Destiny No More

Chapter 99

Pyrrha crossed the open portion of the field quickly, ducking behind cars to both mask her approach and offer cover in the event that she was spotted. Dozens of White Fang had already collided with the defenders of the blockade, turning what had been a well-prepared kill box into a chaotic fight to the death. She had to keep her back to that however, as she weaved in between the vehicles strewn about the field. She had lost sight of Adam when she did so, but she could still see parts of the group that he had exited the building with.

Circling around to the flank, she caught three with their sides exposed and she threw herself into the fray before they could alert anyone to her presence. She slammed her cross guard into the side of the first one's head, snapping their head to the side with a sickening crack as she pushed onto the two men that had started to turn away from their cover to face her. Her eyes flashed with golden fire as she swept her hand in front of her, a jet of flames lashing out to knock them back into the car.

The commotion drew attention however, and a small group splintered off from the main body and moved in her direction. One, which had been closer than the rest, managed to close the distance and lunged for her. Pyrrha lowered her head and charged forward with her shoulder, catching the underside of the woman's chin as they collided. The breath was knocked from the terrorist, and she was sent back enough for Pyrrha to bring her sword up to cut across her chest. She collapsed in a heap, leaving Pyrrha to focus on the dozen or so opponents that were still moving from the city hall in her direction.

Pulling up her sheath, she transformed it into its shield form just in time to stop several bullets from hitting her chest. There were more shots fired, but most missed as she rushed her attackers, forcing them to adjust their shots.

"This one's mine!" Adam Taurus came to a stop to her right, forcing her to skid to a halt as she tried to place the group and him in front of her rather than risk either being behind her. "The rest of you, go deal with the Mistralians!"

The group hesitated for a moment, before continuing on to support the rest of their comrades that had pushed ahead and already made contact with the defensive perimeter. They pushed past her cautiously, but her eyes never moved away from Taurus. If she had the time, she would have stopped them, but she knew better than to turn her attention away from her opponent for even a second. The soldiers could deal with the additional fighters, at least long enough for Team CFVY and Penny to arrive and help, dealing with Adam was her responsibility.

The last of the grunts moved past, leaving a small, empty distance between her and Adam Taurus.

"Now is your chance to surrender." Pyrrha offered, even as she bent her legs, giving her the tension she would need to dodge his first strike. Adam did the same, his foot sliding back to offer a better stance to either push her or pull back if she struck first.

"Perhaps I will take you up on that, human," Adam slowly drew his sword and, even though the move was too slow to be a proper attack, Pyrrha tensed. He leveled the blade to gesture at her. "If I don't kill you first."

Pyrrha wasn't surprised he denied her offer, she hadn't ever expected him to accept it. Honestly, a small part of her hadn't wanted him to, and was happy he had not only denied her offer but threatened her.

"In that case... this is for Meadows." Pyrrha leapt forward as she adjusted Allos into its spear form, stabbing out with the point of her blade directly for the center of his mask.

He parried it easily, drawing his sword one-handed and clashing it with the head of her spear in a flash of sparks. His free hand had a hold on his sheath, and she had the time to notice him angle it up before a spread of buckshot crashed into her Aura. Her shield caught the second shot, and she pulled her spear back, chambering it, before thrusting once more. He deflected the blade, with a downward cut of his own, before stepping to her left.