Wrought King of Iron

Chapter 47: Vampire Princess (II)

My life seems to be steadily crumbling. If I die, I'll lose everything. After all, a dead man tells no tales, and certainly not their own. My story will end, but even so, I know that I want her story to continue. My last mission is not an assassination, but deliverance from evil. Standing before me, the only enemy that remains is time itself. I have to reach her, no matter what. Reach her before my time runs out. Even if it hurts don't stop.

Run, Shiki,
Run!

------------

Slicing through the air with great speed, the sword of infinity acted as a barrier. Her swift wrist motions dragged the blade with such proficiency as to enrapture any foe caught in its fatal fury. Advancing without getting hit would be difficult. The movement of her blade was so precise that there were at no point any open spaces to slide through. 

I can't get through this unscathed. But, if I'm going to die soon, it doesn't really matter anyway. I'll just take the fastest path and endure.

Determining the best route of movement however was impossible, when the movement of her blade was so unpredictable and erratic. What may seem like the least painful course of action could quite quickly result in decapitation.

Rapidly approaching me, the sword's extending blade was about to cut me to pieces. I assumed that her sword could extend indefinitely so getting the blade entangled wouldn't be so useful unless there was a proper end to its growth. 

Thinking about it won't produce any good results if I died before reaching any sort of consensus. Tactically retreating from that blade would be impossible, so I ultimately concluded that tactics were a relic of the past. In my final moments, now would be the time to act!

Springing my feet off the ground, I leapt forth through the safest passage, though I still ended up with several small cuts. It was like jumping through brambles. Cold, sharp steel grazed my limbs and body, and the edges seemed to grab at my flesh and tear at it cruelly. 

One leap had got me only a little bit closer to my final destination, before I eventually touched the ground again. As soon as I made contact with the floor, I knew I could not stop, or she'd enrapture me with those chains of hers and split me into much more than seventeen pieces.

Before leaping once more, I kicked up the water from the ground with such force that I formed a sort of concealing barrier of water for a split second. I had been tracking the trajectory of the tip of her sword, and it seemed to be chasing me from above. Of course, Altrouge's control over the whip was so incredibly fine that it was as if she could control every part of the blade. Maybe she was actually using magic to ensure that blade followed me.

I jumped forth spinning, bursting through the wall of water I had raised. Wielding blades in both of my hands, I fended off all the fatal attacks from around me, swatting the chain-sword's tip away as well as all the other extraneous parts of it. 

'You still haven't killed me yet?!' I shouted mockingly.

She snarled, and as I landed and prepared to abuse the same tactic again, she utilised it too. As if a tsunami had been conjured, her blade flung water into the open air, obstructing my view.

Swinging my weapons forward I killed the water blocking my view, to find the tip of her sword a few inches from my face. On instinct, I was about to raise my knives to block her attack. However, had I done so then she would destroy all my momentum. Being airborne and knocked backwards would certainly leave me vulnerable.

Instantaneously, I mustered all my strength and flung my arms upwards at her sword. My knives smashed into it with such force, I had managed to stop its movement and change the trajectory to go up.