For all he knew, she might have been inches away from him. With lightning-quick blows of the spear, he forced the Host to retreat, knowing that it would not allow itself to stumble upon Aria.
Ryden could feel the Host's desperation, could almost taste it. The hive mind wanted him dead so badly it was willing to endanger itself. Through the haze of the visions, Ryden could see the creature gritting its teeth in frustration, trying to match him blow for blow, but it couldn't. Even with all its powers, as the embodiment of an entire species, the single entity was not a match for him.
The general could see it clearly and pressed further to capitalize on the rare opportunity it was given. He knew therein lay the danger too. The Host was hungry for a victory, because it wanted to survive, to win. But he had a hunger too, not only for victory for its own sake, but for the glory it would bring him for killing the Host.
The spear was getting slippery in his hands from the blood of the Host, spilling down on him from wounds he'd dealt to the creature every time it came closer. It was snarling and gnashing its teeth at him, but even with two blades against one the hive mind couldn't get the upper hand. Problem was, neither could Ryden.
He knew why the Host had allowed him to come so close to it, and he knew the effect Aria had on him was plain to see. But if the Host had wanted to use the little Terran against him, it had to swallow down bitter disappointment.
Ryden pressed on, never taking his eyes off the form that he thought was the Host. He switched between using the spear to block the knives coming to cut his throat, only to slam its entire weight against the Host in the next second. With each strike that he delivered, the Host was backing away, but it didn't give him an opening for the kill yet.
It was fighting for its life, it knew that, but so was Ryden. It was clear one of them had to slay the other before the war was over. He didn't want to delay it any further.
The hive mind had been right. It was always right; that's what made it such a terrible enemy. Ryden had precious seconds to react when he saw one of the long knives was no longer striking at him. In the next second, he heard a scream that spiked through his entire being, from so close by he had to have been beside Aria.
With a roar, he stabbed a quick thrust with the blade of his spear right into the Host's stomach. The creature had to jump back to avoid being skewered by him and Ryden thought he could hear Aria stumble away.
"Aria," he called. "Aria."
"Yes," a weak answer came from his left, so quiet he almost missed it. "Ryden—"
Hearing his name from her mouth set his blood on fire in a way even the Host didn't during battle. If he'd given the hive mind a moment, if he'd let the Host harm her... no, even the thought of her getting hurt was quickly becoming unbearable.
The world snapped back into focus in one amazing and terrifying moment.
The sight that greeted him was the most horrifying thing he'd ever seen. He had misjudged the Host's location. The creature was towering over Aria, who was clutching a bleeding arm against her, the beautiful blue eyes filled with tears of pain and fear. Ryden hadn't even begun wondering how it was he was suddenly free of the Host's illusions, when the moment hit harder than he'd ever expected.
She was his. His gesha.
There should have been joy, exhilaration, but fates were robbing him of all that. Instead, he had real, honest fear for the first time in his life. It was very much like the realization moments he'd heard about, manifesting only in the most extreme circumstances.
Without hesitation, he charged the creature. The moment all Brion men had when they recognized their fated was pounding through his blood. It felt, like so many had sensed before him, like the coming together of little pieces of him, tied into one by the little Terran. Everything that he had ever been was hers now and she was his, forever. And the forever was threatening to be awfully short.
The moment pushed all of his already tense senses to new heights. That was the reason he could suddenly cast off the Host's mind games and see his enemy clearly again. But with all of that, he was still too far away from where he should have been.#p#分页标题#e#
Almost like in slow motion, he saw Aria raise a gun in her defense, shooting clumsily at her attacker. She fell back, but the Host couldn't dodge the bullet. It had to halt its death blow to parry the shot, giving Ryden the precious second he needed.
In the next, he did the most reckless thing he'd ever done and attacked the Host with his bare hands. It was the only thing he could do. He dropped the spear to grab the creature's hands and wrest them away from Aria, matching his bare strength against the Host's.
It looked down upon him, almost a head taller, grinning with its wide mouth through broken, bloody teeth. Dueling with weapons, the Host was outmatched, but without them... he could use his height and bulk to truly fight Ryden.
It wasn't immediately evident how much strength the champions had in their slender bodies, but he wasn't surprised in the least to feel the hive mind push him back. He knew it was a bad idea, but it had also been the only option left to him. It was the only way he could make sure that Aria was okay, and no other options existed.
"I knew it," the Host was wheezing, the glint of pride unmistakable in his eyes. "I knew long before you did."
Ryden didn't doubt that, not for a moment.
"Aria, get away," he ordered, groaning under the Host's assault. "Get away now."
"No, but you—" she protested.
Ryden didn't have the chance to respond, because the Host was bearing down on him. It had the advantage of the angle, pushing the blades down, closer inch by inch to the general's neck. It was practically crouching on top of him now, the Host's eyes gleaming with disbelief, with vile joy.
"I hoped I would be able to hurt you before I died," the Host whispered to him, the deep voice slurring the words. "I wanted to kill your precious gesha before your eyes and then you, but I never expected to do it right in the middle of your moment."
Ryden heard Aria's gasp of surprise and seethed with rage. It was no one else's place to reveal the truth to the gesha but his. Yet he knew Aria's life was more important than that. More important than anything else in the world.
The Host was almost bending him in two now and Ryden knew that if his hands touched the floor beneath him, he'd be dead. The Host would cut his head clean off and then Aria's. What he planned to do was a terrible risk, but it was his only way to get the both of them out of there alive.
The blades inched closer and he heard Aria calling his name. It was impossible to bear the despair in her voice. She had crawled away like he'd told her to, but seeing him in danger, she moved to come back. Ryden couldn't allow that.
He'd dropped the spear when he charged the Host, but a Brion warrior never left their weapon lying there without purpose, or there would have been no use in discarding it. It was there, right in his reach, but he had to let the Host come far enough.
"The victory is mine," the Host hissed at him when the blades touched his throat.
"You lost a long time ago," Ryden replied.
He grabbed the spear from the floor beside him, feeling the comfortable weight of it in his hand. For that he had to let one of the Host's hands go, earning himself a gash on his shoulder, but it didn't do much damage because the Host lost its balance when he released the grip.
The Host only had to slam the other knife through his heart, but Ryden was faster. He jammed the spear into the Clayor champion's side, and heard it roar in pain. The cry echoed from monitors in the room, and it seemed like the world was starting to shake around him.
The Host clambered off of him, limping away. It was snarling like the wounded animal it was, holding the one knife up for its defense. Ryden could have risked trying to kill it, but it would have almost certainly meant both his and Aria's death. Already he felt the ground shake beneath his feet as every Clayor on Ilotra was rushing to their position to protect the Host. They had seconds, at most.
It bothered his pride to leave the Host alive, but judging by the ugly wound in its side, it wouldn't live long. And one look at Aria was enough to know that he had to get her away from there, far away from the dying Host.
He grabbed her hand, pulling her along as the Host watched them go. A few visions appeared before his eyes, but they were as weak as the Host itself. As soon as they were out of the room and rushing away, the mass of the Clayors somewhere above their heads, the visions ceased. The Host was trying to focus on staying alive.
"Is it over?" Aria asked, running to keep up with his strides. "Is the Host dead?"#p#分页标题#e#
"No," Ryden said. "We would know if it was. It's simply looking for another body."
Aria stopped, her eyes wide.
"We should go back, kill it now when we have the chance."
"I will not risk your life for that."
"What are you talking about?" Aria protested. "You have the chance to kill the Host."
Ryden saw the mass of Clayors appearing from the other end of the walkway they were standing in. They noticed him too, but didn't approach. They were rushing to the Host's side. Nothing else mattered, not even the man who'd killed it.
"I will," the general assured her. "But I will not sacrifice you for that."