George groaned as his senses came back. A light headache invaded his mind and caused dizziness, attempting to disrupt his balance. Yet, the sheath was still in his hands, and he tightened his grip on it to gain awareness of his current strength.
That awareness spread to the rest of George's body. He slightly bent his knees and steadied his legs to stabilize his balance. He also found a tough surface to his left and used it to help himself during that uncomfortable situation.
George kept his eyes closed to focus on the process, but auras eventually touched his senses and forced him to open them. His dizziness made the white artificial light that landed in his view blinding, but only a few seconds had to pass for him to get used to it. Still, the surprises didn't end there.
The artificial illumination shone on a corridor full of metal and rocky columns. The passage itself was narrow, so those hindrances made crossing it quite annoying. The pillars also stood two meters apart, revealing their connection to the ceiling's stability.
Nevertheless, the columns were only part of the problem. A team of seven soldiers between the second and third levels stood behind those pillars, blocking the way forward.
George instinctively leaned backward but found a rocky wall waiting for him. He didn't need to turn to know that advancing was the only way out of the situation, and another groan escaped his mouth when he went over the problems with that approach.
Using a sword in that narrow environment was problematic. A quick inspection told George that he could cut through those pillars, but that would be pointless if the ceiling ended up crumbling on him.
George's senses also warned him about the threat posed by the team. His perception wasn't as accurate as Khan's, but he knew that dealing with so many opponents without his sword would be difficult.
Thoughts about the location and situation barely touched George. He didn't care about where he was. The teleport had happened in enemy territory, so he instantly labeled those soldiers as opponents. Everything else was pointless for now.
"Come with us quietly," The man closest to George stated when he realized that words would reach him, "And no one will get hurt."
"I have a counteroffer," George snorted, pressing his left thumb on the sword's guard to partially sheathe it. "The first who tells me how to deal with the bomb gets to live."
George's mind had already gone battle mode, so his voice carried no sarcasm. However, his face still showed the annoyance of the scuffed teleport, adding a careless vibe that made the soldiers underestimate him.
The man near George glanced at the sword before looking at the two rocky walls at his sides. A quick calculation happened in his mind and gave positive results. Even if George could unsheathe his weapon, the corridor would get in the way of his techniques.
The soldier laughed at that realization, and his companions echoed that cry. George's sudden appearance had initially startled them, but it was now clear they had the upper hand. They would never let him dictate the pace of that encounter.
"Let's just kill him," A woman behind the first soldier suggested. "He is useless to us anyway."
"Do you think a random guy could find the location of the teleport?" The first soldier cursed, glancing at the speaker behind him. "We can interrogate him and share information with the other cell before everything explodes."
"Is the bomb already active?" George questioned, heaving a helpless sigh and scratching the side of his head on the wall. "How is Khan getting into these situations all the time?"
"Listen, boy!" The first soldier shouted, facing George. "Do you know who we are? We are the Hiv-!"
The soldier couldn't finish his line since a dark-silver ethereal sword pierced his forehead, crossing his head. The man died on the spot, and George seized that chance to sprint toward his still-standing corpse.
The rest of the team didn't initially understand what was happening. The white illumination also partially hid the ethereal sword, and the corridor's layout made it hard for the soldiers to notice George's advance.
George had already taken into consideration all of that. His careless behavior didn't make him any less of a master of the battlefield. He had also devised a plan, and that moment of surprise gave him a chance to implement it.
The team peeked past the pillars and got closer to their dead companion when George disappeared behind him. Yet, an ethereal sword pierced the corpse's torso and grew until it reached a woman behind it.
The sword hit the woman at the center of her chest, piercing it to reach her heart. She only had the time to gasp before blood spurted from the wound. She tried to close it with her hands, but her organ had already suffered fatal damage.
George had been smart enough to make the sword disappear right after the attack, but the team wasn't completely clueless. Even if some had yet to understand how George was fighting, it was clear that he had become a threat, which required a response.
"Kill him!" One of the soldiers shouted, triggering a chain reaction that made multiple spells fly toward the standing corpse.
Scorching bullets, wind slashes, snakes made of water, and ice shards flew toward the corpse. A rocky worm also grew from the ground and crawled forward to explode into a storm of debris. The attacks made a mess of the end of the tunnel, digging holes into the dead soldier and sending blood in every direction.
George had initially used the corpse as a shield, but the spells quickly pierced it, forcing him to move behind a nearby column. However, that barrier also crumbled, slamming him back at the end of the tunnel.
The storms of attacks didn't end even after cornering George. The explosions had actually lifted enough smoke to hide his features, so the team kept launching spells to ensure his death.
After four rounds of spells, the team finally showed signs of slowing down, and one soldier eventually voiced a loud "Stop!" that interrupted the offensive. Silence broken only by the crackling noises of the rocky surfaces unfolded at that point, forcing everyone to wait for the smoke to disperse.
The silence grew deafening. The tension intensified, and each falling and breaking rock almost made the team resume their offensive. No one dared to advance, but an exchange of gazes soon unfolded, reassuring the most anxious soldiers.
A mere look was enough to remind those soldiers that the bomb was about to explode. Their death was set in stone, so worrying about that intruder was pointless. Even keeping him in that corridor was superfluous, but growing complacent so close to the success of their mission wasn't an option.
Strangely enough, the smoke didn't show any ripple. A breathing body would disturb that slow dispersion, but nothing similar afflicted the grey cloud. Complete stillness filled the tunnel, seemingly hinting at George's death.
Two minutes passed in that situation, eventually dispersing part of the tension. A chuckle even resounded among the team when the smoke grew thin enough to allow the inspection of the tunnel's end.
A standing figure slowly became visible, and the never-ending dispersion of the smoke added more details as the seconds passed. The team could see George lying in the deepest corner of the tunnel, wielding his sheath with both hands while his arms protected his chest and face.
Injuries soon became visible. George's abdomen had a few bloody spots, and the same went for his legs. His arms were no better, showing burns and icy shards still stabbed in his flesh.
The scene reassured the team, but the most experienced among them raised their hands to prevent reckless behavior. George was clearly injured, but his body didn't carry anything fatal. Even a second-level warrior could survive those wounds, and he had already shown to be stronger than that.
The fall of a small rock next to George's shoulder startled the team and distracted them for an instant. Yet, nothing moved afterward, bringing more reassurance. George appeared to have really died, putting an end to that invasion.
Still, a murmur eventually resounded. A faint voice spread through the tunnel, forcing the team to lean forward in an attempt to hear it. It clearly came from George, but no one saw his lips moving.
The voice grew louder, but George remained still. However, that was enough for the team. They understood he was still alive, so they pointed their hands forward and summoned their mana to prepare their next offensive.
Nevertheless, George's lips finally moved, and a firm voice capable of filling the entire corridor escaped them before spells could fly in his direction. "My spirit burns."
Dark-silver flashes replaced the artificial illumination at that point. George performed a series of slashes before his opponents' mana could turn into spells. His sword barely appeared in the open, returning into the sheath as soon as the instantaneous attack ended. His right leg also kicked the wall behind him, pushing him forward to perform a fast sprint.
Everything had been too quick for those soldiers. The slashes and the sprint had barely occupied a few seconds. They managed to react only when George approached them, but their bodies refused to move. Even their mana didn't answer their commands.
George ran as if his life depended on it. He ignored the soldiers, sprinting past them and even bumping into a few to make his way forward. Still, the first impact triggered a chain reaction that spread throughout the corridor and affected the entire team.
The first impact happened with a woman. George slammed on her shoulder to open his path, revealing that her torso wasn't connected to her abdomen. The upper side of her body fell, bringing part of the column behind her down with it.
Rocks fell, generating tremors that caused more reactions in the tunnel. Cuts opened on all the soldiers, pillars, and walls, making everything crumble and aim for the ground.
The ceiling grew unstable and soon caved in. Boulders fell, accumulating on the ground and covering the tunnel. George had to jump to escape a big rock aimed directly at his head, but his speed turned out to be high enough to make him escape the danger.
Everything trembled as George fell to his knees and slid on the rocky ground, ultimately slamming into a wall past the tunnel. He peeked past his shoulder in time to see the collapsed passage stabilizing and transforming into another firm surface. No one would understand that the place used to have a cave, but a detail of its past existence stood at its base.
George's eyes grew colder when he looked at the base of the new wall. A head, an arm, and a pair of shoulders were peeking out of a boulder that a fused with the ground. The soldier at the end of the team had fallen backward, allowing part of his body to touch the safe area.
Blood accumulated under the man's head, but George only looked into his eyes. That lifeless gaze full of surprise, fear, and terror was a familiar sight for him. George recalled the battlefield very well, and a conclusion popped into his mind after re-experiencing it.
'I didn't miss it,' George realized, nodding in approval.
A grunt escaped George's mouth at that point. His injuries were very real, and glancing at them made him aware of the copious amount of blood they leaked. He tried to stand up, but his legs had given everything during the last sprint. He needed to rest before being able to move again.
However, an earthquake suddenly invaded the area, making George inspect his surroundings. He was in another illuminated passage, but nothing explained the reason behind those tremors. He knew they weren't his fault, and his brain could only muster one answer.
'What did Khan do now?' George cursed.
