The Power of Armaments

Unarmed, Kennedy was facing down several opponents. One stepped forward among them all, “Really think you can still win with no weapon?” She pointed her sword at him, “You’re not seeing tomorrow!” she dashed towards him, her weapon aimed straight for his neck!

He deftly pulled a scroll from his coat, and unfurled it in one motion. It depicted a section of a stone wall, the details were lifelike and almost photographic. After it was fully unrolled, it began to glow. “Lass, who said I was unarmed?” He pushed the glowing scroll into the oncoming attack.

“You think shiny paper is gonna do something?!” The full force of her strike was nearly about to make contact with the glowing paper! “Say hello to the underworld!” As her blade made contact with the paper, she felt a shock wave resonate through her body! “Arrhh!!” The stone painting somehow became real, and hitting it cracked her sword. She was barely able to hold on to the handle as the painful shock made her grip weaken.

“Watch out! He could be using an Armament!” another bandit shouted to the rest, they had the numbers but this new development had them shook. The realization that one of the Psyki users was also capable of using an Armament was not something that they expected to run into. “We can’t be sure of what he’s capable of!” Caution and hesitancy gripped their ranks.

“Nothing like a good surprise, eh lads?” Kennedy pulled out several smaller pieces of paper that had been cut into the shape of throwing knives, “Don’t worry, I bought enough for everyone!” He threw them in a flurry, it was so fast that his opponents could hardly realize what was happening! As the paper knives made contact, they exploded with a bright flash and a concussive force that deafened and blinded his enemies.

Reeling from the disorientation, some of them began to swing their weapons in a panic. “Where is he!” Kennedy left no time for them to recover, and moved in to press his advantage! He knocked them out, one after the other with an impressive display of swift kicks and punches.

When he was done, he picked up one of their swords and made his way over to the other adventurer. They were beginning to falter against the high number of enemies, it was only a matter of time before they would join the fallen.

“Chin up!” He dashed to the rescue, and immediately engaged with the second group of bandits.

Meanwhile, Robina was starting to struggle. The leader found space to counter attack, and now their difference in experience was rearing its ugly head. ‘What good is copying being able to copy their moves if they still do it better!’ Faced with the present difficulty, she was starting to lose hope in herself. ‘Can I go faster?’ She was already feeling the stress from her continued use of Psyki, using more seemed like a dangerous idea but her options were becoming more limited with each passing moment.

Once the backup arrived, they began using similar tactics that had been deployed against the other two swordsmen. The back to back attacks were not as effective due to her speed, at least for all but the leader.

“Keep up the pressure, she’ll break soon!” Their leader kept up the attack even as the others became weary with combat. They continued, but the redhead proved to be a contender.

‘I can do this!’ Robina saw an opening in the attack pattern and that’s when she struck back, taking out one of her attackers! The latest casualty had the effect of demoralizing the bandits. Their rank and file members weren't too eager to jump back into the fray, despite the rage of their leader.

“Fine, I’ll do it myself you cowards!” the leader was boiling over with rage, “Let’s see how you like this, girl!” A bangle they were wearing began to glow, rendering a haze over the leader. Their movements lagged behind where their footsteps fell, his body now had a mirage like warble to it.

“Now you’re cheating!?” Robina was now having trouble discerning the precise location of the leader. He moved quickly to her, only the splat of his footsteps giving away his exact position. ‘There he is’ she followed his footprints and jumped back in time to dodge his attack.

“Think you can keep that up!?” The bandit leader's haze flared up even more, concealing his upper body almost entirely.

Robina was still able to dodge a few hits thanks to her increased speed, however, she still found herself having to parry. ‘I don’t think I can keep this up much longer’ Her body was straining under the extreme exertion, and her skin felt like it was almost on fire. Her chest tightened as her breathing grew sharper, her lungs seemed ready to revolt against her. ‘Just a little longer!’ Her mind was heavy with stress. “I have to!” Her voice heaved out in a pained croak!

Her endurance was being tested, and she was pushing past her breaking point! She was no stranger to fighting for her life, holding on was a matter of survival and it was all that she could do.

The bandit leader growled at her, “Just give up already!* There was a slight inflection of panic that tinged their voice. And their body appeared to be a bit more visible, a detail that Robina took notice of immediately. The leader's breath was growing more ragged, and at the same time the glow from the bangle started to flicker like a dying light bulb.

‘They can't keep using that either!’ She felt a sense b of relief at that thought, that maybe there was a chance for her to win!

Staring each other down, they both contemplated their next move. It was obvious to both of them that the next move could decide the fight! Although the rain beat down on them, the feeling of sweat was still unavoidable.Their brief stand still ended in a hurry as the leader went in for the attack!