Through a deserted area in the forest, a figure flashed, Sprinting and panting from exhaustion.
Another two figures flashed behind like a hollow, dashing like some unseen ghosts and wandering through the forest.
The first figure was a girl, sprinting even faster than her speed limitations. A desperate attempt to escape two Hollowbanes.
Yet, the Hollowbanes had no rivals in terms of speed. Well... not yet.
The girl found an open area ahead, sliding on the ground, rotated, and anchored behind a tree from the other side.
Two gusts of wind, that seemed more closely to two blades, flashed from both sides and stood in front of the anchor point.
The girl became fully exposed. Exhaustion was severely high she couldn't even stand up.
All she could do was to hold her sword as tight as possible with both her hands.
Panting, exhausted as hell, and injured. Yet, the girl didn't give up. The look on her face, the light in her eyes, said everything.
"The... Hah! Fallen... will... always... Hah! Rise... Hah! Again!" The girl said, suffering from saying those simple words which hid such a deep meaning.
The Hollowbanes didn't care about her state and launched toward her with killing intent. Their claws extended, their arms straightened forward, and their dash was hollow as a ghost.
The girl increased her holding force and pointed her sword against them. What she saw next, made her heart sink in terror.
Two claws flashed upon her with unseen speed.
Suddenly, two gusts of wind flashed from both sides and also from behind.
"Well said, girl!" Ash said as he landed his feet on the right hollow bane. The force of his strike was both fast and destructive, forcing the Hollowbane to fly backward.
"Yea, some big words from a fallen." Nyro said as he flashed his daggers on top of the left Hollowbane. Countless slashes landed on it. Nyro used his speed to slash rapidly fast and finished his combo with a powerful kick, forcing the Hollowbane to fly backward like his brother.
Ash and Nyro stood in front of the girl, their backs said more than their words would.
"Yet, I liked what you said." Nyro added. He didn't intend to mock her, he just couldn't complete what he wanted to say.
Ash didn't wait for the Hollowbanes to regain their composure. He immediately dashed to attack without mercy.
Nyro as soon as he felt Ash's intention to attack, he also joined him in the assault.
The travelers dashed with killing intent, one with dark gauntlets and the other with sharp violet daggers.
Together, they managed to split the Hollowbanes, one for each one.
The girl seemed to lower her guard once Ash and Nyro appeared, resulting in lowering the adrenaline shot her body gave as an attempt to survive.
Her eyes blinked, her vision blurry. Though behind the blur, a figure with a gentle smile and blue hair and eyes, channeled something in his right arm, lighting her body with green particles.
Aeris began his healing on the girl.
"Hang in there. The healing won't take long." Aeris assured, making the girl relax more and more.
Shizuna appeared beside them with her bow ready to shoot anything that gets nearby. Their formation was invincible.
Ash took the Hollowbane he faced with another surprise, attacking its eyes before it even realizes what was going on.
But Nyro was still dashing. The other Hollowbane wasn't contained! Ash felt razor-sharp claws stung his body from the left.
"Khaaahaaa." Ash spat blood and groaned from sever pain. His torture with Reive didn't contain stabbing.
The Hollowbane that was Ash's target, recovered and attacked with an arch kick, resulting in Ash flying backward. But not toward and Aeris and Shizuna with the girl. No, it was the opposite way, deeper into the forest.
Nyro saw what happened and increased his speed. His daggers shot forth, meeting the claws of the Hollowbane that he targeted.
The other Hollowbane turned into a blur and vanished. His prey was Ash himself.
Nyro exchanged many slashes with the Hollowbane, each one of them slashing with full speed.
Obviously, the Hollowbane was faster. Many cuts appeared on Nyro's body, but that only made him much stronger.
Nyro dissipated into his invisible domain, and began wandering around the Hollowbane.
The Hollowbane wasn't dumb. Once it saw the prey going invisible, its only way to fight was hearing. And it failed so badly.
Not only did the Hollowbane couldn't hear anything, it was also getting many cuts with each passing second.
The problem was the cuts was too shallow, even the Hollowbane didn't find it near fatal.
Shizuna watched the fight with admiration for Nyro, until she heard something moving on the right side.
Immediately, she drew her string backward and waited for the prey to show itself.
The prey was a mere Fluffbane. So poor that once it was exposed to Shizuna's eyes, the arrow shot toward it with efficiency.
Shizuna widened, something she gained from that kill which she needed the most.
And that was none other than EXP.
"With that kill, I finally got you... Level 5." Shizuna smiled as something new appeared in her system that she only could see.
"Time to show my true skills to the travelers." Shizuna's eyes narrowed, her smile grew bigger, and pulled her bow near her waist from the left side.
Suddenly, many particles shimmered on her bow, lighting the surroundings with incandescent light.
"The samurai... Has returned!"
Her bow kept shining for almost 15 seconds. until something weird happened.
The weapon's shape was changing! Changing as Shizuna herself was changing from a cute archer into a feared samurai.
What appeared in her hands turned to be a Katana! A katana so long in length, its blade was so sharp it could cut steel like butter.
The blade was a Nodachi! Covered in intricate patterns in black and yellow. Its sheath appeared in her left hand which had the same colors of the sword.
"Why don't everyone greet the shape shifter samurai. Right, Aeris?!" Shizuna said with some authority. Shizuna regained her true personality. The personality of a killer she once was and has returned.