Snippet #2273765

Roaring, several minotaurs stampeded forward at once. Canon grimaced. If she'd had any mana left or any time to use a crystal, she'd have just used a Sylphae Ward to stop the rush. But, having neither of these things, and not wanting to risk the massive shock damage attempting to block a charge attack would deal to her, she had no choice but to take a somewhat different approach. Backpedaling for several feet before the oncoming hoard, she brought up her backhanded blade just in time to strike the lead enemy as he emerged from his rush animation, using another <<Reverse Guillotine>> to deal a slash across the creature's throat before finishing it off with a backhanded stab to the heart, using a <<Reverse Straight>> to finish the enemy. But by the time this enemy had shattered, the other three had gathered, already beginning to flank her. From the other side of the passage, she noticed Asher being pushed back as well, and grimaced. They wouldn't be able to hold out after this group. Still, if she tried to turn and run now, she'd just get cut down by the remaining three minotaurs. No choice. She'd have to eliminate them as well, then flee before the rest charged in at once.

Flicking her blade front-hand once more, Canon didn't so much as stop as her second skill finished, instead using the momentum of the <<System Assist>> to carry her right into her next attack. Stabbing forward at the center minotaur, she cut directly into its chest, turning this into a slash that tore clean through the beast's side. Coming about behind the enemies, she cut once, then leaped overhead, finishing the creature off with another perfectly executed <<Whirlwind Piercer.>> But as she landed, she knew she hadn't been fast enough. Two roars resounded at once the moment she touched down in a crouch, her back to her remaining adversaries, and she dived forward in fright, trying to avoid the sweeping claws she knew were coming. Even this was not fast enough, however, for in the next instant, two faint registers of pain allowed her to realize that she'd just taken two hits across her back. Her hitpoints dropped straight past yellow and then slowly crawled down into the red as the <<Bleeding>> effect she'd already been inflicted with renewed itself. One more hit like that, and she'd be dead. The fear she'd fought so hard to suppress grew stronger, and she found herself fighting the urge to simply flee from the fight. But if she did that, Asher would be surrounded. He'd die. She couldn't allow that.

And so, she rose from where she lay on the ground, spinning about as the enemies roared once again. The first charged, only to be sidestepped and met with a three-hit slashing-type sword skill, <<Turning Swallow,>> which dealt a trio of intersecting cuts across the enemy's entire upper body with remarkable speed. If the user had practiced it enough to know not to resist the <<System Assist,>> then the attacks would end up almost instantaneous, giving any target within striking distance absolutely no time to evade. This minotaur was no exception, having half of its health chipped away in an instant as Canon's blade tore clear through its abdomen, carving out through its back just in time to transition into a <<Vertical,>> severing the arm of the second minotaur as it attempted to cut her down. The first roared, entering berserk mode and striking at her, but she leaped back, taking the blow on the flat of her sword. The impact caused her health bar to creep down yet further, but she avoided being inflicted with a fresh condition, which meant she wasn't in danger of dying unless she took one more hit. But, as things were, even blocking would probably be enough to kill her at this rate...

No time to think. The enemies were continuing their assault. With both in berserk mode, their speed was phenomenally increased. They moved like twin blurs, catching up to her almost the moment she landed, forcing her to roll aside as their claws swept through where she'd just been, coming up in a crouch and immediately cutting at the legs of the first minotaur with a <<Horizontal,>> then using an <<Upper>> - a diagonal lunging slash from the hip to the shoulder - to finish the creature off. The second beast, lacking one of its arms, had to turn to face her, and by that time, she'd already stood up, braced herself, and, kicking off the floor, leaped to the side to evade its next strike. Using a <<Straight,>> she impaled it from behind, and this last enemy, like those before it, shattered into a radiant blue field of pixels.

"I can't keep this up any longer!" She called to Asher, hoping he heard her. Already, more enemies were flooding through her own choke point, as she'd been driven back by the last assault, allowing them access. "Run, before we're surrounded!" With this, she turned, and began to dash for the door they'd come in by, giving a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure Asher followed before she swiftly opened up her inventory and, removing a rare-grade healing crystal she'd been so lucky as to successfully create through alchemy, she swiftly used it. Instantly, the pink haze that had covered her health bar vanished as <<Bleeding>> was cured, and her health shot instantly back up to a point very close to the maximum. Next was a similarly high level mana crystal, which she swiftly used as well, restoring her energy. As she reached the door, she began to chant, and then turned about, preparing to fight the minotaurs who were already close on her heels. There was only one group of them left, which meant they'd be able to take them on together with ease. Just according to their plan.