Chapter Fourteen

A blow to Eden’s side sends him flying out of the shadow creature’s grasp. Its hands clap the cobblestone pavement leaving large handprints, then it howls and crawls after Eleanor. Eden rolls on the ground and quickly looks up. "Eleanor!" He shouts.

The monster's hands fly straight at Eleanor; it waves around and smashes the ground like it's trying to swat a fly. She rapidly flips and jumps, but only barely out of its reach.

Eden lunges forward, quickly catching up behind the creature. "You're open!" He slams his fist into the side of the monster, sending it rolling across the pavement with its arms retracting and making a gurgling cry.

Eleanor drops to the floor. Eden comes running toward her as her chest bursts in and out of air. He reaches out to grab her hand to get back up. "What the hell is that thing?" Eden asks.

"You don't know? That's a Menace," Eleanor replies with a gasp.

"That's a Menace?" Eden exclaims with his eyebrow raised.

"How could you not know," Eleanor frowns at him.

"I've only seen poor drawings of those things in books, but I've never actually read anything about them. And did that thing grow taller?"

Eleanor shakes her head. "Menace are monsters that devour people's souls to make them stronger!" Her steel blades emerge from her palms as she prepares to fight.

The Menace growls in a distorted tone as it lies on the floor, facing the sky. Its body snaps around violently like it's in pain as it instantly rises, then the monster howls and throws its arms at them.

Eden grunts and quickly pivots to the side as Eleanor also dodges in the opposite direction of him. The arms don't stop; they squirm like snakes, then snap at him again and again. His heart pounds as fast as the wind, eyes zipping in all directions, and nerves screaming all over his body, barely escaping the Menace's grasp.

"I'll take on its hits while you go and kill it!" Eden shouts.

"Alright!" Eleanor yells back.

Eden pushes his muscles and charges in on the Menace. Shield up, he moves in. The shadow-like arms fill his vision with sharp white claws. He yells and bashes his shield against the hands, deflecting it, then knocks it away with his sword creating a path forward.

The monster screeches, deafening Eden’s ears; it pulls its arms back and darts. The claws of the beast rain down, but Eden lunges his shield and redirects the Menace's blow. Then he cuts at the monster, but it clashes with its claws. He groans. Eden jumps and swings his leg; the bottom of his shoe slams across the monster's face. But the Menace instantly snaps its head back at Eden and strikes his shield, making him stumble. In a blitz, the Menace wildly swings its claws. From the top of Eden's lungs, he yells louder as he gradually matches its speed and creates a storm with his Armaments. But his muscles ache, slowing him down. A sharp flash of pain pierces his side; the giant claws plunge into him with blood gushing out then Eden is knocked away, rolling across the street.

Eden presses his hand on the gash, soaking his hand in blood. A howl draws his gaze back up to the monster. It crawls toward him swaying left and right like it’s slithering. Eleanor approaches from behind; she jumps and directs her blades at the Menace. But the thing instantly snaps its head all the way around, twists its body, and catches her. Eden gasps.

The Menace lifts Eleanor up and opens its mouth. The jaws rip open and stretch until it's the size of her body. Her face pales as she squirms in the monster’s grip.

Eleanor! Eden growls and grunts, pushing himself off the ground. The pain at his side burns and his muscles cry out to stop him. Come on! Get up! He roars. GET UP! Eden shoots himself from the ground, biding through the pain. His sword high in the air, and with a shout, he rains it down on the jaws of the Menace. The blade smoothly cuts through the monster's jowl, stretching it even broader, dropping Eleanor to hold its wound as it screeches in pain while squirming.

Then the arms of the hideous monster grow; it swings them around, hitting both Eden and Eleanor to crash into nearby walls.

The Menace raises itself up while twitching its head. The gash that Eden had cut begins to move; it slowly stitches itself back together as if there was never a wound there. Then the monster releases a distorted howl that explodes the town with heavy winds, blowing dirt off the streets like smoke.

Eden stabs his sword into the ground to lift his shaking body up. So this is a Menace. It’s super strong. He thinks to himself while gritting his teeth and glares at the creature. Fighting it is what Legions are born to do. This is what the True Hero fought against in the stories. The book his mother read to him as a kid comes flashing in his mind. Eden tightens the grips on his Armaments and gets into his stance as the Menace ceases its cry and growls at the sky. “In that case, this’ll be my next step to become the True Hero!”

Dirt kicks up as Eden lunges forward at the beast. He yells at the top of his lungs with his shield raised. Without even looking at him, the arm of the Menace slithers rapidly, extending its length into meters long and clashes with him. Eden grunts; he spins and knocks the claws away with a spin kick, but the other arm comes swinging at him. He quickly slashes at it, warding it away from him and rushes forward.

The Menace finally snaps its head toward Eden, retracts its arms and swings them again. Eden slams his sword into the one on his right to the ground then lunges his shield upward to the other. Only a few yards away, he leaps forward and shouts. His fist whistles and slams into the Menace’s chest; it cries out as it stumbles. Eden quickly flips his sword, holding it reversed; the blade runs up through the monster’s body to its head as he jumps, then he spins and launches his foot and smashes it in the chin.

Arms flailing, the Menace falls to the ground with a loud thud. Eden wastes no time and charges. A small breath of air enters his body, giving his aching muscles enough strength to jump. Sword raised, Eden plummets and swings his blade.

But the Menace clasps Eden before his sword can connect. The claws dig into him, seeping blood. He screams, feeling his body being crushed in the monster’s grip, almost breaking him. He tries to struggle his way out of its grip, but the more he moves, the deeper the nails rip him. Dull colorless eyes meet his gaze; chills run down his spine as they stare deeply into almost like a void that’ll suck him in.

Then the Menace raises Eden above its head; a sudden gust of wind passes him as the monster brings him down and slams him on the ground. Eden lets out a piercing cry; Then the Menace roars and repeatedly slams him onto the cobblestone. Eden yelps at every impact, feeling his body crushed and pain erupting throughout his body.

“Let him go!” Eleanor yells as she stabs her blades into the Menace’s head.

The monster cries in a screeching roar and throws Eden; the hard cement looks like it’s running to tackle him then he crashes onto the ground. Everything around him is clouded with shadows around the edges of Eden’s vision. His body is heavy as if it’s made of lead, not able to feel anything. Air slowly flows in and out of his mouth, but a sharp pain pierces his lungs with every breath. Oh… no… I’m… losing… consciousness… Eden tries to let out a grunt and blinks his eyes, hoping to stay awake. But the dark clouds enshroud his vision.

Another roar. Steel clashes echo. Eleanor yelling in the distance… Silence.

* * *

Eleanor casts new blades from her palms as her swords break upon impact with the Menace’s claws. The roars of the beast deafens her, trembling her body and making it difficult to maintain her balance. Regardless, she keeps her steel edges up, watching the monster shoot its shadowy hand toward her, then she swings, cutting through its flesh. Eleanor widens her eyes. What? The cuts she made on the Menace’s arms had already disappeared? It already healed itself?

The white claws reach for Eleanor; she brings her blades up and crosses them against the monster. She glances over to Eden, unmoving. Her throat feels constricted as she pushes the worst outcomes out of her mind and puts all her focus on the Menace instead. Her legs skid across the ground, being pushed then thrown into the air. She yelps but maintains her eyes on the Menace; its thin arm swings at her. Eleanor flips in the air, dodging the attack as it sweeps right before her; she fails to land on her feet and falls on her back, breaking her swords again.

Another shriek.

Not wasting any time feeling the pain, Eleanor rolls out of the way as the Menace’s claws slams its hand print on the spot she was lying. Then she shoots off from the ground.

Blades reappear from Eleanor’s palms as she rushes forward as does the Menace. Her eyes narrow below its legs; she slightly crouches and zooms. The monster’s hands clasp together just after she passes right under it. With a yell, Eleanor slashes both of the Menace’s ankles, forcing it down on its knees, then one sweep, she swiftly swings her swords. Her weapons shatter into a million shards like the neck is made of the toughest mineral. Not even a single scratch or mark on it. What just happened?

The head of the Menace snaps around as it shrieks and swings its claws. More swords pop out of the portals; Eleanor slashes its palms but it’s also hard as a rock that it again breaks her blade and slams into her, sending her rolling across the dirt. Ignoring the pain again, she quickly rises back on her feet.

Thoughts blitz through her mind like a flash, remembering that she had cut through the Menace’s hand once before. With a narrow brow, she wonders how it broke her blades. But the monster doesn’t give her time to think at all; it rapidly crawls after her even after getting hit by Eden and slashed by her like there’s no such thing as rest for it. Eleanor dashes and pivots side to side, evading from oncoming slam attacks that break the ground. “It can also harden its flesh too,” she growls. “That’s why it can hit us hard and protect itself!”

The Menace roars. Eleanor glances back. It pounces. With gritted teeth, Eleanor stomps, stopping her in place then flips over the Menace. I need stronger blades! The thought of using more magic, makes her tremble and feel as though her heart is being tightly clutched.

But now is not the time to fear her own powers. It’s do or die! Through gritted teeth and clammy hands, the image of the faucet returns in Eleanor’s mind; the thin stream of water grows. She crosses her arms; the yellow ripple like portals glow brighter than before and steel swords appear once again.

Steel clashes against claws; sparks fly and light up like a small explosion. Eleanor grunts as she swings against the Menace’s rampaging arms, countering, knocking, and slashing away. Her blades maintained their durability with not a single dent in them, but so does the Menace, not a scratch. “I need more power!” Eleanor growls.

Yellow light radiates from the grimoire on Eleanor’s hip; she flips back, dodging a sweep from the Menace. Bladed chains appear from portals on her back and spread out, then Eleanor shouts and they fly straight at the monster, piercing through all four of its limbs, stopping it. A mild sensation of pain grows like a balloon ready to pop inside her, feeling the magic overwhelm her. Then the monster shrieks, crushing her head and making her stumble.

Even being bored through by the bladed chains doesn’t stop the Menace; it charges again like it's ignoring the pain.

Eleanor summons strength through her legs as she pushes herself off the ground and into the air. She shoots the swords from her hands that are now linked to chains as well and stabs through the Menace’s body. She grips the shackles and pulls them tightly and as well as the ones on her back. With a shout, she and the help of her blades drag the monster up into the air. As she drops, she pulls it down with all her might, slamming it onto the ground. Then Eleanor swings it around, spinning like a tornado and finally releasing her grip, ripping the shackles off of the Menace, sending it flying.

Two new bladed chains shoot from her back and pierces the Menace, Eleanor uses them to pull herself back into the air, flying straight at the monster. She roars, casting new swords in her palms and penetrate through its body with black ooze splashing on to her. Then gravity carries them and crashes back onto the town’s streets.

The Menace snarls weakly below Eleanor, giving her time to breathe, still holding the swords in its body. A heavy feeling weighs her head as sweat drips from the side of her cheek. She takes deep breaths to recover her energy for the monster is still not dead yet.

A low growl startles Eleanor with wide eyes. The Menace begins to move again. Eleanor groans and summons bladed chains from her back and stabs its limbs into the ground. “Stay. Down.”

Then Eleanor narrows her eyes. There in the center of the Menace’s chest. Blue smoke is emitting like it's from a candle. Is that the Menace’s core? It must be weak now that I can see the wisp. Stabbing through it will finally kill it. Raising one of her blades up, she plunges it.

Like tiny ghostly hands reaching for each other, the Menace’s skin instantly stitches together, covering its core. The steel blade breaks. It roars and juts from the ground, pushing through the blades that impale its limbs.

Eleanor gasps as the shadowy arms surround her and the jaws of the monster rip open to an abyss. Instantly, she opens a portal where it’ll bite and casts a blade. Its white sharp teeth sinks into her shoulder with blood drenching her clothes. The sword managed to stop the monster from ripping her, but she can feel its mouth tightening, crushing her flesh.

“More magic!”

The grimoire radiates in yellow light as it floats out of its holster and violently flips open. Waves of swords explode from all over her body; the blades destroy the already demolished homes around her and dig through the stone streets, exploding debris into the air. A stream of them stabs through the Menace, spraying black ooze like rain as it shrills out a high pitched shriek, crashing into buildings.

Eleanor clasps the tome shut, stopping the light from pouring out. Heart beats pound in her ears as she breathes heavily. Her head pangs, feeling light and dizziness with sweat raining from the sides like waterfalls. “Stop. Stop. Stop. Calm down. Just calm down,” she mutters while wincing. One by one, the bladed chains around her break into a million tiny sparks then disappear. Then the throbbing in her chests grows quiet to a more slower rhythm.

One last deep breath, Eleanor looks up toward the smoke ahead of her where she thrusted the Menace. She listens. Wind whispers into her ear and the calm pounding of her heart is all she can hear. “Did I do it?”

Gravel cracks.

Eleanor flinches.

A dark silhouette inside the smoke sways from side to side.

“It’s no-”

A shrilled roar bursts, blowing away the cloud surrounding it.

Eleanor holds her ground while partly covering her eyes from the gust of dirt flying. Then the cry ceases. And there it is; the Menace still standing tall, facing the night sky. There are holes everywhere on its body that she bore through with her blades except for the chest. It stitches itself back together, but the Menace seems thinner than before. One of its legs is shorter than the other.

“It doesn’t heal at all. All of the black ooze it loses makes it smaller. It’s repairing itself with whatever it has left of its body.” Eleanor crosses her arms and casts swords from her palms.

Blue flames flare from the Menace’s chest and engulf around it. Black horns grow out of its head, and its claws become longer. Sharp bones sprout around its body forming a rib cage and blade like claws on its elbows and shoulders. The fire dissipates in an instant, revealing the Menace slightly glowing purple like a dark amethyst gem. In the center of its chest, it exposes the wisp, its core.

With wide eyes, Eleanor shudders. “D-did it just transform?” She looks down at its legs. One of them is still shorter. “Looks like it's still weakened after all the blades I threw at it.” Even if one of its limbs is smaller, it doesn't make Eleanor drop her guard or feel relaxed yet. Infact, her heart is racing and her body trembles as she stares at the Menace just standing there, looking through her.

Eleanor lunges forward, closing the distance and swings. She gasps. The Menace cocks its head with a crack. Run. The word bellow in her mind, stopping her from going any closer. As unseen as the night. Blood splatters across the pavement.

* * *

It’s warm. Chirping birds echo along with the singing wind; golden leaves glow bright under the blinding sun as they fall all around like rain. “Yo, Eden!”

Like a gust of wind, Eden wavers with shock. He rapidly blinks his surroundings. The golden forest in Saltwater Wood. “W-what?” Now that he’s looked around, the whole place seems to be more intense to the eye that he has to squint his eyes.

“Eden!”

Tuning his head he narrows his brows, Sanders stands just a few feet from him with his arms crossed while holding a notebook in one hand. “Sanders? What are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here? I’m turning you into a Legion, that’s what I’m doing here.”

“What?”

“Stop being in a daze and get back into stance! Continue shadow boxing!”

Without realizing it, Eden raises his arms up and spreads his feet apart. He throws a few punches in the air. One, two, then an elbow, a hook, then swings his leg.

“Again!”

One. Two. Elbow. Hook. Then kick.

“Faster!”

One, two, elbow, hook, then kick.

“Stronger!”

One, two. Elbow…

“Eden, why’d you stop!”

Without answering Sanders, Eden stares down at the brightly lit ground. “What am I doing?” He tries to think but it’s like his thoughts are frozen. It feels as though he has forgotten something or is it like being trapped?

“Eden, what’s wrong?” Leaves crunch under Sanders’s footsteps as he approaches him.

Meeting his uncle’s gaze, Eden frowns. “I’m not sure. I… I don’t know what I’m even doing.”

“You’re training to be a Legion. Are you doing okay, son?”

“A Legion…” Eden trails off and looks back down to the ground. “Uncle, what if I’m not strong enough? What if I can’t make it to my dream” What if I die?”

There’s silence for a while before Sanders sighs. “Are you afraid, Eden?”

“Maybe, I’m not sure.”

“Son, do you remember your dream?”

Eden lifts his gaze off the ground and raises an eyebrow at Sanders. “My dream? Yeah I remember my dream. It’s always in-”

“Then what’s your dream?” Sanders interrupts him with a more stern voice.

“My dream is… is to become the True Hero and go on adventures beyond Basintroll’s gates.”

Sanders nods his head. “Good, then you won’t die, Eden.”

“How do you know? What makes you so sure, uncle?”

Sanders crosses his arms. “You have a dream. And as long as you have that dream, you’ll never die.”

“But what if I’m not strong enough?”

“You are.”

A weight inside Eden’s chest lightens as he holds a strong eye contact with Sanders.

“You’re stronger than you think. Stop doubting yourself. You won’t know how truly strong you are until you push.”

Eden slightly nods along to Sanders’s words.

“So, what’s your dream?” Sanders smirks.

Eden returns with a curved smile as he huffs. “I’m going to become the True Hero.”

“That’s right! Now get up and show em how strong you are!”

Eden cocks his head, raising an eyebrow. “Get up?”

“Yes, get up.”

“But I am up.”

“No you're not.”

“I'm standing in front of you.”

“Get up.”

“Bu-”

“GET UP!”

* * *

A gasp of air enters into Eden’s lungs as his eyes shoot open and body jolts up. He hears a scream to his right. Blood flies across the night sky like rain. Eleanor falls onto the hard stone pavement, and the Menace, now looking more menacing than before pounces toward her.

Eden’s legs twitch. Instantly rising from the ground and tightly gripping his shield, he hurls it across the air. A high pitch humming sound sings as it spins then crashes into the Menace, knocking it out of its jump.

Then Eden leaps into the air, catching his shield back into his arm. The Menace rises, still going for Eleanor. “Oh no, you don’t!” With the plummeting momentum, he raises his fist and slams it down on the monster, kicking up clouds of dirt. The shadow-like slender fingers encroach around his Armament. Eden grunts and pushes the Menace to stay down. “Eleanor, are you okay?” he yells.

“I’m fine, just a scratch. Eden, I thought you were dead!”

Eden smirks. “I can’t die, not when I still have a dream!” The Menace growls as his arm is being pushed back. “I’m gonna need some back up here!”

The Menace lurches up and spreads its hands around Eden. A chain wraps around his waist and yanks him back just before the large hands slam on the ground. She’s using chains now! Eden flips backward and up on his feet, then Eleanor’s shackles disappear. Armaments up, he swings his weapons clashing and countering against the Menace’s attacks. White claws shine into Eden’s eyes, his arm twitches, bringing the shield up. With a loud bang, he’s knocked off his feet; he catches a glimpse of Eleanor above him as she comes down swinging her leg then shoots a barrage of swords, pushing it down before grabbing Eden’s arm and dragging him to a safe distance away.

The Menace writhes itself back up and howls. “Doesn't this thing know how to be tired?” Eden groans as he rises up on shaky legs then tightening the grip on his Armaments, and gets into stance.

“The core,” Eleanor puffs.

“Core?”

“Yes, on its chest.”

Eden stares at the blue smoke like flame emitting from the Menace. “Is that like its weak spot?”

Eleanor nods. “But it can harden the skin around it, making it hard to pierce it.”

“Great.” Eden groans as the Menace snaps its head at them. “For now, follow my lead, I’ll ward off its attacks and make an opening for you toward its core.”

“Alright, let’s do it!”

The Menace charges, stretching out its limbs and waving them around while wreaking the pavement around it.

Just as Eden is about to lunge, he flinches. “W-what was that?”

“What’s wrong, Eden?” Eleanor questions.

His eyes burn.

What the hell is going on? Why do my eyes hurt? Eden hastily rubs his eyes to get rid of what’s bothering him but a glimpse shows the Menace closing in. “Forget it, I’m fine!” He charges while rapidly blinking, hearing Eleanor’s voice calling out to him from behind.

Shadowy hands rampage through, smashing the ground and exploding debris up into the air. From the dust cloud, claws emerge. Eden gasps and quickly lunges his shield against it, bouncing it off. The other arm comes whirling in his peripheral vision; he rotates his body, using the spinning momentum to boost his blade’s swing, knocking it to the ground. Dashing forward, he swirls his Armaments against all incoming attacks, forcing a straight path toward the Menace. His eyes burn. He flinches.

Bam!

Eden yelps as he’s knocked to the side; he cracks an eye open, seeing Eleanor and the Menace trade blows. Get up! Eden instantly rises back to his feet and rushes in. He swings his shield, tossing it. But the monster breaks Eleanor’s blades and bashes her away then snaps its head around and smacks the shield out of the air. Eden dashes and picks his Armament back up. A claw swings toward him, he spins and kicks it away. But the other arm of the Menace fills his vision, grabbing him. His body is crushed in its grip then he’s pushed toward a wall and crashes.

Blood drips from the side of Eden’s head as he grunts. Then the Menace spins, wind blasting around him then the grip around him loosens and in the air he flies and crashes into another building. He falls onto the ground with a loud thud, feeling pain aching throughout his body and the warmth of his blood on his clothes. I’m losing strength again. The world spins and zooms in and out of view and every breath is like a dagger to the chest. Pushing himself off the ground with the little stamina he has left, he looks up.

Eleanor steadily backs away as she parries the Menace’s attacks, but her moves look slower like she’s out of breath. Her blades shatter again as the Menace slashes her arm, blood spilling. Then a bright yellow light bursts like a great flame; bladed chains appear from behind Eleanor. Some of them pierce through parts of the monster while others bounce off like they’re blunt.

However, that doesn’t stop the Menace as it still charges. The warded chains go flying back and wrap around its limbs then stabbing into the ground like an anchor. But it still can’t hold it back. The Menace rips the chains off of it as it roars a high pitch screech and reaches its long arms toward Eleanor. Sparks fly. Eleanor screams.

Eden gasps. “Stop!” He clenches his teeth causing pain in his jaw. Don’t be weak! Get up! A low growl utters from his throat. It doesn’t matter how strong that thing is! Get up! His snarl turns into a roar as he forces his aching muscles to push him off the ground. Get up! Ignoring the searing pain, it numbs out like there’s no wound at all. Get up and save her! Eden summons strength into his body. You’re a Legion!

Eden lunges forward. Fist raised and tightened, nails digging into his palm. He shouts, shooting his arm as it whistles in the wind. An explosive sound booms as Eden smashes his shield into the side of the Menace, sending it rolling and dropping his friend.

“Eden!”

Keep going! Bashing his shield and slashing his sword, Eden beats the Menace with strikes and cuts everywhere. But it throws its arms up, deflecting his attacks.

The flaming sensation in his eyes forces Eden to raise his shield as claws clash against it. Damn these eyes! What’s wrong with them! He cracks one open, barely able to see the Menace swinging its arms. Then his shield gets knocked off as the sharp nails slices a gash in his arm, warm blood spilling. Eyes wide open and burning; the sky covered in darkness by the Menace’s hand.

I’m going to die…

Fragments of Eden’s faceless mother reading to him, fishing with his father on the docks, eating at the bar with the other fishermen, and training Sanders all flip through his mind like a book. Seeing every event blink before him.

What’s your dream? Sanders’s words echo through his thoughts, disrupting the flashing images. As long as you have that dream, you’ll never die.

Eden grits his teeth. Eyes flaring. But something feels and seems different. His body, light with a warm sensation coursing through his body. And his eyes still burn, but somehow, he sees it. The Menace’s move. From above, white claws rain down; Eden quickly pivots to the side, letting it pass by him. It's going to sweep with its arm. And it does; the Menace swings its other arm, covering a broad area like he thought. Eden vaults over it with ease. More and more attacks run rampant toward him, but something inside him knows where it’ll strike, allowing him to evade every single one.

But how did Eden know? Did he foresee a future? No, he can’t do that; there are no visions coming to him. And he’s a One Star; he can’t use magic. All he knows is that his eyes burn and his body feels light. But none of that matters now. He understands how to anticipate the Menace’s movement and attacks, giving him a chance to win this fight. Go!

His eyes zip around following the Menace’s movements as he charges in. I see it! Eden twitches. Instantly, he ducks, sidesteps, twists, and flips out of every arm shooting at him.

Now in front of the shadowy monster, Eden thrusts his sword into its chest. It doesn’t go through and instead pounds into the monster, knocking it back. He shouts and throws punches and stabs at the center, ignoring the pain in his arm and pummeling the creature into submission. Before I run out of strength, I gotta give it everything I got! Protect Eleanor!

Eden roars. His leg becoming a blur, lands a blow to the side of the Menace, kicking it across the ground. Not stopping, he chases after it and repeatedly bashes the Menace. Claws fill his vision as Eden instantly sways to the side, gusts of wind flipping his hair up. The Menace writhe itself back up, screeching. Eden’s eyes zip around, catching the Menace's every move and dodging them. With every opening he sees, he lunges his fist and cuts with his blade.

There. Eden widens his eyes. Across the creature's chest, is a thin slit, seeping more blue smoke. A cut? Did it get weakened after getting hit so many times? He gasps. In his peripheral vision, claws rapidly approach him. Shit!

Clang!

Eleanor pops into Eden’s view and deflects the Menace with her blades. “Eleanor!” Claws come sweeping, he swings his sword and wards it off, closing in, then the Menace jumps back and shrieks, throwing its arms. Eden charges with Eleanor by his side.

“Eden, take this!”

Eleanor tosses his shield, using her chains from her back, and he quickly snatches it out of the air, “Thanks!” He slips his arm through, gripping it tightly. “Keep hitting it, its flesh around the core gets weaker!”

“Alright, let’s end this!”

Then Eden dashes forward in front of Eleanor as she then rushes to where he was, like in a zigzag formation, he switches places with her running forward. Another shriek from the Menace then it launches its arms, flailing, leaving claw marks all over the cobblestones and smashing the ground into rubble. Holding his shield up, Eden lunges forward, bashing against an arm. He spins with Eleanor zooming from behind him like a bullet, she swings her blades, clashing with the monster. Then Eden rotates in, deflecting another attack and swaps places with Eleanor all the way toward the Menace like there’s no obstacle stopping them.

Now in front of the Menace, Eden clobbers it with chains of punches and slashes as does Eleanor with her blades and kicks. More cuts around its chest make the monster screech, then it tries to run, but Eden swiftly comes in from the side and stops it. Then simultaneously he swings his leg along with Eleanor, knocking it feets away.

“Keep going!” Eden shouts. “Don’t stop!” Together with Eleanor, Eden quickly approaches the Menace with his sword raised.

He yelps. Blood spraying from somewhere on his body; Eden can feel his strength pouring out. But he doesn’t stop as the Menace is just in front of him. Don’t give up! Or Eleanor and I will both die! He roars, crushing his lungs and pushing everything into this one last attack. A burst of energy explodes throughout his body, empowering him as his sword pierces the wind next to Eleanor’s as she also shouts.

The blades finally plunge into the Menace’s core. Blue-like flames erupt like a volcano, shining in the streets. The Menace screeches louder than ever; its body flailing out of control like it’s trying to get away but is stuck to the swords. Then it just stops. The eyes of the Menace darken and dull. Its arms fall to its sides, and its body hangs, lifeless.

Eden slowly pulls his sword out of the Menace's body while Eleanor’s blade disappears into little lights, and the dead monster falls over with its mouth wide open.

"We did it," Eleanor exhales.

Eden falls back with a loud thud.

"Eden!"

"Finally... That was scary," Eden sighs.

"We still have to patch you up."

"No, it's fine. We'll do that tomorrow." Eden waves his hand. "I'm dead tired."

"If you sleep now, you will be." Eleanor unbuttons his shirt and gasps. "I'll go and see if the infirmary has anything. I'll be back."

"Yeah, yeah, take your time." Eden weakly waves his hand again at Eleanor as he slowly closes his eyes, feeling clouded with every second.

"You better not die on me!"

Eleanor dashes as Eden begins to lose consciousness. And the burning in his eyes ceased.