Already, a stranger in the room, a lady with an eyepatch and leather armor, had drawn her rapier.
"That's her," she said, pointing the tip of her blade at Saber. "We need to take her down."
Saber's face went blank. She was utterly lost, frozen there.
My body moved by itself, before I knew it. I dove in front of Saber, fencing her off with my outstretched arms.
"No one make a move," I told the room, my voice edged and low. I stared down the woman with the rapier.
"She's your ally?" the lady said cautiously. "You know the rules. It's between her death, or all of us." Her scowl was bitter, pained.
"Just wait," I pleaded. "We can figure something out."
"This does feel off," someone said. It was one of the three warriors, who had confirmed one another to be teammates. This one wore a Greek-style bronze helmet, and a matching bronze chestplate. "Challenge announcements usually show up in team notebooks. Not random signs on doors."
"Usually?" the eyepatched lady asked. "So you're saying this could be an exception."
"If it's not a real challenge announcement, how did the sign get there?" someone else asked. "No one was outside to put it up."
"I don't know," I shouted. "MAYBE MAGIC?! Telekinesis?"
"It's fine," the rapier lady sighed. "I totally get it." She sheathed her weapon and slumped her shoulders. Though her brows remained furrowed, and her hand remained on the rapier's grip.
"Yeah," I said. I let myself take a much-needed breath. "This is all too convenient. The Bounty Hall attacks, and right away we get a special challenge. Even this ice-rink ability belongs to someone in the Bounty Hall. There's no way this challenge isn't just one of their –"
"Nova Quickdraw," the lady muttered.
As soon as I heard her, I felt in my gut what I needed to do. Before I fully analyzed her words, before I weighed the possibilities, I had already conjured my Vortex Shield, in front of both Saber and myself.
I saw a blur and heard a clap of thunder.
The lady had maneuvered behind me, her body crouched low in a battle-stance. Her blade whipped out of its sheath. Before my eyes could register all that had happened, she had already thrust her rapier into Saber's abdomen.
All in an instant.
Force erupted from the rapier's blow, like an explosion. It flung me back in the air. I caught a glimpse of Saber catapulting off in the opposite direction, having taken the brunt of the attack. The gray marble floor underneath us cracked and shattered. The walls around us scattered outwards as smithereens. People around us yelled and ran.
"Saber!" I screamed.
I rolled to a stop a few yards back. Rising back up, I squinting my eyes to see through the cloud of debris. The rapier-wielder had disappeared in the commotion. The corner of the house we stood in had been completely demolished. There was no trace of Saber here.
But I looked out farther, past the fallen walls. And I found her, upon the ground, all the way on the other side of the street.
Way past the fence of the ice rink.
Then, I saw it. From her chest, from where her heart ought to be, there protruded spikes of ice. Blood drenched her armor, pooled upon the pavement under her.
But I also saw something else. Ethereal walls, barely visible, but materializing and becoming more vivid by the moment. They were the golden, translucent, luminescent walls of a massive fortress centered around Saber.
…When did she cast her Ultimate? In the instant, right before the ice pierced her heart?
She eased herself up. Even from here, I saw her chuckle. And I couldn't help but smile too, in spite of how scared I was. Her reaction time was inhuman.
Saber drew her longsword and coated it in radiant, overwhelming light. She twirled it, slicing air, adroit as though she hadn't been injured at all. The protection of her enchanted fortress must've let her tank an essential insta-kill.
The rink of ice around the house began to melt and crumble away.
"I know you're there, whoever you are," Saber challenged. "Will you come and face me? Or shall I find you myself?"
Already, a stranger in the room, a lady with an eyepatch and leather armor, had drawn her rapier.
"That's her," she said, pointing the tip of her blade at Saber. "We need to take her down."
Saber's face went blank. She was utterly lost, frozen there.
My body moved by itself, before I knew it. I dove in front of Saber, fencing her off with my outstretched arms.
"No one make a move," I told the room, my voice edged and low. I stared down the woman with the rapier.
"She's your ally?" the lady said cautiously. "You know the rules. It's between her death, or all of us." Her scowl was bitter, pained.
"Just wait," I pleaded. "We can figure something out."
"This does feel off," someone said. It was one of the three warriors, who had confirmed one another to be teammates. This one wore a Greek-style bronze helmet, and a matching bronze chestplate. "Challenge announcements usually show up in team notebooks. Not random signs on doors."
"Usually?" the eyepatched lady asked. "So you're saying this could be an exception."
"If it's not a real challenge announcement, how did the sign get there?" someone else asked. "No one was outside to put it up."
"I don't know," I shouted. "MAYBE MAGIC?! Telekinesis?"
"It's fine," the rapier lady sighed. "I totally get it." She sheathed her weapon and slumped her shoulders. Though her brows remained furrowed, and her hand remained on the rapier's grip.
"Yeah," I said. I let myself take a much-needed breath. "This is all too convenient. The Bounty Hall attacks, and right away we get a special challenge. Even this ice-rink ability belongs to someone in the Bounty Hall. There's no way this challenge isn't just one of their –"
"Nova Quickdraw," the lady muttered.
As soon as I heard her, I felt in my gut what I needed to do. Before I fully analyzed her words, before I weighed the possibilities, I had already conjured my Vortex Shield, in front of both Saber and myself.
I saw a blur and heard a clap of thunder.
The lady had maneuvered behind me, her body crouched low in a battle-stance. Her blade whipped out of its sheath. Before my eyes could register all that had happened, she had already thrust her rapier into Saber's abdomen.
All in an instant.
Force erupted from the rapier's blow, like an explosion. It flung me back in the air. I caught a glimpse of Saber catapulting off in the opposite direction, having taken the brunt of the attack. The gray marble floor underneath us cracked and shattered. The walls around us scattered outwards as smithereens. People around us yelled and ran.
"Saber!" I screamed.
I rolled to a stop a few yards back. Rising back up, I squinting my eyes to see through the cloud of debris. The rapier-wielder had disappeared in the commotion. The corner of the house we stood in had been completely demolished. There was no trace of Saber here.
But I looked out farther, past the fallen walls. And I found her, upon the ground, all the way on the other side of the street.
Way past the fence of the ice rink.
Then, I saw it. From her chest, from where her heart ought to be, there protruded spikes of ice. Blood drenched her armor, pooled upon the pavement under her.
But I also saw something else. Ethereal walls, barely visible, but materializing and becoming more vivid by the moment. They were the golden, translucent, luminescent walls of a massive fortress centered around Saber.
…When did she cast her Ultimate? In the instant, right before the ice pierced her heart?
She eased herself up. Even from here, I saw her chuckle. And I couldn't help but smile too, in spite of how scared I was. Her reaction time was inhuman.
Saber drew her longsword and coated it in radiant, overwhelming light. She twirled it, slicing air, adroit as though she hadn't been injured at all. The protection of her enchanted fortress must've let her tank an essential insta-kill.
The rink of ice around the house began to melt and crumble away.
"I know you're there, whoever you are," Saber challenged. "Will you come and face me? Or shall I find you myself?"
