Jorish struggled as blood poured from all around him, fragments of metal embedded in his back and chest, sending pain across every muscle in his body. He almost fell as he stumbled forward, losing his balance momentarily. The enemy soldiers smiled fiendishly as they took out their various weapons, preparing to charge towards Jorish.

Jorish used his spear to steady himself as he took note of the situation. Not good. Jorish felt the sunlight try to replenish his energy and rebuild his body, however he had taken too much damage in such a short period. He knew he couldn’t afford to get injured anymore, or his body would truly be unable to take it.

Jorish stepped forward, using his momentum to stabilize himself. He looked as they began charging, Jorish suddenly stepped to the side as he extended his spear, skewering one of the enemies with his spear before jumping back, dodging a sword and a hammer strike that were aimed at him. Jorish grunted as pain coursed through his body. He lifted his head, his eyes widening as the soldiers ran away, looking at the corpse of the soldier that Jorish killed in terror. After they ran for a while, they stopped as they took out another pistol.

Is this for real? Cursed Jorish as he prepared for their next volley. He heard the sound of gunfire, however he didn’t feel pain. He saw as a small projectile curved in the air in front of him, piercing two of the soldiers opposite to him. Jorish turned around as he saw the second squad leader, Nao. Her black coat fluttering as smoke came out of the gun in her right hand. She quickly moved her left hand as she put another projectile to the side of her gun before shooting again. Jorish watched in wonder as the projectile moved, changing its course in midair, hitting another soldier as they tried to escape.

Seeing the soldiers escape, Nao turned towards Jorish as she spoke. “Can you still fight?”

Jorish smiled as he gathered his strength, slamming the back of his spear to the ground. “Always.”

Nao’s eyes narrowed for a moment before jumping to the side, shooting behind Jorish. Jorish reacted immediately as he swung his spear behind him. He felt his bones rattle, forcing him to step back as his spear parried the sword that was heading towards his back.

Jorish looked at the man behind him, he held a long sword in both his hands, his long black hair moving around as he smiled. “Ahh, wanted to get rid of you without causing a headache, now we will have to do it the old way.”

Jorish saw a woman appearing behind that man. Two practitioners. Jorish’s grip tightened, knowing their odds at fighting practitioners when he was as injured as he was. He heard gunshots behind him as Nao fired a few shots towards the practitioners. His eyes widened as Nao’s bullets slowed down as they approached the woman, almost as if they came in contact with water. Jorish had no time to think as his movements got more sluggish, feeling as if he was fighting the tide as he tried to move. He looked at the woman who was smiling, her eyes shining blue.

Jorish felt his Energy reserves, knowing he had no Energy to actually defeat the swordsman in front of him. Seeing his state, the swordsman smiled, rushing at Jorish. Jorish held his spear as he tried to stabilize his body. He heard another gunshot behind him, as he looked at the blue-eyed woman, who looked around in confusion, unable to find the bullet. A moment later, the swordsman slowed his rush as a wound appeared on his leg.

He looked with hatred at Nao, who had her back turned to them, shooting her weapon in the opposite direction. How did that hit him? Jorish wondered before shaking the thought out of his mind as the swordsman ignored him, planning to blitz through to Nao. Damn it. Jorish grunted as he used his entire remaining force to jump in front of Nao, blocking the swordsman’s charge. Jorish was thrown aside as the sword clashed with his spear, yet in that moment he saw a green flash.

Jorish saw as a small green claw whistled, almost invisibly as it hit the cut on the swordsman’s leg. The swordsman grunted, looking at Sayaka as she crouched breathlessly, a brutal smile coloring her face before she fell unconscious. He turned to her, planning to attack her. As he stepped forward, he shook as he stumbled. A moment later, Nao stepped forward, standing almost face to face with the swordsman, whose face spat venom and hatred at her. Nao looked down upon him, raising her gun barrel as she shot his head point blank, killing him. Jorish stumbled as he fell to the floor, now finally completely spent.

He felt his body shake as he saw more soldiers approaching him, as well as three more practitioners. It was a trap all along, Jorish knew as he sat on the ground, lacking the power to even move, too spent to even think. As he felt the world darken, he saw a flash of silver on the horizon as something flew towards them from behind their enemies. A moment later he heard a loud explosion as sand and dust flew all around them.

“What was…?” muttered Nao, as Jorish felt his lips twitch as they widened into an insane smile as he spoke.

“No need to worry.”

“For justice had arrived.”