(Outdated) The King of Elements (part 2)

Chapter 48

Spears were thrust from almost every angle. Kamatsu lowered his sword, focusing on dodging the spears. He effortlessly dodged each spear aiming at him, grinning as if he knew where he spears would come from seconds before his attackers. In that brief moment of watching him from the corner of his eye, Dre realized why he wasn't able to hit him. Kamatsu didn't fight as if his life was on the line. He fought as if it were a game of chess. There was no anger in the way he fluidly dodged the attacks. No need to kill his opponents, even when there were dozens of them around them both. He looked as if this was second nature to him.

Dre turned back to his rushing attackers. He knew that he couldn't dodge them like Kamatsu. But he refused to let Kamatsu overshadow him.

He ran towards the group, both hands on the sword. Dre brought his sword upward, slicing an enemy in half. Pivoting, he sent a wave of fira through half of the enemy line. A wet thud sounded behind him. He turned to see a charging Amian tumble to the ground, a dagger shoved in his temple. "Don't turn your back to them!" he heard Kamatsu call out.

Kamatsu dashed towards him, crouched low with a hand on the opening of his sheath. He skidded to a halt behind Dre and hurled a vortex of wind to the other half of the line, sending them vaulting backwards into the second line of the armada in front of him.

The chanting intensified as the next line charged. "What are you doing?" Dre asked.

"Backing you up." Hard faced, he looked into the charging line. "You would've died, had I not had a hidden dagger."

"I don't need you defending me like I'm a beginner," Dre said with a frown.

"But aren't you?"

Dre didn't answer. The ground rumbled from the dozen or so Amians rushing at them. He hated to admit it, but he was somewhat relieved that someone was supporting him. Even if it was Kamatsu. "Let's go."

Dre looked over his shoulder and nodded. Both men cried out and rushed for the armies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"They just won't end," Katherine stated. She sheathed her blade as an enemy fell in front of her. Two more seemed to take his place. She vaulted backwards, narrowly missed being skewered by their spears. Both of their heads snapped back; one, Katherine noticed, had an arrow sticking out from between her eyebrows. Katherine spun, seeing both Megumi and Kim rushing to her aid. Megumi fired sideways at the enemy, which proved futile as each bullet was defended by a wall of earth. Kim had abandoned her bow in favor of her sword and shield. With one swift motion, she halted and deflected a charging spear before impaling the Amian through his stomach.

"Are you okay, Kat?" Megumi asked as she holstered her submachine gun. Katherine nodded before she ducked a spear and ran her blade through the woman's solar plexus. Megumi withdrew her spear from its holster and spun, slapping the backend of the weapon against an Amian's neck. One by one, the both of them had slain charging Amians, barely able to stay out of harm's way. Kim, having severing an enemy's leg, rushed to join them. The three stood in a triangular formation, only breaking the form to take out an enemy before falling back into formation.

"I don't see an end in sight," Kim stated, out of breath. Her jacket had many gashes across the sleeves, patched here and there with blood. She charged forward, bashing her shield against one enemy while halving another across his midsection. She spun and, with a backhand swing, decapitated the dazed enemy. She skipped backwards with her shield in front of her, blocking thrown spears. Her head spun from left to right, looking out to the charging the crowd. She cried out as one grazed her thigh, sending her to a knee.

"Kim! Watch out!" Megumi cried out. An Amian charged towards her, the point of his spear aimed at her face. Kim gasped, paralyzed with fear as the Amian pounded closer-

"Awoo! Awoo!" What sounded like a crowd of people began chanting loud, catching the attention of the surrounding Amians. At once, they abandoned the girls and rushed to the point of the sound.

"Ow... Where are they going?" Kim asked as she spread fira over her wound. Both Megumi and Katherine shrugged.

"It sounded like it came from where we separated from Dre and Kamatsu," Katherine said.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Megumi asked as she rushed to help Kim up. "Let's get back to them."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Among the chaos, both Dre and Kamatsu slashed at wave after wave of southern Amians. Dre's arms began to feel like lead as he took down another enemy. Kamatsu was even breathing heavy. What made matters worse was that they didn't even make a dent in the numbers yet. The fleet, however, only quickened their staffs pounding, chanting "Awoo! Awoo!" at the top of their lungs. The army ceased charging. "What the hell are they doing?" Kamatsu asked, out of breath.

Dre exhaled. "I don't know. Why don't they just finish us?" His legs gave out from under him; on instinct, he held himself up by shoving his blade into the ground. "I think... I think it's obvious that we can't keep going."

"I'd hate to admit it, Basura, but you may be right." Kamatsu fell to his knees, his sword barely hanging on by his fingertips. "I think they know that. They're just toying with us now."

Snarling, Dre willed himself back on his feet. "If there's one thing that I hate, it's being toyed with." He strained to lift his sword. It felt like it weighed hundreds of pounds. He was only able to lift it half way before the earth shifted from under him and he dropped, gasping in dust and air. "I bet we'd beat them if it was two on two."

With a mighty crash, the chanting stopped. The forest was dead silent, save for Dre and Kamatsu's breathing. Their spears aimed forward in unison, each one aimed at the two of them. "They're planning on skewing us in all directions," Kamatsu said.

Sounds of weapons clashing and bodies being sliced interrupted the silence. The fleet, including Dre and Kamatsu, each snapped their heads to the sounds. "Out of our way!"

"Was that Katherine?" Dre asked, perplexed. He looked over to Kamatsu, who suddenly was able to stand back on his feet.

"It's the girls," he said with a smile on his face. "Do you think you can stand?"

It was a struggle. Dre's legs wobbled as he tried to lift himself off of his blade. "Y-yeah. I think-" He suddenly cut his sentence short. Both Kamatsu and Dre looked at each other, wide-eyed. Dre looked down to see the point of a spear sticking out of his chest, directly over his heart. "This. Sucks." He blacked out, seeing the familiar You Are Dead in red text.