APRICITY // technoblade x reader DISCONTINUED

16 - Swordplay and Survival

 quick content warning: fight scene, with fantasy-typical violence! if that's not your jam, feel free to skip this chapter. see you tomorrow my loves, and take care of yourselves! :))

Techno gently lays Wilbur on the ground, pressing the area around his shoulder. You slice a strip of fabric off of your robes and toss it to Techno, who cinches it into a tight tourniquet around Wilbur's shoulder. After making sure that Wilbur will be okay, he stands, drawing his longsword from his back.

The blade shimmers an ethereal purple as Techno grips it, stepping beside you to face the crowd of mobs.

The front skeleton nocks another arrow, and you brace yourself as it draws and fires. The arrow arcs toward you, the stone arrowhead zipping closer to you.

Techno's sword slices through the air, and the arrow clatters to the ground at your feet. His longsword is angled in front of you protectively, the faintly glowing Netherite blade pulsing hungrily.

His reaction speed and precision with such a hefty blade speak to his prowess with a sword, something you can only dream of. You only have rudimentary training with a sword, something all apprentices receive. Full sword training is a part of warden training, something not everyone gets to, and something that you have not yet achieved. Either way, your sword is sharp, so the weight is comforting in your hand as the mobs lumber towards you.

The harsh clacking of the skeleton's bones leads the way, followed by three zombies and two spiders. You've never had to fight mobs before; the Camarvan Library's towering walls had kept the mobs out until they'd burned, and the torches within the property prevented mobs from spawning inside.

"Why are there mobs here?!" You yell, dodging another arrow.

"I don't know!" Techno calls back. "Maybe they'll drop something when they die that'll tell us."

The guttural growl of a zombie behind you makes you whip around, slashing it across the chest. It stumbles back but lurches back towards you again. The rapier fits snugly into your hands as you swing sideways at it, slashing another thin line across the first one. It doesn't seem to do much, so you pull back and thrust the point of the sword into the zombie's chest, yanking it out to leap away. The zombie lunges slowly towards you. You spin to the side of it, blade flashing across its side.

The stench of rot fills your lungs, decay oozing from the wounds you've dealt the zombie thus far. It crumples to the ground and you pierce it one final time in the back, panting heavily.

There's no respite for you, though, as you feel the sharp sting of a spider's mandibles tearing into your back. You cry out, feeling warm blood trickle down your back and soak into your layered cyan robes as involuntary tears spring to your eyes.

The mandibles rip away from your back. You spin, sword darting out to gouge a line through the spider's jaw. Flesh tears and acrid-smelling dark blood drips down to mix with yours on the cobblestone ground.

Three of the spider's glowing red eyes are squeezed shut. It lunges at you again anyways, and you sidestep just in time. Your boots catch on the uneven cobblestones and you trip, falling hard on your ass.

The spider takes this as an opportunity. It scuttles onto you, mandibles clicking hungrily. Your fingers sink into its matted hair as you shove it back.

Your hand comes away slick as you pull back to grip your rapier better. You shove the blade into the spider's abdomen.

Dark liquid spurts out, catching the side of your leg even as you push the spider off of you and stand up.

You stumble, the pain of your wound like a hot iron in the back. You're lightheaded, but you push through the black spots at the edge of your vision to try to get away. The spider swarms at you again, unnaturally large arachnid feet pattering across the cobblestones towards you.

You can feel rivulets of your own warm blood trickling down your back as you scramble away, barely staying out of reach of those salivating mandibles.

"Ranboo!" Techno yells, and you use a precious split second to glance over at him. He slices through a zombie, and the bisected mob takes a moment to stop reaching towards him. "Ranboo, where are you?!"

The glance you take costs you as the spider catches your boot. You tumble to the floor, slamming the raw wound on your back into the cobblestones. You scream out, a ragged cry of pain and fear, and curl into yourself. You kick at the spider, fear clouding your vision until it crumples to the side.

Techno stands over you, blood dripping from his sword as he pulls it roughly out of the spider's abdomen.

He scoops you up, cradling you behind the knees and around your shoulders. You curl your fingers into his collar, biting the inside of your cheek at the flare of pain when he scoops you up gently. His footsteps are swift but only jostle you a little.

Technoblade gently sets you down next to Wilbur, squeezing your hand as he sets you down. "I'll handle this." Wilbur catches you as you lean on him, heavy with exhaustion and pain.

And he does, quite efficiently. The final zombie goes down in two solid swipes, and the other spider follows not long after, twitching for a moment before finally falling limply to the ground.

Techno wipes his blade off carefully on the zombie's ragged clothing before he sheathes it. "Y/n, how badly are you injured?"

You watch the skeleton's remains slowly disintegrate, crumbling into dust.

"Not... not too badly," you say, trying to sit up but wincing as you take your weight off of Wilbur's side.

"Don't even try that," snaps Wilbur, and when you look back you can see the arm he was holding you with is stained with your blood. His brows are furrowed with worry. "That's a deep gash, don't try to play it off. You're in pain and you can say it."

Techno drops to his knees beside you. "Turn around. Let me see the wound, then we'll get you back to the house."

You wince again as you turn to show him, but suddenly a sharp pain Tears at your wound. The black spots swirling around your vision intensify, and you heave in a sharp gasp for breath.

"Y/n? Y/n! What's wrong?" Wilbur's voice seems far off as you double over.

"I'm fine, just... Fuck, that hurt," you hiss through gritted teeth.

Techno swears softly behind you. "I can see why. It's a huge wound, and the edges are rough. I can carry you home, but it'll probably hurt. Ranboo's not responding either, which is something that he never does, so we can't teleport you. You've lost a lot of blood already, we need to get you to a cleric as soon as possible.."

You nod gingerly, still a bit lightheaded. "Yeah, that's.. the black spots are probably the blood loss, huh. You- I'll be fine if you carry me. I can handle a little bit of pain."

This somehow only serves to make Techno and Wilbur look more worried. Techno's jaw is clenched so tightly it looks painful. "Yes, but you shouldn't have to."

You wave him off. "Just carry me. I trust you."

Something in his eyes shifts and he scoops you up in the same bridal-style carry as before. You wince, and he freezes. "No, no. It's fine." You feel light, almost detached from your body, and you lean your head on his shoulder. "I'm fine."

The black spots are swimming in your vision, swirling behind your eyes as your blinks grow slower and slower. Finally, you let go, slipping away into the darkness as you nestle further into Techno's warmth.