Wrought King of Iron

Chapter 35: White Knight Blood (III)

Every cell in my body; every fibre of my being burned with an intensity to rival the sun. Having stared down my opponent for a brief fraction of a second, a powerful force propelled me forward with an all-consuming rage, as if my brain were begging my body to win no matter what.

His arrogance reflected in his empty grin as he too burst forth, could only further exacerbate the animosity festering within me. I must say, as someone who aspires for justice, it was unbecoming of me to feel such negative emotions against a foe, but this one was someone that could only be defeated, for the sake of my dream.

Blades flying in circular motion all around me acting as a defence as well as offense, allowed me to engage in close combat with confidence.

His own unyielding blade aimed to shatter my soul in two with several strikes, and each time, I fired swords at him while striking back to keep him on the defensive. An all encompassing offense gave me the advantage that he couldn't block everything. Although his sword was unstoppable, he couldn't destroy every blade in time, and could not so much as touch me.

However short the assault lasted for, I knew that it had little effect on him other than just hindering his advances. We both realised that. He did something unthinkable for any human, granted their mortal and vulnerable nature, but a vampire far removed from any conceived notion of life would be able to find such a method effective.

Put simply, he abandoned the concept that was defence, and focused his attention on killing me with all his might.

His body pierced with blades all over, was relatively unaffected, as he charged forward at me. The point of his blade that could tear anything apart was aimed directly at my heart. Quick and easy, yet still a painful death was what he wanted to bestow upon me. To aim for the heart was to aim for one's future. Without a heart, there would be nothing. Everything ultimately ceases, but we suffer along the way before the end consumes us. Fittingly, for a man as cruel as him, he wanted to ensure I would die but suffer while doing so.

Inches from my chest, one of two actions could have been made. That was, to run away and retreat, being the option void of risk. Or, I could challenge him. His advances were certainly threatening, and to challenge his blade would have no shortage of risks involved, but after a brief evaluation I realised I couldn't allow him to succeed. If he did, then he would believe that his attacks were working, further encouraging him.

Swords are designed to be sharp. Used as a weapon for war, it needed to be able to cut through flesh and bone. But only the outside is sharp. The edges are potent killers, but the rest of the blade is no different than any other. Just as fragile.

Previously lodged into the boat, I manipulate several blades in close proximity and shot them at the centre of his cutlass. Even if they couldn't break the sword, they would have enough power to push his sword just enough so it would miss any vital points. It was a gamble, but the odds were irrelevant if it meant victory. Risk is all part of battle.

As predicted, upon impact, and while still in forward motion, his blade veered off its intended path and found it grazing my arm, forming a cut that stung but was not fatal.

Expectedly, he was surprised at my brazen actions to challenge him. Not a second later was that surprised face smashed in by my fist with such great force he flew across the ship, and smashed through the masts in the way, causing them to all fall over in to the ocean.

Hoping not to give him even a moment to recover, I sprinted to where he had landed and with two reinforced blades in my hand, and tens of other swords flying at him, about to decimate him at the same time.

No connection. I didn't even manage to make full motion. A fist, or maybe a leg, though it happened too fast for me to tell, made contact with my chest and sent me flying in the opposite direction than him, but luckily he cleared out the objects blocking the way for me.