The Archman

Chapter 31 - A Thwarted Advance, Part 2

The man reaches for the handle of his shortsword as fast as he can, but it is a futile effort, as the Archman grabs the man around the nape of his neck, his large hand wrapping around the vital limb and gripping it in a crushing vice.

The man claws at the Archman's fingers, trying to free his neck from the oppressive grasp. The Archman only clutches harder as he slowly lifts the man up single-handedly, letting the man's arms and legs scramble beneath him like a terrified animal trying to escape its captor.

"H-hold on, I-" The man barely manages to squeeze the words out before he is interrupted. The Archman abruptly swings the man's head down, smashing it against the edge of the bathtub.

There is an audible crack accompanied by a spurt of blood, which trickles down the tub into the bathwater. Eira flinches backwards from the sudden strike, raising her hands to her mouth instinctively. Before she can recover from seeing the first blow, the Archman raises the man up once more, then brings his bloodied cranium down onto the bathtub a second time, shattering the man's skull on the hard surface.

The Archman is immolating with an incandescent rage, his scarlet eyes burning vengefully as he devastates his victim in a fit of merciless wrath. Throughout the whole process, he doesn't make a single sound, but his expression is screaming with malicious intent.

He lifts the man's head one more time, but hesitates. He looks down at Eira, who is shivering in the opposite end of the bathtub, as physically far from the violence as possible. She is still frozen with shock, the only movement coming from her being an occasional blink.

The Archman closes his eyes and inhales, gradually composing himself and diffusing his temper. He grabs the man by his collar and drags him across the bathroom floor. His victim is thoroughly gored and twitching, leaving a trail of blood as he is hauled out of the bathroom to be extinguished in private.

Eira looks at the edge of the bathtub which has recently been converted into a blunt weapon. There are several small dents across the edge, and many more bloodstains to compliment the gruesome aesthetic. Though it is a disturbing sight, she ultimately feels relieved, and is now able to take a proper breath for the first time since her assailant entered the room.

The Archman steps back into the room, closing the door and wiping the blood from his hands on his cloak as he walks over to Eira. He stands before the bathtub reluctantly. He wants to look down to check if Eira is uninjured, but he's pensive to approach her in her vulnerable state.

"Sorry you had to see that..." He kneels down in front of the bathtub, slowly moving closer towards her with as much pacifism as he can muster.

"It's okay." Eira's voice lilts, as waves of dread continue to ripple through the pond of her psyche.

"Are you okay?" The Archman averts his gaze, facing the same direction Eira is. They aren't looking at anything in particular, just avoiding eye contact as much as possible.

"Yeah...I'm fine." Eira nods, taking a tremulous breath in.

Eira and the Archman sit in silence, as they are both in a realm which is completely foreign to them. The Archman glances over to Eira and notices her shivering, sitting balled up in the bathtub to conserve as much warmth as possible.

"You should dry off. The water's gone cold." He states plainly.

"Okay..." Eira nods once again. She slowly removes her arms from around her legs and places them on the sides of the bathtub. She tries to lift herself up, but her muscles give out before she can raise herself an inch.

Eira was surprised by how weak she felt. She always felt like she was a powerful, capable person. Especially when her father was struck ill, she thought she showed a considerable amount of resiliency. But when she was presented with something that was so physically threatening, so immediately traumatizing, it made her realize how frail she really was. Especially compared to someone like the Archman, who was so unfazed in the face of imminent danger.