Written in Blood

XVII . Those who paid

The axe cleaves downward, and I dodge out of the way as fast as I can, darting to the side of the massive battle axe. It's partially buried in the ground from the force of the swing.

While the iron knuckle is defenseless pulling it out of the dirt, I see it as a chance to attack. It'll be hard to actually hurt my opponent though, I can't see a chink in the armor. I'll try to land a hit on the spaces in between the plate armor, but it'll be hard to not just miss hit its armor, and metal on metal won't give me an advantage edge-wise.

Might as well try. As much as I want to spare the life of the Gerudo within the armor, it's either my life or hers.

I do my best to remove the image of the bloody slit in the Gerudo's back. It's burned into my eyes, the end of her life, repeating over and over.

It's not or never, the axe is beginning to slide out, and I'm just standing in wait to be chopped in half.

I strike out at the shoulder of the armor, where's there a small slit between two pieces of armor between the shoulder guards and the helmet. I can tell my blade meets flesh as it slices into the space between the armor.

The axe comes loose from the ground and I bound away from the iron knuckle, considering my options.

Finding and then hacking at the tiniest slits between the armor won't do any exponential damage, what I need to do to really wreak some havoc is get the armor off it.

I barely remember how I did it back then, the multiple times I had to fight these buggers.

I harden my expression, preparing myself for its next attack. It clanks over at me, slow and yet wielding so much power. It hefts the battle axe back over its shoulder and then slams it down at me. But I'm ready this time and backflip away from the sharp blade that comes crashing back down into the ground.

The straps securing the armor would be a viable way to get down to something I can actually hit.

I dash back over to the iron knuckle and spy some straps, dark against the already dark getup. I slash at the leather straps along its arm, and it takes a bit of an effort to saw through the leather. The pieces of armor begin to clatter to the ground. While this will give the iron knuckle more mobility, it'll make the battle wrap-up quicker.

It's much easier to separate emotion from an iron knuckle than a Gerudo like the one I had slain. With their faces and bodies covered in so much metal, they stop looking like humans, as morbid as that is. I just have to keep thinking that until the battle is over.

You'd think the iron knuckle would adapt quicker in battle, but there's only the vertical slashes and later, as the armor falls to the ground, side slashes.

Evasion was never that hard, even after my skills atrophied into nothing, so I steer well clear of that blade. It's so hefty and yet so sharp and precise, it's hulking but has a grace in its slices, whizzing through the air, razor sharp at the tips.

Time has already lost all meaning, and I have tunnel vision, oblivious to the fighting around me. This is no longer a battle between Ganondorf's forces and the Hylians, it's a showdown between me and this iron knuckle.

I begin getting anxious, still doing my best to slash out, but my enemy is getting faster and I'm tiring. I'm sloppy and I feel the blade catch the side of my arms. But I'm close. I can tell. Another shot through the middle will just about do it.

I stand at the ready, poised on my toes for its next attack, waiting for my chance to counter.

It launches a quick and lethal spin of its axe, catching me off guard.