The clock tower was silent.
Too silent.
Kyle's eyes snapped open before the faint click even reached him. His instincts screamed. Something was moving outside—slow, deliberate.
He pushed to his feet, his hand already at his side. Blood welled from a small cut he reopened with his nail, and a crimson blade began to coil into shape.
"Kyle?" Gia's voice was low, groggy.
He didn't look back. "Wake Felix. Now."
Gia moved without question, nudging Felix hard enough to jolt him from sleep. His eyes darted to Kyle's expression and immediately lost any trace of tiredness.
"Hunter?" Felix whispered.
Kyle nodded once.
The First Blow
The door didn't break with a crash—it dissolved inwards as if eaten away by the air itself. A thick shadow seeped inside, and from it stepped the Hunter, his black armor glinting in the pale dawn light.
"You ran far," the Hunter's voice was calm, almost casual. "But far is never far enough."
Felix was already pulling knives from his belt. "You're up early for someone about to die."
Kyle stepped forward, his voice low and lethal. "Stay away from her."
The Hunter's gaze shifted to Gia. "She has gifts… hidden ones. She'll fetch a high price after you're gone."
Gia's jaw tightened, but her fingers twitched like she was resisting the urge to open a portal right then.
"Not happening," Kyle growled.
The Battle Begins
The Hunter moved first—a blur of steel and shadow. Kyle met the strike head-on, their blades colliding in a shower of sparks. Felix dove to the side, circling, looking for an opening.
"Kyle, left!" Gia shouted.
Kyle spun, his blood blade shifting into a spear mid-turn, stabbing toward the Hunter's side. The armor caught it, but the sheer force sent the Hunter staggering.
Felix took his chance, hurling a knife that buried itself into the Hunter's shoulder joint. "How's that feel, huh?"
The Hunter didn't flinch. He ripped the blade out and threw it aside. "Pathetic."
But Kyle was already moving, his weapons shifting faster now—sword, whip, axe—forcing the Hunter onto the defensive. Every strike was precise, each fueled by the memory of Gia's fear and Felix's interference.
The Turn
The Hunter suddenly caught Kyle's blade mid-swing, twisting and slamming him hard into the wall. Kyle's breath left him in a sharp gasp.
"Kyle!" Gia's voice cracked.
The Hunter raised his sword for the final blow—only for a portal to open beneath his feet.
It wasn't large enough to swallow him whole, but his footing faltered as one leg disappeared into the glowing void. Gia clenched her teeth, straining to keep it open.
Felix didn't hesitate—he lunged forward and drove a knife into the gap between two plates of armor at the Hunter's hip.
The Hunter roared, wrenching himself free, but his movement was slower now, jagged.
Kyle was already up, blood swirling in the air around him like a crimson storm.
"You're done," he said, his voice like ice.
The Kill
The final exchange was a blur—Kyle's blood spear darting in, Felix's knives flashing, Gia opening and closing small portals to throw the Hunter off balance.
Then, Kyle feinted left, letting the Hunter swing wide, before driving a blade of pure hardened blood through the thin seam under his helmet.
The Hunter froze.
For a heartbeat, no one moved.
Then his body collapsed, the armor clattering to the stone floor—empty.
Aftermath
Kyle stood over the empty shell, his chest heaving. Slowly, the blood weapon dissolved back into his skin.
Felix gave a low whistle. "Well… that's one way to start the morning."
Gia's knees gave out, and she sat hard on the cold floor. "I thought… I thought we were going to lose."
Kyle turned to her, kneeling so their eyes met. "Not while I'm breathing."
Felix's gaze lingered on Gia a moment longer than necessary, something unspoken in it. But Kyle noticed—and his jaw tightened.
The danger was gone, but another kind of tension had taken its place.
Far above, the first rays of sunlight broke through the cracked tower window, spilling over the three of them. For now, they were alive.
But Kyle knew survival was never permanent.
Not for people like them.
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