NOVEL WEB Chapter 33: Kill to protect
As Riniox barrelled down the hallway, Frox began muttering something and moving his hands in short, jerky movements. Riniox knew he was casting a spell and ground her teeth in frustration. She wasn't much of a mage, but that didn't change her course of action. She could only hope that the spell was aimed at her instead of Jack who was virtually defenseless. Jack was still on the floor, but he had the sense to move over to the wall rather than sit in the middle of the corridor.
Frox finished his spell, and a dark form shot out from the floor. A shadow beast materialized in front of Frox and growled, a horrid noise that sounded like metal creaking and cracking. The beast resembled a wolf, but its claws and fangs were too long to be natural. Its mouth leaked drops of darkness like saliva, and its red eyes burned with hunger. Riniox wasted no time as she made it to the two assailants. Her full sprint turned into a devastating punch aimed at the shadow beast instead of Frox. The wolf opened its maw and bit down on the fist.
Frox quickly darted around the side of the beast, slashing his dagger at her exposed arm even as the force of her momentum carried her forward, causing her to tumble into the wolf. There was a cracking sound as the shadow beast's teeth broke around Riniox's arm, her skin too tough for its jaws. The dagger cut into her though, and she quickly picked herself back up, the wolf still trying to chew on her hand despite having broken teeth. She swung the beast at Frox who snapped his fingers, causing the shadow beast to disappear mid-swing, then reappear next to him unharmed.
The two fighters had swapped positions now, Frox had his back to the stairs Riniox had come up and Riniox was closer to Jack's room now. Jack watched in stunned silence at the brief altercation and Riniox made her next move. She ran forward and scooped up the discarded hammer and a piece of shattered chair as she moved up. The latter she threw directly at Frox, a sharp piece of wood hurtling towards the man's head. The wolf moved to intercept the blow for him, jumping in front of him to absorb the impact. Frox himself backed up, choosing to create distance against the demon woman.
The piece of wood connected with the wolf and knocked it backward towards Frox. At that moment, Riniox reached Jack and grabbed him, throwing him backward with all her might. He crashed into the other end of the hall and Riniox idly wondered if she had broken part of Jack's body, but dismissed the thought. The man in front of her was skilled, she couldn't let herself get distracted. Moving Jack out of the way had been the best call in the moment, and now she had to deal with the assassin.
Frox removed the piece of wood from his wolf and tossed it aside. He sent his wolf forward as he began casting another spell. Riniox growled and ran to meet the wolf, her hammer coming up to brutally crunch into the shadow creature. The blow connected and the tool sunk into the shadow, Riniox could feel snapping and breaking from inside the creature. Summoned beasts like this were very tough, but they could still be killed, or at least disabled. Even before she had finished her strike she quickly turned her attention to Frox, ready to react to his spell.
Frox was not casting a spell, he was in front of her. He had faked his cast and used the wolf's body as cover to approach her. His knife flashed as he brought it forward towards her midsection. Her stance was still messed up and she wouldn't be able to block the knife very effectively. She made a decision, and let the knife slip into her side. It hurt, stab wounds always hurt like crazy. But she didn't hesitate and grabbed his arm, her vice grip tightening on his wrist even as she dropped the hammer.
Frox paled with the realization that he had been caught. Then Riniox lifted him by the wrist and slammed him into the wall of the hallway. The wall broke beneath her mighty swing, but she did not stop. She broke the walls, the ceiling, and almost broke the floor as she battered Frox against every available surface. She couldn't feel the man go limp though, he was still conscious and shifting to try and protect himself. His shadow wolf was slowly picking itself back up too.
Riniox was honestly impressed, the man was tough. He had probably cast some body enhancements and protections before breaking in, but even with those he was taking this beating very well. Unfortunately, this man was here to kill Jack, and she couldn't allow that. Deciding to finish things, she brought Frox back up, slamming him against the ceiling, before grabbing his body with both hands and bringing his body hurtling down towards her knee, her intention to finish him off with a lethal blow. She didn't get to complete the move.
The wolf lept forward, clearly on its last legs, and slammed its body into its summoner. Riniox had braced, expecting the blow to come at her, so she was surprised when the force was aimed at Frox, knocking the man free of her grip. He rolled across the splintered and battered floor before settling in a crouch. He snapped his fingers and the wolf reformed next to him, good as new. He was bruised and bleeding, his breathing was all messed up, and his knife was still in Riniox's side. But the look in his eyes told Riniox that this fight wasn't over.
She pulled out the knife and settled into a stance, she could probably ignore the wolf and just aim for Frox at this point. One well-placed blow with all of her strength would end this fight, no matter how many protections he had. There was a tense moment where the two simply stood staring at each other, each weighing their next move. Then a voice began speaking from behind Frox, and Riniox could see Dirge at the top of the stairs chanting a spell. Steam whirled out of and around him as mana began to form in the air. Frox didn't allow himself even a moment to look back, charging toward Riniox, his shadow beast charging with him.
The two charged forward in unison, Frox mirrored Riniox's earlier actions, scooping the hammer and piece of wood off the floor in his charge. He leaped up diagonally, kicking off the ruined wall to gain height and bring his weapons down on Riniox's head. She completely ignored the wolf, bringing the knife up to give a finishing blow to the man. Her aim was good and she used every muscle in her body to stab the blade toward the assassin. But her blade connected with the shadow beast, it's form suddenly replacing Frox's midair. The blade sunk deep into, and then through the wolf, both of her arms sinking deeply into the form, trapping them. She wheeled and saw Frox sprinting behind her, running straight for Jack.
She cursed herself, of course his last-ditch effort would be to get his target. She quickly tried to remove her arms from the shadow beast that had accidentally become a tool to bind her, but she knew she would be too late. Frox was nearly on Jack, his hammer raised high in the air, ready to crush the bore-bot's head. When suddenly a jet of water blasted down the hall so fast Riniox could barely see it. The tiny jet of compressed water hit the assassin and went through his head, instantly killing the man. Riniox found herself impressed for the second time today, Dirge was quite the capable mage it seemed.
Jack sat dazed as the bore-bot trio checked him over for damage. The whole situation had gone by so quickly, his brain hadn't caught up with the events and he wondered if he was in shock.
Things passed in a blur for the next little while. He answered questions, but he mostly just sat there as the situation resolved itself. Riniox was checked over by a mage, but her wounds were already closing up. The assassin was dead, his shadow beast had dissipated after the fatal blow he had received. Jeler came charging in and looked horrified at the scene. The animalus didn't even get the chance to come up and speak to Jack before being grabbed by RInionx. The demon practically threw him at some other mercenaries and barked out some order Jack didn't hear. Jeler was dragged off and taken somewhere else, Jack didn't have the mental energy to ask where.
People kept coming up to check on Jack but seemed to understand that he was extremely out of it. They would offer a few words and then give him space. The whole experience had been terrifying, Frox's expression had been cold and dispassionate as if killing Jack was just another task he had to perform. Jack shuddered at that expression, truly feeling terrified at the experience. Even the terror he had felt because of Deis seemed pale in comparison, a man coming at you with a weapon, clearly intending to kill you was horrifying.
He sat there for the better part of half an hour before Riniox sighed and walked over to him. She crouched down, getting closer to eye level, before addressing Jack. "Jack, can you look at me?" He slowly looked up, his eyes meeting her own. "You're alive, you lived and he didn't. He can't hurt you anymore."
Riniox spoke these words with conviction, and Jack could feel the weight behind them. They were words that evoked emotion in him, an emotion that Jack could see Riniox felt as well. That latching on to being the one who survives is sometimes what saves you. Jack took hold of that emotion, and he felt himself grow more grounded, more present.
"Thank you, Riniox," he spoke, genuinely feeling grateful to the woman.
Riniox smiled easily, "Just doing my job, Jack. Glad you're still with us." Then she paused, thinking for a moment. "You know, if this is going to happen again, you should probably be able to defend yourself a little bit. You were basically dead weight that whole fight."
The sudden rebuke stun, but Jack could understand the point. Riniox had gone out of her way to take care of Jack in the fight, getting him to safety instead of killing Frox. If he had even just run away then the fight might have gone better. He hadn't even tried to use the [Point Defense] skill, that alone might have tipped the scales more in their favor.
Jack nodded at her words, "Riniox, will you teach me to protect myself?"
She grinned a sharp, toothy grin. "I think I can manage that."