Rix ran towards the shadowy creature and, with a leap, struck with his dagger.
*SLASH*
But the guardian dodged. Even so, the young man didn't stop his assault, delivering blow after blow. Even missing, he didn't cease, leaving no opening for the guardian to even breathe.
It was slash after slash, all dodged by the shadowy being. But Rix saw an opportunity: he cornered it against the wall and prepared to deliver a precise strike right to the face hidden by darkness. However, just as the dagger was about to cut, so close it almost illuminated the figure's face with its greenish reflection, the hooded guardian dodged to the side and delivered a kick to Rix, sending him sliding backwards across the floor.
Rix steadied himself, his heart pounding. He was paralyzed by fear for a moment, his breathing ragged.
*'I attack but nothing works. Who is this guy? Or what is this guy?'* His eyes were lost and frightened; he was lost in thoughts of fear and denial.
Grok saw Rix frozen and, without hesitation, charged forward with a furious roar.
— AAAAAAARG!!
Brandishing his mace, he delivered a powerful blow aiming at the Guardian's head. But the creature moved with surprising speed, dodging as its cloak made of darkness swirled through the air, like materialized shadow. Grok hit the floor, causing cracks from the impact.
— You will die for being weak, and your student too, because of you. — The figure looked down at him with superiority and arrogance.
Despite his size and appearance, Grok is friendly and calm, but in that moment, he let himself be consumed by rage. A threat he could accept, but the creature had messed with his student, and no one messes with his students!
"BERSERK!"
Grok's eyes turned orange, and black stripes covered his body. He grew even larger, his fat replaced by muscle, reaching 2 meters and 20 centimeters tall. He picked up his mace, which was stuck in the floor, and lifted it with a powerful strike.
Before it could dodge, the guardian found itself hit.
"MOUNTAIN BREAKER!"
The impact was so strong it sent it flying upwards, and it fell heavily onto the floor meters away from Grok. The guardian's chin shattered into metallic fragments, which flew everywhere from beneath its hood—fragments of a black metal like the night, which Grok had never seen before.
— INFERIOR WORM! CORRUPT THIEF! BANDIT, YOU ARE RUINEDOOOOOOO! — The guardian stood up, floating off the floor with a single impulse.
*'I hit him.'* Rix was still scared, wondering if he could defeat beings of such power.
The Guardian of Forbidden Words raised its hand, revealing its pale, thin arm. The air around them seemed to freeze. A cold energy emanated from its figure, making Rix's lantern flame tremble violently.
Before Grok could deliver another blow, the Guardian extended its other hand, and streams of purple light crackled from its fingers, hitting Grok in the chest.
*EXPLOSION!*
The burly rogue staggered back, groaning in pain. A faint smoke began to emanate from his leather armor, the black stripes vanished, and his muscles returned to normal size, his vision darkening. He was on the verge of fainting.
— You have defiled this sacred place, — the creature yelled, its spectral voice filled with hatred. — You will pay with your lives.
— Grok! — Rix exclaimed, snapping back to reality, his eyes filling with tears seeing Grok in danger. He knew he had to act fast!
*'Alright, I can't miss now!'* He remembered his training with Grok, who made him train until his body couldn't take anymore, days and nights training his body...
*'Kid, we're rogues. Our fights should be settled with the fewest possible blows, always precise and powerful. Is there any strike you trained more than others?'*
He recalled what Grok said about expending too much energy on many weak blows, and that it was better to focus all strength into the fewest possible strikes.
He pointed his dagger at the creature...
*'After that day, I trained this single attack technique non-stop, for three full days until I reached my physical limit... I have only one chance.'*
*'I HAVE ONLY ONE CHANCE TO GET US OUT OF HERE!'*
Rix charged at maximum speed towards the Guardian of Forbidden Words, with red lightning flashing around him, leaving a large red streak in his wake.
"BLOODY PIERCE!"
The shadowy creature extended its hands and conjured a kind of pure darkness shield, attempting to avoid the blow. But before it realized, it saw the young man approaching as fast as lightning.
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*
A deafening thunderclap filled the entire area, echoing and shaking the stone walls. But after that, silence...
After attacking, Rix fell to one knee. When he looked back, he saw the figure split in half, with a cut starting at its forehead and descending to the left side of its abdomen.
— Noooooooooooo! — the creature shrieked horrifically, plunging its hands into its own chest, as if preparing a final strike.
— I am the guardian of this book, and if I can no longer protect it, I must destroy it to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands, like THIEVES such as yourselves! — It pulled out a black sphere with faint red tones, pulsing like a heart.
— Grok, what is he going to do? What is that in his hand? — Rix looked at Grok, expecting instructions, as if he had reverted to being an inexperienced student.
— Kid, *cough cough* — Grok coughed up blood onto the floor, having choked on it.
— Kid! Run! He's going to destroy the book! Grab it and get out of here fast! — He used the little breath he had to yell at Rix.
Rix nodded, as if accepting the mission.
*'Come on, Rix. This isn't training anymore. Everything depends on you now!'* He thought, remembering he couldn't fail now.
Recalling Lyra's teachings, Rix pulled his cloak tight around himself and threw himself onto his back.
"SHADOW STEALTH!"
He plunged into the shadows, moving at maximum speed like a dark and fierce spirit, with a single certainty in his mind: he had to reach the book.
Rix reached the pedestal where the book was. He grabbed the bound tome in a pure form of green leather, feeling a shiver run down his spine upon touching the cold cover. The red symbol engraved on it seemed to pulse slightly.
— AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH —
Rix heard a cry of pain that seemed familiar. When he looked back, he saw Grok with a trident stuck in his stomach, and behind him a larger shadow, now wearing a crown of black metal like the night, with three points facing upwards at the front of the crown.
— Noooo! — Rix screamed with such hatred that he drooled like a creature. He had seen his mentor gravely injured, the very person he thought so powerful and was inspired by when it came to combat.
*'CALM DOWN, RIX! CALM DOWN, RIX! You're not a Shadow Novice anymore. Compose yourself and get your master out of this situation!'* Rix yelled at himself in his mind, as if fighting an internal battle.
"DEBT COLLECTION!"
Rix extended the palm of his hand upwards while concentrating on his target, and instantly the trident piercing his master teleported into his hand.
— Grok, let's get out of here now. We have the book and know the way out, and I'll deal with this pest! — Rix seemed confident, his gaze fixed on the guardian general and thinking only of saving his master.
The young man swung the long trident of black metal like the night and hurled it towards the shadowy figure.
*PIERCE*
The Guardian General looked down and saw his own trident pinning him to the wall, embedded in his chest.
— Now Grok, let's get out of here before he breaks free! — Rix turned towards the exit and prepared to run with Grok.
— Over there! — the big man grunted, his long braided blond mustaches swaying, pointing towards the door they had entered.
They ran back down the corridor, and the Guardian quickly pulled free its trident, and blending with shadows and matter, became whole again. It then ran to pursue them closely, the creature moving with terrifying speed, passing through obstacles in its path.
Upon reaching the stairs leading to the main reading room, the Guardian caught up with them. It pointed its trident and unleashed a beam of red light towards Rix. This time the beam was larger and glowed the color of clotted blood.
*SPAAAAAAARK!*
The young man managed to dodge at the last second, the beam hitting the wall and leaving a small charred hole.
— Go up! I'll cover you! — Grok yelled, stopping to face the Guardian.
Rix hesitated for a moment, not wanting to leave his injured master behind, but he knew the book was too important to be lost, and with a nod to Grok, he began to climb the stairs as fast as he could.
Upon reaching the reading room, Rix ran towards the shelf that hid the secret passage and twisted the small instrument in the slot, and the shelf moved, revealing the opening.
He looked back, waiting for Grok, and saw the burly rogue appearing at the base of the stairs, limping but still standing, and the Guardian was right behind him, its red eyes glowing intensely, the middle point of its iron crown almost scraping the ceiling of the narrow passage.
— Now! — Grok yelled, pushing Rix into the passage.
As soon as Rix went through the opening, Grok threw himself in behind him, and the shelf slid back into place, blocking the entrance. They heard a furious shout from the other side, followed by violent pounding against the wood, but which had no effect due to its magical resistance.
Reaching the street, Rix and Grok went down the secret passage as fast as their legs allowed. Adrenaline was the only thing keeping them going against the tiredness and fatigue after so much fighting.
Finally, they reached the trapdoor in the dark alley. Kael was there, waiting, his expression tense and worried about their delay.
— What happened? You took longer than expected. I heard a commotion in there and was already getting ready to go in myself.
— We found the book, — Rix said, breathless, showing the black tome. — But we also found... a guardian... Actually, two.
Grok emerged from the trapdoor, limping and with burn marks on his armor. — That thing was strong, but the second one, maybe the general, was horrifying. I've never seen anything like it.
Kael examined Grok with concern. — We need to get back to the hideout. Silas needs to see this book and know what we found in there.
They moved quickly through the city's shadows, avoiding the main streets, and upon reaching the guild's hideout, they found Silas waiting, with a worried and serious expression that turned to relief upon seeing his companions arrive.
Rix placed the book on the table and told Silas about the Guardian of Forbidden Words and the Guardian General who appeared afterwards, describing their appearances and powers.
Silas listened attentively, his expression growing increasingly serious. When Rix finished, the guild leader picked up the book and examined it carefully.
— This book... — Silas murmured, running his fingers over the cold green leather cover — They say it contains secrets the Order of Scribes tries to keep hidden at all costs, and finding such powerful guardians protecting it means those secrets are even more important than we imagined.
He looked at Rix, his eyes filled with new intensity.
— You did well to bring us this book, Rix, but be careful. I have a feeling our search for knowledge about the Soul Gems has just become much more dangerous.