Project: iaseki

Chapter 15: Unexpected Conflict

Lu instinctively raised his shield and defended himself from the incoming strike. He couldn't think of what to do next save for cowering behind his shield whenever the situation allows him to. He was already about to fall on his knees when he found Autumn and it was a miracle he had enough strength to fight the last titan. He doesn't know where he was getting his last bits of strength, but he was sure he will use it wisely. Autumn doesn't seem to mind her broken arm swaying around either.

Autumn wielded the scythe in air and made it attack Lu without using her own strength. Lu did the same and commanded his shield using his good hand and the two manablades danced like puppets, and it would have been entertaining if it weren't for the fact that if one mistake can behead Lu.

Lu dashed back and recalled his manablade so he could shoot a quill and Autumn used her scythe's blade to deflect it. Lu hurled more and the girl skillfully thwarted the talons while running away until she got herself behind a rock which the feathers couldn't pierce, at least all the way.

Lu wanted to run away but a scythe flying down his route stopped him in his tracks. Autumn ran up to him and his life flashed before his eyes as time slowed down and her palm opened in front of him.

Lu's quick thinking helped him stack anything he could which was his animus cloud and his shield in front of him hoping that it would be enough to block the destruction animus he knew was coming. However, he was stunned for a moment when no such destruction came and instead Autumn swept her blade under the shield while he was distracted enough with defending his middle that he left his lower aspects exposed.

Lu dodged but not quick enough to avoid the fatal slash to his leg. His blood gushed out in front of him, and he writhed in pain, but he had to hold his agonizing scream to help him focus and not give away his position as his animus took over the field.

They both disappeared from each other's view as the golden mist nearsighted them and filled the atmosphere. Not a sound could be heard as the fight toned down to small, weak steps.

Crimson blades flung past Lu and he replied using his own toward the source. Clashing of steel resounded from a few meters away which meant Lu hit his mark, only it was deflected.

He was about to attack again but he had to block the incoming feathers that had appeared. He knows his position had been exposed now as well. He repositioned as fast as he could and he heard footsteps aiming to do the same. They then exchanged turns of firing plumes as if engaging in the deadliest of conversations.

Their dialogues had suddenly declined into dead air in a moment after they had thought of the same thing. Lu's golden smoke is dissipating and visibility is returning to normal. They no longer no where the other is. The fight will be decided the next instant, and neither of them wanted to expose their locations and give themself a disadvantage.

The golden mist had almost evaporated, and Lu heard a shin coming at him a hundred meters a minute from behind. He had enough time to block it and he saw the shadow of a scythe behind him. It must have been a return feather to set him up.

Fortunately he still had enough strength to react accordingly. However, Autumn must have taken it into account as well, and the scythe was merely up in the air to create the shadow. What Lu was taking up close range is her palm, and this time the destruction animus was the actual attack.

Lu used his third animus charge to hopefully block the impact, and the exchange was concluded.

The cloud and the shield helped with reducing the devastation, but it was not enough. Lu's forearm disappeared into thin air, and even more blood spurted out from the cleanly cut part.

Losing all his animus charges and his ability to create feathers, Lu had lost the fight. He sat down flat looking at his remaining, broken hand, still trying to create a feather but it was no use. Aside from it being totally impossible, he had also felt that his mana depleted.

Autumn stood over him, ready to decapitated him, and right before she could swing Lu shouted and forcefully moved his painful hand however he could, the a golden feather returned to his stationary target, cutting one of Autumn's feet off, and destroying the other enough to be sure she could no longer walk with them.

Lu then shouted in pain and determination then ran to the only nearby rock to take cover as the girl screamed in pain just as much and used up all her remaining mana to cast as many feathers as she can but ran out of mana right before the stone had been destroyed and she cried in helplessness. Red orbs of energy appeared and disappeared around her, indicating she was still attempting to summon her quills, but all she can do now is a minature fireworks display. As for her Animus, she had already used up her three charges as well. Lu deduced this from the titan with a pricked off arm and leg which would have been Autumn using it twice.

He then limped toward the maps they had drawn, its container now covered in dust and blood. He slung the bag over his shoulder and did not know what to do next. Autumn had already shown her intent to make him disappear the chance she gets to, but Lu had never intended to do the same to her from the start. If he wanted to, he could have aimed for the head and not for the feet. But as far as his plans went, he did not actually have anything in mind after he had rendered her incapacitated. He turned around and ripped a piece of his shirt to wrap around his chopped off limb and stop its bleeding as much as he can, but he couldn't move forward for two reasons.

First is that he no longer has the strength to go all the way to Elle. It was also unlikely that he can do so without bleeding out. Second is that his conscience does not allow him to leave a suffering person in the wild. Especially because it was his own doing. If he didn't know her, he wouldn't have thought twice about leaving here then and there.

However, this girl pointed a blade at his neck the first time they met and saw that he had black eyes. It wasn't because she had a past with the aurum. It was because she wanted to protect a city that she didn't even belong to knowing what the aurum can do to it, even though she could just run away if things go south.

Hearing her whimpers in his back he couldn't help but try think of a way where they could both go back to Elle, call it a day, and forget everything that had happened. If there only was a way to do such a thing.

Looking at his terribly bleeding arm, he wondered how he'd even live from here on out, or judging by how much blood he lost already, if he would even get to live from here on out.

Lu gave up deciding whether he should help Autumn or leave her as she is. He laid down and turned to her ripping out pieces of her garments and tying it on her bleeding legs with one arm. Then she laid down as well.

Lu left it up to fate whatever comes next. He thought that if they were going to die there before they rested up, then so be it. He does prefer if they could stay alive until the next day and they could come to an agreement to help each other get back and hopefully not ever have at each other's throats again.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Everything suddenly seemed so peaceful after the lot that happened. He took a last glimpse at Autumn who was turned the other way, likely also about to snooze off in fatigue. Lu then looked to his other side and saw the carcass of a fallen titan only a few meters away from him.

He smirked at the though of sleeping right next to a dead titan. He never thought he'd do such a thing. Yet here he is, closing his eyes, giving in to the caress of the darkness taking his consciousness into the void.