The end's in sight, The Bloody Struggle Continues!

It’s been nearly ten minutes since we left Thief alone, I hope this plan of his works. Biggs won’t stop walking back and forth, I already can guess what he’s thinking.

“Hey Steve, you gotta calm down.”

“How can I stay calm, my best bud is in there fighting for his life!”

“I get that, but this isn’t the first time he danced with death. Keeping that in mind, along with his recent track record, he really is the only guy I can think of to deal with that one eyed douche.”

“*Sigh* Damn it, I guess you’re right aren’t you.”

Finally, Steve’s starting to calm down. Now then, what the hell are we gonna do now? Of course we’re waiting for Thief to finish up, but this place is still going to s***. I doubt joining the battle now is gonna fix things. That said what should we-

“I had a feeling you guys would still be here, probably waiting for Thief to finish one of his daring plans right?”

Immediately me and Steve turned our heads in the direction of the voice. Upon seeing the person who talked, even Steve’s jaw dropped. You’re telling me that this whole time, you could talk!?! Guessing what we wanted to say, the pretender gave a response.

“Listen, I know you have questions, but that can wait. As we speak, not only Thief’s, but the lives of all remaining combatants are in danger.”

****

“I must say, considering your track record, your choice of weapon wasn’t all that bad. However, taking you head damage as well as your recklessness, you were bound to fail. Sorry to tell you this Conrad, but you never should’ve come here in the condition you're in. Especially with Forecianna, the sacred sword of foresight.”

As expected, the little pansy went white the moment I said the sword’s name. I can’t believe I was right, how did this little s*** end up with one of the seven sacred swords of Soleil. This bastard isn’t a prince, so why does he have one! Speaking of, you’re probably wondering how I knew that thing was a sacred sword. Well I won’t lie to you and tell you it’s common knowledge, only four of the sacred swords are well known. That includes Solaris, the sword of the royal family. Forecianna is one of the three lesser known swords, as its title dictates, the sword governs the power of foresight. Allowing the user to be able to predict the opponents moves before they make them, or so it seemed. Conrad might have good perception, but it’s not good enough to wield a sacred sword. That’s why the sword’s abilities activate upon a certain condition, that being instantaneous countering. Upon being attacked or in harm’s way, Conrad is able to counter before danger meets him. That explains why Rich lost his neck, due to the sword’s ability, Conrad foresaw the outcome and killed him. If he was the sword’s true wielder he’d be able to see moments into the future, like an oracle. However, instead he only has a taste of them, not that the percent he can use is bad.

That said, back to how I know. As much as I hate to admit it, it’s thanks to that bastard’s teachings. Besides his beatings, he also gave me history lessons and lessons about the kingdom’s treasures. Lessons like those were only possible due to his standing, another reason I hated him. Regardless, those lessons enabled me to know the powers of the sacred swords, Forecianna included. Enabling me the ability for my anti foresight plan! Forecianna only allows Conrad to perceive attacks coming at him, what’s worse is that he’s unable to discern which attacks are the most harmful to him. I took advantage of that, throwing all those pellets and stones to force the sword to activate. As expected, his body hasn’t gotten used to the strain and his perception got overwhelmed. If he keeps using the sword the way he is, his brain will end up scrambled. All in all, victory is mine!

“H-HOW! How do you know about Forecianna!”

“I’m a thief, of course I have my sources.”

“Dammit! Meaning everything you’ve done, S*** I’ve been dancing in your palm the whole time! No, this isn’t fair! THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MY REVENGE! MY PERFECT MOMENT!”

“Listen kid, I know you’re upset for not having your way, but you gotta show some maturity here! What would your parents say if they saw you right no-”

“SHUT YOUR MOUTH! YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ME! Because of you, I’ll never be able to be a full fledged knight! I probably won’t see the light of day once this is all over, and yet here you are mocking me. No, I won’t let things end like this! Even if I die, I WON’T BE THE FIRST ONE TO FALL!”

After saying that, the son of a bitch picked up the blade and held it in front of him.

“What the f*** are you doing?”

“I’m unveiling my trump card, one too good for the likes of you!”

“What’re you- Wait, don’t tell me!”

“Oh great sword of foresight, this wretched knight ask you to lend him your aid. My mind, my sight, even my very life! If you lend me your power, all these may be yours!”

“S***!”

I rushed in to attempt to stop him, but fate had other plans.

“On my, Conrad Bu’Cannon, I swear to smite the enemies of our proud kingdom! So please, Forecianna, ALLOW ME YOUR EYES TO SEE BEYOND ALL POSSIBILITY!”

Upon saying that, a shockwave surged from that guy's body. I got sent flying back, thank the gods my ass didn’t fly into a wall. Well, my back is the least of my worries right now. Upon standing up and brushing myself off, I see that one eyed twat convulsing in the center of the room. His eyes were slightly glowing blood red, and it looks like his bones are snapping every which way. I think I’m gonna be sick, but before I could blow chunks I heard something that sent shivers down my spine. It was Conrad’s blood curdling wail, it shook the whole room. The bastard’s tantrum kicked even more dust up into the air, and at the center of all that chaos stood a broken man.

“Uh...You still alive over there?”

I couldn’t help but pray his vow failed and that he was dead on his feet. However, right before I could breath a sigh of relief, he began moving. He lifted his head, revealing that what I saw before wasn’t my imagination. His eyepatch broke off, and both his eyes were glowing red. Rather only his left eye still had its iris, his right eye was completely surrounded by crimson light. With those two bloody eyes, he looked at me and smirked.

“Sorry for the wait, now let’s continue.”

S***, the vow was formed! Sacred swords and weapons of their caliber allow the user to make a vow, enabling the user to use capabilities they usually couldn’t. In this case, as he is now Conrad can make full use of that sword. Karma why do you have to be such a bitch? Welp, time to haggle!

“Hey, how about we-”

“I’ll make the first move!”

Like that, the battle continued. I threw another sand bag at him, but he dodged. Luckily I had another one, and I threw it out. He cut down that one, and I found myself jumping into the smokescreen. I stood quietly hoping he wouldn’t hear me, I even hid my breathing. I heard him walking through the room.

“Oh Thief, come out, come out wherever you are?”

This bastard is toying with me, I’m honestly starting to regret my decisions up till this point. Oh well, regretting it now won’t help me. At the very least this guy can’t see-

“Oh! By the way my dear friend!”

I then felt a sharp wind against my right cheek, it was from the speed of his sword thrust. He stared into my quivering eyes, and with a cold smile told me.

“I know where you are, I’ll always know where you are.”

I jumped away, but he gave chase. I began tossing everything I had at him: pellets, stones, sand, everything! But this f***er was on my ass, and didn’t plan on letting me go!

“S***! At least buy me some dinner first!”

“I’m more of a man of action!”

This is bad, I’m starting to run low on materials! Dammit, what did Forecianna see in this guy to make it agree to his terms. Am I really that much of a threat? I thought like that while doing my best to dodge his attacks. It was even safe to attempt attacking anymore, just like that I found my back against a wall. Conrad dashed towards me, using the wall I managed to do a flip over his incoming slash attack. Against my wishes, the sword doesn’t get stopped by the stone wall, it instead cuts through it like paper. I was astonished seeing that display of strength, as I flew through the air. To make matters worse, Conrad’s body bent at an insane angle in an attempt to cut me while I was midair. I parried with my knife, only for it to shatter upon impact. The aftermath was me flying into the wall behind me, the force was enough to make me cough up blood. Damn, this is bad, I wasn’t prepared for this. Seeing me struggle, that f***er started laughing.

“HAHAHAHA! Fool, did you expect this to go any different. Even Forecianna must see you as a pest if it’s trying to get rid of you like this. It even went through the trouble of sealing my pain and enhancing my body to handle its true power. Just give me your life Thief, it’ll be easier that way!”

“*Huff huff* I’d rather lose the fingers on both my hands than offer my life to a pisspot like you!”

“Funny, because I see a fingerless simpleton bleeding to death in the near future!”

He began rushing at me, his strikes more calculated than before. He manages to graze my right cheek and right side, damn first I was worried about running out of breath. Now I have to worry about bleeding out, sure the injuries aren’t that bad, but with me moving around like this.

I decided to throw one last ditch effort, I tossed all my pocket sand into the air. The room is now completely covered, anyone with sinuses would sneeze with all s*** in the air! I could hear him stop his advance, maybe I finally have some time to-

“I thought I told you-”

Suddenly, I feel that sharp wind again. I wasn’t able to respond in time, and my left shoulder ended up getting sliced.

“-No matter where you are, I will find you.”