As Elizabeth whispered the incantation, Grey's instincts screamed.
He bolted backward just as blinding light erupted in front of him. A figure began to materialize solidifying from pure radiance into a knight clad in resplendent golden armor, covering him from head to toe like a divine sentinel.
Grey's body tensed.
A summoned warrior.
On the other side, Elizabeth, enduring the pain from her injuries, turned and fled deeper into the forest, gritting her teeth as she vanished from Grey's immediate reach.
Grey made a move to chase her down but the knight charged forward, sword raised high, blocking his path.
Clang!
Their blades collided, and Grey was launched backward by sheer brute force. His arms trembled from the impact.
This strength, it's almost at the level of a transition state soldier! I underestimated this thing.
The golden knight pressed the advantage, advancing without pause. Each swing of its blade was relentless, giving Grey no time to think, no room to strategize.
Blow after blow rained down. Dozens of exchanges passed, and Grey found himself on the backfoot.
Then his eyes caught something.
The spear he had thrown at Elizabeth earlier, lying in the grass.
Without hesitation, he sprinted toward it.
The knight seemed to sense his intent and lunged forward to intercept him.
Just as they were about to clash, a sword fell from the sky, crashing down on the knight's helmet clang! but it failed to pierce the armor.
Grey gritted his teeth.
Damn. It didn't work.
That sword was part of his plan thrown straight up earlier to strike from a blind angle while he baited the knight toward it.
Frustrated but composed, Grey snatched the spear off the ground and lunged forward.
This time, he unleashed a flurry of rapid strikes, using the reach of the spear and his agility to press the attack. But the knight's defenses were solid every blow was met, every thrust turned aside.
Grey feinted an overhead strike and suddenly aimed for the knight's neck but again, the knight deflected the blow and shoved him back.
The knight retaliated. Grey parried using one end of the spear and immediately spun, striking with the opposite end. The counter forced the knight back a step.
Minutes passed in the heated duel steel meeting steel, dirt flying, blood staining the grass.
Finally, Grey maneuvered closer to where his sword had fallen.
He launched the spear at the knight's neck again a decoy.
The knight raised his guard to block, and in that moment, Grey dove, reclaimed his sword, and pressed forward in a relentless flurry of strikes.
Then the knight raised his sword high and brought it down.
But this time, Grey didn't parry with his blade.
Instead, he raised his bare hands.
The blade pierced through his palm flesh tore, bone cracked, blood spilled.
Pain unlike anything he had felt surged through his body but he held the sword there, locking it in place with his own flesh.
And in that instant, with a roar, he drove his blade into the knight's neck.
Slice!
The golden helmet flew into the air and thudded to the ground. The summoned knight froze, and then, like mist dispersing, vanished into thin air.
Grey collapsed to one knee, breathing heavily. His vision swam, his hand throbbed in agony.
Without hesitation, he tore strips from his clothes, tied them around the wound, and packed it with dirt to stop the bleeding.
But he didn't rest.
No victory celebration. No relief.
Gritting his teeth, still enduring the searing pain, Grey rose and sprinted deeper into the jungle, his figure vanishing into the shadows