Abystella - The Star of The Abyss

Chapter 5: Cute Girls Are Falling From the Sky?!

Of course, it didn't trigger his instinct, that which was falling on top of him was no threat. When Jack came to, he felt something really soft on top of him, I't was quite dazzling, a beautiful girl with brown hair dyed white on the tips around the same stature as him was laying on top of him unconscious. "I guess she fell from somewhere up above." Moving to the side he sighed. "As if my own survival wasn't enough worry." He thought in frustration, but he knew he couldn't just leave her there and go exploring, so he dragged her wounded body inside the cave and left her by the place where he himself had collapsed some time prior. "Well... guess I ain't leaving this cave anytime soon, so I might as well explore it" Jack had neglected doing so as his previous state was in no way prepared but now he was limited in it as to not endanger the passed out girl. At least she seemed to have a bow equipped on her back, so she wouldn't be a burden when she woke up, in addition to that she would most likely known where other human would be so it gave him some more hope.

Further inside the cave system Jack could hear distant bird-like noises, so he already had a notion on what kind of beast he would be facing in there, or better, up there. His eyes began patrolling the ceiling too, wouldn't want to get any unexpected surprises now would he. Thankfully the mushroom growths lit up the area a bit or being a lookout would have no meaning at all. Deeper inwards he finally spotted his first monster.

As Jack had predicted it was a gray bird almost 1.5 m in height even if slouched over, our hero calculated that it's wingspan would be too big for this specific passage, so he relaxed a bit in regard to attacks coming from the air. However, he still couldn't be lenient as the thing had a long pelican like black beak that could probably tear his head right off his shoulders and it's eyes were glossy black with no light of humanity in them. Still, he wasn't too discouraged to fight as he assumed there were many more, much deadlier monsters in this rift. Thus, he made a plan on his head, one to ambush it from the last place a winged creature would expect, from above. Jack climbed the mossy wall of the cave, using his newfound strength to grip tightly to a protruding rock of the ceiling. Using his other hand to hold his blade, he waited.

When the foul bird was just bellow him, time had come and as he let go falling directly above the creature a single idiotic thought wen't through his mind. "I ain't no cute girl but damn do I have a surprise coming from above ready, hope you like it."

As if sensing the disturbance in the air the creature looked up but it was already all too late as the blade passed inches away from its face, but it definitely did not miss the target as it neatly decepated one of its wings in a fell swoop.

What followed after was truly hectic as the creature immediately tried to beak open Jacks head, which, thankfully, he dodged as it went right through the stone as if it was a spear made of tempered steel.

Jack couldn't miss the opportunity to try to slice off it's long vulnerable neck and took advantage to test out the active skill of his uncertain swordsmanship. He felt thee blood on him draining at that moment and went for the kill. Luckily or unluckily it activated.

At that moment a loud bang was heard in the entire cave as he had high-rolled a thunder attack,  his hands trembled with power, but he managed to direct it at his foe. The animal was instantly dead but the problems were just starting as echoes of wings flapping could be heard from the path up ahead. "Well shit, I should've calculated the possibility of something like that."

Thinking of the horde of ugly bird coming his direction, his instincts told him to run, but this time he didn't have the benefit of choice as the strange girl was unconscious in the entrance of the cave. He considered running for a brief moment but decided to fight against his instincts to stay and fight. "I know nothing about her, and she's a total stranger to me, but mother would kill me if I ran while abandoning a defenseless lady in distress."

And so he didn't despite knowing that could very well lead to his death. Deciding on trying the same strategy again he got up into position high in the ceiling. When therein they came, some good 6 birds of prey scrambled their way into view following a single file line. He decided on dropping down on the last one to pass as doing so, in front would be a sure way to alert all of them but the first to his presence instantly, and in the middle would get him surrounded. The Worst case he'll have to chase a couple of them to the entrance and protect the girl. Steeling his resolve even more he awaited patiently and since he had already alerted them of his presence, there would be no harm in using his power again, despite him not knowing how many of his uncertain swordsmanship active effects he could still use.

When the last one of them was just underneath his position he made the jump, this time aiming straight for the soft neck.

Jack needed to kill each one as fast as possible, so when he felt the blood being used by the skill, he hoped to all gods, if there were any, for it to not just activate but also be a useful effect. And so it did activate, right as he cut the neck, for the matter, however, there was no wound and further ahead the first creature of the line, fell down decapitated.

Confused by the sudden death of their brother, the four in front took awhile to be alerted by Jack's presence but the one he fell on, immediately tried to impale him, which he was still off-balance to dodge correctly being slightly hurt on his side.

"I need to finish this one off quick or I'll have to fight four at once." He thought wondering if the snap judgement was also a part of his instinct. That decision, would've proved itself vital as he ignored his wound and dashed forward with great precision, activating his power one more time. Meanwhile, the creature used its wings to shield the neck from the incoming blow, however this time, the effect didn't activate. But that didn't mean it dealt no damage, the blade cut through the feather, muscle and bone nearly eviscerating it's left wing.

Using that opening Jack decided to attack with the other sword leaving himself open to retaliation, but luckily he cut the neck just before the monster's beak reached his face. It bled profusely and died, although not before letting out screech, alerting the three remaining enemies of his presence. "Now comes the hard part." He was already exerting himself beyond his capabilities, the strain from using his skill thrice getting him dizzy.

And then, all hell broke loose. All three remaining birds went for the kill, the first beaked forward as another came from the side trying to claw at Jack. He blocked the first with one blade and dodged the second just barely, receiving a cut on his cheek. Thus, he tried countering by cutting at the extended neck of the first beast.

However, it did as it's instincts told it and blocked with one wing receiving a deep cut on it, but nothing fatal. Meanwhile, the third and last one in line ruffled its wings and jumped over it's two companions. What followed was a mad frenzy of attacks, blocks and dodges from all parties.

Overwhelmed, Jack was receiving wounds from every side, but his unpredictable movement helped a lot as he could block many heavy blows directed at his openings.

The clanging of metal reverberated all around and things were starting to get dicey, every time he would try an attack it would be either blocked or not deal sufficient damage. "These things can work way better in group than what I expected... I may be able to cover my openings thanks to uncertainty and instinct, but if they don't show me one soon I'm as good as dead."

Every muscle in his body was painfully being torn. He needed not to wait for an opening but to create one.

Jack had to think fast, and so he did what his instinct told him, to attack the wall instead of the monster while activating the uncertainty.

''I hope this works...''

That which lead to something greatly unexpected to happen. When his right-hand blade hit the wall, he expected another explosion or nothing and metal hitting stone.

Instead, what followed was an odd and rubbery boing sound and his blade catapulting towards the birds with so much force Jack thought his arm was gonna break. Yet he held tight and when he came to, one of the beasts was cut in half and the other was heavily injured.

Taking advantage of the momentum that nearly threw him from his feet, he spun his body and used the other blade to cut and kill the second beast. "Well that went better than the expected if not a bit comical in comparison to the life threatening situation."

Nevertheless, it wasn't over yet as there was another beast remainig. "Wait... where the hell...?" It was gone, away from his sight and since he was in between the deeper parts of the cave and the monster, there was only one direction it could have gone, towards the exit.

Feeling the effects of blood loss, tiredness and anemia our hero was a few moments away from passing out, but he resisted it, and thus starting to sprint as fast as he could to try to save the girl.

Back at the entrance the girl was starting to come to her senses. Which was already weird for her as the last thing she remembered was fighting against a powerful winged beast with the rest of the group, when some betrayed them and seh was thrown off the edge. The girl wondered for a second. "Am I... dead?", but quickly she got a handle on the situation, she saw a ledge on the end of the cave she was in, so she thought she most likely fell on it and survived. Yet she would've been seriously wounded from the fall and that confused her even further.

However, there was no time for that as she noticed this cave was an entrance to one of the nests and thus got on high alert, looking straight into the dimly lit void of the tunnel system. She felt the vibrations in the floor, thus she knew something was coming her way and, as predicted, after a few minutes, she saw a creature that looked exactly like the one they were trying to kill, but smaller hurriedly emerging out of the darkness. She instinctively reached for her bow but soon noticed it was damaged and couldn't be used before receiving some repairs.

"Well this will be problematic." She thought, due to her not being exactly a close quarter fighter, in contrast, she was not yet ready to die and assumed a fighting posture the beast she could. That is until she noticed another set of vibrations coming from right behind the beast in an even faster pace. "Alright, now I'm actually dead."

But before she could even think of her last actions, she noticed something was off, the baby bird monstrosity had fear in its eyes, a fear she had never seen one of the creatures express even on the brink of death.

That's when she saw him. Coming from the darkness, two blades seemed to light up as if searing hot. "No you won't! Just die already!" The shout echoed through the cave. And as the bird was about to reach her the form of the pursuer made itself clear, it was a short, brown-haired kid, wearing simple fabric clothes now drenched in blood. With no warning or hesitation, his blades moved to and, forming an x cut into the thing's head, both ends of the lit up blades coming out of its forehead stopping only a few centimeters away from her own forehead.

The avian collapsed on the floor with the blades still hot as if just out of the blacksmith, smoke fizzling out of the corpse and out of the mysterious boy's hand. He turned to her and said: "Please, just don't kill me while I sleep." And he collapsed to the floor. Blood oozing out of several cuts and wounds.

"I guess I solved the mystery on how I survived the fall." She thought, weirdly captivated by the figure on the ground below her.