Reflections on the Warpath - [An Isekai Progression Fantasy]

The Three Legger rushed towards Ezekiel, pounding its limbs into the ground as it snapped its colossal jaws forward. The swordsman leapt back, ditching Akira to keep himself safe.

Jay picked up the pace, hoping that the dinosaur wouldn't target Akira. He burst from the treeline, meeting Karis' eyes for a split second before turning to Ezekiel. The Soulsnatcher may have gloated before, but he wouldn't now that the cavalry had arrived.

If Jay gave the swordsman time and space, then Akira was as good as dead.

More ruby-eyed crows fled the treeline and swooped towards Ezekiel. Jay arced to flank them, but the Soulsnatcher dispatched all the birds with a single flick of his sword.

The onrushing Three Legger drew closer. Ezekiel turned to face it, preparing to strike. Jay sidestepped further.

Whipping steel met tough leather yet couldn't break the dinosaur's weathered hide. Ezekiel lunged aside, avoiding his opponent's bite, twisting his hips and turning towards Jay.

Jay grimaced as he watched Ezekiel's eyes widen in shock.

Now that he knew Jay was there, Ezekiel wouldn't drop his guard again. Jay had lost his only chance to end the fight with an early cheap shot.

The Three Legger chased after Ezekiel. Its gigantic tail whipped at Jay's chest. He ducked. Ping deflected it just over his head.

Karis stood guard over Akira with his machete-like shortsword drawn. A flock of crows swirled around him with four more swooping towards Draeven. The Frontiersman flicked his attention across the battlefield, always keeping his downed teammate in his sight.

Akira should be safe.

Jay ached to know what had happened to Akira, why he'd been fighting alone and where the hell Lyra was. The questions gnawed at the back of his mind.

They had to stay there.

If Jay didn't want to end up skewered, he couldn't take his eyes off the swordsman for long. Ezekiel was too dangerous to not devote all his attention to, even with a dinosaur throwing chaos into the mix.

Ezekiel ducked beneath the Three Legger's bite, running between its upright legs towards Jay.

Jay activated Eye of the storm; he knew he couldn't outpower Ezekiel. With the Three Legger watching and two other gladiators fighting nearby, he favoured reaction time over aggression.

Ezekiel flailed his sword wide. Ping flew to block it. They collided with a blunt thud as Ezekiel's sword folded on contact with the shield. He kept swinging, the sword stiffened as soon as it passed by her.

Shit.

Ezekiel's chest was wide open. If Jay lunged forward, he could bypass the sword and end up perfectly in range.

The sword's tip curled inwards towards Jay.

Lunging forward meant taking a hit.

Against Ezekiel, Jay couldn't afford even that.

He dropped his arms, preparing to block the oncoming sword. Sparks sprayed off the clockwork bracer as Jay pushed against the blade. He leapt back, wary of tussling with Ezekiel with the Three Legger so close.

Sure, the dinosaur could help him defeat the swordsman, but it was far more likely to just kill them both.

Ezekiel pressed forward. Jay churned through the variables, hunting for a solution to the battle before him.

I can't take a hit, that's a given.

But he knows that, which means he can leave open gaps in his defence to facilitate better attacks.

Behind Ezekiel the Three Legger turned around, thrashing its muscular tail into a tree trunk at the clearing's edge. The beast pounded its arms into the grass as it barrelled forward.

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And then there's the big fella…

If I can keep it focused on Ezekiel, maybe it can land an attack.

Ping too. I need to work behind them so he can't get me with his sword.

Jay and the Three Legger pincered Ezekiel.

The swordsman sidestepped.

Jay matched him.

Ezekiel ignored the Three Legger and ran at Jay. Ping understood her role and stayed by Jay's side. When Ezekiel swung she didn't rush to block it, instead keeping close and stalling the swordsman. Gaining time for the Three Legger to advance and potentially create an opening.

It was never that simple though.

After his first strike glanced off Ping, Ezekiel lunged forward. He shrunk his sword down to a dagger and rushed towards Jay's chest.

Again, Jay itched to match Ezekiel, to face him down on the ultra close range battlefield and drag him into deep waters like he'd practiced inside the coliseum and out.

But he couldn't risk it.

Jay remembered Ezekiel's extension trick he'd used against the ice mage. The Soulsnatcher surely had another strategy to attack Jay up close. Jay couldn't afford to take a hit, not while Akira relied on him just to stay alive.

Jay commanded Ping forward. She rammed into Ezekiel's gut. He folded slightly but grabbed onto the shield with his off hand before swinging the dagger at Jay.

The dagger morphed into a metal whip once more, slicing through the grass towards Jay's ankles. Jay retreated, annoyed at his weakness and his inability to take even a single hit.

Ping tore free from Ezekiel's grip. She didn't have Jay's grappling ability, but that didn't make her useless up close. She dropped like a stone, smashing her rim into Ezekiel's foot and clamping it to the ground. He instinctively tried to pull it away.

She wouldn't let him.

Because Ping didn't need Jay's offensive grappling, not with a dinosaur behind her. The Three Legger swiped its clawed hand across Ezekiel's chest, breaking Ping's grip and flinging the swordsman towards the forest.

Jay debated chasing after him, the dense jungle might provide him with a better chance to find an opening past Ezekiel's sword. Instead of rushing, he looked over his shoulder to check on Karis and Akira.

A dozen crows hounded Draeven. Karis knelt over Akira, concern rife across the Frontiersman's calculating face.

Ezekiel can wait.

Jay sprinted towards his ally, trusting Ping to distract the Three Legger and hoping it wouldn't follow him.

"Abandoned one against three and he almost killed two of them… monster," muttered Karis. He crushed a fingernail sized emerald in his palm before forcing the dust into Akira's mouth.

"How's he doing?" asked Jay, eyes darting between Draeven, Ping, and the spot where Ezekiel had vanished into the treeline.

"He's not got long. Leave him with me. You need to get to Lyra," said Karis. One of the crows attacking Draeven left the assault and landed on Jay's shoulder.

"Follow the bird. It'll guide you to her. Be quick."

Jay's eyes abandoned the battlefield and studied the Frontiersman's face, sensing the severity behind his diamond eyes. Sure, Akira didn't completely trust the newcomer before, but even after Slingshot failed, Karis came back for them. Without the Three Legger flinging the clearing into chaos, Jay and Akira would likely both be dead by now.

It looked like Lyra had left Akira alone to chase after Amaya. Why? Jay had already ditched his friend once, would he really do it again and leave Akira's fate in the hands of a man they'd known or barely two weeks?

Leaving Karis alone with Akira also meant leaving him alone with the relics in his quiver… within walking distance of the exit hub.

The Three Legger crunched into another tree behind Jay, snapping him out of his thoughts.

Karis looked up to him, brow furrowed in concentration.

"You need to go, Jay. Lyra's fate depends on it."

"What does that eve-"

"Just go!"

In moments like these, Jay knew better than to ignore his gut.

He sprinted into the jungle, followed the ruby-eyed crow, and hoped he'd made the right decision.

The Three Legger chased after Ezekiel, so Jay had a clear path towards the jungle. The oppressive humidity clung to Jay's skin as he trampled through the brush, blindly following Karis' crow towards where he hoped he'd find Lyra.

Her fate depends on it…

What does that even mean?

Lyra was almost certainly fighting Amaya right now, where else would they both be? But why did he sound so urgent? Was Lyra in danger? Thoughts of Lyra's fixation on killing the Flaming Tomb duo prickled at Jay, barbs of unease that let dread slowly seep into his mind.

What are you doing Lyra? Was it really worth leaving Akira for dead?

SQUAWK!

Jay flared Eye of the storm, instantly sealing himself inside a snapshot of reality. The canopy no longer rustled above and the rainforest birds and insects stopped mid-flight as Jay hyper fixated on his vision. He scanned every inch of his eyesight, scouring the jungle for whatever the crow had caught sight of.

A jarring metallic gleam pierced through the wild, green tangle. Jay set his eyes on the unnatural reflection and pressed onward, relaxing Eye of the storm's grip on his senses.

After two strides, the gleam became a metallic skull plate. After another, he saw the flaming eyeball embedded within it.

Amaya.

The puppeteer sat on her knees, vacantly staring out into the jungle. She no longer wore her purple cloak, and her pale skin looked far redder beneath the jungle heat.

Another step, and Jay focused Eye of the storm on the puppeteer.

Her skin wasn't red, the hundreds of shallow cuts draped across every inch of it were. Each step brought new scores into focus. They ran across her face, along her arms, and even into the metal plate that made up half of her skull.

Amaya's face sparked to life in a flash of sentience. Burning anger flared through Jay's fists as he finally recognised the soul behind the woman that killed Vega.

She turned and locked eyes with Jay.

Inside them he only saw desperation.

"Don't do it.

"If you kill me, Lyra dies."