Chapter 285: City of Freya (1/2)

His leather bag was strapped to his right arm as he darted across the hall. The Skywalker above sent another volley of wind arrows that rained on Arthur.

He managed to avoid them by hiding behind a pillar. Once they died down, Arthur bolted in the direction that he came from. The Skywalker passed from above him in the opposite direction, alluded that Arthur would run away from them.

The Skywalker flapped their wings and circled a pillar to follow after Arthur. Feeling the changing wind, Arthur slid from beneath the giant statue that has just fallen and bolted toward the giant door in the distance.

As he ran away, he grabbed the leather bag tightly. The leaf within it made sure to wash away any fatigue he had with its magical properties. He managed to avoid another volley of attacks by rolling as soon as he heard the wind whistles.

However, a wind arrow still managed to strike his back, sending him flying through the giant door. He rolled on the ground as his back burned badly. As his head was growing dizzy, he heard the flaps of wings again.

'This persistence will be my doom.' Arthur coughed as he tried to stand up without bending his back. 'It hurts.' He pushed the hard ground as his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the surrounding.

The raging whirlwind arrived to remind Arthur of his pursuer. He turned to see the Skywalker heading directly toward him. Arthur wanted to start running but the pain in his back spread to his legs.

Moments before the Skywalker's hand reached Arthur's bag, a giant bat descended from the ceiling and attacked it. The two winged creatures struggled for supremacy as Arthur stood up and began limping away.

He glanced back and saw the Skywalker impale the bat with a giant wind blade, cutting one of its wings off. It then flew higher and came after Arthur.

'Damn it, is there anything I can do?' Arthur grabbed the leaf more tightly as he tried to think of something. He snapped his eyes open as he decided to use his Art of Creation. He knew it would send his recovery back to zero, but there was no other choice.

He bared his teeth as he recited the Art in his mind. The mana swirled within him as it has never abandoned him. It felt like someone has injected acid through his veins as soon as his mana came in contact with the mana paths.

'I'll die.' Arthur closed his eyes because of the extreme pain. 'I can't handle this.' His body felt like it was breaking down a bit by bit.

The giant wind blade that the Skywalkers wielded cut across the air and toward Arthur's heart. He was about to destroy to pull into existence to stop the blade but someone appeared in front of him.

With a long black robe and a hood, the newcomer wielded a great sword made of ice. They cut across the air and through the wind blade. When the great sword was directly aiming toward the Skywalker, it left Arthur's savior's hand and its momentum carried it like an arrow.

The Skywalker dodged but the ice aura around the sword froze half of its wing, leaving them to fall toward the ground. They tried to lift themselves with a single wing but it was futile.

The great sword of ice made a U-turn and returned to the newcomer's hand, landing straight into his grasp. They turned toward the Skywalker and allowed Arthur to see their side profile hidden beneath half a mask.

”Ho...” They let out a cold breath that made Arthur's body shiver. Without any hesitation, they bolted toward the Skywalker while allowing their great sword to cut across the ground behind them.

Ice exploded from the tip of the great sword that propelled it upward. The swordsman used that momentum to slash the Skywalker who was still trying to defrost their wing.

The greatsword slashed the Skywalker from the shoulder to their side, leaving a gruesome wound on their abdomen. The Skywalker let out a scream as he fell to the ground, slowly turning to ice.

Arthur looked at the newcomer panting as the great sword disappeared into their body. His vision was getting blurry as his back felt warm and wet. He was bleeding. Arthur saw the newcomer walk toward him before he lost consciousness.

'I'm so pathetic.'

This was the last thought he had before he went into a deep slumber. In his sleep, he kept reliving being chased and injured without being able to do anything. It all ended when cold mana seeped into him, calming his mind and allowing him to sleep.

***

”You're awake.” A monotonic and genderless voice spoke to him as soon as he started sensing his surroundings. His eyes trembled as he opened them slowly.