Beyond the Rabbit Hole

Of War and Blood

The dreadknight made the first move. He charged the reaper head-on, his slender body lurching forward until his dash looked more like a four-legged crawl.

I will deflect his attack! Alyss shifted her feet and ducked low, swinging her blade up to meet the enemy's before it could reach her.

The blades clashed, but only briefly. The dreadknight's strange weapon slid off the edge of the warpick as the dreadknight spun off the impact and landed several yards away. But he did not choose his landing at random. He quickly regained his footing and knelt, reaching his free hand to scoop up the weapon Alyss had knocked away earlier.

Though they couldn't be seen through his dreadmetal helmet, Alyss could feel his bloodthirsty gaze locked with hers as she kept him in sight out of only the corner of her eye. Her smirk widened, but she did not deem it necessary to turn to face him. I will follow his movements. Her eye focused like a scope locked onto its target.

The dreadknight paused a moment after reclaiming his weapon, then disappeared again.

Without further thought, Alyss's head shot to the side, her body turning in perfect sync as the dreadknight's blurred form circled and collapsed upon her from the opposite side in a single breath. Her blade moved on its own, parrying the first strike with her warpick and blocking the second with her arm.

But the dreadknight's assault didn't end there. As if a fire lit under him, his speed increased tenfold. As the second strike was blocked, a third and fourth were already planned, and in the span of one moment, a fifth and sixth threatened the reaper as well.

A minute earlier, Alyss would never have even seen these attacks coming, but after activating her ability—whatever its true nature was—her body could follow the attacks before her brain could even react. What a strange feeling. It's like I'm letting something else guide my body. Another pair of strikes pierced her defenses and barreled toward her throat. I will not be struck! Her neck bent to the side, dodging the first strike by a hair's breadth.

The dreadknight's twisted body curved the second strike around the reaper's leg toward the back of her thigh.

I will shatter that armor! Alyss's leg shot upward, grazing the tip of the dreadknight's black helmet and evading the encroaching strike in one singular motion.

The dreadknight leaned backward, rolling his shoulders backward in a wave-like motion, dodging the kick with a spinning backflip and catching the ground with his blades. He landed on all fours, sliding backward several more yards before coming to a stop. As the momentum carrying him dissipated and he regained a sense of balance, he tilted his head to the side before pulling his blades from the ground with minimal effort.

That seems like a useful command. Let's try dodging again instead of blocking. I will not be struck! Alyss lowered her warpick, half-turning her body so it faced away from the enemy. She raised her head, locking eyes with the dreadknight through a taunting sneer and raised her free hand.

The moment the dreadknight understood her provocation, he dashed into it without another thought. As he ran circles around her, searching for an angle of attack, he almost laughed under his breath at the sheer audacity of his prey's challenge. His first blade flew past her throat, the reaper's eyes narrowing and grin widening as it missed its target. But he was not finished yet. This challenge would not go unmet. He stepped forward, flipped the blade that missed, and prepared his second blade. The two blades crossed toward Alyss's throat from opposite angles, in a decapitating strike. But that too was futile. Every attack he made flowed into another. He used the momentum to chain one strike into four, and four strikes into ten. He would not give even a second for her to catch her breath.