Dark Faïz (Book 2) [Completed]

Chapters 16-3

Without listening to him, I walked with quick strides towards my opponent, who tried to punch me in the face, but which I managed to dodge by lowering my head. I took the opportunity to give him my knee in his stomach, which made him bend in half, then, with my elbows, I struck him violently between the shoulder blades. There followed a violent fight in which I took many blows and was repeatedly thrown to the ground. My sweeps and my hooks only slowed him down, as he was undeniably much stronger than me.

I crawled facedown on the ground, my body completely bruised, looking for the arrow I had seen a few moments before. Suddenly, a kick in the ribs literally took my breath away. A second one lifted me. I screamed in pain and then turned on my back. The guru above me was holding the object I was looking for in his hands.

"Tonight our angel of death will taste your blood and feed on your soul," he declared, his eyes mad.

He lifted the arrow, ready to plant it in my heart. It was then that Faïz jumped on the warrior. The two rolled a few meters and the first ended up defeating his opponent by blocking his head with his leg and exerting pressure on his elbow, a pressure that forced the bloodthirsty leader to give up. This arm key paralyzed him completely.

"I'll take care of it," yelled Faïz, "go joi—"

He didn't have time to finish his sentence. The kobold, with his other hand, stuck the arrow into his lower abdomen. The warrior thus freed himself from the grip of his opponent and straightened up without much pain. As he watched his victim drain of blood, I threw myself in a rush of despair on his back, beating him hard with my fists. He threw me brutally on the ground, next to my beloved. We were lost. Bones broken, I slowly dragged myself towards Faïz, who was trying to articulate something. I sprawled across his body like a shield, to protect him one last time. The shouts in the distance made me realize that our group was in great difficulty. Our soldiers wouldn't last much longer. Only the girls had a chance.

And my father? Oh my God. At this painful thought, I closed my eyes, waiting for death. Suddenly, a noise in the air coming to break the tranquility of the sky made me open my eyes. The heavy fog, as well as the cloud cover, participated in the propagation and the amplification of this sound phenomenon. It was then that targeted shots pierced the foggy mass around us. It took me a few seconds to realize that fighter planes were coming to our rescue.

"Barthey managed to convince them. They came," I stammered in a low voice, letting my tears flow.

The warrior, distraught, looked over him.

"It's impossible! Eros signed a treaty. The army must never intervene on... No... How is it possible?"

Soldiers appeared, faces hidden. They surrounded us, then a man addressed the Ainu guru directly, threatening him with his weapon. The man had no choice but to surrender. The head of the Brotherhood fell to his knees, head bowed without responding, accepting his fate.

"Zoe?" cried Ray, who was rushing towards me, his face badly shaken.

I burst into sobs.

"Quickly! Ray, he... You have to heal him. He's going to die."

He took me by the arm and helped me to my feet. At that moment, my head started to spin and my vision blurred. The sound of his voice, but also that of the others, reached me from far away. Lots of people were busy around me. It was getting harder and harder to breathe as the seconds passed. It was then that my strength left me, and a black curtain fell over my eyes.