Then the glowing figure of the blade moved, quickly circling around the group. The assassin used his speed, sweeping its blade fast and heavily each time.
Each strike felt draining, chipping away their strength. Asel managed to barely match the speed of his strikes with his own while others had to try and dodge, barely evading with shallow cuts.
It was clear that they were at a disadvantage, slowly leaning closer and closer to death as the fight continued. "I can't get a good shot!" Wing shouted out as he continued to try and aim.
"What do you mean you can't get a shot?" Wheel shouted at him as he kept throwing glass shards to the mist, "They surrounded us, you're bound to hit something!"
"An idiot's way of thinking," A voice spoke from the mist. "Don't you think we've already prepared for people who think like you?"
His words provoked Wheel, but made Wing think. He shot blindly at the fog, hearing a metal clink at the end of it. "There's something defending them," He told them. "Those shards you kept throwing around probably did nothing."
"So they think he's enough to kill us, huh?" Frogo questioned their thoughts. "Let's prove them wrong." She knelt down and touched the ground, flames surrounding her as her eyes lit purple once more.
The fog around them swirled, quickly fading away as the stage reverted back to normal. They were able to see him again along with the others that surrounded them.
They were now holding shields the size of their bodies, acting as a wall to keep them in. She choked out a mouthful of blood, her hands falling down to keep her up from the ground.
Don quickly offered his hand to help, but Frogo slapped it away. "If you really want to help, then smash his face on the ground for me."
"You think seeing me will change anything?" He asked them before clashing with Asel. They moved quickly, sparks flying each time their blades met. The assassin's blade continued to brighten, its glow becoming brighter and brighter until it exploded with a strike.
SHH-KRANG!
The tip of his blade fell to the ground. Asel could only watch as his opponent lifted his blade up and swung down.
At this moment, most people would be sent back to the past, lives flashing before their eyes. But it was different for Asel, he was blessed to have something others may have.
A trusted partner.
BANG!
Wing shot his gun at just the right moment, shifting the blade's trajectory for him to miss. He kept shooting, forcing the assassin to fall back.
The assassin turned to see that Wing still had his gun pointed at him, his eyes already blue. "I only know a handful of people who can dodge my bullets, and you aren't one of them"
He quickly shot out a burst of bullets, making adjustments so that they all targeted his vitals. The comment made the assassin smile however, "I don't need to dodge." His blade began to glow again.
He slashed his blade in the air multiple times, each time making a wave of energy fly outwards.
The bullets were met with the sharp waves that cut it in half, causing it to miss its target. They continued to fly towards Wing, forcing him to dodge. "It's time to cut down the herd."
The assassin began to circle around them, slashing waves of energy each time an opening presented itself. Asel continued to defend the group from the unavoidable attacks while Wing and Wheel tried to fight back.
Meanwhile, Don crouched down to Frogo. "Can you think of a way we all get out of this alive?" She shook her head, "Best case now would be the four of you guys get out of here, it's too late for me now."
Frogo placed her hand on Don's shoulder and leaned closer, "Listen, I can make an opening if I activate my powers one more time." He looked at her knowing what that meant, but her eyes showed that she steeled herself for the consequences.
Don had lived as a mercenary before he made the team, earning money through the underside of society. Most mercenaries had their personalities twisted, having to constantly deal with the dark side of humanity, but not Don.
He had stuck to what he had known, never wavering his cheerfulness. It was infectious, making others who worked alongside him smile and laugh through hard times. Eventually, he had grown sick of that life.
Don hated the constant deaths of his comrades, the people he had just met suddenly meeting an end. It made him feel guilt, he would often help the families of his friends that met an unfortunate demise.
That's when he had the idea to work with a team, one that would be bonded together with trust.
Since then, it had been five years since they formed, and never once had a casualty. He had hoped that it would stay like that, but eventually a wrench would be thrown to the gears.
"Alright." He told her. He knew by the look in her eyes that nothing would stop her from what she was about to do now.
Flames erupted around her one again, this time stronger than last time. Her team looked at her concerned, knowing what it meant. Blood flowed from her eyes as she shouted out, quickly replaying multiple sequences of everyone fighting.
The assassin looked around in confusion, he was now seeing more than ten copies of each person. "Now!" she shouted out, using every ounce of her power to make more and more copies of her teammates.
Don quickly rammed the row of people keeping them from escaping, making an opening. "Everyone, go!" He shouted out, prompting the team to make an escape. Just as they left however, Don stayed behind.
"What are you doing?" Frogo asked him, frustration in her voice. Don quickly grabbed her and put her over his shoulder, "I'm proving your best case wrong!"
He sprinted right behind the others, passing through the gap they made. The assassin quickly noticed the commotion Don made and found the action team.
"No you don't!" He slashed a wave of energy straight towards Don, making a deep cut on his back. "Agh!" He threw Frogo at Wheel before he fell down. "Aw what the hell!" Wheel instinctively shouted out as Frogo crashed into him. He looked at Don, the wound at his back clearly fatal.
"Make sure to do what I told you." Don told Wheel, his face oddly calm. Before Wheel could react to what he was witnessing, the assassin went behind Don and beheaded him.
"Useless people. Don't bother to try and help, just start cleaning up the evidence." He flicked his blade towards him, cleaning the blood off.
It splattered across Wheel's feet, staining his favorite pair of shoes. "You'll regret this." he told him, his eyes burning with hatred.
"if I did, you wouldn't be alive to see it." He replied before slashing waves of light at them. They quickly rounded up a corner for cover, taking a quick break to recover their energy.
Wing looked at Wheel, he was seething with emotions. "Wheel, stay calm. We can't let him provoke us now."
"I know," Wheel said as he looked at Frogo, a reminder of what Don would've wanted. "We're getting out of this alive." He looked around, trying to find a way to escape.
"Let's split up," Wheel proposed, getting the attention of Wing and Don. "Since I'll be carrying Frogo, he's going to chase me. Meanwhile, you two will have enough time to escape."
"Shouldn't we prioritize those who can't fight?" Wing argued. "You ran out of specialized darts long ago, there's no chance for you to win with an injured person by your side."
Wing grabbed his spare gun from his waist and threw it to Wheel. "Go and escape, Wheel. Me and Asel can find a way out of this while fighting him off."
Wing looked at Asel. He nodded, already knowing what he was thinking of. They both began to move, sprinting towards the assassin.
"Thanks for saving me the trouble." He told them before slashing waves of energy at them. "Follow my lead." Asel directed him as they went closer, navigating through the barrage of attacks.
Their movements confused the assassin, "What use is there for a gunman and a swordsman without a sword to get closer to me?"
They continued to make their way towards him until they were only a few feet away. "Now!" Wheel shouted out, stopping to pull his gun out and aim. The assassin quickly changed his movements to slash a wave of energy at him, but ended up seeing Asel right in front of him.
His eyes then lit up, making the assassin jolt. "What the hell?!?" He shouted out, movements erratic as he tried to adjust to the pain. Asel landed a punch to his stomach, then spun to kick him in the face. He almost tumbled over, barely managing to keep himself up from the shock.
"Shoot now!" Asel ordered Wing, prompting him to fire a barrage of bullets. As the bullets curved towards his vitals, the assassin remained helpless as they flew closer.
"Nice try." He said as his blade glowed brighter, activating a transparent shield that surrounded him. The bullets landed at a barrier that was barely visible, leaving no sign of impact.
The assassin instinctively turned to block a punch from Asel. "You're the only old man I know who could move like this." He complimented him before cutting his arm off.
It fell down, revealing that it was a mechanical arm. Asel jumped back, hiding the exposed wires. It took a moment before the assassin understood what was happening, changing the way he looked at Asel.
"That explains a lot about how fast you were," he said, looking at the broken circuitry. "I've fought people like you, those who chose machinery over flesh. I never expected to see one of your kind in this place however."
"I find people like you despicable, were you not satisfied with the body God has given you?" The assassin berated him, clearly angered at Asel. "I'll make sure to keep your head, keeping you plugged in some dark room. Locked away from the world forever."
Wing shot at him, prompting the assassin to defend himself. "It's a prosthetic arm, he's still flesh and blood everywhere else."
He went closer to the assassin, switching between his knife and gun as they fought. "As soon as he chose metal, he was abandoned by God."
He went closer to Wing and sliced his knife in half when he tried to meet his blade. "At least you still have a chance at redemption." He said before wounding him in the chest.
Wing fell back trying to create distance between them but the assassin was quick to move. Just as he was in range, he felt a sharp pain from his back. "We strayed from the path of redemption long ago." Asel said from behind him, his broken blade piercing his back.
The assassin punched Asel away, "Do you think that does anything?" He asked him before raising a hand symbol in the air. At that moment the music changed fading from a soft and gentle melody to a warm and tender one.
The wounds on his body began to glow magenta, visibly healing itself slowly. "All that time and effort, just to go back to the start." He mocked them. "If you give up now, I'll make it quick."
The difference in preparation was clear, the assassin was ahead of them in every step. Asel and Wing were worn out, with one exhausted from constant fighting and the other wounded. Meanwhile, the assassin was still standing with no signs of fatigue. They were both nearing their limit, and he knew it.