Eleanor vs River part 1 (Battle in the Mountains of Keral) 

*NOTE: The next few chapters are written from a third-person perspective and not from Eleanor's perspective. 

Crack* Chrrrrrrr*

A sound of lightning pierced the shrine from behind Eleanor, and in an instant, she jumped to the side, holding Master with her.

Boom!

The lightning struck the wall in front.

Huff*

Eleanor deeply exhales, holding Master Marthanda in her arms. She sees the wall that got hit by the lightning, and she realises that if she hadn't jumped, it would've been game over for Master and her.

Tap* Tap*

The sounds of a man walking in the shrine reached Eleanor's ears, and in response, her nerves reached her head. With blood-filled anger, she turns her face towards the source of that attack, and there he's standing. —Alves River, with a crow on his shoulder and lightning that is sparking all over his body.

"Ahh, I missed," said River, with a menacing smile on his face.

"What the fuck are you doing?" said Eleanor. "Do you have even the slightest idea?"

"I do. But do you?"

"You are attacking your own teacher?!"

"Yes, so?" he said with a sarcastic smile. "Even you are about to die here. So worry not. I'll make sure everyone from this cursed place dies." The smile on River's face fades away. "And most importantly, that geezer should die."

Cough*

Eleanor's gaze is on Marthanda as he coughs more blood from her arms.

"Master!" she says. "Are you okay?"

Marthanda doesn't reply, and Eleanor sees that his eyes are dimming out with the passing time, and she must take him to the city as fast as possible before his body gives up.

"Oii Eleanor, was it? Leave that dead body already and fight, will you?" said River as he withdrew a dagger, with its blade as dark as midnight, tinged with the bruised hues of black and blue, from the shadowy depths behind him. "Let me see if this geezer taught you anything that I don't know." 

The dagger makes a cracking sound and gets covered in lightning. "Because it's you who is going to die next, eventually. At least make it a little bit interesting before that."

A prolonged silence hung heavy in the air, as Eleanor didn't say anything in response. Finally, she lowered Marthanda's body gently, the weight of her actions settling upon her. With a deliberate motion, she swept her hair behind her ears, concealing the anger and sadness burning in her eyes as she rose to her feet, facing River.

"Alright."

After she let those words slip from her lips, Eleanor extended her hand, her palm facing River. In an instant, her Witchcraft, which was in her room, hummed with energy; a subtle vibration echoed before it disappeared from there, only to reappear in a fraction of the moment, nestled securely within her grasp.

"Ohhooo!" smiled River. "Nice weapon you have there."

With the knife gripped tightly in Eleanor's hand, its chains intertwining around her fist, she stood tall, her eyes void of any emotion except for a chilling intensity in those gazes. With a slight tilt of her chin, she focused her attention on River.

Tap* 

River bends his upper half, stretching his arms, which hold his dagger, with a crow that still hasn't left his shoulders.

Eleanor, inside her mind, has realised that if she wants to save Marthanda, she must kill River at any cost and leave this place to seek help, and every passing second is important as Marthanda can die at any moment due to poisoning.

.....

The crow's eyes fixed on Eleanor, like capturing a relfection. As soon as the crows blink, Eleanor materialises before River, poised and ready, her movements so rapid that it was as if she had teleported, her intent clear: she was prepared to strike.

CLANK* THUD*

Eleanor dashed forward, her knife slicing through the air with deadly intent, only to meet the defending dagger of River with a resounding clash. The force of her collision propelled River backward, sending them out of the shrine.

Both clashed their steels that echoed through the space, filling the air with sparking sounds.

Because of chains, Eleanor could've easily attacked River from a long distance, but instead she has kept it short-distance, hand-to-hand combat for now. She is doing this to understand and adapt to River moves before she reveals her true nature of attacks, as Witchcraft allows Eleanor to shift to both types of fighting styles at will.

As the dagger and knife clashed in a flurry of rapid strikes, crackles of blue lightning from River, contrasting with the ominous black aura of Eleanor, danced around them as they moved their weapons. Soon after each clash, Eleanor began to take a step back, her movements graceful yet determined. Spinning on her toes, she released her chains at intervals, making sure it was fast and unpredictable for River.

"Ohhooo!!" River expressed excitement. "You are good, girl!"

No matter how much Eleanor attacked, their stance was that of a stalemate, as River managed to defend himself throughout so far.

"How many months are you training here?" he asked. "That geezer stopped training people 3 years ago."

"11 months," replied Eleanor. "Why? You afraid?"

River's expression changed from curiosity to sheer seriousness.

—That's it? He thought.

"Nope," he replied. "I just find it quite disrespectful to me."

As River said that, his expression fades away, and he strikes into the hole of the chain just after the knife, digging the knife into the ground with a dagger standing on it.

"Huhh!?" expressed Eleanor.

Before Eleanor could pull back her knife, River dashed towards her with his palms, aiming straight for Eleanor's throat.

Fwoosh*

With a metallic vibrating sound, his dagger gets summoned back to his grasp. Eleanor's heart raced as she realised it was too late to retrieve the knife; River was already upon her, the cold edge of the blade dangerously close to her throat, poised to strike.

"DIE! YOU BITCH!" Yelled River.

Clank*

"Argh!" groaned Eleanor.

The chains collide with the dagger, defending her, just before it reaches her throat. In an instant, Eleanor used the remaining chains in her hands to block River's attack.

With a forceful shove, River pushes Eleanor backward, the sharp tip of his dagger pressing against the chains as she struggles to hold him at bay with her chains.

"A woman who just got born 11 months ago, what can you even do against me?" said River.

"Shut up!! You psychopath," replied Eleanor.

She staggered, the weight of his strength almost overwhelming, but with a surge of determination, she found her footing and, on tiptoe, managed to halt his advance.

"Hehe! See," smiles Eleanor while struggling at the same time. "I don't know what I can do. But I can surely stop a freak like you."

"Ohh, is that so?" replied River.

In a swift movement, River crouched and pivoted, his leg sweeping out and striking Eleanor's leg with precision. As she stumbled, her defences faltered, and she fell down. In an instant, River spun once more, the glint of his dagger flashing in the air, aiming straight towards her face. In that moment, Eleanor's eyes widen as she realises that it's too late to defend as her knife is far away, and with her balance off, she has lost control over her chains.

GUSH*

With a decisive thrust, the blade found its mark, piercing clean flesh and splattering blood all over.

"AAAAAA!!"

The sounds of Eleanor's scream echo throughout the surrounding area.