Chapter 204 - A Helping Hand

In the face of danger, Allen quickly remembered the instructions which had been drilled into his mind and soul while training swordsmanship. 

'Check your breathing. Slow and calm. Yup, it's good. The stance? Nope, gotta spread the legs a bit more. Good. Place the sword at an arm's length. Push your leg forward. That'll do. When fighting multiple enemies, put more strength into the shoulders and biceps. It'll enable you to fight longer. When you think you would be overwhelmed by your opponents, then each blow you deal should matter. Swing the sword with the desire to kill. If you hit your mark, the target should either die or at least he should get immobilised. If you do this much, the victory is yours. But if you fail... There's no option to fail. You fight and live. Either in your physical form or in the thoughts of your friends and family.'

Allen went through all this in a matter of seconds. He didn't have any time to waste away. The moment he picked up the sword, his opponents had made him their target. 

'Nina must be on her way... I just have to hold out until then.' He thought, steeling himself for the confrontation ahead. 

The bigger man started cracking his knuckles. The shorter one also had some kind of a weird weapon in his hands. But due to the darkness, Allen couldn't make out kind of weapon it was. All he knew was to stay clear of his reach. 

Once prepared, he raced towards the men. He had fought his multiple enemies before. But they were all mindless monsters. He could predict their next move before they made one, but now, he was facing against two skilled men. Both of which knew exactly what they needed to do. 

Allen rapidly closed in on his enemies. His target? The assassin with the tinier frame. Once he was out of the equation, Allen could focus on defeating the hulk, or at least stalling until help arrived. Once he was in their reach, Allen flung himself off the ground and swing his sword viciously at the same time. He wanted to decapitate the guy in one clean swoop. But wasn't that lucky, however. 

Before his sword could even reach the man's neck, the hulk kicked him down. Allen was hoping he would stay out of it or that if he interfered, he would at least have some advantage over the duo due to the hulk's size, but it didn't. The man could also teleport, just like the woman he was fighting before. Not only that, the man was pretty skilled at it too. Unlike the lady. 

Allen landed on his side and rolled over back to his feet. He was hurting. The kick knocked the wind out of his chest. But he could still fight. 

It was his opponent's turn to attack now and they didn't waste any time. The hooded assassin came onto him first. He leapt at Allen like a panther. Darkness giving him a much-expected advantage. These people were assassins, unlike Allen, darkness was their most powerful ally and weapon. 

As the assassin got closer to him, Allen got a clear look of his weapon. It was a curved blade. Almost resembling a Panther's claw. 

The assassin swung his claw at him from a high angle. Allen instinctively raised his sword to protect him. A fatal mistake. 

By lifting the sword, he had left his torso unprotected. Something, the shirtless man-beast took notice of and quickly charged in. Before Allen could realise what was happening, the giant had already closed in on him. Allen's quick reflex brought his hands down in an attempt to save his vital organs, at the last moment. He was successful. The giant's fist connected with Allen's forearm with full force. 

Allen got flung back with vicious force and got slammed against the wall. Blood was flowing out of his mouth like a broken faucet. The wall had stopped his momentum, but the sudden stop broke a few of his bones along with his communicator. His sword arm was pretty much useless now. It was clear to him, the hulk wasn't joking around. He was out to kill. 

The hulk gave a nod to his underling. He immediately folded his hands in namaste. The claws pointing outwards. He proceeded to close his eyes and started mumbling something in Portuguese. 

'The fck is he praying for... I'm the one who is getting his ass kicked, so I should be the one praying right now.' Allen thought and tried to get up, but his legs gave out. 

The big guy seemed to have taken notice of Allen's gaze. He stepped closer to him and pointed his thumb towards his underling. 

"Just so you know he's praying." He spoke in his hoarse voice. 

"No shit Sherlock." Allen smirked and spat a mouthful of blood on the man's foot, "You should be either be praying or pissing your pants because you are going to die soon enough."

"Haha," The man turned around and mumbled something to the other guy in Portuguese. 

"Come on, man up and talk in English you mongrels." 

"We can't deny a dying man's wish, now can we? I was telling my ally that you are a funny guy. One who will keep God entertained in the afterlife."

"Sorry to disappoint, but I have no intention of dying just yet."

Allen quickly grabbed his sword with his left hand and threw it like a javelin towards the other guy. It was a desperate move, but a calculated one. He threw the sword at him, hoping that the big man would teleport next to his ally to save him. While he was at it Allen would give them a slip and regroup with the others.

As Allen had predicted, the praying man didn't open his eyes. Forcing the hulking man to protect his ally.

'This is it.' Allen thought.

His heart was in agreement with the mind but his body wasn't. He tried to run, but his legs weren't able to support the weight of his body anymore. 

'Damn it!' Allen cursed himself for his weakness. His plan was perfect, but his own weakness had failed him. 

Clang! 

Allen heard a noise and turned around. The hulking man had snapped his sword like a twig. His eyes blazing with rage. 

"You're one coy bastard..." He calmly said, slowly moving towards his prey. 

Each of his steps sent chills down Allen's spine. He wanted to lash out. Claw his way through him, but the man's gaze kept him at his place like an obedient pet. 

The man was now towering over him when the other guy said, "It's done."

"Very well then. Time to end it, once and for all." 

He drew back his fist. Sparks flew out of the closed fists. His murderous aura froze time around Allen. Before Allen could even think of anything, the man unleashed his fists on him. 

'Fck man, what an anticlimactic way to die...'

Allen closed his eyes. Waiting for his imminent death. But nothing happened. He slowly opened his eyes. Hoping for the best, and best it was! 

A split second before the punch was rammed into his face, someone had blocked the strike with an opened palm. And the palm belonged to... 

"Johnny!" Allen exclaimed in joy. He had never been so happy to see him before.

"Stop screaming like a BTS fangirl, will ya?" Johnny scoffed and turned towards the hulking beast, "I leave for a walk and all hell breaks loose. The fck you think you are, bullying my family member like that eh?"

The man opened his mouth to reply. But before he could even utter a word, Johnny grabbed the man's arm with one hand and proceeded to punch him in the face using the other. The sound if the impact resounded through the courtyard. The hulk went flying out of the terrace, just like Allen did. The other assassin quickly jumped at Johnny, but in front of the SS ranked brawler, he was nothing more than a mosquito. One kick was all it took to rip his chest open. 

"Why bother attacking us when you can't even take me down?" Johnny shrugged his shoulders before turning towards Allen, "Go and treat your wounds while I knock some sense into the other guy."