Eight Intertwined

17 - Gaston

Tressa knocked the brigands back with yet another blast of wind as soon as they dared to get too close. She, Ophilia, and Cyrus all knew that their goal for the time being was just to fend off their foes rather than resort to killing them. It wouldn't be necessary given that Philip had been rescued and was now in relatively safe hands (as secure as he could be while still at the scene of a dangerous battle, that was). It hopefully wouldn't take too much for them to be able to defeat the smaller brigands so that they could move onto Gaston. It was clear as could be who was running the show within the den of the bandits given how powerful Gaston was, so it was up to them to move as quickly as possible so that they could assist Olberic sooner rather than later. 

"We'll have to rely on magic in order to defeat them," Cyrus said to the other two as soon as he was given the chance to do so. "I can sense that they aren't going to be weak to the staves, lances, and bows that we have at our disposal currently, so we'll have to turn our attention to magic instead." His skills of analysis were certainly coming in handy given the circumstances, and Ophilia and Tressa nodded their understanding before starting to cast their next set of spells. 

Cyrus flicked one wrist outwards, and fire immediately began to form and spread. The brigands were unable to escape in time, and they were knocked backwards by the sheer force of the blow. It was easy enough to keep the brigands away from the group since they were only using magical attacks that were most effective at range, and that meant that there was relatively little for the trio to worry about in terms of sustaining hits from their foes. 

Ophilia noticed how Cyrus' attack had done a significant amount of damage, and she braced herself before unleashing a fiery blow of her own in the direction of the bandits, immediately sending them into another spiral of uncontrollable screams as they struggled to get a grasp on themselves. Cyrus gave her a proud nod when he was given the chance to do so, a sign that he was glad that she had picked up on fire magic so quickly. It was certainly proving itself more useful than light in that situation, so it was a relief that she had figured out how to use it. 

Tressa closed her eyes before focusing all of her remaining energy on a blast of windy energy, and that was seemingly all that it took to knock the enemy brigands to the ground. This time, none of them dared to get back up again, too deprived of energy to even bother trying to fight back once more. Cyrus kept a wary eye on them for a while longer just to be safe, but it soon became clear that their fatigue was no show meant to lure the group into a false sense of security. They truly were down for the count, and after seeing the full extent of the power that the trio possessed, they had decided to back down and keep their lives with wounded pride. 

Nearby, Olberic's clash with Gaston was nothing short of the simple word 'fierce'. Every swing of Gaston's blade was met with a corresponding slash from Olberic, though neither of them was ever able to make contact with the other's body. Olberic kept his spear within his left hand, glad that he had learned how to use both weapons at once through his ambidextrous abilities of battle. He was able to get in a quick stab in Gaston's direction as soon as the other man was forced backwards by a particularly powerful slash from Olberic. Gaston let out a groan in response, and when he looked up to meet Olberic's gaze once again, his eyes were on fire with something passionate and terrifying. Even if it took the rest of his days, he was going to do what he could to exact his revenge. 

"I've never seen a fighter as strong as you before," Gaston remarked, his tone mocking despite the clear fact that he was at a disadvantage. He brought his sword up, but once again, Olberic blocked the strike and managed to get in another stab with his spear. "You've got much more power than everyone gave you credit for, hedge knight."

Olberic knew that his foe was trying to goad him into losing his focus, but he refused to yield no matter the circumstances. He held up his blade in preparation for another block, but he was cut off when Gaston revealed that the strike was a feint and went in a completely different direction. Olberic's eyes went wide as a final piece of preparation for the blow to come, but luckily for him, the sword never made contact with his skin.