Minutes to Mayhem

There she was, reborn in front of him.

She smiled, warmly this time. “Can’t do anything without me, can you?” She joked.

Without warning he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed tight, holding her for the time they had - after everything, she didn’t have the heart to push him away. And they stayed that way for a few seconds before the archer remembered where they were. “This is nice and all, but we’re running out of time.”

It snapped him back to action, nodding to her and checking where their opponent was. Saxon had already beheaded the clone, and instead of his nonchalant saunter, he was sprinting through the brush towards them.

“You got a plan?” Mayumi asked, checking her remade bow string.

“Half of one.”

“Half?” She chuckled. “Suppose it’s better than nothing. Go on, lay it on me.”

Arata drew something small and slender, the look of it making Mayumi hold her breath for a moment. He then handed it to her and she accepted it cautiously. “Seriously? Is it the same thing?”

Stress was building in him, sweat pumping down his brow. “No, it’s a mimic, but that’s the plan. Just before, I did something I didn’t even know was possible.” His memory flashing back to his switch with his clone. “It’ll be more complicated… but if I can get it working, we can win this.”

“Hoh?” She examined the item like a cursed artifact. “And if it doesn’t work, I get skewered?”

He paused way too long for any explanation to be genuine, choosing to shrug his shoulders. “Good grief.” She sighed.

“You trust me?”

For once, she wasn’t seeing an afraid kid with a magic pen. There was more to him, and it gave her strength. “Nope… not one bit.”

So, she made her move.

*-*-*

She glided down the embankment, making no noise and holding in the tall grass. Saxon was rushing now, making no effort to hide his presence - and what was worse, he was now in her range.

Right as his head turned the arrow rocketed towards him, piercing all the way through the shoulder. His gasp as the pain washed over him was a refreshing sound. But, she wasn’t aiming at the shoulder. “He still managed to dodge?!” Mayumi couldn't believe it. A shot from a blind spot precisely aimed at his chest… and he managed to adjust in the short time it took for the arrow to reach him.

Now he knew where she was. The look of calm swagger was completely broken now, his face awash with rage. Just seeing her enraged him more. “When I kill you, you stay dead.”

She fired another shot that he managed to lean away from. “I swear you just love the sound of your own voice. Why don’t you quit crying and take your beating like a good boy?” She teased.

Another vein popped from his forehead, and at breakneck pace, he rushed her.

His blade almost seemed to multiply at the speed he was slicing. But each one she dodged masterfully. He overreached, a wild flurry ended with a thrust that Mayumi sidestepped - giving her the space to kick him back, and fire another arrow as she too floated back. He blocked it with his blade and landed before rushing to close the distance.

She couldn’t get her shot off in time, and the knife cut the air between her and her bow. Little did she know he managed to clip the string as the arrow shot off in the air, once again leaving her defenceless…

She should have been, at least.

“Now.” Arata gasped, and his art - etched into the ground like an intricate puzzle glowed to life.

Mayumi held her bow in one hand, and the other, a dagger.

Saxon’s would hit first, he would connect with the arm of her bow and slice through it - then it would travel past and reach her fair skin once more.

The second before contact, he felt uneasy, unsure if he had seen a faint flicker for half a moment… then his blade hit the bow. The vibration up his arm felt wrong, brittle almost. Then, the cracks formed…

The knife shattered like cheap glass. Then came the pain. Mayumi’s dagger had sliced him shallowly across the chest, leaving a thin trail of red. But that trail wept much more than it should have, even as he applied pressure it just continued to leak out.

It only took him a moment to reach the answer, his hands losing all warmth, his eyelids opening so wide his eyeballs were close to falling out. The handle in his hand was that of the venomous biting blade he had held even in his own world, yet the blade was completely broken. And Mayumi’s? The same handle, the same blade… and quite clearly from the wound he received, the same effect. “My knife…” he growled.

“Mine now.” Mayumi retorted playfully.

Meanwhile, Arata watched from a distance, now assured his plan was successful - and celebrating as quietly as he could. But as his mouthed bellow made his jaw ache his senses returned and the clock ticking above gave him a shock back to action. Less than four minutes left, no time at all. His hand started moving, he didn’t have the time to worry now, it was all in Mayumi’s hands. “Three minutes, Mayumi… Give me three minutes, and we’ll be safe.”

Dug into the mud, tracings of manga panels, and a shifting narrative.

*-*-*

Saxon’s attacks were ferocious. He reached for his blade, just as Mayumi pulled away and swung it around to his arm - tracing a red line just above the elbow that soon leaked. The other arm reached high this time, more a punch than an attempt to steal - Mayumi ducked under quickly, and in that same motion hit the assassin with a scorpion kick.

His vision faded for a mere moment as it landed, and Mayumi had the free chance to try a jab. Luckily for him, he regained his senses and sidestepped, now reaching for the blade again, only for Mayumi to circle around him, the blade slicing shallowly from wrist to nape.

He was like a wounded animal stuck in a corner, puffing out and making a scary face to scare off the attacker. His fangs were bared, his breath loud and lingering. “Thief! Give it up now!” His childhood tantrum was almost cute to her, had he not been who he was she might have considered giving back his toy but the pain from earlier boiled.

“Murderer!” She screamed back. “For every tortured soul that circles around you, I’ll make sure you feel their vengeance!”

He’d reacted the same as before, anger and irritation. But the assassin was cerebral. His snarl changed back to his irritating smirk, confusing her. “Ah, so that’s it? A noble soul that fights for the lesser folk. How admirable.”

“Shut it.” Mayumi snapped

“It is such a shame however. A warrior like yourself, able to challenge me this much…” It was as if she could read the script, like she could hear his words before they were even spoken - more rage built in her than she knew she possessed, and like a lightning bolt she ripped through the air at him as his sentence finished.

“... too bad you couldn’t save her.”

Her stab attempt was pushed forth with every bit of strength she had, and it took everything for Saxon to block her arm before it connected.

Now they were pushing to the end, a battle of raw strength.

Voices clung to her mind. “I don’t want to go…” Ferula’s voice echoed, then changed to Izuna’s. “Onee… I’m sorry…”

Saxon’s hand gave way only for a moment under the strength of pure hatred… then it cracked Mayumi’s wrist. The audible snap cut off by her pained gasp and the knife slipping from her grasp - back into his. “Emotions serve only to cloud the mind.” He mocked, now holding his prized weapon close. “Finally… I can end this.”

She tried to push away from him but now he was too close, and with a battle cry his knife carved through the air - she could not stop it. The world itself stood in suspension, narrowed to a single point - her eye, his blade, and nothing in between.

As the moon reached its peak, the forest was illuminated in green lights. Arata’s knees gave way, he gasped for air - completely drained of all strength. “Finally…” He muttered as the lights grew brighter. “...I can end this.”

The lights formed an image in front of him.

The script was complete.

And in the distant forest, slowly dragging herself forward - Elara reached the endgame.