The Horseman Ch. 02 Pt. 01

It seemed as if time slowed and Aiden's body sped up as he seemed to flow around the incoming attacks like water and pivoted around behind one of the apprentices to deliver an elbow that audibly snapped the man's neck before reversing the pivot to throw a tight hook like a boxer that impacted the left jaw of an attempted backstabber, sending a dozen teeth bouncing across the ground. An effortless and seemingly light palm strike to the man's sternum stopped his heart and sent him to the ground clutching his chest. The master again flowed in to attack but his advance suddenly stopped as the sole of Aiden's foot snapped his femur, causing Julia to vomit over the handrail at the sound of the wet snap, and a concurrent punch littoral lay caved in the left side of his skull. At that moment the three remaining apprentices surrounding him triangularly ab attacked in desperation. Aiden simply jumped a few feet off the ground before planting the sole of right foot into the chest of the man to his front on that side followed by the same to the man to his forward left before his right foot stomped backwards into the chest of the group's only female disciple, further propelling his body straight upwards and theirs straight into the ground. The two men struggled to regain their breath as they held up one hand in surrender and the other clutched their chests painfully but the woman, girl was probably more appropriate, pushed down her fear and again came at him with a desperate battle cry.

She was good, very good, but Aiden simply moved to fast, even if he hadn't been so skilled, and he dodged her punched and ducked her kicks before cuffing her on the side of the head with an open hand and sending her to the ground unconscious. Julia gasped as it appeared that her brother was going to set to finishing off the two wounded men and their unconscious female colleague but her gasp froze in her throat as soon as she saw the white master's corpse stand upright as the ruined skull and unnaturally bent leg seemed to right themselves, snapping, crunching and popping back into position until the white robed man stood looking identical to the way he had when they had first seen him emerge from the shadows-with the notable exception of the crimson blood that soaked his previously pristine snow colored robes. A whispered word caused inky black smoke to pour from the palms of both hands to condense into two unnaturally black jian swords that pulsed with arcane power and ancient magic that made terror pump through Julia's heart.

There was no way for her to be sure of what happened next as it occurred at speeds far beyond the limits of human visual perception but less than a second later the blur of in distinct movements occurring at hundreds of miles per hour ended with the white master's ever impassive face contorted in surprise and agony as an ancient looking bone dagger protruded from his chest, where it sat wrapped in Aiden's clutching fist. The dagger glowed the color of blood despite the fact that there wasn't a drop of blood emerging from the wound as the master's skin immediately began to pale and shrivel in desiccation. It looked like the dagger was literally sucking the blood and absorbing the life force from the body, all in less than two seconds, before the master's body crumbled to a pile of dust sitting on a white robe.

Immediately upon their master's death deep black smoke like that the white robed man had used to form his evil looking sword began to quickly waft from the mouths of the surviving men and girl to form a thick wisp that flowed straight into Aiden's mouth. The bone dagger then flashed brightly and disappeared, along with the soulless black from her brother's eyes, right before he collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.

The events that she had just witnessed left Julia in understandable shock. Her only response was, "...well, what the fuck do I do now?"

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