Rolling over and lying on my back, I stared up at the chief as it raised its halberd above its head, preparing for a heavy swing or execute. Kicking at the goblins shin, I managed to break the goblin's foothold as it slipped and swung harmlessly into the slippery rock beside me. Sparks flying as metal bounced off stone, I rolled to my right and attempted to get back on my feet before it could retaliate once more.
It swung wildly, in a quick act of desperation to clip me.
The blow was shallow though, and didn't break past my leather armor as no pain had registered. If it did register, I was oblivious to it now. Circling the goblin, it swung weakly, in an attempt to poke and prod my defenses.
I deflected with my shield as I noticed my strength had started to wane.
Then a fireball exploded on the goblin and it reeled back in pain.
Taking advantage of the moment I swiped once with my axe and managed to cleave a small portion of its flesh off.
It wasn't fatal, but it was enough.
Its eyes burned with a demonic disposition as it hissed and cursed at me in non-broken English. It threatened me, semi-intelligently, as if it could scare me off. It reacted, as if it were real.
I responded with another attack as it parried my blow and countered with a lunge, thrusting its halberd at me with the point of the spear impacting soft tissue.
It barely hit but it connected, poking a small hole into my abdomen as warm blood could be felt dripping out and down my shirt. But then a golden light, a ray of warmth, descended on me and I instantly felt rejuvenated.
I glanced at the corner of my visual screen, where a small transparent bar was visible, where Alan's mana bar was supposed to be. Yet, instead of a blue colored bar, there was nothing, nothing at all. He was completely out of mana.
That was his last heal.
There were no more second chances going forward.
Reality sunk in, this fight was mine to lose.
Adrenaline was pumping through my blood as the room suddenly seemed narrower and everything was moving faster yet slower at the same time. I had acute focus on the boss, the goblin's movements were slow but my body lagged behind. My mind kept up with the new pace but my body was struggling to maintain my movements as I dodged the next attack with a complicated ease and attempted a counter.
My mind willed the axe forward but it came slower than I wanted as the goblin reacted with a counter blow of his own. Swinging my axe wide to deflect the oncoming attack with force, our weapons clashed and clanged together, sending sparks flying and bouncing off. The force of the blows repelling each other as the shockwave traveled down the shaft and through my arms, sending a tingle through my hand as I pulled back. My hand was numb, but I had no time to waste.
Gathering myself almost instantly, I saw the goblin shift its weight to the rear leg as it brought its arms back, and without a second passing by, I instinctively knew what was coming next. In a tenth of a second the goblin's shoulders tightened up as it grabbed the halberd with both hands gripping tightly, tensing its core and then twisting and thrusting forward with a heavy thrust.
A quarter of a second passed, I saw it coming.
My reflexive ability reacting faster than my mind could process and send the signal, I watched as my body contorted and twisted to the right as my legs kicked out powerfully but I was too slow. I watched the halberd's trajectory as it inched closer and closer, only to suddenly divert as the goblin jerked back.
I didn't know what happened, but it didn't matter.
My heart was racing, every tenth of a second mattered, I didn't have the time.
There wasn't enough time.
The next attack came and all I could muster was a quick tumble, hitting the earth hard with my shoulder and rolling onto my back. Managing to return to my feet, I stood up and assumed a defensive stance with my shield held high. I turned to face the goblin and pressed the attack, but as soon as I brought my axe up another heavy thrust was forming and I instinctively knew I couldn't dodge, it was too late.
I swung downwards and met the halberd's head with the blade of my axe, sending it slamming into the floor as I carried through with the swing. My focus was completely zeroed in, having reached my zenith, my max, I could properly parry.
Another attack came, and I deflected it easily as I saw everything happening.
But I could feel it.
My reactions were starting to get sluggish, my responses were dulling… my mind, was getting tired. The goblin raised its halberd and swung down without much effort, yet I was barely able to deflect it in desperation.
I could see it clearly, I could see everything happening as clear as day despite the watery eyes and the ashen dimly-lit interior. The room was so much brighter than it was before, so much closer, as if everything had been enlarged. But my reactions, my reactions were getting slower and slower.
Faster, I needed to be faster.
Then the next attack came, and I barely managed to deflect that as I lost my axe. I watched it fly off to the side and realized my stamina had depleted. My body couldn't do it any longer, I wasn't strong enough.
My endurance had given in.
The goblin readied its next attack, with an endless stamina that I envied.
The axe-head of the halberd cleaved into my shoulder, but I muscled out of it. I couldn't feel my right arm, but the next attack was coming. I needed to block, I needed to raise my shield. Yet, as I did so, it shattered just like that, with wood splintering off and flying in every which way. Pain registered clearly in my chest as I looked at the shallow but large wound that had split me open.
I had fallen onto my back from the blow, and now looked up as the goblin towered above me. My head was throbbing and I was frantically trying to move my hands and legs to get back up, but then I saw it. I saw what was going to happen long before it happened. The goblin chief had brought the halberd back along the ground, switching grips and then bringing it behind its back.
Raising it to the sky as if it was a tribute or offering to the Gods.
How long was this going to last.
It was taking its sweet time.
I couldn't tell how long it had been since the execute movement had begun, but it certainly felt like it was over ten seconds by the time the halberd had started its descent. As it came down I was helpless to move, I was trying, but it felt like something had sapped all of my strength as the realization finally set in.
I was completely out of stamina.
My body was no longer responding to my mind, and in truth, I wasn't even sure if my mind was working properly at this point.
I was coherent, but only so.
Then it hit, and in an instant the world turned black again.
By the time my vision returned, the spirit world had welcomed me back once more. That world of blue and gray, distorted and blurry with only the flowing river in the sky to direct me towards my destination… it was depressing.
We were so close, yet we failed.
I took a deep breath and then followed it up with a rapid succession of smaller breaths. I was gasping for air. My chest heaved up and down as my hands were shaking and my mind was pounding. As the adrenaline had faded, I was now regressing to a state of normalcy. My overly focused senses were shifting back to normal.
My view seemed to widen and darken simultaneously, no doubt in reaction to my pupils no longer being dilated. It was an uncomfortable feeling, as I realized that everything was for naught. To come so close to killing the boss, only to fail at the very end wasn't a happy thought.
If we wiped midway through, that was fine.
Maybe even if it was a quarter or three-fourths of the way through, that would be alright with me. But I was certain, that the boss was only a few attacks away from falling. I didn't know how much health it had left, as I didn't have the time to check.