Judgment

While falling, Shin stabbed his dagger into Syros' shoulder but the blade bounced off of his armor. Shin's body recoiled backward but he composed himself and grabbed Syros' arm. Using the momentum from him falling, he flipped Syros into the snow.

Shin followed up by hurling his dagger at the only exposed part of Syros' armor, his hand.

The dagger lodged into his hand.

"Gyaaaaah. You wretch!" Syros cried out.

Syros grabbed the handle and yanked it out of his hand. A spurt of blood flew out with the dagger. His wound slowly closed as he doused his hand in holy light. In the same motion, he threw the dagger back at Shin.

Shin stopped the dagger midair with [Spatial Mastery], before reversing it, sending it back at Syros.

"Not this time!" Syros said as he deflected the dagger using his armguard.

The dagger bounced off, flying behind Syros. Fuyumi suddenly appeared out of thin air, catching the dagger. She swung the dagger downwards, stabbing it into a gap between his shoulderplate and chestplate.

Shin swiped his downwards with [Spatial Mastery]. The dagger sunk deeper into Syros. Syros winced in pain.

"Gaaah! Enough! [Retribution]!" A burst of energy exploded outward from Syros.

Shin was sent flying backward. His back collided with a tree, knocking the wind out of him. Fuyumi was blasted backward, her body flipped and rolled; shooting snow up into the air.

Syros pulled the dagger out of his shoulder and snapped the blade in half.

"[Holy Burst]!"

Syros planted the head of his hammer into the ground. Orbs of light appeared all around of him.

Shin winced in pain. When he opened his eyes, he saw the orbs of light surrounding Syros. His eyes opened wide, realizing the danger.

"Watch out! Fuyumi!" Shin screamed out, pushing himself off the tree.

Fuyumi pushed herself up off the snow, supporting herself with her dagger. Wounded, she held onto her shoulder. She didn't have any time to recover as disappeared into the snow. While invisible, she leapt ontop of the hill and laid down.

At the same time, Shin dived behind a boulder.

The orbs of light turned into beams that shot in all directions.

Beams collided with the boulder. It shook violently as cracks began to form. Shin look to his left and saw a beam pierce straight through a tree, leaving scorch marks.

When the beams subsided, Shin heard rushing footsteps toward his position.

"Shin!" Fuyumi called out.

Instinctively, Shin backstepped as the cracks of the boulder exploded into shrapnel. Shards of rock cut Shin's arms, legs, and face as he was dodging backwards. Syros emerged from the dust, lunging forward at Shin with his hammer ready.

Shin saw the hammer viciously swing toward him as if time slowed down. Fuyumi appeared between Shin and Syros in a cloud of black smoke. Her eyes glowed blue. She swung her blade upward at an immense speed. Shin's eyes couldn't keep up with the speed. All he could see were the afterimages of the blade and a burst of blue energy.

"Haaaaaa!"

In a flash, ice surged forward from her blade, freezing Syros' arm solid. The dagger followed-up immediately after, severing the ice and sending Syros' arm flying in the air. The weight of the swing of his hammer twisted his body as he lost control of control of his arm. The hammer barely swinging over Fuyumi's head.

The stump of what's left of Syros' arm would be spilling blood everywhere if it weren't for the ice.

Syros staggered forward. Undeterred, he caught Fuyumi off guard, rapidly twisting his body back and sending Fuyumi flying with his hammer.

Fuyumi's blade was left on the ground. Shin ran forward, picking up the dagger as he rushed at Syros. He lunged forward at an extreme speed with [Swift Strike].

Syros countered the attack.

"[Judgment]!"

Syros swung his hammer upwards sending Shin high into the air. Syros kept his hammer in the air and conjured pillars of light that burst up at Shin. When Shin reached the apex, he sheathed Fuyumi's blade in exchange for his bow. While falling, Shin dodged the beams of light while raining arrows down at Syros. He then put away his bow and took out the Fuyumi's dagger again.

Syros created a barrier of light around him before getting in a stance, ready to swing at Shin as he plummeted to the ground. The arrows stopped in their tracks as they struck the barrier. Reaching its limit, the barrier shattered into pieces, harmlessly dropping arrows to the ground.

Shin came crashing down after the barrier shattered. He swung Fuyumi's blade downward, clashing against Syros' hammer. The impact created a shockwave that blasted away the snow underneath them.

Syros hooked Fuyumi's blade using the spikes on his hammer, disarming Shin, and sending him backwards.

"Got you!" Syros yelled out.

He threw his hammer after Shin, who was still flying backward.

Shin flinched but managed to react in time.

"[Collapse]!"

He created a black hole on top of himself. The hammer's trajectory changed, slowing down and flying behind Shin. When it got close enough, Shin grabbed the handle of the hammer. Syros' eyes widened.

With both hands on the handle, Shin slid backward as he landed on the snow. Fire surged forward from Shin's hand, completely enveloping the hammer in flames. He took on a stance, imitating a baseball batter before dashing directly at Syros with [Swift Strike].

Shin, who was appeared right in front of Syros in an instant, stared right into Syros' eyes.

No words were exchanged, but a million thoughts flooded Shin's mind.

Shin swung the hammer upward like an uppercut with all his strength. Syros attempted to block it with his armguard, but it shattered into pieces. The hammer slammed into Syros, sending him flying upward. Shortly after, a pillar of fire and holy energy erupted from the ground, engulfing Syros in flames.

"Gaaaaaaaah!"

His body fell to the floor, creating a mold of his body in the snow.

Shin dropped the hammer to the floor. He fell to his knees in exhaustion. He looked around and found Fuyumi laying on her back. Shin was relieved to just find her body. If she was nowhere to be found, that would mean that she died.

Shin stumbled forward as he stood up. The road was completely unrecognizable. Scorch marks, incinerated trees, arrows, and craters transformed the road into a battlefield.

He walked over to Fuyumi. Her clothes were tattered and her body was sprawled out over the snow. Shin picked her up, carrying her in his arms.

+++++++++++++

[21:06 | April 11, 2035]

Shin sat down against a stone wall. To his right was Fuyumi, who was sleeping wrapped up in Shin's coat. Fuyumi's health was dangerously low at the end of the fight. However, she seemed to be doing better now. Shin expected that she could wake up any minute now.

A fire illuminated the walls of the cave and revealed the harsh blizzard outside.

Shin stood up and strolled deeper into the cave with a torch in hand. His face shifted into disdain. In front of him was an unconscious man, fully clad in armor.

His body hung suspended in the air with his head drooped over. Syros' long golden hair was ruined and burnt. The middle of his chestplate was cracked and broken, revealing his bare chest. Shin tied up his limbs around the stalagmites and stalactites in the cave.

Shin stared at Syros' beaten and bruised body. The blood stains on his skin and armor dried up. He sat down and reflected on what he'd done.

This was the first time Shin attacked a person. He didn't feel much empathy or sympathy toward the NPCs he's slain. But this was different. Syros wasn't just a bunch of lines of code. He contemplated if what he was doing was the right choice. Syros may have been horribly corrupt, but he was still human.

Recognizing that he was faltering, Shin slapped himself. Shin remembered that his mother's life was in his hands.

"Syros was a horrible excuse of a human being. The things he did to people like Fuyumi's mom and others. Deceiving people and using the goddess' name for wealth." Shin convinced himself.

He strengthened his resolve, clenching his fist. But deep inside, he still had some doubt.

Shin heard approaching footsteps behind him. He turned around and found Fuyumi, who was hugging Shin's coat.

"Thanks for looking after me…" She looked away embarrassed.

"No, don't worry about it. It's only natural. After all, you protected me first." Shin responded kindly.

Fuyumi walked over and sat down next to Shin. His coat covered her cuts and wounds.

"It's weird seeing him so defenseless like this. If I was in this situation five years ago, I would have killed him already." Fuyumi said flatly.

"You'll have that chance later." Shin replied.

The two of them sat together in front of Syros. Their bodies painted shadowy figures on the cave from the dancing flames of the torch.