Dread flushed down my spine.
The disguised servant—no, the assassin—had a knife in his hand and was sprinting toward Toph. She sat on her seat, smiling, chatting happily with her parents, completely unaware of the danger closing in behind her.
The blade was raised, poised to strike her back in a single, lethal thrust.
The other servants barely reacted. They froze, eyes wide, bodies locked in panic as the scene unfolded before them. Not one of them moved fast enough to matter.
At this distance, it'd be too late for me to reach there in time! I was nearly twenty meters away. Even if I ran with everything I had, I wouldn't make it in time. Seconds were all the assassin needed.
Oh Spirits, she was going to die. A child that I was supposed to protect was about to die in front of my eyes. Shit, what do I do? What can I do—?
"Breathe."
A distorted voice whispered as the world slowed down. My body stopped responding to my commands to move, as if someone had taken control over my motor functions.
"Calm down."
"Dissect and focus on the problem at hand."
"Adjust and adapt to the situation."
It was as if a pail of cold water had been dumped over my head. My thoughts calmed to a halt, my heartbeat slowed, and my focus realigned as I immediately took stock of the surroundings.
Six meters. That was the distance between the assassin and Toph.
At his speed, he'd reach her in two seconds. Maybe less. The guards were useless, still scrambling and stumbling over one another in blind panic.
I was too far physically to protect her at this current distance. I couldn't reach her in time.
So I had to stop him from afar.
I'd need to throw something.
My eyes scanned the objects that were near my body.
Scenarios flashed in my mind as simulations raced through my head.
Time resumed its normal pace.
My breath hitches; the energy of life within circulated my body densely and fast, reinforcing my body to the absolute limit available. I raced out of the building to my right, my hand reaching out to grab a nearby parasol that was providing shade.
My other hand formed a knife gesture as, with a swift motion, both ends of the parasol were cut off, leaving a long metal rod narrowing into a jagged point. It hurt, striking flesh onto metal, but I ignored the pain for now.
Still in motion, I planted my left foot hard against the tiled floor, generating power from my legs upwards. Twisting my hips and reeling the arm holding the improvised spear back, power transferred from my hips and into my arm.
One second passed.
There wasn't enough time to do mental calculations; I could only trust my instincts and pray to the Spirits above. This was my only shot.
Make it count!
I roared, hurling the spear with everything I had.
In retrospect, as I'm writing this after the incident, maybe throwing a spear-like weapon towards an assassin just moments away from the young girl that I was protecting was not the greatest idea.
But, be it luck or pure skill, I didn't have to worry about the aftermath if such a situation would happen as—
"HHhrk—!"
The spear struck true.
The sharpened tip punched through the man's wrist just as he lunged, the knife slipping from his grasp mid-strike. The force of the impact sent him crashing to the ground, screaming as the weapon pinned him in place.
At the commotion, Lord Beifong's eyes fell on the bleeding assassin near his seat. To the weapon lying on the floor. And lastly at Toph, who was sniffing the air at the emergence of the smell of iron in the air.
His expression hardened in an instant.
"GUARDS!"
At his command, the guards shook off their hesitation and moved—a few rushing to restrain the wounded assassin, another group breaking off to intercept the remaining assailants after my warning, while the rest closed ranks around the Beifongs to usher them away from danger.
Watching the Beifongs being escorted to safety, only then did the strength leave my legs.
I dropped to my knees without realizing it, breath tearing from my lungs as my heartbeat pounded against my ribs. Steam rose visibly from my body, my muscles trembling as the adrenaline burned itself out. I hunched forward, gulping air, clawing my chest, and forcing myself to slow my breathing before my heart tore itself apart.
The sound of battling faintly intensified behind me as I heaved, my head feeling lightheaded. I barely registered a servant rushing toward me to help before my body swayed and collapsed onto the ground, my consciousness fading into black.
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A/N: We've caught up to the latest chapter for the Free Tier members; this fic will now go on a weekly update every Friday. Thanks for the support, everyone!
NEXT UPDATE: Take a Deep Breath, Deep Breath (11 February, Wednesday)
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