NIMBUS AND THE KNIGHTS OF CENFERUM

Chapter 37 Part 6

Lonios smiled and rushed at the pirate, and Nimbus followed suit.

The headache and eye pain the boy felt were powerful, but with the adrenaline of the battle, it was less intense now. However, what worried him the most was why he still couldn't activate the power, the curse that, according to Lonios, would consume his memories of the past. Was it this fear that was preventing him from using such power? Or was it because he was not a pure descendant of Lonios's family, and therefore, he could only use that power once?

Or perhaps he wasn't feeling enough fear? Lonios said he should get into the same mental state as the first time he used the power. The problem was that he couldn't remember what that mental state was; Nimbus only remembered that he was very scared on that occasion.

They advanced again against the enemy; the pirate merely defended himself. Once more, the man dodged or parried their blows, knowing where they would attack, hence his swift defenses. At that moment, he sidestepped Nimbus's strike, parried Lonios's blow, holding his sword with one hand, and with the other, he shot the knight with a bolt from a small crossbow he had somewhere. Lonios fell, reaching for the arrow lodged beneath his armpit. The pirate advanced and attacked, but his strike was halted by Lonios's sword. Despite being kneeling, the knight acted swiftly.

In a frenzy, Nimbus attacked the man with all his ferocity. The man easily defended against his blows and kicked him in the back, throwing him to the ground as well. Following behind, the pirate attempted to strike him with a sword blow, but Lonios's sword intercepted it. Having managed to get up, the left side of his chest bleeding heavily, Lonios had forsaken the safety of distance to place himself in a vulnerable position in front of the pirate, all to save Nimbus's life.

Lonios wasn't quick enough to evade another Ofidi's blow; the man kicked him in the knee, making Lonios kneel in front of him. With his sword still raised, moving towards the enemy's abdomen, Nimbus couldn't believe his master was sacrificing himself to eliminate the foe, something he deemed foolish. In that position, the pirate would decapitate Lonios effortlessly. Nimbus clearly saw the pirate preparing for the maneuver.

As Masson prepared to deliver the final blow to the knight, Nimbus noticed that the movement was taking too long. Then he realized that everything around him was moving slowly; he had activated his power, the blessing, the Curse of Vision.

Still behind the pirate and using all his strength to overcome inertia, Nimbus moved his sword against the enemy's blade. No matter how much force he applied, he couldn't move his weapon quickly enough. The pirate would decapitate his master before he could block the inevitable blow to his neck. His eyes burned like never before, and he exerted superhuman force to make his weapon move faster. But it would never be fast enough. So, he made a decision: the quickest way was to pierce through the enemy's body and block the impending strike to his master's neck. This meant intentionally killing the enemy, his first death, a burden he didn't want to carry but had to. It was either the Pirate Lord's life or his master's.

Pushing the sword felt like pushing hands against a wall, but he strained harder, superhuman effort tearing his muscles as if something inhibiting his movements had been switched off. His sword moved faster. He always heard his teacher Hemma say that speed equaled strength—the faster, the stronger the impact. This strike would be devastatingly quick, aiming at the enemy's back. The movement would pierce through and block the sword's blow in time to hit the weapon approaching his master's neck. Simultaneously, Lonios directed his sword at the man's belly, the maneuver he had described. There would be no escape. Then Nimbus saw Lonios smile at him, and everything became clear.