FRENZY

The clang of metal could be heard from the hallways of Marconni's mansion. The walls trembled, and the air was electric with tension as Lin and Weaver faced off against each other. The two warriors circled each other, their eyes locked in a fierce stare. Lin spun her hellberd, launching a barrage of jabs at her opponent. Weaver, on the other hand, cracked her bandages like whips, the strips of cloth snapping through the air with deadly precision as she deflected the onslaught, managing to get a couple of projectiles through Lin's defense. Lin sidestepped and jumped forward, about to launch a swing at Weaver's neck. Weaver pulled the bandages back, bringing a large cage with it and slamming it into Lin, knocking her into a wall. She then wove her bandage into a huge hammer and jumped, bringing it down, but Lin managed to push the cage away and roll out of the way of the attack. Lin spun her weapon and pointed it at Weaver, who immediately lunged at her.

Weaver's bandages came together to form two large whips which spun around at impossible speed, turning herself into a human tornado. Lin bent back to avoid the attack. There were screams as the attack cut through the metal cages where the prisoners were held. They crouched to avoid being bisected. Lin then remembered about her mission to secure them and made the decision to free them to prevent them from becoming collateral. She turned toward the nearest cage, but Weaver appeared in front of her and punched her back, then followed up with the two bandages she had made around her arms.

Lin jumped over that and turned, swiping the ground with her weapon in an attempt to take her down with a wind blade. Weaver jumped over it, but Lin met her in midair and sent her to the ground with a punch to the jaw. Weaver attacked with more bandages, but Lin spun her hellberd in front of her, tangling them up and pulling her into a dropkick. She pulled her back, sidestepped, and landed a kick to the back of Weaver's neck before wrapping her hellberd around her neck. Weaver managed to escape and jump back, but Lin caught her with a gravity wave that forced her into the ground.

Lin walked toward her when her attention was drawn by a man cowering in the corner. It was Marconni. The vampires had beaten him and thrown him in a cell, hoping to sell him as a slave.

"Eyes on me, little girl," Weaver yelled, taking advantage of the distraction and landing a punch in Lin's stomach, sending her into a wall. Lin fell to the ground.

Weaver's eyes blazed with a fierce intensity as she unleashed a maelstrom of bandage strikes, each one landing with precision and deadly force. Lin rolled into a standing position and tried to counter but stumbled backward, her Hellberd flashing with sparks as she desperately tried to deflect the onslaught, but Weaver's attacks were relentless, her bandages wrapping around Lin's arms and legs, slowing her movements and leaving her vulnerable to the next strike. Lin tried cutting the bandages off, but that left her open to an attack from Weaver. She formed a giant right arm and punched Lin, who blocked but was still knocked away. Lin's breathing grew ragged. She steadied herself with her weapon. But the pieces of Weaver's bandages that wrapped around her constricted tighter. The bandages then shot toward Weaver, pulling Lin along with them into a punch from Weaver's massive arm. Lin used her wind magic to make a whirlwind around her, deflecting the punch and landing a palm strike infused with gravity magic, but Weaver crossed her arms in front of her to block. She was knocked back even though her bandages were ripped, revealing parts of her body. The two panted, looking at each other.

Weaver suddenly dropped her guard, her eyes widening.

"No. No. No, no, no, no!!" she yelled as she held her hair. "No, he can't be... he can't be dead. That's impossible! No!" She dropped to her knees.

"Phantom!" she screamed as tears ran down her cheeks. "You said you wouldn't leave me alone, so why... Why...?" She began scratching the ground.

Lin didn't know how to react.

Weaver fell silent, then glared at Lin, her eyes bloodshot. A chill ran down her spine. Before she could react, Weaver lunged at her, ripping the hellberd out of her hand and throwing her through the ceiling. She jumped after her and spun, swinging the hellberd. Lin raised her right arm to block but heard a crunching sound as the blunt part of the weapon broke her arm and sent her flying. Weaver unleashed a torrent of bandages that spread out in all directions. The guards who were positioned at various parts of the mansion were impaled or sliced up by the attack while the bandages spread. They grabbed Lin and slammed her through walls, throwing her through the ceiling above the mansion. Weaver glitched into view. She wove a huge fist on the hellberd and brought it down on Lin, sending her through the building and back into the dungeon.

Lin's body twitched as she tried to rise to her feet.

Bandages wrapped around Lin, pinning her to the ground. Weaver crash-landed beside her and slammed the hellberd close to Lin's face, the blade grazing her cheek. She sat on Lin and wrapped her hands around her neck to strangle her. Lin struggled to break free, but Weaver's grip was like an iron vice.

Saliva leaked from the corner of Lin's mouth, running down her cheeks as tears filled her eyes. She struggled less and less. Her eyes slowly rolled to the back of her neck.

As a last-ditch effort, Lin made an arrow construct from her wind magic and fired from Weaver's blind spot. Weaver turned and swatted the attack away. Lin took advantage and broke free, pushing her off of him. She rolled on the ground, kicking the hellberd which spun, then jumped into a standing position, kicking the blade at Weaver who deflected. Lin appeared behind her and blasted her with a wind blast. Several magic circles appeared in the ground, and Weaver jumped out of the way to evade the gravity attack, standing out of her range.

They charged at each other again, clashing in a frenzy of steel and cloth.

Lin's right arm hung limp and broken, but she refused to yield. With fierce determination, she grasped her Hellberd with her left arm. The Hellberd's blade sliced through the air, its edge glowing with a faint green light as Lin channeled her wind magic into the attack, each swing accompanied by a gale of powerful wind.

Weaver had descended into a state of pure berserker fury, her bandages writhing and twisting like living serpents as she created razor-sharp blades on her arms while simultaneously attacking with the bandages on her forearms like tentacles.

Weaver charged at Lin with a feral scream, her blades flashing as she struck with wild abandon. Lin danced backward, jumped over the tentacles, and released blasts of wind as she deflected Weaver's attacks. But despite her valiant efforts, Lin's broken arm put her at a disadvantage. Weaver freed one of her hands and grabbed Lin's right arm, which dangled limply at her side, pulling her into a jab that sliced her side, aiming another for her throat. Lin smirked, as this was a feint to bring her opponent closer, and she dropped her hellberd and made a wind blade on her left arm, which she used to slice the blades on Weaver's wrists. She kicked the hellberd back into her hand and used it to knock her back, summoning a burst of wind magic that blasted most of the bandages off her.

Weaver stumbled. The only thing remaining on her body was a bandage wrapped around her arm and a locket with the initials "W.B" on it.

She seemed to have calmed down but was still determined to continue fighting. Lin sensed something else in Weaver's demeanor, but she made her stance, unprepared to lose. The bandages formed a blade around her knuckle, and she pounced on Lin.

With a swift and deadly motion, Lin sidestepped, dodging the stab and breaking it with her hellberd. She launched her into the air with a wind spell, and a powerful gravity spell slammed her into the ground.

Lin limped over to the crater and gazed down at Weaver's unconscious form.

"Will..." she whispered as tears streamed down her eyes.

Lin used her magic to pull a piece of cloth from a cage and used it to cover Weaver. She turned and walked towards the cell to carry out her task.