Gabriel felt like his lungs were burning, not being able to get proper air as they moved so fast through the burning building. His body was in pain; the creature held him tightly by throat.
"It's always the throat these guys love to grab people by at this point, it has to be some type of kink", Gabriel complained to himself.
He was doing his best to struggle, kicking, punching. Though due to it being armor, he ended up hurting himself more than anything else. Gabriel did try to create things but lacked the focus to create anything.
Soon the feeling of heavy gave way to a chill air as the Dullahan broke through the class door leading to the outside.
Gabriel felt small glass shards go into his back, but with a tight grip on his throat didn't allow him to scream out. Instead, he took in a sharp breath, hoping to ease the pain if only slightly.
Just when Gabriel was about to summon Echo, his body went flying through the air. His back hitting a vehicle with a large thud echoed through the parking lot.
Spit flew out of his mouth as he slid to the ground. "Thank God for SWAT vehicles", he groaned. His vision was slightly blurry, as he looked up in front of him.
Behind him was the police building on fire, the loud crackling in the air. Weirdly enough, the fire itself didn't spread to the surrounding buildings, only burning down the police station.
In front of the police station was the Dullahan, its cape blowing in the wind. Its right hand holding the long black blade.
It felt to Gabriel as if the being was trying to pose. Which would be weird, though Gabriel doesn't know if Dullahans have feelings. Sigh more research for later.
Gabriel slowly stood to his feet, the glass in his back moving around. A slight feeling of pain shot through my body. "Just got to keep it together a little bit longer"
Oddly enough, the creature gave a slight bow before charging at Gabriel. Gabriel, in return, gave a slight bow of his head.
The feeling in the air was tense as the Dullahan tightened its grip on the sword. A leaf fluttered in between them, and when the leaf hit the ground.
In that one second, the Dullahan went from standing in front of the burning building; to directly in front of Gabriel. o
Gabriel felt the world slow down around. "This is the end", was the only thought going through his mind. The only thing he could do was raise his hands in a weak attempt at defense.
CLANG!
In front of Gabriel's very eyes a shield appeared, but it wasn't one he summoned. Without a way to tell, Gabriel could only assume it was as confused as he was. The Dullahan raised its sword once again.
Gabriel quickly rolled to his right, ignoring the pain in his back.
Dullahan's sword struck the SWAT vehicle, cutting it straight down the middle. The smell of gasoline started to fill the air as it leaked onto the ground.
Echo appeared next to the Dullahan, striking it hard in its right side. Forcing the Dullahan to drop its sword as it stumbled sideways.
Gabriel, wanting to help out, formed a giant fist with all the strength he could muster and punched Dullahan in the chest.
Something sent the Dullahan rolling across the parking lot, and it stopped next to another vehicle.
Echo turned its attention to Gabriel as it quickly flew over. Gabriel felt a strange sense of worry going through his mind. Gabriel had a sense that Echo decided on shielding him on its own accord.
He'll have to look into Echo being sentient at a later date. He got back to his feet, just in time to see the Dullahan stand up as well.
The Dullahan stretched out its hand. The sword, which was still stuck inside the SWAT vehicle, disappeared. It reappeared in the hand, shining in all of its glory.
"Fucking show off", Gabriel muttered to himself. Maybe it was his imagination, but he thought he saw Echo nod in agreement.
The Dullahan appeared in front of Gabriel, but Echo was already in front of the attack. A strong shield not only blocked the attack- instead, it rebounded it.
Gabriel seeing the Dullahan forced backgrounds, thought of a giant hammer. Quickly summoning next to the Dullahan, try to catch it off guard.
Surprisingly, the Dullahan quickly dodged out of the way of the strike. When the hammer came back for another strike, the Dullahan caught the hammer with its left hand.
The hand glowed a black color before the construct disappeared despite Gabriel trying to stop it. Gabriel's eyes widened at seeing the hand it used to crack. Though the small cracks quickly began to heal.
Gabriel took a deep breath before thinking about the next thing to summon. "This might be stupid, but it might be only chance" His hand held out as a large war hammer appeared in his hand.
Taking a few practice swings, he was very grateful the weapon was light, despite how big it was. Now that he thinks about it even when he makes a gun, it rarely has recoil.
Gabriel let out a deep sigh, another thing to add onto the growing list of things he needs to worry about. Gaining power is a pain in the ass.
Focusing back on the fight, Echo has been countering the Dullahan's quick attacks with his shielding. The Dullahan left its giant feet up, kicking Echo, though the shield took the brunt of the attack.
Gabriel rushed forward since Dullahan wasn't focused on him at all. Using both hands, he swung the hammer,striking its side with all the strength he could muster.
A loud crack filled the air, the Dullahan's armor cracking. Even Gabriel was shocked at seeing the Dullahan stumbling, clenching its left side..
Echo, as if copying with its owner, summoned a hammer of its own. Swinging it around, it aimed a strike at Dullahan's head.
The Dullahan quickly gets its sword up to block the attack.
Gabriel spun the hammer around, building up a little momentum before aiming at its chest. The Dullahan was forced backwards, its sword dropping from its blocked position.
Echo, now freed, hit Dullahan's right hand, the metal contorting in a way that resembled a broken arm.
Dullahan's sword dropped instantly to the ground, but it still didn't give up fighting. It quickly lowered its shoulder and charged forward.
Echo didn't have a chance to put up a shield before something sent it flying in the distance.
Gabriel took this chance, swung the hammer once again-this time aimed at the back of Dullahan's knee. The strike rang true as the sound of metal clanging together echoed in the parking lot.
The Dullahan was forced to drop to one knee, its right arm hanging limply to the side. It raised its left hand and was charging up an attack.
Echo hit Dullahan in the chest, the force sending it hard to the ground.
The Dullahan's attack flies up in the sky, a giant fireball denoting in the air. Some buildings took damage, thankfully, it wasn't too bad.
Gabriel swung the hammer up over his head, before using all of his strength to strike Dullahan. Over, and over again he hit the Dullahan with the hardest attacks he could muster.
fights.
"AHHHHH", Gabriel yelled out, swinging down the hammer one last time, officially cracking open Dullahan's chest.
Gabriel let go of the hammer, dropping to his knees as he took deep breaths. Sweat poured down his face. "I can't believe that actually worked."
He remembered back in history class that war hammers were designed to help fight foes who were armored. With the flat end used to bludgeon armor and break bones. Luckily, in this case, he had the help of Echo too.
If Echo hadn't kept him distracted, or even helped with the shields, he would've died sooner. Now that the adrenaline was starting to leave his body, the glass shards in his back began to ache.
Overall, though, Gabriel was happy how the battle turned. Although the Dullahan was strong, it got defeated relatively easily. Another issue to add to his ever growing list.
Gabriel, with a hiss, pushed himself to his feet. His back aching with him finally standing up. Echo floated in front of him, with a look of concern on its face.
Gabriel gave it a thumbs up, a small smile on his face to reassure it.Thankfully it nodded in return, its features turning back to normal.
Though Gabriel's woes turned worse when a black smoke landed a few feet in front of him. Echo as a precaution stood right in front of Gabriel. Hands poised to either make a shield, or attack.
The smoke began to clear as a figure began to appear. Worry ran through Gabriel's body as the first thing he saw was a purple horn.