide with disbelief as they saw their fallen comrade, lifeless and still. Rage surged through them, and they shouted in unison,
"how dare you!" Their swords were drawn, gleaming in the morning light as they rushed at Victor with murderous intent.
Victor didn't flinch. He wasted no time in taking the sword from the knight he had just killed.
The two knights advanced, their blades aimed at his throat, determined to make him pay for his crimes.
He blocked one strike with relative luck and skill, though he could feel the pressure building. The second knight's blade came down in a deadly arc, and Victor barely managed to twist aside, the edge grazing his side.
This was no ordinary fight. Two against one meant the odds were stacked against him.
The weight of their attacks began to wear on him, his arms trembling as he blocked and parried with increasing difficulty.
His heart raced, sweat beading on his forehead, but just as the second knight's sword came down for a fatal blow, Vin slammed into the knight's back, taking him to the ground with a brutal thud.
The knight let out a strangled yell, trying to throw Vin off.
"Get off me!" The knight yelled.
With a quick motion, he slapped Vin away, sending him flying with a powerful backhand, his armored fist connecting with Vin's jaw. Vin grunted, barely holding on as he struggled to rise to his feet, with fear laced in his eyes.
As the knight stood, sword in hand, ready to finish what he had started, Victor's sword punched through his back.
The knight's eyes went wide with shock, and his body spasmed as the sword twisted inside him. He slowly lowered his head, gazing with a dazed expression on the sword.
Victor kicked him off the blade with a cruel snap of his foot, the man crumpling to the ground, and blood pooling beneath him.
But there was no time to celebrate. The final knight was still a threat.
Speaking of the devil, the knight surged forward, his sword raised high, aiming for Victor's exposed neck, while Victor was still unaware of him.
Before the blade could fall, Evan's dagger streaked through the air, the edge clashing with the knight's sword. The impact sent a shockwave through Evan's arm, but he stood his ground.
'That was close.'
"Not today." Evan muttered under his breath, pulling his dagger free and dodging the knight's retaliatory strikes with partial ease.
As the knight brought his sword down for another strike, Evan struck hard, his knee driving into the knight's chest, forcing him back.
With a final twist of his wrist, Evan swung the hilt of his, connecting with the knight's exposed neck.
The knight gasped, his head snapping back as the force of the blow knocked him off balance.
He stumbled, falling to the dirt, and his weapon falling from his hand.
At that moment, Victor was already beside the knight, sword raised, and with a swift movement, he swung the blade down, severing the knight's head from his shoulders. It was over. The fight, the immediate danger, had come to an end.
Victor turned to Evan, a glimmer of approval in his eyes.
"What's next? Which way are we going?"
Evan's eyes flicked from the now-dead knights to the surrounding forest.
He could hear the distant sound of rushing water—a waterfall. He looked to the west, raising his hand towards the pending sound.
"This way."
***
The sound of the water grew louder as they drew closer, and the reality of their situation began to settle in.
In a short while, they arrived at the edge of a defeaning waterfall. It fell from a great height, the mist rising up like a shroud. The sight of it was both beautiful and terrifying, a natural barrier that seemed impenetrable.
"Damn it." Evan muttered under his breath.
He could feel the weight of his choices pressing down on him. They had come this far, but now they were trapped.
"What now?" Vin barked in fright, knowing that the knights were already closing in on them.
Victor, always the pragmatist, was already thinking ahead.
"Calm down. Let the kid think." he said, his voice steady.
Vin, on the other hand, wasn't so patient.
"This is a dead end! You've led us straight to our death!"
Evan didn't respond immediately. Instead, he patiently thought to himself, trying to come up with a plan.
'Running back was impossible. The knights would close in on us in no time and it's not like we can fight them either, we're heavily outnumbered, and the odds are completely against us...'
'...Damnit, this world just keeps becoming harder and harder to survive in.' He thought inwardly.
Then, it hit him.
His eyes swept over the three of them. Each man was wearing a sturdy rope belt.
It wasn't much, but it might just be enough. It was a risk, but it was the only choice they had.
"Take off your belts." Evan demanded in desperation.
Vin raised an eyebrow.
"You want to use ropes to climb down the waterfall? You know how far that drop is?"
Evan didn't reply. He was already pulling off his own belt.
Victor and Vin followed suit.
He immediately began to tie the ends of each belt to the ends of the other until he had a long rope.
When the belts were all tied together, Evan turned to face them.
"We're going through the waterfall," he said, the plan now fully formed.
Vin opened his mouth to protest, but Evan cut him off.
"We don't have a choice. Staying here will get us captured. This is our only chance. Atleast if we do survive this we'll be together."
"If?!" Vin yelled in terror.
"Do we have another choice?" Victor questioned.
Evan shaked his head and wasting no time, he began to tie a portion of the belts to Vin's waist and then to Victor's, and finally, to his.
***
The sound of footsteps—more knights—was growing closer, and the urgency in the air was palpable.
The three of them stood at the edge of the waterfall, ready for the leap.
Just as they were about to make their move, an arrow shot out of the trees. It flew so close to Evan's ear that he felt the wind from its precise strike.
But the weapon wasn't aiming for him. It struck Victor, a sharp, painful hit that sent him stumbling back, his hand clutching his shoulder.
Before any of them could react, the force of Victor's fall sent them tumbling forward, pulled into the torrent of the waterfall. The world spun around them as they were swept off their feet and plunged, falling towards the waterfall.
As they fell, Evan glanced back.
There, standing at the edge of the waterfall, was Lord Hayman, with his face heavily bandaged and a cold deadly glare on his face.
'Lord Hayman? He's still alive? How...How...How's that even possible?' The thought raced through Evan's mind.
But it was too late. The three men were already plunging into the abyss. The water enveloped them, cold and unforgiving, and everything around them turned to darkness.