Blessed Knight of Norwin

BANG

Another bullet is spent, but Bermar is once again unscathed. This time, he brings the fight to close quarters.

"Stand aside, Beast! This is not a man to protect!"

Whenever he attempts to get close, Peo is always aware of his location and blocks his attacks. I fire a bullet in return, forcing him to teleport away. This cycle repeats several times until I'm forced to reload.

"Very well, take this!"

He thrusts his blade downwards and the mountain begins to shake.

"C."

"I know."

I draw my blade and charge forwards without providing an explanation to Peo. Fortunately, the beast is quick to understand my thoughts and pushes ahead of me.

Dirt gives way for the sharpened stone to strike upwards. It may have caught me by surprise before, but I can feel the difference in the vibrations beneath my feet. While I may not have the senses to determine the direction they will pierce, I can at least figure out the location.

Together, Peo and I charge through the storm of spears born from his magic. The nimble beast steps and leans in just the right ways to avoid taking hits. Meanwhile, I manage to get by with small scratches here and there.

"Wha—!"

Bermar's eyes widen with shock and he increases the onslaught. Unfortunately for him, it does not keep us at bay.

"Peo."

I stab forward with my shortsword. Bermar has no issue defending against me, but the same cannot be said about the blue shield threatening his neck.

"ARGH!"

He lets out quite the distressed scream for somebody who collapsed into mist from the impact. The knight appears beside the treeline completely unscathed.

BANG

My finger is quick, hoping to draw even the slightest bit of blood from our opponent.

"Tch…"

He had less than a second to teleport away, but he still managed to do so. This time, his new location was barely a step away from the previous one. While Bermar remains uninjured, his eyes betray a fear that was not present before.

"It appears that speed is our key…"

"Stay back!"

When we attempt another frontal assault, a wall of stone erupts forth to block our path.

"Grrr!"

One strike is all Peo requires to bring Bermar's face back into view. The knight has given up on trying to use his sword against the beast, instead allowing himself to be turned to dust.

"HAH!"

He is behind me, his weapon tearing through the air towards my neck. However, it never feels anything other than the wind. It takes Bermar several seconds to realise that I'm now crouched beneath him.

"Huh!?"

"Too predictable."

I stab my blade into his leg. It's another miss, one that allows him to appear on my other side.

"Grrr!"

Peo dashes to my side, rolling over my back to block his counterattack. I shoot him with my next bullet and he appears nearby. He must have miscalculated the distance as I need only step back to avoid the next swing. Our combination of melee attacks destroys his form again. However, I'm not the target this time.

"Sorry, kid."

I extend my leg and plant the bottom of my boot onto Peo's back. She rolls to the side just as a shining sword crashes down onto the spot she previously occupied. After my next shot, Bermar is once again swinging at me. Of course, Peo has more than recovered and brought us back to the status quo.

Fighting stops for a moment as all parties briefly catch their breaths.

"This is going nowhere…"

No matter how well we fight, Bermar cannot be touched. He can make as many mistakes as he wishes with such power. For us, any lapse of focus will leave us at the mercy of his blade. Just as my power has a limitation, surely his must as well.

"Peo, can you fight him alone?"

She turns away from our enemy to show me those round green eyes. I haven't so much as given her a plan of action, yet she offers me a firm nod.

"I…trust C."

"Thanks, kid."

I take a few steps back before firing my next shot at Bermar. My revolver takes a second to reload as Peo dashes to meet him at his new location.

Peo fights aggressively, finding gaps in his defences and breaking his illusion within seconds of the previous one. She seems to have realised that it doesn't matter where you strike him. If his form is false, then it breaks under any pressure that doesn't hit his sword.

Bermar struggles to keep up with her swings as the beast seems to know exactly which direction he's going to appear. Regardless, he is always able to evade. With each teleportation, he aims closer to where I stand.

"There must be something…"

I continue to watch the combat. Not a single detail escapes me, be it the expression on his face or even the placement of his feet.

Suddenly, a quick gust of wind pushes through the mountainside. The currents of air seem to have also freed the sun from its prison of clouds. Light returns to the land and I finally notice the one piece out of place.

"Now I get it…"

I wouldn't have been able to see it within a world of shadows, but his weakness is clear now that I can truly see.

"Peo! To me!"

A pair of sandy ears twitch and the beast is now sprinting back to my position. Bermar's body gives chase, but that isn't what I'm looking for.

"We finish this now!"

I shout with the same energy as Bermar did at the start. With my blade drawn in both hands, I dash towards the Blessed Knight and meet his blade with mine. Even as a fake, the force behind his grip is overwhelming. It takes all of my strength to hold him back as Peo watches within striking distance.

"Quite the convenient skill you have there. Some kind of magic item?"

"The cloak of shadows. An artefact unfit for a villain like you!"

Our eyes are locked in place, his filled with anger and mine watching something else entirely. We both believe that victory is ours, but only I know who is correct.

"Hero. Villain. Those are just titles, labels we put to represent what we like and don't like."

"Silence! Your evil ramblings have no weight on me!"

"Call me evil, but at least I don't live a personal fantasy where everything is exactly the way I want it."

Bermar doesn't expect the sudden pressure behind my blade. For only a brief moment, I'm pushing the knight backwards.

"The world is much more complex than your own idea of 'good' and 'evil'."

"Understand what is right! A monster without morals has no place with your power! Beg the goddess for forgiveness with your death!"

The Blessed Knight forces distance between us and readies his blade to put an end to my life.

"Your fantasy has no happy ending…"

I sheath my shortsword and summon my revolver. He charges straight forward with a heavy downward swing, one I stand no chance of blocking. I should be aiming the barrel between his eyes, but I am not. My arm instead moves sideways.

"Peo."

A flash of blue and the gallant figure of Bermar disappears, but not without his face twisting in horror. When the shadows reveal his true form, I've already pulled the trigger.

BANG

"Ah…"

"You seem to quite like the goddess, so you should be the one to visit her."

Bermar has his blade raised over his head, but does not push any further towards me. Like a statue, he stands in shock as a trail of blood flows from the hole in his chest.

"Tell her about those 'morals' of yours. Your 'right' and 'wrong' will die with you, so she will be the last to hear them."

His blade falls to the side as he drops to one knee. Red appears from both his nose and lips, strength completely lost to that once unbeatable form. Bermar's eyes don't stare at me with rage anymore, instead drilling holes into the ground with pure despair.

I raise my gun once more, the barrel almost touching the top of his head.

"After all, who will agree with them if you aren't alive to preach?"

BANG

A bright red light fires from my hand and puts an end to the Blessed Knight of Norwin.