Chapter 7: Rise
Chad’s dormant ability has always been the trickiest, the Eidolon exchanging blows with him could feel its own superior speed, but for some strange reason, each time Chad struck with his right fist, the blow almost always landed.
It’s not that the Eidolon can’t block Chad’s attacks, in fact. It’s more than capable of doing just that, but Chad makes his right hand obscure and imperceptible to the Eidolon, the effects only last for a split second, but that’s a lot of time in combat.
The Eidolon roared in rage and dropped its head. Its antlers hooked beneath Chad and launched him into the air, sending him crashing into a nearby monument hard enough to shake loose snow and stone.
Seris was hidden behind that same monument, she squealed and ducked down while hugging her legs.
The Eidolon whose kneecap Yuri had shattered suddenly pushed itself back to its feet. Blood still ran down its leg, staining the snow beneath it, yet the mangled joint had somehow healed enough to bear its weight.
Had anyone been paying attention, they might have noticed the faint smirk tugging at the corners of the Eidolon priest’s ram-like face. It calmly tapped the bottom of its staff against the frozen ground, the dull sound echoing across the ritual dais and slowly stirring Damien from his haze.
Yuri was still out of breath, normally she would be able to keep up with dozens of Eidolons at once, but after being imprisoned and starved, she simply didn’t have the energy to burn to use her dormant ability, if she kept using it regardless, she might start burning through her body fat and then her organs will start to fail.
The Eidolons didn’t care about the limitations of their prey. The creature strode towards Yuri with steady confidence, its heavy footsteps crushing the snow beneath it.
Faint currents of electricity began to dance around Yuri’s body. They were weak, little more than flickering strands of light crawling across her skin. Even so, she gritted her teeth and forced more power through her exhausted body.
The next moment, she became a blur.
The Eidolon had been waiting for it.
A grin stretched across its face as it swung its fist downward. It knew she was fast, but speed alone wasn’t enough. Every time Yuri accelerated, she committed herself to a single direction. It had already seen through that trick.
The massive fist tore through the air and met her head-on.
The impact thundered across the ruins.
Yuri felt the world spin. A violent shock ran through her arms and shoulders as she crossed them in front of her body at the last instant. She was launched backwards, her feet carving deep trenches through the snow before she finally lost her balance and tumbled across the frozen ground.
By the time she came to a stop, her arms were numb, her chest burned with every breath, and fresh blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
When she lifted her head, her eyes met with Seris. Seris was the youngest amongst them, and the only one that’s not a fighter, even if she couldn’t get herself out, Yuri wanted to at least save Seris from a damned fate.
"Yuri!" Seris yelled before sprinting in her direction. The moment she reached her, she raised both hands and a soft golden light enveloped Yuri’s chest. Warmth flowed through her body, and the tingling pain immediately began to fade.
Yuri grabbed Seris by the wrist. "We can’t keep fighting them," she said sharply. "We need to run. I’ll create an opening by taking out the priest. You take Damien and heal him as much as you can in a short time, then both of you run deeper into the ruins. The Eidolons don’t seem to go beyond their goat-head".
"What". Seri exclaimed. Wide eyed, she snapped back. "Hell no, I’m not leaving you and Chad here to die... I won’t".
"No... she’s right," Chad finally spoke up, shifting himself between them and the two approaching Eidolons. "The priest is healing them. Look at its face."
Seris turned her gaze toward the Eidolon Chad had been fighting, and her eyes widened slightly. The wounds he had inflicted were still there, but they were already beginning to close, flesh knitting itself back together under some unseen force.
Seris hated this, but Eidolons have always been stronger than humans, only one human can kill several Eidolons in a fight, and she wasn’t here. Perhaps if Yuri and Chad were at their peak, things would have been different, but fate had other plans.
"Fine, but you two need to promise me you will make it out alive".
Yuri smiled and nodded confidently, this was the type of confidence that can only be displayed by someone who already knew what was going to happen. Yuri knew there was no escape for them, but letting Seris believe that is a type of mercy.
The two Eidolons were already upon Chad, and he met them with a ferocity to match, his dormant ability was as annoying as it was effective.
Yuri pulled Seris aside as faint currents of electricity began to crawl over her pale skin. Then she shot forward in a white blur, slipping past Chad and the two Eidolons, straight toward the priest.
The priest’s expression twisted. It gripped its staff with both hands and tried to pull back, but the weapon wouldn’t move.
It looked down and a face met it from below.
Damien was clinging to the staff like his life depended on it, blood on his lips, eyes half-lidded, wearing an exhausted, almost irritated grin.
"Hey there."
For the first time, the priest looked afraid.
Yuri arrived.
Her kick struck its face with brutal precision. Bone caved in instantly, the impact snapping its skull sideways as teeth and fragments of bone scattered into the snow. The antlered frame staggered once, then collapsed, its body dropping lifelessly beside the ritual dais.
Damien’s grin was obsessive, he pulled the staff away and tapped the dead Eidolon priest hoove.
"Rise".