Heisen's Eye

Chapter 36

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Ryu's POV
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"Knight! Above you!" (Ryu)

I call out in warning towards Knight, but it reaches her too late as a barrel falls from the roof of a building, landing on her head.

Her body seems to wobble for a few moments before falling backwards, unconscious.

At almost the same time, people begin sprouting from the roofs of the buildings that surround the dead end.

An ambush.

My sense of reason seems to crumble in the face of the 15 or so archers that surround us.

Dashing forward, I reach Knight in seconds, shielding her with my body.

"That's noble of you, isn't it?" (R)

"..." (Ryu)

R begins slowly walking towards us, and I see several figures appearing behind him out of nowhere.

"Shadow Keepers?" (Ryu)

"My, I was right. You are a pest. To think you'd know of the Shadow Keepers. The only assassin and bodyguard group that don't have ties with the Royal Family. The renowned Shadow Keepers." (R)

"Hah, renowned." (Ryu)

"You don't believe me? Well, I suppose normal people wouldn't know of them. After all, they are mighty expensive, and extremely deadly. Not a single person has escaped from them, you know?" (R)

"That's a nice fairy tale." (Ryu)

Despite the conversation I'm having, my eyes are darting around everywhere, looking for a way to escape this situation.

"Panicked, are we?" (R)

"Who wouldn't be?" (Ryu)

"I suppose that's true." (R)

Turning his back to me, R raises his hand high above his head.

"Don't get in our way." (R)

Time seems to slow as his hand falls, a sign for the archers to release their arrows.

I reach over my shoulder for my sword.

Easing into a stance, I see the arrows flying towards me, too many to keep track of.

Seeing an arrow almost reach me, I bring my sword down onto it, slicing it in half, before swinging again towards another.

I can see them.

I can react to them.

I can slice them.

If someone were to watch this from the sidelines, it would simply look like a whirlwind.

The speed I'm swinging at seems to surpass my own strength, and I can feel my body burn under the pressure.

My left eye sears in pain as I continue cutting the arrows, silently thanking that Knight had ran against the side of the building, not the middle of the dead-end.

I feel my body reaching its limit as I see an arrow soar past my shoulder, grazing it slightly and embedding itself into the wall behind me.

But I pay no mind to it, only continuing what I was doing - slashing the arrows.

I pay no attention to my surroundings other than the arrows being fired at me, noticing the decreasing rate.

It allowed me some leeway, so I partly focus on the roofs of the buildings, and I spot a blur flying past the archers.