Just a few meters away stood Kopii. His face and upper clothing were covered in blood. He seemed larger than he actually was. But the most distinctive feature that set him apart from his former self was his eyes. They were black, and this gaze sent shivers down everyone's spine. His face was too horrifying, as if he had no eyes at all, so black were they.
– Why are you standing there as if rooted to the spot?! Atta… – before he could finish, Kopii closed the distance and struck him in the stomach. Larsen flew into the air from Kopii's blow. Larsen's eyes widened; he had not expected Kopii to be so fast and strong. But Kopii did not stop: he grabbed Larsen by the leg while he was still in the air and slammed him into the ground.
CRUNCH.
Everyone heard that horrible sound.
– Father!!! – they all shouted, their fear turning to anger. But Kopii did not care about their cries; he already wanted to crush Larsen's head, but Elric and Torvin interfered.
– Get away from him!!! – Torvin shouted, lunging with his sword at Kopii. – Stop!!!
Kopii dodged Torvin's strike and aimed for Torvin's trachea. He expected Kopii to counterattack, but Torvin only smirked.
– Take this, you beast!
Kopii did not have time to recover from Elric's blow. Elric smirked when his attack proved successful. But his smile began to fade when he saw that Kopii had not even flinched from his attack. Kopii immediately counterattacked with a blow to the stomach.
– Kh… kh… – Elric coughed, falling to his knees. But Kopii did not stop; he dodged Garvin's shot and Torvin's strike.
– How dare you! – Garvin shouted, continuing to loose a volley of arrows. Kopii dodged Torvin's attacks all the while, but Garvin did not let Kopii counterattack. Whenever he tried to attack Torvin, Garvin released arrows.
– Elric, are you alright?
– Kh… kh… – Elric coughed. – I've had worse. Focus on the fight, Torvin! I'll get up in a moment, – Elric said, beginning to rise.
– Alright! – Torvin shouted to his brother, making another lunge at Kopii. Torvin smirked when Kopii refused to counterattack him. – See, this is what teamwork is! Even if you're stronger than us, it doesn't matter! What difference does it make how strong you are if you can't attack!
After these words, Torvin noticed that Kopii's face had fully turned to him, a face twisted with malice and hatred. Torvin flinched for a second, seeing those eyes, but continued to attack, knowing that his brother would cover him.
«I hate… I hate…» – the boy thought. These words had a strong effect on him; he gave in even more to his thirst and hatred. Now all of Kopii's attention was fully focused on one person. Kopii saw Torvin striking from above downwards.
– Wait, Torvin, I can't see! – Garvin shouted.
– What? – that was the last thing Torvin managed to utter before Kopii kicked him in the thigh. Crunch. – Aaaaaa! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!
Kopii did not stop and struck him in the trachea, putting all his strength into it, thereby breaking it and finishing him off.
Elric, roaring with fury and pain for his brother – he did not see what had happened to him, but saw that he was still moving, clutching his neck – rushed into battle again. His movements were not as precise as before, but there was desperation in them. He understood that Kopii was stronger than all of them, but he would be the last to give up.
Kopii seemed not even to notice Elric. His black, inhuman eyes were fixed on Torvin, lying on the ground and wheezing, trying somehow to fill his lungs. He watched as he slowly died.
Elric, seeing this, threw himself at Kopii from the side, trying to knock him off his feet. Kopii swatted him away like a bothersome fly, with an elbow strike to the face. Elric flew aside, feeling the bones of his nose crunch.
– Torvin!!! Elric!!! No, stop! – Garvin's eyes widened in horror. Everything had been fine… How had it come to this? How had he escaped? – Father… – Garvin whispered, looking towards where his father lay. Because of the darkness, he could not tell whether he was breathing or not. – I must… I must…
– Aaaa… It hurts… – Elric did not understand how Kopii could throw him around like a feather. His whole body ached. Why was he so strong? Elric tried to stand.
– I can still fight! – he rasped, getting up. And when his vision returned to normal, he saw Kopii's knee before his face. – Wh…
Crunch. But Kopii did not intend to stop there.
– I'll kill you! – Kopii shouted, grabbed Elric by the neck and lifted him. Kopii began to tighten his grip; only Elric's wheezes could be heard. He began hitting Kopii in the face, but Kopii did not care. Elric felt his body weakening.
«I'm going to die…» – Elric thought, looking into those eyes and that face full of madness, losing consciousness.
– No, stop! – Garvin shouted, but Kopii ignored him again. Garvin decided to act. With trembling hands, he began drawing his bow. He could only hope for one thing: that Kopii had forgotten about him or was fully focused on Elric.
– I can do it. – He released the string. Garvin pinned his hopes on this attack. He knew he wouldn't kill him; he just wanted to save his brother's life.
Elric saw Kopii catch the arrow with his hand. But thanks to this, Kopii released his neck. – Kh… kh… – Elric coughed, but before he could rejoice, he felt pain in his right eye.
– AAAAA! Take it out! It hurts, it hurts so much! AAAAA! – Elric screamed, thrashing in different directions.
Garvin's face twisted in horror. He did not understand. Garvin froze in fear when Kopii turned his attention to him, from the gaze of those eyes. Garvin froze in terror. He was in despair. Garvin simply watched as Kopii very quickly closed the distance between them. He could not say anything or move. His body refused to obey. And Elric's screams only amplified Garvin's fear.
– Stop! – He shouted in horror. But as always, he was ignored; he did not know what to do.
He squeezed his eyes shut, preparing for inevitable death. He felt Kopii approaching; escape was useless. A picture of his family flashed in his head, happy moments of childhood, training with his father and brothers. All of it was slipping away, like sand through his fingers.
He did not have to wait long. A blow to the chest. Very strong pain told him that perhaps his ribs had broken from the blow. But Kopii did not stop there; he grabbed him by the leg, spun, and threw Garvin over himself.
Garvin felt only pain, and nothing but pain. He heard Kopii running towards him. – I don't want to… please, don't kill me! – Garvin begged with his last strength. – Please… plea…
But before he could finish, Kopii stomped him into the ground. But after a moment, the next blow did not come. Ringing in his ears. Garvin did not understand what had happened.
– Don't touch my sons!!! – Larsen shouted, striking Kopii with a magic hammer. Kopii only managed to block. Kopii flew into the air from the blow of the magic weapon, but fell into the river.
– Get away from here! – Larsen's eyes widened when he realized that his blow had almost no effect on his spirit. He watched as Kopii swam closer and closer despite the strong current.
– Monster… you're a monster! – Larsen shouted. He did not know what to do: if he climbed out of the river, they would all die. He would not be able to hit him with the magic weapon again. But he did not hesitate long; he ran to the bow and the scattered arrows. Picking up the bow.
– Where is it?! Where is it?! Found it! Larsen began drawing the bow with an arrow that contained the drug. Kopii was almost out when an arrow struck him in the shoulder.
Kopii felt a fleeting weakness, but this allowed the current to carry him away. But this weakness quickly vanished. Kopii came to himself for a moment, but his psyche could not endure it, and he lost consciousness.