The Girl With The Crimson Eyes

68: Between The Sword And The Wall

Zeo

As soon as the word Hunters left that woman's mouth, Zeo understood he only had one chance to survive. Her claws penetrated his neck while her fingertips began to cut the oxygen to his brain.

But it wasn't his first time dancing with death. He breathed slowly, calming his heart, and focused on his unresponsive vectors.

"I got nothing to tell you," Zeo said, snatching her wrist with both hands and trying to pull it away.

Her expression darkened, and her purple eyes glowed with contempt, but he spotted a weakness: the left side of her abdomen was bleeding through her clothes.

Before the woman could decide his fate, he threw a kick to her wound. She used her left leg to block it, giving him a brief opening; the skill restraining him wavered momentarily, and Zeo took his chance.

A boom of energy traveled through his vectors, reactivating them, and a spectral arm emerged from the ground, trying to reach the woman's head.

She diverted it with her free hand, but Zeo's second vector snatched the arm holding his neck and tried to sever her wrist.

The woman released him and crushed his jaw with a punch. The impact felt heavy like a boulder and sent him to the ground with a mouthful of blood, though he quickly recovered and bounced back on his feet, ready to fight for his life.

She cradled her wrist and stared at him in disbelief. "You've already put up more of a fight than your friends." She smirked and cracked her knuckles. "But for how long?"

"Until you disappear from my sight," Zeo spat, taking a defensive stance.

The woman shook her head. "Isn't it ironic? An Anglish fighting for The Hunters." She scanned him from head to toe, giving him a disappointed look. "You're fighting for the ones who eradicated your kind. How pitiful."

"I don't give a shit about The Hunters!" Zeo roared, glaring at her and analyzing her body for a weakness, but there was none. Unlike fighters like Edo or Pyon, she had complete control of the battlefield and covered every opening.

"The boldness of a young man, I see." She brushed a strand of hair from her face. "Unfortunately, you're not leaving this place until you speak."

Zeo observed the horns on her head and grimaced with disgust. "You're just another Nephilim, aren't you? You don't care about Hybrids or Humans. Why should I tell you anything?"

"Because the fate of three Hybrids depends on you. If you speak now, I swear on my dead brothers and sisters that I shall spare them."

Silence.

A gust of cold wind scratched Zeo's bruised cheek. "Who are you?" Deep inside, he wanted to believe that woman was honest and did not intend to end their lives. "I can tell you don't belong to The Hunters, so who are you?"

"Please, don't make me repeat myself." She closed her eyes and opened her arms while a vortex formed around her, lifting debris, scrap metal, and dust. "This is your last chance to speak. Why are you, Hunters, here?"

Zeo understood that reasoning with her wouldn't be possible. She was his enemy, and no matter what, he couldn't trust her. Besides, he had a mission to protect Amy, and nobody in the world would stop him.

"Zeo," he said firmly, locking his pupils on her bleeding wound. "Azlanin Zeo."

The ground shook, and a shockwave traveled through the land as he charged at her impulsed by his wind. His vectors rose before the woman as he closed the distance between them. One vector searched for her left leg, while the other shielded his body as he drew his gun.