I had about twenty men to finish off. We were all in some sort of trance. Each side wanted to see the other dead. I was growing more and more tired, but the others I hadn't fought yet still had their wits about them, and full energy to swing their halberds, axes, or long swords. I was beyond tired though. I've reached my limits then went past them. I no longer thought of anything but fighting at that point. My body moved by itself, and my senses were on edge.

I still had my time energy to keep my enemies at bay, but I was getting wearier. I couldn't concentrate on all my flanks as I used to. Luckily, a pile of corpses can come in handy in this type of predicaments. I'd piled a human wall in front of me that reached my stomach. The others had to climb it in order to reach me.

The cave was behind me. So n.o.body could surprise me. I only had to worry about the men that climbed off the corpses of their brethren to reach me. I admired their courage though. My speech had worked wonders on them. They wanted to see the man who dared challenge a hundred die. I also wanted to see the promise I made to myself come to fruition.

Neither of us wanted to give up.

Three more men jumped off the wall and ran toward me. I could scarcely see their faces, but I could sense them, and where they aimed their attacks. I dodged a halberd thrust that almost pierced my chest, then ducked underneath a sword swing. On my way up, I broke the halberd's shaft with an uppercut. I swung with my left toward the custodian who was trying to flank me. The axe fell on his face with a loud thud.

I tried to wrench it away from him, but the thing had gotten stuck deep within the custodian's skull. I left it there, picked up the fallen halberd blade and stuck in deep within the swordsman who had advanced to finish me off. As he fell to the ground, I hurled my axe at the disarmed custodian. He didn't see it coming. I heard him gurgle at his own blood as I walked toward him to retrieve my weapon.

I'd hit him in the neck. The axe got stuck on the upper part of the custodian's armor. It was dented, like the weapons I resorted to using. I made a mental note of purchasing the strongest suit of armor I could find. If this man's armor was strong enough, it would have deflected my axe swing, giving him the advantage to counter attack.

Four more custodians landed around me right after I managed to wrench the axe off. I heard the click in the nick of time. I raised my time s.h.i.+eld then looked to my right. A crossbow bolt had stopped right next to my temple. I'd escaped death by inches. And that… That gave me a thrill no amount of s.e.x could ever give a man like me.

I flicked the bolt away from me then ran at the crossbowman. I heard him load his weapon, while the others tried to surround me. I jumped back and away from a swing that almost opened my left flank. I jumped aside as soon as I landed to avoid a spear thrust. These men had come at me with a plan.

I found myself smiling. I wanted a challenge. I'd grown tired of mindlessly slaying every custodian that came at me. I needed something to shake me out of this boredom. I'd never thought the day would come when killing people would become boring business to me. I smiled, I even laughed as I dodged the upcoming attacks, grabbed my attackers as their hands extended toward me, and counter attacked.

I grabbed the swordsman who attacked me first then dragged him toward me right as another spear thrust came my way. I drove him forward as the spear pierced his exposed flank. This one was only wearing a chest plate, no ringmail underneath it. The spear got stuck between his ribs. I heard him wailing as he tried to get away from my solid grip. I wrenched his sword from his hand and headed toward the custodian to my right.

This one must have antic.i.p.ated my move, as I sensed him backing away from me. I deflected his swing with the sword I stole then buried my axe in his face. He staggered. He might have attempted to say something, but how can one move their lips while an axe had split their heads in two?

I heard another click, and I raised my s.h.i.+eld just in time to block the upcoming projectile. I felt more people joining the fight. There were five of them, some six or more hiding behind the heap of corpses, ready to jump in and finish me off. I redirected the bolt toward the custodian who had just jumped in.

At this point, I only relied on my senses. I had a clear advantage over them. They could barely make up my shape in the dark, while I knew exactly where they were and what movements they were making. I dashed forward to avoid a halberd's vertical swing. As it landed, I stomped on the shaft. I felt the wielder lose control and stumble forward. I met him with a sword, which easily found its way through his neck.

'Only a few people left,' I told myself. 'Stay alert d.a.m.n you!'

I heard more custodians land in the small arena I'd created. There were two dozen men this time, the only remaining members of the posse. One of them was taller than I was, and twice as large. He was holding a great sword that was two thirds my height, a big slab of metal capable of cleaving a horse in half.

Beside him, two men stood with their crossbows aimed at my general direction. The rest had spread out around me, taking their time to get within range of attack. I activated my time s.h.i.+eld and got ready for the final showdown. These guys had had enough of me. I knew they were about to give their all into this last a.s.sault.

They let the crossbow bolts loose first. As soon as they heard the loud snap of wood, the others moved toward me, closing in on me from the half circle they formed. Then I heard the heavy footsteps of the great sword hulk. They had timed their attacks perfectly. Their aim was to get me moving to one side or the other. As soon as I'd hear the bolts being loosened, I'd automatically jump aside to avoid them, especially with the darkness that loomed above us.

I didn't move though. I let the bolts get close to me and hit my time s.h.i.+eld. I let them hand in the air, struggling to reach me. The other custodians were getting close. Their dark shapes got bigger and bigger as they surrounded me. Still, I didn't try to change the bolt's direction or move anywhere.

High above us, we heard the rumbling of thunder, the first sign of an incoming storm. Two custodians reached me just as the bolts had gotten closer to my head. I jumped above their thrust attacks. Then I released the time s.h.i.+eld. The bolts zoomed past one custodian but hit the other.

I landed on the other custodian then twisted his neck. I turned around just in time to deflect a sword swing and disarm its wielder. Right before I could finish him, another custodian joined the party. This one was wielding a spear. He thrust it my way and I dodged aside, only to be surprised by the great sword. It was falling toward my head at tremendous speed.

I don't know if it were luck, or just d.a.m.n perfect timing. I activated my time s.h.i.+eld just in time to roll aside and evade the devastating great sword. I heard it hit a rock and crack it. I definitely didn't want to get hit by that.

I didn't have time to breathe though. As I evaded the previous attack, two more custodians were already hard on my heels. One of them swung his spear, which missed my neck by inches. The other thrust his sword at my right thigh, which I dodged in the nick of time.

The giant hulk had recovered then, and came rus.h.i.+ng toward me. His large horizontal swing was easy to read though. I was about to dash to his right and insert a sword between his ribs when I heard a click. I shot a quick glance to my right, just as lightning flashed above my head. I saw the two crossbowmen aiming their projectiles at me.

I head the click, but didn't have time to raise my time s.h.i.+eld. I did the best I could at that moment. I fell on my back and let the bolts zoom past me. I heard someone shriek, but didn't have time to see who it was as the great sword was falling toward my head at full speed.

I activated my time s.h.i.+eld and rolled aside again. I should tell you, keeping my time s.h.i.+eld on at all times makes you sloppy. Against a great number of foes, or heavy artillery, your energy consumption only gets higher and higher until you get close to complete exhaustion. I had kept it on for the first half of the fight against the custodians, only to realize that I've consumed most of the fragment's energy deflecting projectiles and slowing large and heavy enemies.

I had to use it just enough to get out of danger and retaliate. In that sense, the time s.h.i.+eld was the best companion one could hope for, but that wasn't my only weapon. I'd made sure I absorbed enough energy from the people I slayed, so my fragment was almost full at all times.

Just as I rolled out of immediate danger, I willed time to rewind. I rewound it to the moment before the projectiles. .h.i.t me. I needed those to get rid of this giant efficiently. Lightning flashed above my head once more. The crossbowmen loosened their projectiles toward me. This time, I was ready. I activated my time s.h.i.+eld and got ahold of the bolts. I redirected them toward the giant hulk's head. Then I let time run its course.

He shrieked as the bolts. .h.i.t him in the head. One of them had lodged itself deep within his right eye, while the other hit him square in the neck. He started gurgling, but he wouldn't give up. He looked at me, his remaining eye filled with fury. Then he brought his sword down with such force and speed I almost took the hit head on.

I jumped to the right just in time to avoid a slamming attack. Then I hit the man's arteries. The sword fell from his hands. Then he fell too, face first. I looked at the custodians who remained. The hulk's defeat had disconcerted them a little, so I took advantage of the opening they gave me.

I reinforced my arms with what little essence I had left, then I heaved the great sword up. I swung it horizontally in a semi-circle motion. The custodians in my immediate vicinity screamed, even howled as the sword cut through armor, flesh and bone. I met the other ones with the same strength, and a devastating slab of iron. They didn't stand a chance.

By the time I was done with them, my skin had become red from blood. My hands were sticky, and every bone in my body begged me to take a break. I spread my senses and stretched them as far as I could, there were no enemies around me anymore.

I fell on my knees, exhausted but immensely satisfied. Droplets of rain had already started falling above my head. Thunder rumbled above my head. I fell on my back then started laughing. I had won, I had defeated them all. Let Konig see what I'm really capable of. Let the entire city understand what the most wanted man in the country can really achieve.

"Myles?" I heard Raiya call out to me. She was standing right beside me, holding the stump by her shoulder. "Myles? Are you there?"

I stood, a proud feeling had overcome me then.

"See?" I told her. "I told you I could do it."

Raiya let out a faint, almost sad smile. "That you did," she said.

Her hand moved faster than any crossbow bolt I ever had to deal with. Her fingers, sharper and harder than castle forged steel, penetrated my shoulder. I felt the icy cold touch of her hands reach toward my soul. I was helpless, unable to move or make a sound. I felt her reach for Eva's Fragment, and s.n.a.t.c.h it away from me.

Just as she found it, I felt the world around me turning dark. "Goodbye, fool…" were the last words I ever heard Evangelica Grant mutter to me.