Deja-Vu

We arrived at a sight to behold. Something I thought I'd only see in a video game or something.

A pair of giant scarlet doors, towering high. Their presence almost pulsating with power. Whatever waited on the other side was a force to go up against. I almost didn't wanna find out. The anxiety through my chest made me want to turn around and leave. But the doors were already about to be opened.

With a firm shove, Lily's strength caused these massive doors to nearly fling open. A cloud of dust bounced into the air, almost being inhaled into my lungs.

We wandered in, a blue crystal at the top of the room lit up, giving the entire room light. The doors slammed behind us, trapping us in here with whatever we were about to face.

That's when we saw it. Across this giant room. A figure in dark armor kneeling, a sword sticking out of the ground right beside it.

"I don't think I recognize this type of monster." Olivia stated.

"Neither do I." Lily replied.

Everyone was shaken up. Me included. Afterall, we were about to fight the boss of this dungeon. Death was a possibility fir anyone of us.

I squinted my eyes, observing this monster in front of us. I had to know what kind of power we were going up against.

['Analyze']

[Analysis: Abyssal Knight- B-rank Boss.]

[HP: 433/433 | Defense: 18]

Abyssal Knight? Its health was as if nine clones of myself combined. This was not going to be easy.

The knight rose to its feet, pulling the obsidian blade from the ground, a faint crackle.

Crackle!

Twirling its sword, the creature shot a glare in our direction. Through the thin slit of its helmet, I could just barely make out a set of crimson eyes. This thing was furious, and we were about to endure its wrath.

We steadily spread out around the knight for better angles of attack. Tim, positioned in the back, readied his bow n arrow. No moves were made just yet. This thing's gaze shifted between each of us, like it was trying to strategize. Only moments after, it decided to attack.

The knight lunged forward swinging its blade. In response, Tim fired an arrow directly into its shoulder, but the creature didn't even flinch. The swing of its sword went for Lily's chest, which she quickly parried against.

Ting!

The sound of clashing steel rang my eardrums. Bright orange sparks sprayed off their swords. Repeatedly, the two unleashed slashes at each other, skillfully trying to maneuver around. But it was clear that Lily was almost being overwhelmed.

With Tim continuing to assist with arrows, me and David approached the creature from the side. It almost looked like a clear opportunity to land a strike or two. But as we swung our blades, the Knight's figure flickered, appearing behind me. A large iron fist swung at my face, but my instincts kicked in. I weaved to the side, throwing a direct kick into its chestpeice.

Clank!

I was able to drive it back a few feet, allowing Lily to land a direct slash to the side of its helmet, sparks sliding off.

Clink!

David came from the rear, bringing an overhead slash down on the top of its head.

Slash! CLINK!

The knight fell forward, releasing the grip on its blade. Its armored covered hands grabbed the ground tightly, trying to get back up, but it wasn't allowed to. Lily and David threw slashes around, bashing into the Knights armor. Over and over and over.

CLink! Clank! Clank! TING!

This was a clear opening. It has no way of defending itself in that position. My hands wrapped around my sword's handle as I dashed forward, thrusting its tip. A weakness in the creature armor allowed my Katanna right in, stabbing through the center of it's body.

ShinK!

A direct hit. Victory was guaranteed at this point. Right?

Before another attack could land, there was a loud boom. A shockwave threw us into the air, sending us crashing agsint the hard stone floor. I didn't know what had just happened.

My vision was blurry, and it felt like my brain had been directly hit. I was able to make out both Lily and David laying on the ground. They tried to get back on their feet, but they were too stunned from that blast we just Endured. Not one of us could regain their balance fast enough.

My katanna still stuck in the Knight's chest, it started to walk towards us, a shadow-like aura surrounding it.

Tim did everything he could to stop its advance. He fired a dozen different arrows. One piercing into the Knight's thigh, then another piercing its lower stomach. Even then, the Knight didn't get any slower.

It was headed for Lily first as she was the strongest of us. As it lifted its blade, preparing to land the killing blow, Olivia sprinted into the picture. A powerful palm strike slammed into the knight's chest, pushing the Katana even deeper. She followed up by throwing a direct kick against its jaw.

Wack!

The Knight almost staggered, but it spread its stance out for better balance before swinging its blade at her. Olivia leaped over the path of the slash, gently landing behind the creature.

One, two, three, she sent multiple strikes into its back. But this time, the Knight wasn't even bothered. He slowly turned his gaze to her. A look of terror washed onto Olivia's face. Almost like she saw death.

[Olivia has been paralyzed by fear]

With a backhanded motion, the knight's armored fist smacked the side of her skull, throwing her against the ground. It was enough to keep her there. She was still conscious, but it was like she knew she was dead if she tried to make another attack. There was no attempt by her to even get up.

Tim must've been out of arrows; he was no longer firing. Instead, I watched him pull a dagger from his boot and rushed at the Knight. He swung it around at random, but he was no match. The knight had no issue evading and maneuvering behind him.

The knight's wrist made a slight movement but created a precise slash.

There was a moment of silence- Before Tim collapsed on the ground, screaming out his lungs in agony. They were the most blood curling screams I've ever heard.

Both of his legs...they were gone. Detached from his body, resting on the cold stone ground. Blood spilled out of his wounds, forming a puddle around his body.

'That's...horrible.' I could feel my eyes uncontrollably widen at the sight of this.

David was the first of us to fully regain his composure and spring into action. He ran up from behind the Knight, delivering a powerful slash against it's side. The attack landed but, the Knights armor seemed to absorb most of the impact. The creature spun its blade, before delivering an upwards slash In an Instant, David's arm was severed, sent flying across the air. A fearful, confused scream left the back of his throat, echoing through the room. He, too, fell to the ground, unable to fight back.

I had to do something. Regaining my footing with a leap, I made my way in the Knight's direction. With each step that brought me forward, I was trying to calculate and plan my next move. If I wasn't careful, I could end up just like them.

"Don't..." Lily's voice stopped me before I was even halfway there, "You won't beat him. You'll only get yourself hurt."

"It's not like I want to..." I replied.

There wasn't a single thought in my mind that wanted to fight that thing. I knew that the risk of death was high. But I had to. It was just me and Lily who were left. And above everything else, I was an adventurer. If i was just going to sit fights like this out, I'd have to find a different profession. But this is the path I chose, as dangerous as it was. There wasn't any other job out there that my bad luck wouldn't ruin for me. This was the direction that the universe was pushing me in.

I continued, "...Fighting is all I can do. If I sit back and do nothing, I'll probably still die."

Time and time again, I was always having to be saved. I was always near death. I refused to be saved this time.

I had to do something.

"I won't let that happen. He's already weakened. I'm sure I can take him." said Lily.

Those were her words, but that Knight barley even flinched at most attacks that hit it. S-rank or not, she was going to lose if she fought it alone.

"I'll fight with you." I said.

But Lily went on to make a valid point.

"That thing gave you a tough time while you had your weapon. Now you're unarmed,"

I looked over at my Katana, blade still stuck in its chest.

'Shit....shitty shit shit...'

This was frustrating.

Lily gave me a reassuring look and nodded, "Amaya, trust me. I'm not the whirling demon for nothing." she finished that sentence with a grin.

Who was I to deny that confidence.

I smiled right back at her then sighed.

"I guess you're right."

The fact remained, she helped defend a town against around 30 monsters, while she had only a small team of guards by her side.

This Knight was only a single monster. If anyone could take him, it had to be her.

I gave her a nod of approval.

"Okay, Lilly. I'll trust you. You got this."

"Thank you, Amaya."

A confident smile, her hand clenched her broadsword tightly. Each step brought her towards the Abyssal Knight. The knight began to sprint.

Lily swiped her hand through the air, muttering a phrase, "Wind Blade."

Just then, an incredible ripple of wind shot forward in the creatures' direction. Just as it came close to landing, the Knight side stepped. The ground behind it crackled, splitting apart from the sheer force of that wind spell. If it had landed, it might've done some devastating damage to her opponent.

The Knight's presence vanished from view, but Lily already knew this trick. She turned around as the creature appeared behind her. Luckily, she was quick enough to raise her sword, deflecting the Knight's attempt to take her head.

The two of them locked swords, the sound of steel scraping against each other. They were both very strong, there was no doubt about that. Soo strong that sparks were starting to slide out from between their blades.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Lily forced the Knight back, unleashing a combo of slashed onto it. She danced around, her attacks came from all directions. From the sides, from above, slashing from below. The Knight was only able to keep up for so long, until one got through his defense.

Fwsh!

Lily's blade cut through the creature armor, opening a slit on its stomach. Her footwork was graceful, she dashed behind the Knight, giving another slash to its back. At this rate, Lily was going to win. But that changed quickly.

She raised her broadsword. As she was going to swing it once more, she felt the knight's metalic hand grab ahold of her wrist. Lily used all her might, tugging away to free herself, but it was pointless. Its grip didn't budge.

Using its free hand, the Knight pulled its arm back, forming a fist that was engulfed in a red haze of light. There was no way to avoid this incoming strike. The swing of a fist that broke the sound barrier with a boom. The entire force of the swing was concentrated, blasting into Lily's chest.

The wind quaked violently, blowing my hair into my face. Nex thing I knew, Lily's body was engraved within the wall, debris falling to the floor. 10 seconds passed, I waited for her to get back up and pull some sort of trick out her sleeve...but she wasn't moving....I wasn't even sure if she was breathing.

'Oh no....'

A steady red stream poured out of her mouth.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

'no...no no no.....'

Was she dead??

Ba-dump! Ba-Dump!

Her heart sank down into my guts, throbbing uncontrollably. I felt sick, like vomit was about to find its way up. Against my will, my hands were trembling, my legs felt almost numb, like I was going to pass out.

From left to right, I gazed over the aftermath of this battle. Lily was engraved within the stone-cold walls, unknown if she was alive or not. Tim was on the ground, grunting in pain, bleeding from where his legs used to be. And David, he wasn't moving either. He was laying still, with a missing arm right beside him. The only ones that weren't wounded were me and Olivia, who was still in a state of shock, pulling her hair.

'No...no..no...'

Every other near-death experience I've had started to play in the back of my mind.

'...Why am I soo weak...'

Lily, an S-ranker just lost to this monster. If she couldn't handle him, then how could I? Still, I was the only one still standing. We were all going to die here if I couldn't do something.... But what could I do?

I tried to overcome my fear. Bringing my fists up, I took a firm fighting stance.

'I have to do this...I have to do this..'

I was an easy target. It looked like the knight was already aware of that. It didn't even bother coming towards me. Instead, it took its precious time. Pulling out the nay arrows that were stuck into its body.

Clink...clink...clink...

The arrowheads were dropped on the floor, one by one, until the last one fell.

Clink.

There was only one thing stuck in its body. My katana. The knight shot a mean glare at me, a glare that I could nearly feel, burning into my very soul.

It's shaky, metalic hands gripped the blades handle, then with a swift pull, it yanked my katan from its chest.

SHNK!

A monstrous screech left its mouth. A screech of excruciating pain. The soundwaves made the air vibrate; it caused me to drop to my knees for just a second before I regained my footing. Blood even started to drip from my ears.

"Tch..."

Now, this monster was now going to wield my blade. If it was going to use my own weapon against me, I was definitely screwed. Really screwed. Incredibly screwed. That's what I thought, at least.

Something unexpected happened. The knight dropped my katana to the floor, then kicked it over to me.

'What the...'

I was confused, but quickly realized what this was. This knight wanted a duel. A fight, one on one. I picked up my blade, getting a firm grip on it. Though my legs were still trembling, this was an enemy I had to face.

"It's a duel you want?" I grinded my teeth, "It's a duel you'll get."