《New Earth》Chapter 15
Advertisement
Azrael stood, his crude spear pointed towards the two better armed men. Despite their obvious advantage he saw them both hesitate. He could understand their hesitation.
To them he was an unknown danger, someone who had managed to sneak up on them, appearing out of the blue; possibly the bait for an ambush. And he was naked. Nobody wanted to fight a naked man.
The tension grew strained, Azrael refusing to leave the safety of the trees and the two men hesitant about approaching the tree line, out of fear of a hidden ambush. It was a stalemate and the tension continued to grow, stretching and pulling – until it snapped.
The youth couldn’t stand it anymore and suddenly leapt forward, thrusting his spear. Azrael could see the fear in his eyes, daunted by the naked man that had suddenly appeared from the shadows. Azrael hurried to parry, expecting to have to defend himself, when he realised something. The youth he was fighting was an absolute amateur, no more than farm boy given a pointy stick.
He had thought after seeing the hunt that both were skilled in their weapon use, but it seemed that this one had been given a spear and told exactly what to do. Good for hunting, but practically useless in any other situation.
Azrael parried the clumsy thrust with a languid movement exuding contempt. He could do this all day. Unfortunately, after the sudden beginning of the fight he’d forgotten to keep an eye on the swordsman. A mistake that came back to bite him, literally.
The sword flashed in a diagonal arc, cutting deeply into his left shoulder. Its momentum forced him down and Azrael collapsed onto one knee from the sudden pain. The sword drew away, its blade now dripping heavy with his blood.
Biting his tongue Azrael forced himself out of the way as the blade came whistling down again. It shaved past his head, cutting his hairs, but missing his neck.
Advertisement
Staggering up to his feet once more he fought against the pain and turned, thrusting his spear through the sudden opening in the swordsman’s stance. The stone edge ripped through the man’s side, just above the hip, drawing out a curse.
Stepping forward to capitalise on the attack, he never saw the butt of the spear come round against the side of his head. It landed with an almighty thwack, sending his stumbling against the tree.
Heaving for breath Azrael tried to shake his head as his vision doubled. The movement caused him to stumble again, and he sprawled face first into the ground, the loamy taste of dirt, grass and leaves filling his senses. Above him the two men began closing in, wary of any surprises. Azrael pushed himself up, blindly barrelling into one of the men.
The youth panicked, raising his spear – too slow. Azrael crashed into him, his weight dragging the boy down with him.
They fell, a tangled mess of limbs and spears. Azrael’s landing was cushioned by the boy’s body, ending up with only a light concussion. The youth was not so lucky. His head hit the ground with a resounding thud and he was knocked out for the count.
Azrael rolled off him, slightly dazed, his breathing heavy. One down, one to go.
Waiting for his body to recover, Azrael looked up at the sky. The ground below him was soft and spongey, a perfect forest mattress, while the sun kissed his weary face. He felt like he could just sink in and let go of the pain. No pain, no fighting, just peace, warm and blissful. A shadow fell over him, blocking the warmth, and with slow effort he turned his head to the side.
He tried to summon mana to his fingertips, but had effort concentrating as his head was still ringing. For a brief moment his mana gathered, before sputtering out as he lost control.
Advertisement
A pair of brown boots blocked his vision and a boot kicked him, breaking his already limited concentration. Giving up on magic, he struggled to get up. Nobody kicked him. Not now, not ever. And he wanted those boots.
Using his spear as a walking stick he righted himself, and stood to face the remaining assailant. The swordsman retreated back a few steps, cautiously. But Azrael truly painted a forlorn visage, half covered in dirt and his own blood. Still seeing double Azrael charged – at the wrong double.
The sword swung down, aiming for his neck, but Azrael managed to move out of the way. He instead received the blade across the length of his back.
The cool iron traced across his skin, carving a line of fire. He screamed. It hurt – worse than the wolf’s claws. A second stroke of fire was then followed by a third. Azrael felt the pain felt a primal fear for his life, which caused him to throw caution to the wind. He launched himself at the man in bloody abandon.
Letting the pain wash over his body he dedicated himself to the fight, letting it take over his mind. He advanced in a flurry of strikes and pressing forward, his attacks forcing the swordsman onto the defensive.
Blue screens began appearing in his vision, notifications blocking his vision and he blinked them away. There was no time for distractions. There was no thinking. There was only him and the fight.
The swordsman held his own however and even in his mindless abandon Azrael briefly felt frustration. Each strike the two fighters traded earned him a another cut on his body, the pain turning his frustration into boiling anger.
Unfortunately, he was up against a superior opponent. His opponent was stronger, faster and better equipped. There was nothing he could do but struggled on, fighting for his life.
Each blow he dealt was more time for his life blood to seep out. Each cut he received was another strike closer to his demise. It was a downward spiral. Even in his pain fuelled madness Azrael realised the inevitable truth. Each subsequent movement was slower, each blow weaker. There was no winning. It was an inevitable outcome. And still he fought on, mindlessly holding on for his dear life.
By now he was a bloody horror, animated by will and fury alone. A nightmare bathed in blood. Each step he took left a red mark on the once green grass, until the battle ground was slick with his blood. But it wasn’t only his blood that was being spilt.
His opponent was limping, a lucky blow to the thigh making it painful to place weight on. Other wounds riddled his body, allowing blood to stain his clothes red. Even against a stronger opponent Azrael was taking his due. As rusty as his skills were, they were still enough to mostly bridge the gap between the two players.
Blow by blow they fought and blow by blow they bled. The sword cut through the spear, its integrity weakened by hundreds of blows, but the destruction of his spear was barely registered. He just kept on fighting, using the broken shaft. A stick against an iron blade.
Both fighters knew this was the end. They circled each other warily. Azrael threw the stick at the swordsman, diving for his unconscious partner’s spear, but before he could reach it he felt cool iron kiss his neck and everything went black.
Advertisement
My Sister The Villainess
Tell me, what does one do when they discover they were reincarnated into an Otome game as the villainess' playboy older brother? Of course I had always been aware of my situation as a reincarnated person, but it was only when my sister's engagement to the Crown Prince was announced that I finally encountered a piece of my first life after all these years. I thought, "Hey, this is exactly the same situation as that Otome game I was playing that day!" But wait. My sister becomes the evil, hated villainess whose fate doesn't ends well at all, you say? As if I'd allow that! The protagonist wants to steal your man and ruin you? Too arrogant! This daddy(brother) will mess her up good! I'll completely crush all the people that want to harm my precious, adorable little sister! Just fall in love with the Crown Prince and achieve your happiness, my sweet sister! This is such a story. ...Except my sister seems to be a blooming bro-con? And the heroine keeps looking at me funny... ********* If you guys like my story and want me to continue writing for a long, long time then feel free to donate, like, a dollar and help support my soda addiction. Or maybe I should stick with Agua de Sandia drinks. Y'all ever have one of those before? Basically watermelon juice with ice, sugar, and sometimes other flavorings. Fucking. Amazing. You should try it. Report back.
8 95The God Effect
After dying an unconventional death, a girl is thrust into the body of an unborn child. Slowly but surely coming to the realisation that her entire existence obliterates all understandings of Magical Power in the universe she had created, our protagonist tries - and fails - to take her life seriously. Come along as a sarcastic and cynical girl tries her hardest to not shake her head in disbelief, restrict herself from groping every cute girl she meets, and tries to hide her absolutely unbelievable cheat-like existence in a world that favours magic overall. [BASICALLY UPDATES SATURDAYS, TRY NOT TO PRESSURE ME, I'LL BREAK. BUT IF YOU LEAVE COMMENTS I'LL [PROBABLY] GAIN BRAIN FUEL TO POWER ON WITH WRITING. Mind you, this is a personal project, because I love OP fem protags, but there aren't enough lesbian/bi harem stories out there, so I wanted to make one... Because I think monster girls are hot, okay? Don't slander me, I sass then have emotional breakdowns.]
8 114Freedom Fantasy
Axel Alexanders was once a professional player of the FPS Knives and Guns, after a series of unfortunate events, he lost his job and was forced to give away his account. This incident caused him to lose his love for games. With the release of the first Virtual Reality MMORPG, he decides to revive his love for games, in a completely new genre. Follow Axel and experience his journey in Freedom Fantasy! Normal Schedule: Every 3 Days! Schedule for when I am busy: Every Week!
8 318Pokémon Reset Bloodlines Sidestory - Red Sevii Islands Adventures
Part of the Pokémon Reset Bloodlines Expanded Universe. Red ventures into the Sevii Islands in search of someone under the promise of getting additional help for the upcoming Pokémon League. As he journeys throughout the archipelago, he'll find more than he imagined, as well as learn a thing or two about himself in the process. Collection of oneshots written by Crossoverpairinglover, Viroro-kun and yours truly. It is recommended to read the main story at least until Chapter 30..
8 84Hope
There were 2 options: Fight the same war for countless more aeons. Shatter the Betrayer's undead legions time and time again until all was ground to dust. Because the endless legions truly never end. A hair's breath of ground in a century is enough if the war takes all of eternity. Or to choose Hope. To cast away his memories, his power, his very life. To wager everything on a chance to prevent their eventual end or to perish trying. Because if he were to return it would be with the power necessary to finally slay what remains of the Betrayer. Of the last Aspect. Only then would all things be right. And so, he chose the latter. Expect:Weak to strong quick-ish.Powerful MC reincarnates, gradually starts regaining memories.MC that is an actual character not a plot device.My original unique magic system discovered along with the MC.My original setting with mythos that have both been living rent free in my head for actual years.Opening arc will be less fast than the following story. Good writing (I think) and grammar. Upload schedulle: 2 chapters a week of 3-4k words each. I want to upscale to 3 in the future. Meant to be read in RR dark mode. For those coming here from my other stories, this is indeed a reimagining of my older story, CotM. I say reimagining because I have changed so much it cannot be called just a rewrite. Among the major changes, MC is fundamentally different in personality and background, I have actually planned the story out and changed it almost completely and I have adjusted my mythos so it no longer has as many holes as swiss cheese.
8 182Just A Human
In a world with humans and giants. A giant mother gives birth to a human named Matt.This story is inspired by Pinkacolla on YouTube go check her out herehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKwUbFjH-_MP7l1r8Z2-x8Q
8 193