A Gut-Wrenching Performance (9)

“Have you ever killed someone before?”

Those words from a popular video game floated to my mind – a parent trying to teach his child about the kill or be killed world outside.

“The first time is always rough.”

Although I thrusted in one clean motion, I still felt the initial resistance by the skin. Given that my dagger was made of scraps of trash, it was even more prevalent. In a civilized society, you wouldn’t even think of doing such a thing. In fact, the mere thought left a sinking feeling, or perhaps some vomit rising up the throat. But with the proper drive or determination, adrenaline could mask away the creeping fear, at least for a little while.

And then, the skin broke.

With the tiniest cut, even a simple dagger could slide in the rest of the way. You wouldn’t realize until it already happened. However, once you did, the shock kept hidden grew ever-present. Your breathing quickened as your mind tried to rationalize the situation. The hand clamped down on the weapon, preventing you from noticing the tremors rushing through. All of this was only amplified as the adrenaline high slowly crashed into the darkness below.

An expression of surprise, or in this case expectance, colored her face as a line of blood began to trickle from her mouth. The smell of iron permeated through the nose, not that strong at first, but enough to invoke a sense of synesthesia, replaying the last second in a loop. She tried to say something, but the only thing that came out was more blood. However, the mind would easily fill in the gaps, instilling a trauma deep in the psyche.

And only then, half a second later, would somebody else react.

“YOUR MAJESTY!!!!” the knights yelled at the top of their lungs, yet that’s all they did. None of them moved, only reacting to the sound, chained by their disbelief. After all, this was the queen: an unkillable monarch in their minds. And here, standing before them, was someone who managed to do just that. You could call such a response a lack of training, but they were only human. The response was obvious when your core beliefs were shaken.

That’s why none of them stopped me as I ripped the blade out, like gutting a fish. The blood on the tip of the blade spattered to the ground while her sapphire dress dyed a shade of amethyst. The light from her eyes faded just as quickly, her body slumping into mine.

I laid her back in the chair, closing her eyes, before snapping my fingers for the final act. In an instant, her body burned brighter and hotter than any flame, as though she was in the center of the white dwarf itself. The next moment, she was gone, leaving only a light singe on the cushion.

Then, I began to run, and that’s what finally prompted them to move.

“CAPTURE HIM, NOW!” the usurper king commanded, though it wasn’t as spirited as I thought it would be. But when I saw his expression, it wasn’t one of anger or duty. No, it was one of relief. In all honesty, he would probably leave me alone, provided I could escape this place.

Thirty feet to the exit.

The knights stationed around the hall rushed at me while the mages chanted in their incomprehensible language. The guests scattered about most managed to scurry out of the way, but a few stayed awestruck where they were. Therefore, the closer knights had to pull those people out of the line of fire, giving me a free pass down the red carpet. Not that it would do much anyway.

Twenty-five feet left.

In only a brief second, the mages finished casting their spells, lobbing all manner of elements towards me. At the same, a slight force field seemed to emanate from the floor and some tables, likely to protect the ground and the guests. Judging by the brief glimpses I could catch, two mages were assigned to each attack, with quite a number assigned to the barrier, allowing them to cast stronger spells in less time. I had no time to dwell on how.

Among the volley, there were two main types of spells: balls and slashes. They were both traveling around the same speed, so annoyingly, I would have to deal with them at the same time. They were both troublesome in their own right.

Twenty feet left.

The balls were exactly as they appeared. Fire, ice, earth, water – each of them and many more compressed into a spherical shape, hurdling faster than a baseball. It was basically a game of dodgeball where each had the potential to rip a chunk out of your body. Of course, that meant it was rather easy to figure out what to do: dodge it. A step to the left followed by a slide to the right. Then, a quick step back followed by two jumps. That’s all it took for the balls to collide with one another or miss entirely. Unfortunately, the missed balls didn’t even serve as a distraction to the mages – they had already prepared countermeasures for their own spells.

The slashes, on the other hand, were a bit more tedious. Each blade was ridiculously thin, almost to the point where I couldn’t see them. Their sharpness was unparalleled too, able to slice through the other spells with ease – nothing like my trash-yard dagger. However, the worst were the wind blades. Wind was colorless by nature, making each one imperceptible to the naked eye.

I heavily relied on my mana detection to survive. These I couldn’t let impact; I always had to avoid them. It didn’t matter what, whether I got dangerously close to another ball, or rolled across the ground before getting back up and running. Luckily, they did slow down their spellcasting for a bit as some of them focused on strengthening their defenses, not that it mattered.

After all, the moment it was over, a sword appeared right in front of my eyes.

Fifteen feet remaining.