The Villain's Sword Is Sharp

Isaac sprung from the bushes like a snake. He pushed his sword towards Langley's back, but the man heard Isaac coming. He twisted around at the last moment and a look of horror covered his face. He was about to scream, but Isaac's sword skewered him. He could only groan and gurgle as blood spilled from his midriff.

*Plop*

Langley fell to the floor in a puddle of his own blood. The light in his eyes was slowly dimming...

But Isaac didn't have time to wait for that light to go out. He ended Langley's life with a quick, efficient jab to the forehead. Then he raised his head and snapped,

"Which way did Bjorn go?!"

Johan stood there, slightly dazed, while Eva replied,

"That way."

She raised her hand a pointed a calloused finger in Isaac's direction.

Isaac turned around. There was indeed a small trail through the bushes, indicating someone had passed that way. He nodded his head, then sped away. He closely followed Bjorn's tracks and it wasn't long before he came upon the man himself.

Bjorn was breathing heavily and frequently looking behind him as he ran. His eyes were nervous and his brow was creased in worry. When he saw Isaac, he immediately panicked.

He darted to the right, trying to lose Isaac in the forest. However, Isaac wasn't so easily shaken. He stayed right on Bjorn's tail, quickly gaining on him. When Isaac got within 20 metres of Bjorn, jets of water sprung up around him. Isaac couldn't avoid them and he was trapped for a second.

Bjorn used the opportunity to continue escaping, but soon Isaac was after him once more.

When he got within 20 metres again, more water jets began to spring up. However, Isaac predicted them this time. He swerved to the side and dodged the trap. Then he put on one last burst of speed to try and catch Bjorn.

Bjorn ducked behind a tree. Isaac was going too fast to stop, so he sped past the tree then spun around to come back. When he turned around, he saw Bjorn climbing the tree; it seemed he realised he couldn't escape on foot.

Isaac quickly travelled to the base of the tree and deactivated his Snowshoe Anima.

Then more water jets sprung up around him. He simply sighed and created a spirit sword; he wouldn't be climbing after Bjorn anyway.

The moment the water cage disappeared, Isaac swung his sword at the tree trunk. The blade nearly sliced through half the tree.

He pulled the sword back and swung it again.

The tree shook as it nearly fell over and Bjorn looked down in terror. He tried to jump to another tree, but it was too late. Isaac let go of his sword and pushed the tree with both hands.

*Creeeeak* *CRACK* *Craaaaash*

The last remaining bit of tree trunk strained against Isaac, but it was fighting a losing battle. It broke with a resounding crack, then the tree began to topple. It crashed through the branches of the nearby pines, and landed with a heavy thud and a piercing scream.

The scream, of course, came from Bjorn.

'He's still alive then... I guess that's good?'

Isaac went over to the scene of the crash and saw how Bjorn had landed. He was lying on his back, crying out in pain. His lower left leg was trapped under the tree, and there was blood everywhere. From what Isaac could see, his calf had been pulverized and his shin was broken in at least 3 places.

Isaac ignored the man's howls of pain; if he was trapped under the tree, that meant he couldn't escape. He turned around and headed back towards Johan and Eva. When he got to them, he spoke quickly,

"Come with me, I've caught Bjorn but... he's in a spot of difficulty."

Eva and Johan appeared not to hear. They were both crouched next to Langley's corpse with closed eyes and intensely focused expressions. A moment of realisation struck Isaac.

'Don't tell me...'

He also rushed over to Langley's side and pushed his will into the dead man's body. First, his will went to Langley's left hand. There he found Johan's will trying to subdue a ghost-style Anima.

Isaac felt slightly remorseful, but he still redirected his will to Langley's left hand. There he found Eva's will trying to subdue an Ice Fragment Anima. Again, Isaac redirected his will.

He moved his will to Langley's feet and discovered another Anima. This was Langley's movement Anima, and Isaac saw it twitching slightly. The last remnants of Langley's will were dissipating and the Anima was regaining its natural instincts.

If Isaac left it any longer, the Anima might escape.

He quickly used his will to suppress the Anima. Then he split a part of his will and used it to scan the rest of Langley's body. Lo and behold, there was a fourth Anima in Langley's neck.

Isaac did his best to take ownership of both Anima, but his fragmented will wasn't strong enough to subdue both at once. The best he could do was suppress the Anima and stop them from escaping.

*************************

After a minute or so, Eva's eyes flickered open. She smiled as she felt the Ice Fragment Anima which had settled in her left palm, then she looked around. She was surprised to see Isaac sitting next to her with a concentrated, almost pained expression.

She quickly focused her will back on Langley's body and did a quick sweep to see what Isaac was having trouble with. Since she was doing a bottom-to-top inspection, she immediately discovered the movement Anima in Langley's feet. A strand of her will extended to communicate with Isaac's, and he told her to keep a hold of this Anima. Then he left the job to her, and his will flew off.

Of course, it was going to join its other half in Langley's neck.

The two halves of Isaac's will combined and began to subdue the leash-shaped Anima in Langley's neck. Now that his will was whole, it didn't take long for Isaac to shatter its defences and implant a piece of his will in the Anima. It flew out of Langley's corpse and into his own neck.

Then his will moved back to Langley's feet where Eva was trying to subdue the last Anima. It looked like she would be done soon.

Isaac assisted her to take control of the Anima, then both their wills returned to their bodies. Both Eva and Isaac's eyes snapped open at the same time, causing Johan to stare at them. Isaac didn't explain, he just stated,

"Come with me."

He brought them to where Bjorn was still trapped by the tree. A sly smile crossed Johan's face as he saw the predicament Bjorn was in. Meanwhile, Eva looked on impassively.

"I didn't bring you just so you could stare at him. Come on."

Isaac brought the duo over to Bjorn's side. He shared a few words with the other two, and they nodded tentatively. Johan took off his jacket and tied it tightly around Bjorn's thigh.

He stepped back, letting Isaac stand next to Bjorn now. He created a spirit sword and cut off Bjorn's leg.

The muscular man gave a scream of agony, but Isaac ignored it and dragged him away from the tree. Then Eva approached. She used her icy palms to freeze the stump where Bjorn's left leg used to be. The blood quickly froze and stopped flowing.

Johan stepped up to Bjorn and gave him a look of disdain. There was no sympathy in his eyes as he untied the jacket around Bjorn's frozen thigh, then wiped some of the blood on it onto Bjorn's face.