Freedom's daughter

Their footsteps echo in the air as they approach.

For each step, my heartbeat accelerates, both due to fear and adrenaline.

"Lyet... I need you. If those armors are as hard as you said, there's no way I can win this.

"Then why didn't you run away!?"

"Because I'm not alone, and neither are you. You mentioned how, at your current level, you wouldn't be able to damage them."

"Yes... I'm useless... That's why—"

"Then to win, you must find a way to do it. I know I'm asking a lot, but it's the only way. I believe in you, and in the same way, please, believe in me that I won't die before you pull it off. Stay back."

"Wait!"

I move forward, trying to keep them distant from Lyet as much as I can.

One knight raises his sword above his head, his eyes pointing at me. He then starts to move, meaning I'm in his attack range.

The trajectory of the slash is clear, thus giving me the chance to move out of it.

As I do, the blade passes near me and slams on the ground, creating a crater. The force of the air generated by it is enough to almost make me fall.

The second knight tries to cut my escape, targeting me with a horizontal attack.

Fortunately, as I already noticed from how the walk, they are heavy, meaning their attacks take time to accelerate. All I have to do is understand the trajectory of the attack from how it moves initially, when it's still slow.

That's how boxers react to the opponent's punches.

If I can do that, I can easily dodge their assaults, but if I miss the timing even so slightly, I won't be able to move away in time; worst of all, there are two of them, and they'll soon start to link their attacks.

And so they continue to slash, only meeting air, but with each one, they gain momentum, moving faster and faster.

"Kill him already! How incompetent can you two be?!"

No, she is wrong. They are doing well. It's just a matter of time before I get hit. The thing that is slowing down this process is that I'm smaller, giving me a big advantage.

Not only am I more agile than they, meaning I have to cover less distance when I dodge compared to the one their blades move.

But being smaller also grants me better spatial awareness; for them, I'm a small target, on the other hand, I can see their attacks better.

As the fight progresses, even more craters appear around us, on the street, and on the nearby houses.

Around us, people started to gather, watching at a distance with guards who are also afraid of interfering.

Unfortunately, it also means that when Lyet nukes these two, I'll have to think of a way to escape.

One of the knights moves behind me.

Is he going for Lyet instead?!

Fuck! I can't block it—

"Histrio! Don't worry, I understood how you are doing it!" She screams at me as if she read my mind.

And so the knight readies his sword to move, at that exact moment Lyet times his slash, ducking down, not allowing it to even graze her hair.

Wow...

The next attack touches my skin, leaving a small cut.

Shit, I can't distract now, I have to trust her and not worry.

The only problem is that Lyet isn't trying to do anything with magic. I told her the only chance we have is if she tries... 

"Lyet, did you find a spell?"

"..."

Come on!

"She can't! Surrender yourself." States Dante.

"No, she can..."

"Idiot... Have you ever taken a look at her mana pool? It's a quantity that no mortal would be able to control. The more mana someone has, the more he has to train to just use basic spells. The only advantage is that when you manage to control it, you'll be able to use stronger ones. But with her quantity, no mortal would be able to pull it off, not even in a thousand years, the simple fact she isn't even trying proves my point; she knows it."

If I understood it correctly, it's like asking a novice at the gym to bench press 1000 kg on his first day, and, in addition, to maintain correct form.

But she used a spell one time, the barrier she used to save me the first time. Even if she was lucky, she could do it.

"Lyet! Don't listen to this bitch! I know you can do it! You said it yourself, the fact that I believe in you is enough for you. I already saw you using a spell. I know you can do it again!"

"Histrio... You don't understand..."

"Don't give me that crap! The only reason you can't do it is because you believe it's impossible!"

"No... Not that..."

"Then what?!"

"If I try... I might accidentally use a spell I don't want to use..."

"And why should I care about that!?"

Can these two stop attacking for a moment?! Are they some kind of machine!?

"...Because that's how I brought you here."

What...?

My mind stops working for a moment, and with that, the blade hits my back as I mindlessly turn around.

"Histrio! No!"

The knights stop attacking, and Lyet runs to me, kneeling.

Dante walks closer as well.

"This is what you get for helping a demon. I didn't understand what happened between you two, but at least now you realize how dangerous demons are. Too late, it cost your life."

"Histrio... I'm sorry. I didn't want you to hate me... If you had found out I'm the reason you are here... Away from your world..."

I can't do much but cough blood; the cut is deep.

"Lyet... I heard that to use that kind of spell, you need some crazy mana...Yet you did it... Why don't you believe in yourself for once and vaporize these two idiots? You are more amazing than you think." I smile at her.

Cough...

"Very very touching... Now, come with me Lyet... Don't even think to try to escape."

The two knights take Lyet for her arms, one for each. There's no way she can escape their strength.

"I'm sorry, Histrio..."

They start to walk, leaving me on the ground...

Cough...