Vanguards Of Aetheria II: The Solace Rune

Chapter 10: Escalation

Stellaria lunged at Cal with her Katana raised, and swung it vertically at him a few times. But with each swing, Cal kept dodging. He then threw a swift left hook punch towards her face, but she raised her katana and blocked it. Stellaria followed up by kicking Cal square in the face, making him slide back a few feet.

"Elijah, Keith, her backup will be en route anytime now, so deal with them in the meantime!" Exclaimed Cal.

"Got it!" Replied Elijah.

Elijah and Keith ran out of the room, prepared to fight any of her knights that are coming to aid her.

"You really think your unarmed friends can take on my soldiers?! That's quite naive of you, Cal!" Exclaimed Stellaria.

"Shut the fuck up." Cal replied as he dashed towards her with his right fist raised.

Cal tried to punch her in the throat, but she gracefully and effortlessly stepped out of the way and slashed Cal across the back with her katana.

"Agh!" Cal grunted in pain.

Upon hearing Cal's groans of pain, Stellaria began to laugh mischievously. She was clearly amused and enjoying herself in the moment.

"Try again, Cal!" Stellaria exclaimed.

Cal lunged at her and managed to pin her against the wall. Stellaria had dropped her katana as soon as Cal grappled her by the shoulders. She grunted in slight pain as her back was slammed into the wall.
Cal then bashed his knee against her stomach, causing her to spit out some blood.

"Gah!" She groaned in pain.

Stellaria then shoved Cal off of her, and picked up her katana. While Cal was regaining his balance, she lunged at him. The blade of her katana pierced his chest, Cal barely even reacted to getting impaled. Stellaria ripped her katana out of his chest, but Cal quickly delivered three punches to her face and chest. Cal then grabbed her by the throat and slammed her into the floor, all the while Stellaria was laughing maniacally.

"Yes! Show me the man who single-handedly decimated Veltrix's forces!" Stellaria laughed.

Cal then grabbed her by the throat once again, and threw her into the wall.

"I wonder what new side of you I'll see when both of your friends are dead!" Stellaria continued to laugh and smile devilishly.

Cal then yelled furiously and charged towards her. He raised his foot and kicked her in the chest so hard that she crashed through the wall and into the hallway. She quickly got back up on her feet and wiped some blood off her lips.

As Cal walked through the hole in the wall, 5 of Stellaria's guards appeared. They stood in front of Stellaria and had their weapons at the ready.

"Great, now there's more blood to spill." Said Cal.

The guards charged at Cal, their weapons pointed towards him. One guard lunged towards him, their sword aimed at Cal's chest. In order to dodge, Cal stepped aside and kicked the guard across the face.

As the guard fell to the floor, another one pursued him. They thrusted their spear towards Cal, but Cal stepped aside once again and grabbed the spear. He easily disarmed the guard and plunged the spear into their throat. Cal had now managed to obtain a weapon, allowing him to even the odds against Stellaria and her guards.

One guard that wielded a dagger rushed towards Cal, swinging their dagger around. Cal would block their attacks with the spear, and then swing the spear at the guard's throat. The blade sliced their throat open, and they fell to their knees as blood poured out of the slit on their throat. Cal then picked up the guards dagger and went on the offensive.