' I have to stall for a little more time ' Ash thoughts were in shambles as he struggled and moved dodging attack's that would take him out if any landed, even when he was enhanced he still had no faith that he would win this fight but somehow he still wanted to try and stall for time since his opponent had made the mistake of misfiring.
And he could only thank his quick thinking and the soul companion that he never thought would come in handy, he used the ' chant of a king ' a spell that he got from the mysterious voice when he died the first time , he was adamant to using it at first at first his body couldn't use mana right but somehow still did since he had nothing too lose either way he was going to die and doing it without a fight wasn't an option.
And the result helped him go toe to toe with his attacker, but he knew that it was only an illusion since he had not used his essence yet, so he had to either end the fight quickly or stall for time until the nighttime guards arrive.
The spell seemed to enhance almost everything about him, including his mana, allowing him to summon and maintain the grey phantom eagle while he fought .
He decides to go with an aggressive approach this time, forcing his opponent into a somewhat defensive position, and covering up his missed spaces with Grey using range attacks to cover for him, mostly from higher altitudes, and taking full advantage of his blind spot.
"The reports I received stated that you haven't awakened , so tell me how you are making these tricks? "
This was the second time he was being asked a question, and he wasn't ready to answer, dodging an attack that was meant to knock him out, only to be hit by another. This time, it sent him into the wall with a bang.
The attack rocketed his insides to the extent that he felt like he was really going to die, but in that moment, he remembered how he died the first time and managed to move his body out of the way, and the position he was in before got impaled by a blade.
'Will you guys be quick, please ' Ash almost cried out trying his best to give his opponent space but the man didn't waver covering all and landing hits that Ash sometimes escaped from , the one's that he wasn't caused pain that he couldn't describe.
Even Gray's attacks were countered a few times due to the fact that he had enhanced himself with essence.]
Soon he was exhausted and couldn't move properly , lying on the ground completely defenseless " you were a bug worth the wait , but it time for bed " the man said starting up the same attack but this time it condensed faster , Ash had called grey but the attack would be very much faster than meaning his death was inevitable ' I hope I get another chance ' was the only thing he could think about a this time.
He watched as the attack, a black ball, moved out of his assailant's hand, move swiftly to end him, but began to slow down. He thought it was how people feel when they are about to die, since it was almost everything that had slowed down, but it felt wrong.
It was only after he noticed the look on the face of his opponent one that looked like fear pure and real did the sense of dread wash over him " thank you for your service , you made my job a lot easier " another voice sounded from the darkest part of the hall where there was no sign of light and almost immediately a metallic box appeared in between Ash and the attack no bigger than a fist.
Everything about the box was wrong, but Ash didn't have time to think about it as the frozen time was released and the attack connected with it, and something mysterious happened , the box swallowed the attack and remained in its position.
Ash on his part didn't want to know the effect the attack would have and moved his weak body away as fast as he could and almost immediately a powerful explosion rang out and instead of the force to give a push they was a sudden pull one that Ash had never experienced before, this time the spell seemed to have worn off and grey had already caught up to him merging with his body giving his enough strength to hold onto one of the pillars present .
The moment he looked behind he saw something that scared him so bad that he couldn't think properly for a few seconds , a rift like the mighty ones he saw when arrived in the bastion but a miniature version, he felt his blood turn cold from fear and every cell in his body screamed at him to escape, to get as far as possible from it and he tried.
But the more he tried, the more the pull seemed to become stronger. 'This is very bad,'he thought, but there was no choice for him. Looking around, he noticed that the person after his head had managed to escape it range but not in sight. Even if he escaped, he wasn't going to leave the premises alive.
'let go ' a voice sounded in his head very similar to the one he heard when he died the first time" Sorry to disappoint but no " Ash finally lost his cool , he was going to die if he entered , his soul and body wasn't mature enough to enter one and he was going to be torn to pieces the moment he tries it.
He kicked, struggled tried everything but his grip kept slipping the more he tried , he was losing his hold but he didn't want to try anything funny as letting go , ' let go ' the voice called out again and Ash didn't want to still holding on to it , it was at this time that the adrenaline he was on had also began to wear off leaving him tired , exhausted and without any ounce of strength.
'Let go, ' the voice said again, but this time, Ash couldn't just refuse since he had already begun to lose consciousness, and his body was carried by the strong force straight into the rift. Just as it happened, the night guards arrived, and they immediately moved to contain the chaos, sealing the surrounding area to stop the suction from drawing all other things inside with it.
It was also at this time that Captain Kurt arrived wearing the most confused expression one could ever have, "What in the name of all bastion is going on? "