“Just a few more seconds,” Clem and Hagar said almost simultaneously.
Meanwhile, I held my ground and started the long, arduous process of summoning my weapon. With my core damaged, I had to gather aspects and jinsei slowly, a little at a time. I was confident my friends could deal with the constructs without my aid and frustrated that they couldn’t rely on me in a pinch.
“On my way!” Abi shouted as he raced past us, his heavy, two-handed fusion sword clasped tightly in both hands, its blade cocked back to rest on his shoulder. Abi was nowhere near as fast as Eric, but I still wouldn’t want to be on the business end of a chopping blow from him.
“I’m right on your tail.” Clem’s fusion blade appeared in her hands a moment after Abi passed her. Her weapon had a short, slender blade with a two-handed hilt, one sharp edge, and a chisel tip. She held the weapon in one hand, low and away from her body, as she chased after our friend. Though she was the weakest fighter on our team, I was sure Clem’s techniques would still be more than a match for the constructs.
“No sword for you?” Hagar asked. “Leaving all the hard work for the rest of us?”
“I thought I’d give you a chance to do some work before I saved the day,” I said. “You’re the upperclassman. Go show them how it’s done.”
“Maybe I’ll do that,” Hagar said thoughtfully. Her long, slender weapon had a gentle curve that ended in a razor-sharp tip. She handled the blade with an almost careless ease, sweeping its tip through a series of figure eights as she stalked downfield toward our enemies. Her aura bristled with violence and blood aspects like a crimson corona around her. Experience had shown me that Hagar was a fearsome combatant. The constructs would be no match for her.
Especially since they were all still chasing after Eric. He led them around in a looping circle that brought them back to Abi and the others at midfield. Our opponents didn’t seem to notice that the game had changed. They kept trying to set up traps for Eric, who jumped over them, and were completely unprepared to defend themselves when my team struck.
Abi was the first to attack. Though he had no offensive techniques, he was strong enough that his heavy blade was a serious threat even without techniques to improve its power. He stepped into his swing and swept his blade through one of the legs of a squat second-rank construct as it charged after Eric. The heavy fusion sword ripped the leg clean away from the thing’s body. Sparks of sacred energy splashed out of the severed limb, and the construct lost its balance and fell hard onto the clay surface of the arena.
“Nice shot!” Eric shouted as he led the constructs away from their fallen companion. “This will be a piece—”
One of the flanking goalies had rushed to intercept Eric on his blind side. Its broad hands lengthened into a pair of wickedly sharp long swords. The blades’ faceted edges were coated with a brilliant layer of sacred energy that would add to their cutting strength.
I shouted a warning, but knew it was far too little, far too late.
Eric had been so confident in his ability to evade the constructs that he hadn’t raised a single defensive technique.
He paid for his pride with blood.
The goalie’s blade sliced through Eric’s side just above his hip. The blow slashed through my friend’s robes and split his flesh down to the muscle. Blood splashed from the wound, and the goalie drew his weapon back for a brutal follow-up attack.
Eric had only survived because of his speed and training. He’d turned away from the construct’s slashing blow the instant I’d shouted my warning. That had been too slow to save him from an ugly flesh wound, but it had been fast enough to spare his internal organs and major blood vessels.
With a shout of pain and anger, Eric whipped the ball in his right hand at his attacker’s legs. The rubber ball wasn’t heavy enough to do any real damage. The sheer force behind it, though, staggered Eric’s enemy and gave him the space he needed to retreat and summon his fusion blade.
I winced at the way my friend staggered back from his foe. Abdominal wounds were nasty, and that gash would limit Eric’s mobility.
Clem leaped through the air and landed beside Eric. The rest of the opposing team was mere yards away, blades bared and ready to hack and slash. There was no way Clem could hope to fight all nine of the remaining constructs, even with Eric’s help. Abi and Hagar weren’t close enough to pitch in. They’d never reach the fray in time.
My breath caught in my throat. I was about to see two of my friends get carved into bloody chunks.
Clem planted her heel and whipped a spinning wheel kick toward the constructs that had been chasing Eric. Sacred energy pulsed through the channels of her leg, strengthening it and accelerating the blow. The attack was fierce and lightning fast.
It also missed every one of the attacking constructs.
The creatures didn’t miss a step. Their charge carried them forward. They’d be on top of Clem in the next heartbeat.
Clem’s outstretched leg whirled around in a flat arc. Her momentum turned her away from the constructs, exposing her back to their blades. Weapons plunged toward her defenseless body.
Eric shouted a warning and raised his weapon to defend Clem. It was a noble, futile gesture. His injury made him too slow to reach his ally.
Clem’s spin brought her around to face her enemies again. A construct’s weapon sliced through the sleeve of her robes and carved a shallow line through the skin beneath. Clem let out a ferocious kiai and didn’t flinch as a weapon opened a bloody wound across her cheek.
I didn’t want to see this, but I couldn’t tear
