A Forced Fight

Iuria stared at Berus with wide open eyes as he slowly stalked closer.

“Please, no… Berus… Please…”

He wanted to calm her down. He wanted to tell her that everything was alright. He wanted to tell her that he wouldn’t fight her.

But his system had other plans. His body said nothing while he came closer, step by step. His joints creaked and protested, but that didn’t stop his movements. It would execute the order it was given without fault, even if it fell apart while doing so.

And that certainty frightened him. It was the worst realization he ever had. His body had received an order, and no matter what his soul thought or wanted to do, it would execute it. No matter how much he protested or screamed. And Ki-Rai was still barely there, just as affected by the system reset as he was himself.

He had to do something to stop this. But what could he do? Out of the corner of his vision he could see Mikkah, who was still held firmly by Gyria, even though she struggled against the limbs as much as she could. He walked jerkily, but he continued walking forward until Iuria was in his reach.

“I know you’re in there,” she told him to his face. “Please, fight it.”

Run away! Escape! Just run away! But none of his words were audible. They only echoed in his soul, and his body continued to move.

Just run away. Please, please, just run.

For the first time in a long, long time, he wanted to cry, but his soul had no tears. None of the reactions that could bring him relief were there anymore. He was a machine, cold and emotionless.

And Iuria stood her ground. Didn’t she understand that he couldn’t fight his body, as much as he wanted to? How could she have so much trust in him still? It warmed his soul, but that wouldn’t help them. She had to run away, and now.

But she continued staying right where she was. She looked danger right in the eye, and still pleaded with him to stop. All while Berus tried to fight against the constraints of the automaton, but it was futile.

“What a fool,” muttered King Flavis. “And such a boring fight.”

With a yawn, he looked at his fingernails, as if it was more interesting than the horrible fight that was about to break out.

“You can fight it,” Iuria told Berus as if it was the truth.

I’m trying, he wanted to respond. He was already much too close to her. And then he raised his fist.

For a moment, he was simply glad Gyria had broken his sword. But still, his body was much stronger than hers. He could see his image mirrored in her wide open eyes. Cold. Uncarin. A murder machine.

Please evade at least!

His arm whizzed down. He didn’t want to hit her, and that thought fired up him so much that he moved the soul in his core. Not by much, but it was enough that his hand didn’t make contact with her, and only grazed her shoulder. Iuria howled in pain.

“Wonderufl,” King Flavis laughed. “Show her pain. Maybe then she will join me. And if not… oh well.”

Berus soul felt like it was being torn apart. A small part of himself was relieved that she wasn’t dead, but hearing her pain was bad enough.

Get away now, he thought. Just leave me here and get away. Can’t you see how bad this is?

He had hurt his friends more than enough. He had hurt Ki-Rai with his thoughtless behavior. He was sure that his harsh words contributed to Phorok’s sacrifice. Mikkah was suffering. And now he had physically hurt Iuria as well. He couldn’t believe that she still believed in him. He was trapped. And even if he could do something, it was so miniscule that he couldn’t protect her. If this continued, he wouldn’t be able to keep his promise to Phorok.

I have to do something, he thought. Anything!

He had his combat menu open. There was no trace of Ki-Rai. What was she doing? Did the reset delete her? No, the way she had talked to him suggested she was still there, somehow. But that didn’t help him now.

When he tried to move, to push or pull with his soul, he was only faced with stone-hard limitations. When he thought back to the game, he cursed whoever was responsible to think of such a class. Of course, in the game itself it was relatively fun to play an automaton, since the player never had to worry about losing control over their character. But this was all too real. And his mana bar was as full as never before.

But Berus didn’t retreat into himself. He couldn’t succumb to despair and pain. He wanted to fight on, to fight this fate. And if there was something that he could do, it was fighting on, despite the odds. He had punched a dragon. He had faced the demons. And he would find a way out of this situation. After all, he had learned that this body didn’t have muscles that could grow tired. As long as his spirit wasn’t broken, as long as he didn’t give up himself, he could continue to fight. It gave him immense strength. It wasn’t time to give up yet.

Again and again he fought his own body, even if it barely made any difference. But he could feel it. The system kept him firmly in place, but not so much that he couldn’t do anything. After all, it was his soul that kept the machine that was his body running. And his will grew stronger with each and every hit that missed the mark.

Iuria was doing her part, as well. even though she wasn’t running away, she was at least using her skill. It didn’t remove the pain, but at least it healed the wounds so that she didn’t become trapped.

I can do this, he thought. No, we can do this!

But he could also see that Iuria was losing stamina, and fast. Her movements grew more sluggish, and his punches hit her more and more. Every time his fist connected, she let out a scream. But just like him, she didn’t give up. Firm conviction blazed in her eyes, telling him that she fully believed in him still, even if she didn’t have the strength to say it out loud anymore. They both fought in their own ways as they continued their deadly dance.

But how long would they be able to continue this? When would one of them make a mistake they couldn’t recover from? Thoughts like these crept into his soul, but he pushed them away as best as he could. Still, he knew that at some point, it would happen. He had to escape his body somehow. How could he restore the system back to how it was before, the way Mikkah had done?

But he had no idea how the system worked. He wasn’t a mechanic like her. And she clearly couldn’t help him, as Gyria kept her firmly in her grasp, forcing her to watch their fight. Berus, on the other hand, was just a soul equipped with useless game knowledge and the skill to protect those who were dear to him. Only that now this skill had been turned against him.

He had to continue. He just had to.

“A-argh! Finally! Hehe!

Ki-Rai appeared before his eyes, as clear as ever.

“Did you miss me?”