The Hunters' Quest

Chapter Four: Surprises

"Paladin, Paladin, surely this isn't all you got?" Echo Ripper says to me as we try to kill each other. I stay quiet, so I can focus on deliberating a blow that'll end her for good. "Come on! Try harder!" My frustration in this fight gets to me. I squat down to evade a swing, then blast her away to give me space. She skids back and backflips to catch herself. "Ha! That was something! Is that all you got?" I rush at her with my sword pointing outward to make myself seem open. "You can't be that dumb." She swaps her sword to her left hand before rushing at me in the same style. The moment I see her take her eyes off me to glance at my sword, she breaks to the left. My sword narrowly misses her stomach when I conjure it to fly forward.

"Fuck!" I say, calling it back to my hand.

"No, you don't!" She blasts me before I can grab my sword. The second I regain my footing, I see her leap after me, getting ready to strike down a heavy swing. I quickly tether her ankles together, causing her to miss me. She breaks free of the tether once she falls to the ground. "Your restraints will not hold me!" She screams. Nothing you do will work on me!"

"I highly doubt that," I say when my sword comes back into my hand. "You are vulnerable like everyone else."

"I have no weakness. I'm a Paragon! One of Ivaran's best warriors," she says in the echo high-pitched voice I heard when we first met at Kromagia. She punches the air to make floating blue orbs appear. I ready myself for evasive action and prepare to cast Delayed Gasam to counter her spell. Ulrika isn't here to save me as she did before. I better play it safe and see what kind of power this has.

The kinetic orbs are slow enough to dodge, barely, though. For every shot, a return DG shots. Sadly, the orbs that miss me kill or severely hurt the unfortunate allies in their pathway. Echo Ripper and I get lost in each other in the heat of battle. People start butting in our fight. I use the moment to take a breather to let someone else deal with that maniac, even though they will more than likely meet their end.

The interruptions become too frequent. I don't know why people want to jump in between us, but I'm somewhat glad to be taking a break from an endless fight. These unfortunate followers or soldiers of the cult fall victim to the combined Kromagian and Succubus might. I'm so tired of fighting that I lay on my back to rest. The Kromagian warlocks seem to be turning the tide of the battle. Occasionally, I see them fly by in my field of view, shooting various spells from their weapons and hands. One of them casts lightning from their staff into a group of soldiers and discharges it into others.

"You get'em," I say before closing my eyes. I hover my sword high enough above me so Ulrika or Haleema can find me. After minutes pass and the yelling of the fight begins to die down, I can hear Ulrika call out for my name.

"Kaioson! Where are you?!" Ulrika screams like she's freaking out from reacting to something horrific. Her voice cracks at my name. I want to sit up to show her I'm okay, but I'm so fatigued all I can do is give her a wave. "Kaioson!" She drops to her knees from a sprint. The mud under her makes her slide to me. "Kaioson, are you hurt?" Before I can give her a funny answer to put a smile on her face, she starts checking for any wounds on my body. "What is this? Is that your blood?!" She opens my right arm to see a pool of blood.

"No, that's not mine," I say. "Relax," I grunt when I force myself into a seating position.

"So, you're okay?"

"Yeah," I nod. "How do you do it?"

"Do what?" She asks, cradling my jaw in her hands.

"Fight for this long. My stamina is gone." She smiles to prevent herself from crying. Only tears of relief are all I get.

"I'm glad this is only the thing you're suffering."

"How are you?"

"Oh, you know," she says as she helps me. "Same old shit."