Unwavering Courage

The first hound attacked before Kazuma’s boots were fully in the sewage water.

It moved like mercury, its teeth buzzing with deadly high-frequency sound.

Kazuma didn’t try to stand. He couldn’t.

His left arm was limp by his side, a heavy weight of skin and silver pieces stuck in his flesh.

He used instinct moving his hips and raising his katana in one quick upward strike with his right hand.

The gravity stone in the handle shone angry blue.

BAM

A quick burst of gravity hit the jumping hound in mid-air.

The creature stopped moving. It fell face first into the water just inches away from Kazuma’s boots.

Without pause Kazuma swung the blade down like a hammer.

CLANG

The strong hit broke the hound’s center.

The creature exploded. Many small silver needles fell into the water splashing and losing their shine.

One down.

Two more in the passage.

The other two needle hounds moved apart using the walls of the sewer pipe.

They moved along the concrete like silver spiders their metal legs making loud noises.

Kazuma’s vision got blurry with red.

The pain in his shoulder was more than just pain; it was a burning fire that burned his left side.

Ignore it, he told himself biting his lip until he tasted blood. 'Pain is a message'

He put mana into his blade.

The blue light got bigger, casting strong moving shadows on the wet walls of the underground tunnel.

The hound on the right jumped first aiming straight for his throat.

Kazuma ducked, letting his knees hit the water.

The creature flew over his head just missing him.

As it passed Kazuma made a backhand swing with the katana.

The edge hit the hound’s side.

CRACK

The creature’s body broke, splitting into pieces that fell to the brick wall.

Two down.

The third hound didn’t jump. It learned.

It moved low across the water its mouth open to grab Kazuma’s legs.

Kazuma couldn’t move. Falling to his knees had taken his movement.

Instead he changed his grip on the katana. Pushed the tip down into the floor right between his feet.

BOOM

He made a shockwave of energy that exploded into the water.

A jet of sewage and air shot out in a ten-foot circle.

The hound was thrown back its shape messed up. Confused.

Kazuma got up from the mess his legs shaking from tiredness.

He went close before the hound could fix itself.

With one hand he chopped down into the silver mass.

The gravity stone stopped its pull. The hound turned into an oily mess.

Silence came back to the sewer only broken by Kazuma’s breaths.

He was alone in the water chest moving fast body wet with sweat and cold blood.

He checked his strength. His mana was than fifteen percent.

His left shoulder was ruined. The silver needles in his body were trying to match the Colossus

Each pulse made him feel sick.

He lifted his hand grabbed the biggest silver needle near his collarbone and pulled.

Nnnngh!

A loud cry came from his throat.

Blood came out splashing into the water. The needle came out.

He dropped it. It went into the sewer floor.

He couldn’t take out the rest; without bleeding to death in the dark. He had to keep moving.

High through the far-up shafts the underground sound was still going.

The Colossus was still losing.

It was sending smaller creatures into the city streets trying to get rid of the people fighting back.

Each one that came out made the giant weaker.

This is working, Kazuma realized, a smile on his face.

The plan was good. He just needed to live enough to do it.

Click-click-click.

The sound came from the dark tunnel.

It wasn’t three hounds this time.

The dark tunnel ahead started to glow with cold silver light.

A group was coming through the sewage system.

Five. Eight. Ten liquid mercury creatures moving toward him like a rising wave of blades.

Kazuma tightened his grip on the katana his hands white.

His single hand grip was shaky. His body was failing.

"You want my energy?" Kazuma whispered, his voice rough. "Take it", he started to walk forward.

His heavy boots made noise in the water moving with a steady beat toward the group.

The first hound charged, moving fast as it went down the pipe.

Kazuma waited. Three feet. Two feet.

He didn’t swing. He made a gravity shift under his boots sending himself upward.

His head almost touched the ceiling.

He passed over the hound completely landing behind it in the deep water.

Before the group could fix Kazuma swung wide.

SWISH-BOOM!

A big blue arc of energy cut through the tunnel.

The tight shape of the pipe made the shockwave stronger like a pressure cooker.

The first three hounds were crushed against the walls breaking into dust.

The shockwave came back shaking the rest of the group.

Kazuma didn’t stop. He became a spinning storm of armed attacks.

Step forward. Strike.

Crack A hound’s core broke.

Step back. Block.

Thud A creature was hit into the water.

He wasn’t fighting with clean Vanguard moves. He was cutting.

Every hit was planned to use the space of the sewer forcing the creatures into tight spots where their numbers didn’t help.

Blood came from his shoulder making his chest dark red. His eyes stayed on the targets.

One by one the silver hounds broke.

One by one the underground floor was covered in unaligned needles.

With one strong slash Kazuma cut the last hound in half.

Its shape dissolved, splashing into the water.

Kazuma fell back leaning against the brick wall.

The katana fell from his fingers the blade splashing into the sewage.

He slid down the wall sitting in the water.

His breath was rough and wet.

The dark tunnel around him was quiet again filled with floating energy and the smell of ozone and iron.

He looked at his hands. They were shaking badly.

His mana was gone. The gravity stone in his katana was dark and cold.

He had survived the attack. He had killed the group.

Above him in the city the high-frequency hum of the Shiver-Colossus changed.

It was slight. It was there. A tiny shift, in the giant’s field.

It was losing mass.

Kazuma reached out with his hand his muddy blood-covered fingers taking hold of the hilt of his fallen sword.

He pulled it closer.

He wasn’t dead yet.. While he could still breathe the battle would keep going.