Are We Enemies? (1)

A crash reverberated into the night.

The rumble of stone, the bent of metal, and the shatter of glass burst into fragments. And as if to be entertained by such noise, the sky peeled its layers to give its constellations a glimpse of the scene.

For the first few moments, Hope was able to read the Awakened's actions. It was easy to predict how he'd react placed in the situation Hope was in. Hope ducked aside from the first blow, a side-step from a shoulder grab, and parried the third.

And that was where his luck ended. If he had much anyway.

Ever since he became a Dreamer, luck was a slippery damned thing.

Because that parry cost him more than he'd expected. 

The Awakened hit him like an explosion. Hope, braced with his shield in time, was thrown sideways into a window. The shattering multiplied. Glints of fragments flew as he soared into the room. He hit and rolled, knocking over metal carts and whatever items were piled before he came to a stop. The random smell of dry dirt filled his nose.

Hope groaned, fanning his arms out to find any support.

Ah. A counter.

Hope got up while holding his abdomen.

'That's…certainly an Awakened's power.'

At the bottom of his vision, he caught a glimpse of what he landed on. Which was a broken pile of…pots…? Huh. Some sort of garden room. Not at all like Mave's lair where magic blossomed petals or lit pollen. All the potted plants here were dead, withered to dried leaves and limp stems.

Hope observed it all in an instant. He had turned and ran again just before the Awakened speedily landed where he once stood, causing an impact by his feet alone. Hope thought he'd heard the building creak.

'Fast fast fast-'

He quickly ran to a side door where a corridor led up.

Ache pulsed as he skipped steps to save what time he could spare.

'Back…' His instinct said.

!!!

Once he reached the next level, suddenly, with lightning movement, the Awakened burst from behind.

Kwaaaang!

Shield was braced but impact rammed him into a wall. His bones screamed. His back stung as he, surprisingly, held against the Awakened's weight this time.

But of course, their strength was far from matched.

The number of soul shards this Awakened had was obviously higher than his, but his rank alone was a leap of overwhelming power. Even if Hope could block like just now, it was a weight that made his limbs tremble.

'Dammit…'

Hope gritted his teeth as he stared at the Awakened's ridiculous white mask and black hood. The weight stuffed the gap between. But Hope did not submit. If he had to, then that boiled down to his own bones breaking or whatever course of action he planned next.

But what was going on in this guy's head? The hell was he so bent on chasing Hope for?

Ah it couldn't be…

'Was he actually smart enough to connect me to the dead body…?'

Hope had a feeling it was.

'Seriously…?'

How unfortunate. A stubborn and smart Awakened. But even if Hope was forgotten by everyone, a detective could spot the culprit with the right pieces in mind: dead body, everyone congregated in the great hall, one person escaping, running from Awakened.

"Huh…It's that obvious then…" Hope said aloud, not caring if the Awakened understood him or not.

But it seemed that he did when he pressed harder into the shield, the blade's edge close enough to tease Hope's neck.

And with that previous tangent thought, his Attribute summoned, taunting from the side as if the Awakened wasn't enough of an inconvenience.

[Black Sheep] Attribute Description: "You are an outsider born into a disarray world. Forced upon a hero's fate, always against the odds, you wish to be seen."

"..."

Nevermind the 'always against the odds part...' 

He got the damn idea from the Spell.

But 'wish to be seen.'

'Who the fuck says I want to be?'

To be seen by this Awakened was the last thing he would've damn wanted.

Or did the Spell have some poetic tier meaning backed behind those words?

Tsk. Even now, it hasn't failed in riling him up. But the Spell was something he could deal with later in the future.

Right now, he had to fight off this Awakened.

At his arsenal, his best options were narrowed to technique. And timing.

And the best knowledge, and a classic one at that, was to use his opponent's strength against him. The key was to execute properly on how. Even so, Hope would have to parry enough to spot any readable attack patterns on this guy for him to dodge.

'Come on. Think. Think. Think. Think-'

An idea crossed Hope's mind at that moment.

As Hope was pinned against the wall with the Awakened's sword pressed down on his shield, Hope baited the idea of leaning harder into the attack, pushing with all the might he could. Whether the Awakened was impressed or not by his attempt, he responded with force as well.

Hope then let himself go limp.

Before the weight could completely crush him, he twisted his body and ducked under the sword. Blade struck the wall. A light scratch nicked Hope's neck.

Krrch!

"...!"

Giving him a brief window of opportunity, Hope leapt off to the side.

His shadow faithfully followed as night's blue light beamed through the windows, the area reading more clearly of taller metal aisles with ceramic potted plants and broken jars. But then there were the vines that limped like webs, almost tendril-like, ready to ensnare them in its entanglement. A dark undercurrent pulsing in the shadows-

Krkrkr.

Clay cluttered as Hope turned to face out the window for a possible chance of escape.

Should he try…..jumping out?

Shiing!

!!!

But a blade flashed.

Vines reared from a direct slice.

Hope reacted, but not before the bastard of a thing took off a piece of his cheek.

Kakakak!

A rapid shuffle of Hope's feet straggled for balance. The Awakened gave no respite. A lunge became an upward slash, turning then into arcs. It was not even a minute pass, let alone five seconds, and already did death guide the blade.

Metal rang into the air. The sparks flew like spits of vigor.

Kwaaang!

And Hope's muscles burned. 

Kwaang!

Burned after impact.

After impact.

After impact.

It was as if he were fighting a hulk-sized soldier. He barely parried and dodged each time.

Tails of vines flicked in the space, recoiling from the sweep of a blade.

And a shield straggling to follow.