"Well, what do we have here?"
Kael raised his sword, his gaze fixed on the creature.
It jumped toward him, propelled by a single flap of its wings. The azure aura surrounding Kael's blade gathered along its edge as he rushed forward to meet it. He swung at waist height, aiming for the tentacles.
The creature let out a shrill scream and spread its wings wider. Its left wing swept toward him.
Kael jumped and twisted in midair, narrowly avoiding the attack. Before he could land, his eyes caught the wing coming back toward him.
He thrust his sword forward.
A metallic ring echoed through his ears.
The blade failed to pierce the wing.
"What are you... made of?"
The moment he touched the ground, he planted one foot and used it as a pivot. Tightening his grip, he swung with all his strength.
Another metallic sound rang out.
Yet the damage was negligible.
"I won't be able to defeat this monster like this..." he muttered.
Kael leaped back, observing the creature between every exchange. The more he fought, the more absurd it seemed.
He saw no weakness.
No flaw.
It was as if the monster had been made to counter swords.
A metallic body that repelled his strikes. Speed that rivaled his own. Strength capable of crushing him if he made a single mistake.
The creature roared and dashed toward him once more.
Its tentacles suddenly stretched outward. The ends sharpened and hardened into deadly points.
Kael drove his sword into the ground and shouted,
"Draen!"
Azure energy surged from the blade into the earth. The ground along the creature's path erupted upward, shattering stone and forcing it off balance.
The ground erupted beneath the creature. Stone and debris shot into the air as its charge was broken. One of its wings slammed into the earth, throwing its balance off for a split second. Kael didn't hesitate at all. He pushed off the ground and closed the distance.
His sword flashed.
The strike landed where the wing met the body. This time, the metallic sound was different. A thin line appeared across the joint.
The creature screeched. Kael's eyes narrowed.
"There."
The creature twisted violently. Before he could pull back, a tentacle shot toward him. Pain exploded through his side.
"Aahh!"
Kael was thrown across the battlefield. He crashed through a broken wall and rolled across the stone. For a moment, he couldn't breathe. His eyes went blurry for a second. He took a breath and forced himself up. Blood dripped from beneath his torn clothes.
The creature was already coming towards him.
"Damn it..."
Its speed hadn't dropped. If anything, it looked even faster. Kael barely raised his sword in time. The impact sent him skidding backward.
Another strike.
The creature wasn't giving him a chance to think. A tentacle swept toward his head.
Kael ducked, barely dodging it.
A wing followed immediately after. He blocked with his sword. The force sent him crashing to one knee. His arms trembled.
"One more hit like that..."
The creature roared and spread its wings as it launched itself.
At the last second, Kael slammed his sword into the ground.
"Draen!"
Azure flow surged through the stone. The ground erupted beneath the creature once more. But this time, the creature knew what was coming.
"You fell for it."
It was exactly as Kael expected. Its wings spread wide to regain balance, exposing the damaged joint.
"It's all or nothing."
Kael poured everything he had left into his legs. Pain screamed through his body, but that didn't affect his movement. His sword cut through the air.
...
The blade struck the cracked joint. This time, there was no metallic sound. There was only the sound of flesh tearing. Blood erupted into the air. The creature let out a horrifying scream.
Kael didn't stop.
He stepped forward and drove his sword into the wound. The monster thrashed wildly.
A tentacle wrapped around his arm. The pressure nearly crushed him.
Yet he pushed deeper and deeper, until the blade vanished to the hilt. The creature's screams grew faint.
Its struggles weakened.
Then-
The creature's body fell down, and it stopped breathing.
...
Kael remained standing for a few seconds. Then his legs gave out. He fell beside the corpse, breathing heavily as blood pooled beneath him.
"You... were a pain in the ass."
--------------------------
"You... are you a knight?" Laur asked with a small smirk on his face.
"Why the... huff... hell are you... smiling?"
Laur took a step forward.
"Why shouldn't I be?" he said. "It was successful enough to almost kill a High Knight like you."
"Almost kill me?"
Kael let out a dry laugh. It quickly turned into coughing. Blood dripped from his lips.
"Don't get ahead of yourself."
Laur's grin only widened.
"This is good. No... this is great." He laughed. "A High Knight dying here? I couldn't have asked for anything better."
"Hey, psycho."
Kael planted his sword into the ground and pushed himself onto one knee. His other hand remained pressed against the wound on his waist.
"What?"
Slowly, Kael rose to his feet. His body screamed in protest.
"What makes you think you can kill me?"
Laur's smile faltered for a moment. Kael wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.
"You said it yourself."
A grin appeared on his face.
"You almost killed me."
He tightened his grip on the sword.
"Almost isn't enough, to kill me... you need to do a whole lot more than almost."
"And I'm sure as hell not dying today."
...
The grin on Laur's face slowly faded. For a few seconds, the only sound was the wind brushing against them. Kael tightened his grip around the sword planted in the ground. His legs trembled, but it didn't matter to him. Blood continued to drip from the wound at his waist. Slowly, painfully, he forced himself upright. Every muscle in his body screamed in protest. His vision was blurry.
Standing was one thing. Fighting was another.
He knew he couldn't defeat him.
"I'll... delay him, delay him enough for the people to escape safely. No matter whatever it takes, not a single citizen is dying by his hands."
The man let out a chuckle.
"Look at you."
His gaze swept over Kael's body.
"You can barely stand. You are but a pathetic living flesh."
Kael didn't respond. One more exchange and he wasn't sure his body would hold together.
Laur took another step forward.
"It's over."
A purple flow gathered around his hand.
"Any last words?"
His tightened his grip around the hilt of his sword. A smirk appeared on his face.
"Yeah. F*ck off."
"What a choice of last words that was. Now, die."
"You aren't killing anyone today."
Both men froze. Laur's eyes narrowed and he turned towards the voice.
A figure stood atop the shattered remains of a nearby building.
The figure stepped forward.
"But I am."