109 Sato vs Vincent, Part Five

I took one step back, then another, then another. My gut sank low with apprehension at Vincent's warning. He advanced slowly toward me, a rapier in one hand and a hollow cane in the other, with swirling shadows trailing behind.

'Idiot! Don't just stand there!' I griped to myself, then dashed toward my two knives. 

The cadence of my heart still pounded with an unwavering determination, a fierce resolve that refused to back down. Yet, its rhythm was met with the piercing stabs of disappointment, slowly chipping away at any glimmer of hope that remained.

I was willing to fight tooth and nail, but any expectation of living was nonexistent.

If I had to compare what I felt at Vincent's survival, it was like desperately searching for the salvation of safety through a dense forest, only to find the sheer drop of a cliff at the end.