Robin's expression carried neither shock nor sadness. There was neither pain nor hope in her eyes. Just emptiness.
She sighed, getting rid of hindering memories.
Asim continued advancing.
She brought her arms together. They formed wings. Dozens of limbs grew from her body.
Asim reached the attack range. His knee moved.
Her nose was broken instantly, again. The only reason she remained conscious was due to several layers of arms protecting it. The limbs attempted to catch the retreating knee. They failed.
Asim walked in a circle, waiting for another opportunity to strike. Robin followed his every step, watching his every move. One of the hands wiped the blood away from her face
Asim stopped. Robin felt it. A leg approaching from her right. Pain spread through her skull. Her ear rang. But she stayed conscious. Her limbs protected her once more.
Another kick immediately after. Instead of dodging or blocking, Robin took a step forward, her arms flying towards his solar plexus. Asim stopped his leg and took a step back.
Robin grinned.
Asim made an amused snort in response.
He kicked again, and Robin dashed towards him. Four arms reached for his chest. Asim retreated his leg and spun on it, avoiding the attacking limbs, and struck with the other foot.
Robin felt several of her ribs crack. She groaned. And dashed again.
Asim could not afford to go on the defensive, so he sent a fist to intercept her. And Robin saw it.
She noticed his breathing getting worse, and his attacks – slower. Several hands touched the attacking arm and redirected it. One of Robin's limbs reached for his ches–
It was slapped away. So she sent three more. Same outcome. Five additional arms aimed for his chest, reachi–
A knee was approaching her chin.
Robin jerked her head backwards. She dodged it. She saw a smile appear on Asim's lips. She smiled too.
They both stepped back and walked in a circle, regaining their breaths.
It was his turn to dart. He knew he was running low on time. He knew he could not capture her alive. He went for a kill.
Asim formed a claw. His index and middle fingers went for Robin's temple, approaching from his left.
Robin's eyes watched. They observed. The saw everything. Her fist went upwards. It connected with Asim's elbow. She fractured it.
Asim sent his other arm for her left eyeba–
He felt something touch his body. As he looked down, a tiny fist was pressed against his chest. His breathing stopped.
Robin witnessed him drop to his knees, unable to breathe in. He clutched his rib cage with the functioning arm, desperate for a single breath.
"Worthless," she heard a voice in the distance.
Vasily approached, glaring with disgust. He turned to Robin, a broken trident in his hand.
"Stand right there, girl."
He turned into a cloud of smoke. The cloud rose up in the air. It flew towards her.
Robin connected her palms in haste, and two gigantic arms took shape from the sand, intertwining with each other in an attempt to preve–
Yet the smoke simply passed through the enormous fingers, reaching her trembling frame in an instant.
She saw a frightening face appear and a broken trident take shape from the cloud, aimed for her throat. She felt it press against he–
A desperate wheeze resounded next to them.
Vasily's eyes widened. As he turned his head towards Asim, a fist was already going for his ribs, entering the cloud of smoke.
Before it could connect, something changed about Asim's arm. It turned black. As if coated with unimaginable power, the black fist struck Vasily's torso, shuttering his bones and rupturing his internal organs.
Blood and spit escaped his mouth. Then something appeared from his shoulders. Two tiny hands. The hands reached for his chin and nape. They moved.
Vasily dropped to the ground, motionless, his head facing a direction it was never meant to face. He was dead.
Drenched in sweat, Asim placed a hand on his heaving chest, "Still kicking, huh...?" he mumbled to himself, then faced Robin, "Let's see..." he took a look at his right arm, "Can't believe I can still do this..."
The arm turned black again. It was the same for his feet. He threw her a frightening glance from under his thick eyebrows. He leaped.
Robin brought her hands together. They formed... fists. And nothing more. Not a single additional limb appeared. She slowly breathed in, and slowly breathed out. Her sharp eyes observed.
As Asim entered the attack range, he turned his body sideways, placed his feet wide apart, bent his knees and sent the heel of his palm for her face, intended to crush it in one strike.
Robin performed a flawless sidestep. The attacking arm went past her, taking a single strand of black hair with it.
Asim changed his stance. In a single instance, he brought his feet together, placed both claws in front of him, bent his torso slightly and raised one knee up. The leg extended and shot forward, going for Robin's chest.
She stepped back, leaving his attack range.
A wide grin appeared on Asim's face.
Robin reciprocated with a proud smile.
The man charged. He threw his body forward and sent a lightning-fast hammer fist, aiming to crack her skull.
Robin spun and appeared right in front of him. She clenched her fist tight and struck his solar plexus. The man dropped on the hot sand, his body twitching in agony. She pursed her lips tightly and looked away. Blood poured from her lower lip. She relied on pain to distract her from thinking.
Robin wiped away the sweat from her forehead and trudged towards the graveyard of empty ships. As she crossed the island, a group of marines awaited her on the shore, ropes and nets in their arms.
"Take her alive!"
They charged. Robin brought her hands together. She formed wi–
Sharp pain spread in her thigh. As she looked down, she saw a bolt firmly stuck in the flesh. It was made of seastone.
Panic feasted on her brain. The scars on her neck and wrists pulsated achingly. Her mind painted the worst kind of future.
She turned around, tears welling up in her eyes, and ran, limping with agony.
She passed by grieving Nora, who ditched his crossbow and was performing chest compressions on Asim. She looked away and shut her eyes tight, sprinting forward.
She managed to reach the pier. An old, tiny boat reflected in her watery eyes, moving up and down on the shallow waters. Her hallucinating brain imagined a book lying on the central stern, with a man on a horse depicted on its cover.
"Got her!"
She felt someone grab her hair. The man tackled he–
Something appeared from the water. A shark. The shark jumped up in the air and buried its teeth in the marine's neck, shattering his cervical vertebrae and promptly disappearing on the other side of the pier.
"Robin!" Sharley reappeared near the boat, "Get in!"
Robin complied. She jumped on the wooden boards, clenching her teeth in pain. She fell and hit her butt as the boat shot forward, leaving a crowd of marines behind.
Robin watched their wrathful faces, reminded of the massacre she committed. She heard their screams, assaulted with vows of revenge.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath of salty air.
The vivid nightmare was finally over.