Chapter 133: Mika rage
The first guard rounded the corner with her weapon already drawn, her boots echoing sharply against the pristine white floor. Naia shifted her stance, water beginning to coalesce around her fingertips in preparation for the confrontation ahead. But before she could even begin to channel her element properly, Mika was already moving.
The earth-wielder surged forward with a snarl of pure rage, her blade cutting through the air in a vicious horizontal arc that caught the lead guard off-guard. The woman barely had time to raise her weapon before Mika’s earth-blade crashed into her defense, sending her staggering backward into her companions. Blood sprayed from her split lip as the blow rattled her skull.
"Mika, wait!" Naia called out, but her friend was already pressing her attack.
Mika’s second strike came from below, an upward thrust that forced the guard to twist away. The woman left herself open, and Mika’s boot slammed into her ribs. Bone cracked. The guard crashed into the white wall, leaving a red smear as she dropped unconscious.
Two more guards emerged from the right passage, their shouts of alarm echoing through the corridor as they took in the bloody scene before them. One of them raised a crossbow, the bolt already nocked and aimed at Mika’s back.
Naia moved then, her hands weaving through the air as she called upon her water element. Moisture condensed from the air around her, forming into a concentrated stream that lashed out like a whip. The water struck the crossbow just as the guard pulled the trigger, sending the bolt wide of its mark and embedding it harmlessly in the ceiling above.
But Mika was already spinning toward the new threat, her face twisted with fury that burned in her eyes. Her earth-blade swept wide, forcing both guards back as they tried to dodge. The blade caught one guard across the forearm, slicing through leather and flesh. Blood splattered the white floor as she screamed.
"You want to fight?" Mika roared, her voice echoing off the walls with startling intensity. "Then come on!"
The guard with the crossbow tried to reload, her hands fumbling with the mechanism in her haste. Mika didn’t give her the chance. She launched herself forward, her blade coming down in an overhead strike that the woman barely managed to block with the wooden stock of her weapon. The earth-blade sheared through the crossbow like it was made of paper, continuing its deadly arc to carve a deep gash across the guard’s shoulder. The woman’s agonized shriek filled the corridor as blood poured from the wound.
Naia watched in growing alarm as her friend’s attack grew more and more reckless. Mika was fighting like a berserker, her usual tactical precision replaced by raw, unbridled aggression that seemed to be consuming her rational thought.
Three more guards appeared from the left passage, their weapons gleaming in the strange white light that emanated from the corridor walls. They moved with the coordinated efficiency of trained soldiers, spreading out to flank the two intruders from multiple angles.