Chapter 89 Surprise Attack (Part 4)

Each time Cain attempted to get closer to the cultist, the sword would move between them and attack with a powerful blow to push him back.

Cains arms were hurting from the back and forth and he was getting frustrated. After several attempts to get closer he was still in the same place as he was when the fight began.

'Whenever I get closer the sword suddenly gets faster and stronger... Is his ability limited to a certain distance? Maybe it's stronger when it's closer to him. But if that's true then how am I gonna actually hit him...'

Several strikes from the sword were made at Cain and he managed to dodge or block most of them. One of the sword attacks managed to connect with his hip and a deep cut was created. This had happened many times and Cain was covered in wounds at this point.

'Dammit! I can barely deal with the sword over here so how am I going to ever beat this guy up close! I could wait for him to run out of energy but he doesn't even look tired after all this fighting. I'm getting low on energy... I don't think I can keep this up much longer. I need to end this and help Clay!'

Cain slowly moved closer towards the cultist one small step at a time, constantly deflecting, blocking and dodging attacks from the sword. When he finally managed to get close enough, he lifted his left hammer and threw it at the cultists head.

This hadnt been done in the fight yet, as Cain would be without his second hammer for the rest of the fight if the attack failed. The hammer flew across the air at a fast speed, followed by Cain charging in behind it.

The sword shot back and deflected the hammer at the last second before it hit the cultist. Cain lunged forward with his now empty left hand in an attempt to grab the cultist by the neck.

"You're clearly not very bright kid! HAHAHA!!"

The sword twisted in the air and moved directly for the hand, piercing through it until the hilt had stopped against the palm.

Cain grimaced from the pain for a moment but his expression turned into a smile. "You're the idiot around here you stupid cultist!" Cain activated his ability on the sword, making it as heavy as he was able to.

The cultist could immediately feel the weight increase through his control of the weapon as his hand was dragged down and he fell forward trying to balance himself. It felts as though someone had placed something heavy in his hand unexpectedly.

Cains hand, and the left side of his body from the arm to the shoulder, were being pulled towards the ground from the added weight. Cain lifted his right hammer into the air, making his right side lighter as he did so.

The speed of his hammer when lightened, added to the speed his arm gained from the opposite side being pulled down, allowing Cain to move faster than he ever had. It was a wild swing with little control, but as long as it hit the target he couldnt care less.

Just as the hammer started moving down towards the cultist, Cain increased the weight of the hammer to the maximum his body could allow at this moment. The cultist was off balance and unable to avoid the strike.

The hammer hit where his shoulder and neck connected. There was a loud snapping and crunching sound, followed by a loud bang and the sounds of wood splintering. A cloud of dust mixed with blood erupted and filled the air around Cain.

Cain stopped using his ability all together, and he noticed the sword stayed still. When the dust cleared, the cultist could be seen on the ground lying inside a small crater that was created in the wooden floor.

His neck was almost completely destroyed and a good chunk of his chest was missing. A clear line of destruction went through his torso in a diagonal direction from shoulder to hip.

Cain kneeled down and placed his hammer on the ground. He reached over to his left hand and began pulling the sword out. It was an excruciating process since he had to pull it out slowly to avoid causing more damage to his hand.

After pulling the sword out amidst his muffled screams and tear filled eyes, he picked up his hammers and turned to go help Clay with his opponent. As Cain turned, he was horrified at what he saw "CLAY!!"

***

The dagger had pierced Clay in the stomach and the pain caused his body to jolt back from the pain. He took several steps back before realizing he was directly in front Rene... There was no more room to move back without leaving her in harms way.

Rene tried to heal Clay as much as possible during the fight, stopping the bleeding and slightly closing the wounds in the process.

'I can't heal him completely without touching the injuries directly... I wish I could do more!' Rene cursed her inability to do more than apply slight healing affects that she thought 'amounted to nothing more than a party trick' when compared to other abilities.

Clay looked at the cultist with a fierce glare, the ability of the cultist was annoying him beyond belief. 'How do I beat someone that makes me stop moving everytime I attack or defend. He's free to do whatever he wants for those few seconds... Luckily I seem to gain control of my body whenever I feel the pain from his attacks, so he's only able to hit me once each time he stops me. Still, one dagger to the neck is all it will take to kill me!'

The fighting continued between them and Clay wasnt making any progress. Each time he tried to attack or defend he would be frozen in place and the cultist would slash his arms or stab him somewhere. His body was covered in wounds, some of them rather serious.

'If Rene wasn't healing me I would have died already from blood loss. She's a real life saver.' Clay felt a tinge of relief as his most recent wound closed slightly and stopped bleeding. Whenever Rene would heal him, there was a warm feeling over the injured area that felt comforting.

The cultist lifted one of the daggers to his face and lifted his mask with the other hand. He ran his tongue across the length of the blade that had been covered in blood.

"You taste pretty good, it's a shame... Well, I suppose I should end this already. I don't want to keep the others waiting." The cultist placed his mask back on and readied himself.

Clay prepared to defend as best he could as the cultist charged forward and jumped into the air, pointing both daggers down at Clay.

Clay lifted his arms to block the attack, only to feel the usual freezing of his body that he'd grown accustomed to. The cultist dropped to ground without attacking and switched his grip on the daggers.

With Clay's arms above his head, he lunged forward and plunged the daggers into Clay's rib cage from the sides of his body, just under the armpits.

The pain was immense but Clay couldn't scream out in pain, all that happened was a torrent of blood came rushing out the wounds and he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"CLAY!!"