In The Middle (IDENTITY V FF)

2

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CHAPTER TWO:
Eli Doesn't Like Him

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Aesop took an uneasy step back, while the man in front of him took one step forward. He didn't seem to be in a hurry to unsheath his sword and stun him with it, which kind of confused the man in a mask.

'Does he know that he's going to win over me already?' The young man thought, swallowing a lump formed in his throat.

From afar, the hopeless survivor heard Emma yell, "Aesop! Its open! Let's go!"

Shit, this is gonna be bad.

He swiftly turned on his heel and dashed towards the exit, which seemed to be miles away from where he was. "Go on ahead! I'll catch up to you in a bit!"

Her worried expression made Aesop dismiss his fear of getting caught, instead, he thought that there's nothing he should be worrying about aside from escaping successfully.

But just as he tried to stun the hunter who was chuckling in a sinister tone with a pallet, Aesop felt immense pain on his back and the next thing he knew, he was crouched down beside the pallet, incapacitated.

He managed terror-shock Aesop.

"Ugh...!" He coughed out, trying to self-heal. Unfortunately, the hunter was able to appear beside him in the speed of light, binding him into a rope connecting to what seemed to be helium-inflated balloons, and Aesop hopelessly tried to struggle with all the strength he had left in his now injured body.

'Oh wait... My coffin!' Aesop flinched as an idea popped up in his head.

Smirking behind his mask, Aesop stopped struggling, knowing he already had a back up of himself when he needed it, and he waited for the moment he would get strapped up in the rocket chair to initiate his rebirth.

'Now's my chance!'

But before he fully rebirthed back into his coffin, Aesop could faintly see Joseph smirking down at him.

Strange...

'I'm back!'

Lucky for him, he managed to summon his coffin behind a wall just a few steps away from the other exit gate.

'Nice! Its opened!' Behind his mask, Aesop smiled.

Aesop quickly ran to it, but not before he saw a flash of red light just beside him.

'He teleported! He knew of my plans!' Aesop gritted his teeth as he continued to run, trying to ignore the fact that the hunter was just a few meters away from him.

He was already inside the gate though, and right when the hunter wacked Aesop just strong enough for him to be incapacitated, he stepped in the boundary line which forbids hunters to pass.

'Ow, my back hurts.'

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"Aesop! Thank goodness you're awake." Above him stood Emily as his eyes fluttered open, and beside her was Emma. Both were looming over Aesop with upturned faces, and the man sighed.