In the Fourth Rock, within one of the large structures, a room filled with many tables and papers served as the battleground. Two men stood with their back at each other, facing their surroundings like hawks.
Sigh. "I don't want to dirty my beautiful clothes and my handsome face. What would Miss Emmy say if she saw me like that?" Oliver sighed dramatically.
"Huh? Miss Emmy and you? When did that happen?" Alfie asked confusedly, checking his surroundings carefully.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
Several light devices around the room burst suddenly, leaving the whole room shrouded in darkness—only a few light devices above the two men remained lit.
"Hmm, I guess you'll have to wait for the story, my friend." Oliver fixed his gloves calmly.
SWISSHHH!
Suddenly, a man cloaked in a black outfit came dashing out from the darkness. He bypassed the tables entirely; his dagger aimed directly at Oliver's neck. Seeing this, Oliver smiled confidently as he dashed forward without any weapon. Just as Oliver was about to grab the man's arm by dodging to the side, something caught his attention from the corner of his eye—a sharp blade thrown by another attacker, coming toward his head from behind. He instinctively dodged further, letting the first man pass by while the thrown blade missed its mark.
But the man who attacked Oliver didn't stop. He kept dashing toward Alfie's back, who was getting ready to tackle another man coming at him from the front, also aiming for his head.
Oliver saw the situation clearly—two attackers going for Alfie, one targeting his lower body while the other aimed for his head. Oliver didn't follow; instead, he stabilized himself while Alfie waited patiently for the perfect opportunity. Holding two daggers in his hands, Alfie jumped and tilted his body toward his sides as if falling after jumping. By the time their daggers came near him, he made his body completely horizontal, causing the daggers to miss their initial targets. In their hurry, those two men still managed to land hits, grazing Alfie's right lower thigh and his left arm near his bicep—but the two men were also grazed by his two daggers.
SWIISHSHHHH!
All this happened in few seconds. The man who attacked Alfie from the front kept falling diagonally downward in pain. Suddenly, Oliver came near him with a smile, grabbed the falling man from his back and belt, and using the momentum, threw him in another direction into the darkness like a rag doll.
"Off you go!" Oliver smiled handsomely as he saw another kick emerging from the darkness toward him.
As Oliver's body spun in a tight circular motion after throwing the enemy, his eyes caught a sharp writing tool on a nearby table—a beast feather tipped with a hardened, needle-like point. Without breaking his rotation, he snatched it with his right hand, still moving along the arc of his spin.
In the next instant, he flicked the sharp feather toward the man rushing at him. But because his arm was still following the circular motion, the feather veered off at the wrong angle. If it continued on that path, it would fly past the enemy—barely grazing his leg at best—doing absolutely nothing. The feather was moving too fast and was angled perpendicular to the target; it simply wouldn't hit. Realizing this Oliver didn't think much as he let his body come to rest.
Now his body faced the kick aimed at his left chest, while the sharp feather flew toward the man. Suddenly, he moved forward with his long legs, caught the feather that was going in the wrong direction with his left hand. Now making the pointy end forward , first Oliver dodged the flying kick and then—
KUCCCCKKKKKKK!
—he stabbed the man's neck with the sharp feather.
"AGHHHHH! GAAAHHHHH! GUUUUUUUPPPP!"
Blood rushed from the man's neck, spraying across Oliver, a few warm droplets landing on his clothes. Oliver clicked his tongue and brushed at the stains with mild annoyance.
"Geez… I thought I could at least keep myself clean."
Alfie, on the other hand, while still in horizontal position in the air, at the last moment grabbed the leg of the man moving away from his right side and got dragged with him. His leg and that man's leg moved in the same direction as they fell down hard on the ground.
BBOOMMM!
The man, realizing he was grabbed, kicked with his other leg. But Alfie was already in motion, using his light body as an advantage. He pulled himself up using the man's leg as a base, letting the kick go to waste. With his left hand, he stabbed the man's back repeatedly.
STAB! STAB! STAB!
He stabbed many times, making the man immobile. Then he got up and was about to stab the man's head when a simple cylindrical rod came flying from the darkness, attacking his head. Alfie calmly raised his arm to defend.
THUUUUMMBBBB!
"Ack!" Alfie grunted in pain as he rolled to the side.
He didn't get a chance to gather himself when one more attack came from another direction with another rod. As it was about to hit Alfie's head while he was kneeling gasping for breath—
TAAKKKK!
A sharp sound echoed as Oliver's left leg intercepted the rod just in time. He smiled, then swiftly lifted his hand— in that hand several sheets of paper were clenched tight in his grasp— Oliver without wasting any time flung them toward the woman who had attacked. The papers burst outward, blocking her vision in an instant.
SWOOOOPPPPP!
Seizing the opportunity, Alfie whipped out his many-stranded cloth straps and wrapped them around Oliver's arm. Oliver instantly dropped low, stepping on the rod and pinning it to the ground. Using his right foot as a pivot, he spun sharply to the right, causing his arm—and Alfie's strapped cloth—to swing with him.
Alfie flew forward like a doll on a sling, then shot ahead with explosive momentum straight toward the woman. Like a bullet, he cut through the air. The woman, her vision still blurred by the scattering papers, only noticed him at the last possible moment—just as Alfie leapt at her like a ferocious animal.
KKKUUUCCCCCKKKKKKKK!
Alfie stabbed her neck with his dagger. The woman's eyes were still wide with shock as she died and started falling backwards.
Oliver on other hand turned 360 degrees from the right and saw another woman—the one who had previously attacked with a rod to Alfie—coming toward them. Oliver, with momentum, did a rolling sideways kick. He gracefully spun like a cocoon, but the woman threw her rod toward him as he was about to kick her with a spin kick.
THHUUMMBBBB! BOOOMMMM!
Oliver got hit with force and flew backwards, hitting the table.
"Ack, that hurt, beautiful lady." Oliver smiled with effort as a little blood flowed from his mouth.
Alfie had just landed when he glanced back and saw that same woman coming toward him, attempting to kick him leaving the wounded Oliver. Alfie, with no time to dodge, rolled forward above the dead women, as he grabbed the dead woman's waist belt and raised her up from the lower side, trying to shield himself. In a weird position, the dead woman's body rose high with her legs up and her back facing the incoming women. The kick got disturbed— as the attacker barely able to adjust— to let her kick pass through between the corpse's legs, hitting Alfie's back.
THUUMMMM!
Alfie rolled forward while grunting in pain. Ouch, ouch, did she wear heels or what? Alfie thought as he rolled more to get some distance.
Oliver got up and saw many men and women now coming toward him. "Tskk, I guess you'll have to wait, my sweet Miss Emmy." Oliver smiled through the pain.
Three spears came stabbing toward him.
SWIS! SWIS! SWIS!
Oliver dodged each strike as if he were dancing, his footsteps light and fluid. He opened his arms slightly, almost inviting more attacks, weaving gracefully between the stabbing spears. But he wasn't completely unharmed—several blades grazed his skin, drawing sharp lines of pain. Oliver gritted his teeth but kept slipping between the blows with precise movements.
Then, in a sudden shift, he caught hold of a spear and yanked it toward himself. The woman gripping it lost balance and stumbled forward. Oliver seized her by the waist, pulling her close, and with a playful grin said, "Hey there, beautiful—care for a dance?"
Oliver winked at the stunned woman before pushing her directly into another spearman, sending both of them crashing to the ground. The last attacker dropped his spear and lunged forward, wrapping his arms around Oliver from behind and locking him firmly in place.
"Hmmm." Oliver, seeing this, started pushing himself backwards.
TAP, TAP, TAP.
Oliver kept pushing the man backwards as they both went into the darkness. Suddenly—
THUUMPPP!
Oliver hit a table with pile of papers on it, and both fell down with attacker still holding him down. Oliver, in the darkness, used his elbow to hit the man's face repeatedly, who was below him.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
The man got hit several times as he groaned in pain and finally released Oliver from his grasp. Oliver got up then turned around and started punching the man's face as blood spurted around on papers and on his white gloves.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
He punched him hard. But Suddenly—
SWIIIIIISSSHH! STABBB!
"Ackkkk!" Oliver got stabbed in the shoulder by a spear, the attacker pressed his spear deeper. "AAAHHHHHHHHHHHH! Ackkkk!" Oliver gritted his teeth as he got up and kicked backwards which didn't do much to the attacker but enough to back him up a little and reducing the force on the spear, taking the chance Oliver rushed to the side, moving diagonally forward.
"AAAGGHHH!"
The spear was pulled out as the person holding it couldn't maintain enough force with all the running. Oliver ran into the light, grabbing his red-clothed perfectly tailored outfit, now soaked in his red blood.
Alfie, on the other hand, also rolled into the darkness, but he didn't panic. He checked his body for the dagger but it had fallen out when he got hit with the rod the first time. Like an animal, he got down on all fours and sent his strapped clothing in all directions in a full circle. He heard some noise: "Ack! What! Ow!"
Alfie dashed toward the first voice in the same animal position. When he reached very close and could make out a figure's structure, he with precision grabbed that person's leg and stumbled the attacker forward.
THUUPPPP!
The man or woman fell down hard, face on the ground.
Alfie again used his strapped clothing to send outwards, checked the surroundings, then suddenly grabbed the person's upper shirt as he dragged the person forward with full force. With so much sound, others came to the approximate location and stabbed at some little moving figure in the darkness.
STAB! STAB!
AAAAHHH! Alfie screamed in his mind in pain as his torso and thighs got sliced with deep cuts, blood dripping down. But he still didn't stop. "AAAHHHHHHHH!" He roared in his mind as he dragged the person and slid the attacker horizontally toward the incoming woman who had hit him with her leg earlier on his back.
The women attacker running in full speed toward the darkness was suddenly shocked at a man coming at her from below. She jumped above him, trying to dodge, but still stumbled and started falling downward. Alfie, seeing this, dashed forward and with a strong punch—
THHHHUUMMMMMMPPPPP! CRRAACCKKKK!!
—hit the woman neck so hard that she died instantly, her neck breaking like a twig. She fell down lifelessly as Alfie rushed into the light and came toward Oliver, who was similarly injured.
They smiled at each other as they stood facing each other back again and faced many people coming toward them.
"How come they have more people now?" Alfie asked while tearing one of his strapped scarves and tying it around his waist to stop the bleeding. He gave another one to Oliver, who also tied it around his shoulder from his armpit.
"Agghh, how would I know?" Oliver said at a loss, seeing many people surrounding them.
A woman in the darkness looked toward the outside of the structure and saw many guards coming due to the commotion. "Tskk, can't even kill two brats. Let's go back. We've gathered what we could find. Now return."
The woman jumped from a platform near the window and landed in the darkness. She walked with grace and came into the light.
The duo saw a woman who wore a sleek black suit that hugged her body like a second skin—a high-collared crop top with yellow-gold trim curved over her chest, leaving her toned midriff bare. Below, tight black pants with matching yellow lines ran down the sides, tucked into sturdy black combat boots with thick soles and small yellow details. A wide black belt sat low on her hips, holding a small pouch on the right side. The whole outfit was smooth, matte, and built for action—every line sharp and clean.
"Hey there, boys! Quite a strong bunch you are. It looks like our party is over, so we'll see you soon." The woman waved at everyone as they vanished into the darkness.
Before she herself could vanish completely, she heard: "Hey, you! Next time I see you, I'll kill most of your toys. I know you came for the Princess, so I'll be sure to see you again." Alfie glared as he smiled through the pain.
"Hmmm, sure, sure. See you soon, boyyyy!" The woman went away in a hurry.
"Agghhhh!" Both slumped down exhaustedly.
"So, Brother Oliver, what's up with Miss Emmy?" Alfie asked curiously.
Oliver smiled as he briefly described his growing feelings for her. As he spoke, they heard footsteps approaching.
"Hmm, it looks like you had some fun, Oliver boy and Alfie!"
"Leader!" both shouted as they sluggishly stood up.
"Hmm, take away the dead and search them. You two, come with me. While we treat you, tell us about this." Leader Remek, with fast precision and decisive action, took command of the situation.
END OF CHAPTER
In darkness, we discover what we're truly made of—not in the moments of victory, but in the seconds between breaths when pain screams and instinct takes over. Oliver and Alfie moved like brothers who'd fought a thousand battles together, each knowing the other would be there, their back facing each other, bleeding but standing.