Chapter 6-talented swordsman

  Ariel had seen battles in her life, but what she witnessed in front of her stood out from the rest.

  The knight fought with a precision that made it unclear who was the predator and who was the prey. Every swing, every shift of his stance, carried no wasted effort. His blade struck sparks against the creature’s formless claws, his boots grinding into the soil as he absorbed its weight again and again. It wasn’t desperation; it was control, complete and unyielding.

  The aberration was faster, heavier, and unnatural in its every motion, but he never once faltered. He parried with the flat of his blade, sidestepped slashes that carved the earth where he had stood a breath before, and retaliated with cuts that landed clean and merciless. Dark ichor sprayed in arcs across the grass, hissing as it burned through the green.

  Ariel finally understood blessed Eldric's words. For this knight, he wasn't just surviving. This was his craft.

  He truly was a talented swordsman.

  The knight had failed to notice before, but the aberration’s form wavered, flickering like smoke carried by the wind. One moment it was crouched low, the next it blurred to the side, its fractured eyes glinting gold in the dark. Ariel could hardly follow its movement; it was no longer lunging like a beast, it had grown desperate, each step jagged and unnatural, and even Ariel knew that nothing was more dangerous than a cornered beast.

  The aberration lunged, its body flickering out of sight mid-stride. Ariel’s breath caught. Then it reappeared at the knight's flank, claws already descending.

  The impact crashed into him with bone-splintering force. The sound rang sharp and hollow, louder than the creature’s shriek.

  He was hurled across the plain, the weight of the blow tearing him from his footing. He struck the ground hard, rolling, dirt and grass ripping at him as his armor split with a jagged crack.

  For a heartbeat, silence swallowed everything. Then she saw it, blood, dark and hot, spilling through the rent steel. His chest hitched as he dragged in a ragged breath, his body shuddering beneath the effort.

  For the first time, Ariel saw his calm break.

  However, He didn't stay down for long.

  The knight pushed against the ground, slow at first, trembling, unsteady, his hand slipping in the dirt before finding the hilt of his sword. Blood ran down his face, streaking the pale of his cheek.

  He rose one breath at a time, shoulders squaring.

  Seeing the wounded knight rise again, she thought, …why won’t he stay down? Why won’t he save himself?

  And then, in that moment, she understood something.

  Fear coiled tight around her throat, not just for herself, but for Lilia, frozen beside her, and for the knight who stood between them and the nightmare.

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  ***

  “Ufgh…” Ryn groaned, the sound dragged through clenched teeth as he forced himself upright. Every breath burned. His chest ached where the armor had split, blood seeping hot through the crack, but he refused to stay down; he couldn't stay down. His fingers tightened around the hilt of his blade, knuckles white, his stance faltering for a moment before settling again.

  ‘I can’t falter. If I fall, there’s nothing between it and her.’

  The aberration paced a few strides away, its fractured eyes locked on him. Dark blood still dripped from its wounds, sizzling where it struck the ground. Yet it kept moving, twitching, refusing to fall.

  Ryn exhaled sharply, steadying his breath, ignoring the agonizing pain at his side. He had been too careless before. That mistake wouldn’t repeat itself.

  The beast lunged again, a blur of claws and smoke. Ryn twisted to the side, his blade thrusting up to catch the claws. The impact jolted through his bones, but this time he did not falter. He let the momentum carry him, he spun, tearing his sword across the creature’s ribs. Onyx liquid sprayed, the air heavy with the scent of rot.

  The abomination shrieked, staggering, but immediately slashed back with its other arm. Ryn ducked low, dragging his blade upward in a vicious arc that split through muscle and sinew. The monster reared back, its movements jerking, frantic, as if fighting its own unraveling body.

  Pain lanced through Ryn’s side with every motion, but he pressed forward, relentless. Every strike he threw now was precise, fueled by necessity. His blade sang against the unnatural flesh, each cut deeper, each step closer to ending it.

  But the creature was no longer fighting like a beast. Its body flickered unnaturally, slipping between shadows and reappearing at the blind edges of Ryn’s swings. Each shift was a disorienting blur, like the air itself bent to hide it.

  Ryn narrowed his eyes, his mind racing even as blood trickled down his ribs. The monster was not vanishing at random; like all beasts, it was tethered to instinct, always reemerging at angles meant to exploit his openings.

  He shifted his weight, adjusted his stance, and began to anticipate its flickers. When the creature reappeared at his left flank, his sword was already there, slashing across its chest. When it lunged behind him, he pivoted low, driving his blade upward through its shoulder. With each adjustment, his sword landed truer, the abomination’s battered body stumbling more and more beneath his onslaught.

  Black ichor spilled in torrents, its shrieks growing shrill and desperate. The fractured glow in its eyes sputtered, dimming with every wound.

  Then, with a sound that tore the silence apart, the aberration roared and threw its entire weight into one final lunge. It came at him like a collapsing storm, claws wide, maw splitting unnaturally.

  However, now that the creature had all but settled into its mindless instincts. The fight was already over.

  Not making the same mistake. Ryn gritted his teeth, braced, and surged forward. His sword met the charge in one decisive stroke, steel biting through shadow and bone. The impact rattled his arms, but the cut was true, cleaving deep into the creature’s maw and exiting from its backside.

  For a heartbeat, the monster froze. Its gold-fractured eyes flickered violently, as if trying to cling to life. Then the darkness inside it tore apart. The body unraveled in a cascade of smoke and broken light, dissolving into nothing.

  All that was left in its wake was a blackened ring, the relic from which the creature was born from.

  The plain fell silent.

  Ryn staggered, chest heaving, his blade dripping with shadow that evaporated into the air. His armor hung cracked and bloodied, his body screaming in pain, but above all else, the beast was gone.

  He glanced back at the girls. Lilia was on the verge of tears her hands trembling as she clutched her skirts. Ariel stood beside her, her lips pressed tight, visibly shaken but trying to hide it.

  Ryn’s gaze settled and a heavy sigh escaped.

  Then, at last…

  He collapsed.