Artemis entered a sprint as soon as he witnessed an opening in the sea of silhouettes. Those shadows with many limbs, writhing tentacles, and forms as tall as buildings did not shake his determination. He wove between them, catching glimpses of their true forms from time to time.
Although the majority of them moved as if walking in a sea of honey, there were some monsters able to get ahead of the pack, lunging at him with a mad ferocity. Cia fell from his back as he motioned to block the sharp claws of one monster, pivoting to kick at another. Both of their heads fell from their bodies with a single arced swing of his blade.
There was too much variety in the composition of these monsters. Some were furry and fanged, others with scales or slimy-skin. Tentacles, talons, claws, they were dotted along these beasts as if they had been made by random. It was hard to anticipate what attacks would be thrown his way at any given moment.
He glanced at Cia out of the corner of his eye, who had already risen and come to his side.
"Here, take this." Artemis reached into his jacket, carefully eyeing the monsters that slowly approached. He procured a small silver knife, handing it to Cia. This was the blade that had pierced his hand only an hour prior. He had retrieved it from the corpse of the possessed armour, where he had stabbed it deep into the side of the Daemon Knight.
The Knight's onyx blade was far too large for Cia to wield, and it wasn't particularly Artemis's style of weapon. But the silver knife... this was perfect for her. He closed her fingers around the hilt, turning around as he raised his own sword. She curiously observed it, turning it over in her hand.
"If anything attacks you, stab it a bunch until it stops moving. And then stab it a few more times after the fact."
"I... know how a knife works." Cia looked at him with a quiet disdain, almost wincing at his horrid description.
"Good. Then you shouldn't hesitate when you feel the crunch of bone, the squishing flesh you pierce, the warm wetness of blood on your hands..."
"Stop... stop..." her face had taken on a pale, pallid expression, her stomach overtaken by sudden nausea. "Why are you teasing me when we're facing the threat of death...?"
Artemis grinned, rolling his blade around as he approached the first skeletal beast. He let out a playful chuckle, his voice a crescendo, a roar into the abyss that stared fiercely towards them.
"Do you want to remain solemn and depressed before you fight!? I love a good laugh before I go to die!"
Suddenly, the monsters approaching them stopped. Only a few meters away from him, the skeletal beast that had been trudging forward turned its head, looking far behind it. Artemis's gaze followed the other beasts, who looked back in a similar manner.
There's... someone there?
Not only was there another figure far away from the monsters that had gathered, but it seemed to be... looking back at him.
The gleam of white eyes stared at him from a distance. Ash rose like a spiral into the sky underneath a shadowy figure's feet, and a terrifyingly deep laugh echoed through the fog. The shadow raised its hand, spreading out its fingers before making a violent fist.
It screamed out into the sea of fog.
"Pattern Two!"
Then, in the next moment, all Artemis could see ahead of him was ash. It rose high up into the sky in a straight line for as long as he could see. Several walls jutted out from underneath his feet, weaving themselves together in an incomprehensibly large labyrinth.
And it separated him from Cia, whose final look towards him was one of anxious disposition.
Ah, sh-t! The one time we were separated, this happens!?
The beasts descended upon him, gritting his teeth as he prepared himself.
The fog was like black fire on the air, dancing, setting it alight. But instead of spreading a brilliant light, an infallible darkness coated the horizon. A dancing shadow moving to the melody of death.
Artemis wove those dissonant notes into his strikes, clangor like bells, although his blade was less an instrument and more a needle. He wielded the thread of death, bodies became a tapestry on the ground.
These mindless monsters were far less intelligent and cunning than the Daemon Knight, and far easier to cut through. Not even considering that all of his strikes were reinforced by the Daemon's traits...
He cut into the body of a creature with the face of a skeleton, but the body of a dog, which was also somehow the size of a horse. The silver saber slid cleanly through its flesh, fatty red chunks falling to the ground as it let out a ghastly cry. He dropped his blade into the ash and caught another which lunged at him, which seemed like a fish that had taken to land, thin legs like a birds shooting outward before trying to grasp hold of his flesh with its talons.
He kicked down on the ash, causing his blade to launch upwards in the air. He simultaneously threw the creature upwards, catching his blade before raising it upwards. As the beast fell, he saw the recognition of danger in its eyes. It was skewered by the point of the saber, unable to let anything else out but a breath of reprieve, strangled and harsh, before life left its gaze.
A shower of crimson fell down upon him as the remaining monsters watched.
He threw the creature off of the end of his blade, striking down a thin red line into the ash beside him.
This was the first time that Artemis had put it into practice... but he had always been training his pattern recognition in fighting against multiple targets. Even before he had come to the Shadow, he had been using the lanterns in the courtyard to cast dancing shadows on the ground, dodging them deftly as if a simulation of battle.
There aren't very many things that can catch me up now.
Artemis ran in the opposite direction as the beasts. The labyrinth had opened up into a very narrow path, and so passing past them would have been quite difficult. He needed to find a way around the wall, to find a way to Cia! He turned a sharp corner, his boots digging into the ash below. It took everything in him not to slip as he ran. If he did, it wasn't like he had another arm to stabilise himself...
He saw a flash of shadow out of the corner of his eye. He instinctively raised his blade.
But it fell short.
Darkness suddenly shot out from behind him, cutting a deep gash into the side of his neck. Artemis cried out as he stumbled back, clutching at the wound, dropping his blade to the ground. Warmth spilled out onto his hand and shoulder, staining his clothes.
He stumbled, his momentum carrying him forward as he crashed into one of the walls of ash that had been erected. It wasn't soft and malleable as it had been on the ground. Now it was tough and taciturn, pain surging through his back.
The shadow landed a few feet away, twirling its blade before raising its other hand, beckoning Artemis's approach with a confident, show-boating demeanor.
He immediately willed the crimson serpents to attend to the wound on his neck, reaching down to grasp his blade before standing up and dashing backwards to create distance. His thoughts were racing.
Did this monster observe me for a time before attacking!? It knows I only have one arm, and its attacks now reflect that! It even gave me a non-lethal wound when it could have outright killed me, forcing me to drop my blade to cover it, and lowering my defenses to nothing at all!
Is it possible that this creature doesn't just want to kill me? It wants... a good fight?
Artemis nodded his head respectfully as he came to this realisation.
Of course, there was great virtue in strength. There was even more in battle. Glory, respect, victory... these were all things he had been taught to seek through violent means.
But the respect he had for great fighters was different. It wasn't because he had been taught that they were great men, he knew that many warriors were quite the opposite.
It was because they were just men that he respected them. They were simple beings who sought strength to overcome odds greater than themselves, just like he did in pursuit of victory against his brother.
And even those this shadow wasn't human...
...Artemis couldn't help but feel his heart rise with jubilation.
He knew that Cia might be in danger. He knew he had to find a way to her. He could just run past this shadow, trying not to waste any more time.
But this shadow could have killed him outright.
He felt it... necessary to honour its request.
In the years since August had departed for the sea of obsidian that surrounded their continent, Artemis had grown tall, lithe, and as firm as stone. When he was a weaker boy, he might have chosen not to fight the shadow.
He would not be a coward any longer.
However, just as he had prepared himself to fight the Duelist Shadow, it had already disappeared into thin air, as if it had never existed at all.
And a shout echoed through the open air.
"Pattern Four!"