"Bang"
For Rin, it was like in slow motion. The projectile barreled towards the unsuspecting Demon Hunter.
And he didn't move.
Until.
He turned around, eyes glowing with something ethereal. With one swift motion, faster than the eye could see, he struck.
*Ting
Contact. But the bullet wasn't sliced in half. The bullet deflected to the side.
Sans's eyes widened. Surprise, shock, but no doubt.
Rin was not confident about the challenges ahead. She silently prayed, 'Janna, someone! Help us!'
{Break}
He had to awaken Reidan to redirect the shot. Reidan was surrounded by black energies. The stored power of the demons it had slain. It screamed its aura. An aura of death.
The bullet had deflected, but unfortunately, Kaze wasn't free of harm. His shoulder was hit. The sting was more than a thousand needles, and the heat was more than a thousand suns.
But he had no time to recoil. A demon could kill in split seconds of indecisiveness. So he struck first. He struck the air with both hands. A dangerous wave of energy appeared and sailed towards the direction the bullet came from. It shattered the wood and the bricks.
Blood splattered.
It was all the confirmation he needed.
He had his instincts to thank again. It was the MVP of his life.
But after that move, his energy was halfway to fatal. In addition, he used a two-handed sword style. His shoulder injury was a major setback. But at least it was the directing arm and not the strength arm.
He continued to the next room, back straight and ready.
The next room had large golem-looking contraptions. As soon as Kaze saw them, they saw him. They all pointed at him, and their smiles widened evilly. Beneath each of their arms fired a rocket fired.
Kaze's eyes widened. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
Then he jumped, barely avoiding all of the rockets.
He sighed. But he heard no explosion behind him. Something was awfully wrong. He did a backflip, avoiding all the returning rockets. The rockets were chasing him
'How the hell?' He barely had time to think.
The golem robot kept firing rockets. Effectively tripling Kaze's load.
Kaze kept running and dodging. But he knew he couldn't keep it up. He had to destroy the robots while escaping their rockets.
He dashed towards a robot and struck its arm at the joint. It was cut like pure cheese. Not having time to process his success, he jumped away as rockets collided with the ground he was just on.
Cuts and bruises appeared on his body as the debris dug into his skin. Kaze rolled into his fall. More rockets were coming. They kept bombarding him, throwing him everywhere around the room.
With no rest, Kaze was becoming slower and slower. The rockets were hitting closer and closer to him. He had to do something before it was too late.
He looked above and saw the back of a robot. Its acid green chem-fluids splooshed inside its heavy glass tank. An Idea sprang into his mind.
Rolling away as rockets glanced by him, he sprang to his feet.
With renewed energy, he dashed behind a robot and pierced its tank. The tank exploded into millions of glass pieces and acidic fluid. Kaze took the brunt of it. His arms seared, and his clothes tore.
He grunted. For it worked. The robot was not moving anymore.
There were 3 more to go.
He dashed again, faster this time and pierced another tank, this time. He didn't wait for it to explode. He was off again before the tank fully exploded.
Another one in quick succession.
1 more left.
It was close. It grabbed Kaze by luck and started to squeeze. Kaze dropped his sword.
Kaze groaned as he struggled. His muscles creaked and his bones cracked. It was all but over. The rockets closed in.
Kaze wore a face of defiance, but he knew that he was dead. He closed his eyes.
'I'm sorry, Rin, Mei Mei, Reidan, everyone. I couldn't save you. I couldn't defeat the demons. I'm a disappointment.' were his last thoughts.
{Break}
Rin couldn't bear to watch. Sans wore a bored expression, yawning and looking away.
"Well, now-"
{Break}
"You have so much power inside of you, Kaze!" Reidan spoke, looking into Kaze's confused blue orbs, "You tap into so little. You have nothing that pushes you to find it. You are strong, no doubt. But if you ever need more, you just have to find it. Find that push. And you will unlock yourself."
Kaze looked at her, still confused, "What are you talking about, master? What power?"
"Unfortunately, I have no hints. But perhaps, it is information you might find useful in a dire situation." Reidan said with furrowed brows. She raised her large scythe, "Come on then, where's your sword? We need to get some more practice in."
{Break}
"Master…" he groaned.
'A push to find it? No matter what, I must not die today. Even if I live only one more day, Rin must survive. My curses will be on the lamb and wolf themselves if I die today,' he thought as he gritted his teeth.
'Isn't that push enough? Where's the pow…' Kaze lost consciousness.
His body went slack.
Then his eyes glowed a furious blue.
*Creak.
The screws on the metal giant's hands loosened. The rockets exploded right before they reached Kaze, as if stopped by an invisible force.
Kaze dropped to the floor. He picked up his sword as he stood up. And with one strike, he cut the robot in half.
He continued up the stairs. More people stood, a small army.
They stood no chance. The black room was painted a coat of blood red.
The final floor. Kaze opened the door to see both Sans and Rin. Rin was unconscious. Likely from shock. Sans had a look of fear. At the sight of Rin, Kaze regained his senses. He asked no questions, seeing the situation but one.
"Do you know what this mask means?" Kaze asked Sans.
Sans shivered a negative shake of his head. He had nowhere to run. Kaze was standing in front of the only entrance and exit.
"It means you're a demon, and I am your bane," Kaze answered.
Sans got on his knees, "No, I'm sorry. It was all Master Taoni's fault. He ordered me to kill you. If you let me go, I'll tell him to spare you. If you kill me, he'll come after you again. He has connections everywhere, even in Ionia. You can't escape him. Please, let me go!" he pleaded crazily, snot, tears, and saliva spilling everywhere.
Kaze looked at him with disgust. It was obvious that he was lying to save his skin. His injuries screamed at him. Any time now, he would collapse. He had to make this quick.
"You're lucky the kid's here. Spared you a few more seconds." Kaze said as he grabbed Sans by his collar and threw him onto the balcony. Sans scurried, putting his back against the railing.
"Stand…"
Sans stood.
Until he didn't
His vision turned upside down as he saw the entire undercity. He was falling off the balcony. No, his head was falling off the balcony.
Sans didn't die with a peace of mind.
Kaze watched as Sans's body collapsed, lifeless. He removed his mask and re-entered the room. He looked at Rin's teary and unconscious form. He limped to her. Using his sword to cut off the bindings, he caught Rin before she fell, making his knees buckle from fatigue.
He walked back down the building, hobbling. The dead bodies and machines didn't bother him. He had completed his goals.
He exited the building and smelt it.
Smoke.
He looked above to see a cloud of thick black smoke.
It was from the bridge of progress.
There was nobody in sight.
Good for him, he didn't have the energy to kill any more hounds who found him vulnerable… He had done it. Rin was saved.