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256. Between a Foot and an Axe
256. Between a Foot and an Axe
The monster stomped down on him, while the other swung its axe. Caught in between, Ike stared between the two of them.
Uh oh.
He surged his aether to Lightning Dash and leaped backward. The monster's foot slammed down inches in front of him, so close he felt the heat simmering off its heel. He instantly slashed at the back of its foot. The Hungry Sword tore through its charcoal flesh, half-severing the foot. The monster stumbled as its stance suddenly became uneven. The other monster retracted its axe at the last second, barely missing the other monster's neck. The monster with the cut ankle growled and lunged at the one who'd swung his axe. The two monsters clashed, raining embers down on Ike.
Ike hesitated for a moment, considering third-partying, then shook his head. He needed to get back to Wisp. She couldn't hold the line alone. Dodging past the monsters ahead of him, he raced toward the field where he'd left Wisp.
She stood at the midpoint of the field. It was almost unrecognizable now. It was so draped in spider thread he could barely see the ground or the trees. When the monsters walked into the thread, they set it alight, which triggered the balls of spider silk she'd left in the thick webs. Those balls spewed spider thread all over the monsters, which then set alight and burned the monsters. He wouldn't have expected that to do anything to monsters which were already on fire, but that was his mistake. The fire slowed them down and chewed into them, weakening their bodies. Wisp sat back, lobbing spider thread at them to slow them further and help burn them.
"How's it going?" Ike asked, coming up beside her.
"Not bad. I'm trying to figure out the lowest-energy way to defeat these guys, since this is obviously more a battle of endurance and attrition than strength."
"You do seem to have it pretty handled," Ike commented. Find adventures at empire
"Eh. It's working, kind of. I just can't get close to them, so it's less than optimal." She nodded at him. "New sword?"
"Yeah, and it's hungry," Ike said, showing her the butt of the hilt.
Wisp snorted. "How very villainous of you."
"Excuse you. I liberated this from a villain. It's rightful spoils," Ike said, taping the sword.
"I take it you did well, then?" she asked.
Ike nodded. "He went down like a chump. Rufus showed up to land the final blow."
"Oh. So… he's okay with it?" Wisp asked, confused.
Ike wiggled his hand. "Not sure. We'll find out, I guess. As far as I'm concerned, I'm fine with it. I'm not good at lies and subterfuge most of the time. I'd rather everyone just know what had happened, and let them deal with it."
"Suppose that's fair. We sure aren't working hard to keep our allies, huh," Wisp commented.
Ike shrugged. "Depending on how you look at it, we're working very hard to keep our allies. We're not being very political about it, but we're doing all the ground work."
Wisp laughed. "Yeah, yeah. Not that I care. If they don't wanna fight with us, I'll eat 'em."
"You know, when you say it like that, I almost believe you."
"Almost?"
"Okay, no. I believe you," Ike said. He stepped forward, raising his new sword. "You hit 'em and slow 'em, and I finish 'em off?"
"Works for me," Wisp replied.
The monster lurked closer. Ike spun his new sword, feeling its full weight, and dashed in.
Fire burned the monsters, slowing them. The spider threads fed the flames, forcing the monsters to burn hotter. Getting close felt like approaching a huge bonfire, times a hundred. Ike felt his skin crisp, then his healing skill kick in to mend some of the damage on repeat, over and over. Still, he kept going, racing in, toward the heat and the flames. He slashed their ankles, forcing them to fall, then whipped around. Bouncing off the spider threads, he jumped up, up, up, then dropped down, hammering the back of the monsters' heads with the Hungry Sword. At first, he just used brute strength and the Hungry Sword's unique properties to cut through monster after monster, but after a time, he started using the River-Splitting Sword.
The Hungry Sword wasn't well suited to the technique, but that was exactly why he had to practice using the two together. The River-Splitting Sword was an elegant, quick-moving technique, where the practitioner moved so fast, and with so much force, that their blade could split a river. The Hungry Sword was a few short steps from a blunt object, and heavy to boot. It didn't move fast, nor elegantly. It felt a bit like swinging a tree trunk around instead of a sword. On top of that, it had a mind of its own, and a tendency to cling to weapons and lunge toward metal. Getting tossed about by ones' sword wasn't a part of the River-Splitting Sword—though I have a feeling it isn't part of any sword technique.
At last, Ike jumped back. Wiping soot and sweat from his brow, he stared at the sword. "Hey. Listen. I've befriended spiders and mountains alike. If there's a mind in there, talk to me. What do you want? I'm willing to negotiate."
The sword trembled. It didn't say anything, but it pulled his arm toward the next monster, and more specifically, its giant axe.
He did say it eats blades. Ike glanced at the axe, then back at the sword. "Listen. Cooperate with me. If we're not fighting one another, I can kill those big guys quicker. And you know what more dead big guys means? More dropped axes. After the battle, I'll go back and feed you all those axes, as long as you fight alongside me now. How's that sound?"
The sword paused. It held completely still for a few long moments, as though thinking. After a long moment, it buzzed again.
"Is that a yes?"
One buzz.
"I'll… take that as a yes." Ike whirled the sword and approached the next monster. "Let's kill some monsters and get you those swords!"
The sword trembled in excitement.