Chapter 23 - Ambush

The three of them crept into the building, carefully observing their surroundings. The entrance led to a long corridor that opened into a larger open area, with multiple doors leading to other branching rooms. Most of the furniture seemed to have been either stolen or destroyed, based on the splintered pieces of wood and drag marks on the floor and walls. Large sections of the wall were missing paint, exposing the rotting wood underneath. Little chunks were taken out of the wall where light fixtures would have been installed.

Tetsuo and the two knights walked down the corridor, clearing each room as they walked past. The rooms were relatively empty, with some indicating recent signs of life with food scraps or freshly burnt wood. 

They entered the living room searching for where the alleged rogues were. Although larger and more open, the area barely differed from any they had seen already. A broken couch. illuminated by sunlight creeping through a boarded up window, sat towards the back wall. A carpet covered the center of the room, faded with patches of the fabric having already fallen out.

The dark haired knight knelt down next to the carpet and picked up a corner. He let go, sending an oddly miniscule amount of dust into the air. He picked up the corner again and began to pull the carpet to the side of the room. Underneath it was a small hatch carved into the floor.

“Knew it! It’s always under the carpet. When will they learn…” He smiled to himself proudly, before opening the hatch. Underneath was a short dirt staircase, carved into the ground beneath them, that led underneath the house.

“You lead?” The blonde knight asked Tetsuo. He nodded in response.

“Cover me though.” Tetsuo walked slowly down the stairs attempting to minimize the sounds he had been making. Regardless, the wood creaked with every step he took, and he flinched each time he heard it. He reached the bottom of the stairs and stood in front of a hastily installed wooden door, turning the segment on his middle finger preemptively. The three of them stood near the door and quietly Tetsuo turned the handle. He pushed it open and peered inside, only able to see a foot ahead of them, where the light from behind them could reach. There were some carpets, but the rest of the room was in complete darkness.

Tetsuo took a few steps forward into the room. From the darkness, sand was thrown into his eyes, blinding him and making him stagger backwards. He felt his back press against the door, so he reached for the handle. Tetsuo wrestled with the handle but the door refused to open, sealing him inside. Tetsuo banged at the door shouting, until he was able to see again. Oddly enough the room was now illuminated and he could see what was within it.

A figure stood inside holding a torch in one hand, and a dagger in the other. They wore a cloak lined with gold thread, and hid their mouth with a rag they had wrapped around their face. Beside them stood four more similarly dressed goons, two on each side, with more modest silver threads rather than gold. For a brief moment they watched Tetsuo and he watched them.

“Ignacium tol arven!” 

After the gold threaded leader spoke these words the tallest figure furthest to the right ran towards Tetsuo. He lunged at him, holding the knife outwards in a reverse grip. Tetsuo reached to adjust the setting on his glove, but the tall attacker threw the knife at it, forcing Tetsuo to pull back his good hand. The figure stepped back and drew a second knife from within their robe. They assumed the same stance and ran at him again. 

Tetsuo reached out and attempted to grab the knife with his gauntlet. When he wrapped his fingers around the blade of the knife, the hooded figure let go and ducked backwards, as one of the other hooded figures threw a knife over him, slashing Tetsuo’s shoulder.

“Argh!” Tetsuo recoiled backwards into the door again, clenching his shoulder with his empty hand. He could feel the warmth of his blood as it trickled through his fingers. His heart raced as he did his best to dismiss it. Before he could gather himself, the assault continued, two of them alternating swipes at Tetsuo, who struggled to keep up with both of them. 

Even if he blocked one, the other would retaliate to give the first a moment to retreat. More cuts kept appeared over his arms and legs as they targeted the small areas that were hardly armored or exposing skin. While the wounds weren’t deep, the pain made it hard for Tetsuo to focus. He could feel his vision becoming blurry as he struggled to come up with a plan to survive.

Tetsuo recklessly body slammed the two of them, knocking them back but taking more cuts than he had wanted. The body slam gave him the opportunity to quickly twist the index finger of the glove, and snap it into position. One of the assailants threw their knife at Tetsuo’s exposed hand and tore open the outside, but he grunted and ignored it. 

Tetsuo concentrated and balled his hand into a fist, raising it in the air. It glowed quickly before illuminating the entire room with blinding light. Tetsuo frantically swapped the positions of the index and middle fingers rotations. He balled his hand into a fist and felt the Ars flow into the gauntlet making it heavier. He swung at the assailant to his right, striking them clear in the chest and cracking open the wall they landed against. The other assailant attempted to retreat, but Tetsuo grabbed them by their face, before slamming it into the ground.

Three left.

Adrenaline rushed through his body as he assessed his own condition. Tetsuo was rarely injured on missions given how most of the people he dealt with were inexperienced in proper combat, so this amount of tenacity and bloodlust was fresh to him. He had no time to breathe as he needed to stay on the offensive, regardless of what the assailants were doing. If he gave them a chance to find their bearings, he wouldn’t be able to survive another synchronized attack.

Tetsuo grabbed the leg of the assailant he had slammed into the ground and swung them into the gold threaded cultist. The cultist dropped the torch, clattering and extinguishing as it hit the ground. The room was returned to darkness. Tetsuo’s eyes couldn’t adjust but their assault didn’t seem to be done yet. He swung around wildly thrashing attempting to strike anyone he could find within arms reach.

The next moments were blurry. He’d feel someone in his clasp, and strike them, while receiving a new cut or two. He had no vision or ideas for escaping this ambush. All he could do was continue fighting until he found a way. He couldn’t tell when he had defeated them, and he didn’t know how long he’d have to fight for. He felt like he was dripping from all the wounds on his body, and each strike he landed felt like a desperate attempt to stay alive. All he could do was hold on.