He stared at the monster that was stuck mid-thrust. He looked around at everyone that had gone completely frozen, not a single breath or even a single twitch. He couldn’t help but take a step forward and come face to face with the demon that came incredibly close to murdering him.

The being was emaciated, with its bones ripping out of some of the body. Giant antlers grew out of the top of its bald head that seemed to be covered with green moss and worms that were going in and out of the body structure.

He gagged, before clearing his throat and lifting his sword. Well, if the beast wasn’t going to move, then he would.

He swung his sword right towards the head. The weapon went right through, completely deleting everything in the path of the blade. However, the creature did not move. It did not change its position, nor did it react.

No, all it did was stay in its same position, with the top half of its skull levitating in the air.

This… this had to be the power that God had promised him. The divine right to control the way the world went? The moment when things would be able to move, letting him freeze everyone and allow him to go and attack freely?

This blessing… He would not let things go to waste. After all, with this capacity, what could even threaten him?

Nothing. He could think of nothing that could possibly even be a danger anymore. No, more than that, wasn’t he now in the same state of God? Perhaps this was why he had been chosen to become the Lord’s successor. Perhaps–

Pain started to envelop his chest. He gasped as he felt that familiar burn, the same sensation that reminded him of the days where he was ridden with that horrendous disease. That fear blossomed in his chest as he struggled to breathe.

Why? Why was he feeling this now? What was going on? Why was he suffering from the disease that had caused him so much distress in the first place?!

He fell to his knees, before forcing himself back up. Yes, the pain was real. However, it was not as debilitating as he recalled. In fact, this was something that he could say was tolerable for now. He took a moment to try to catch his breath, before something caught his eye. He turned and his breath was stolen in a heartbeat.

The beasts were starting to regain their movement. Granted, they were extremely slow, their speed similar to that of turtles, but they were still starting to get their movement again.

The second half of that first kill was beginning to fall, the other creatures were starting to rush, and he was feeling fatigued. However, that wasn’t going to stop him. More than that, he understood what was going on now.

This wasn’t his disease coming forth. This was the limitations of his current body, being unable to constantly maintain the glorious blessing that God had levied upon him. This was the first time he was using such divinity, which would explain why he was having so much pain and troubles coming to him right now. After all, the mortal body was not exactly built and designed to hold such divine power.

He snapped back to attention when he heard the slow and warbled cry of one of the creatures. The beast was trying to attack him, but the slowed nature only meant that he could easily predict its next move. He struck with his sword, cutting the offending arm with ease, before slicing right at the torso. Blood and guts came pouring out in droves and he could watch each part start rotting right away.

However, he wasn’t expecting them to begin deteriorating as fast as they were despite his divine power running. But he couldn’t focus on that anymore.

Right now, his target was to take down the entire horde before they could fully regain their speed. And that was what he set out to do.

Slice. Stab. Strike.

His sword went flying through the air, chopping and shredding each abomination in his path. The giant horde went from a wave to a group to finally a single beast.

And that was when his divine might finally came to a stop.

The beast backpedaled away from his swing, before hissing as it re-orientated itself back into a fighting stance. He took a deep breath as he picked the sword up back to a passive stance, before circling around the creature.

This monster did the same. Both of them moved in a single circle, the monster lashing out and hissing all at the same time. The Crusader kept an eye on the demon, trying to gauge and determine a plan of attack to take this creature down with minimum energy.

The beast was tall, much taller than him. It did not have a bottom jaw, letting its giant tongue reach all the way down to its thick and muscular legs. Their arms were spindly thin but long and he bet that a single swipe would be enough to reach the distance. The eyes were pitch black with no irises, and the four horns atop of its head seemed to point directly at him, twitching and trembling with each step.

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They were at a stand still. He did not dare charge forward, in fear of the beast landing a critical strike despite his armor. The demon dared not move forward, in fear of not being able to counter against whatever attack the Crusader could throw at him.

This standoff lasted for a brief moment. Then, before the two of them could even make a decision, someone else intervened.

The three men from before screamed at the top of their lungs as they slammed their wooden spears into the demon’s back, causing the creature to howl and turn around with a glare. It raised its right arm in retaliation, ready to strike back.

That very limb proceeded to fall onto the ground, with blood oozing out of the now open wound. It seemed shocked for a brief moment, before screaming once more and turning completely towards the Crusader, who was already in the process of slashing downwards once more.

The creature’s stomach was ripped open and it screamed, but not before its tongue twitched. The offending organ then launched itself at full speed towards the open slit of the Crusader’s helm, intent on piercing through his head and getting revenge for the wounds. The attack was done with high speed, something that most men would not be able to track.

The Crusader was no longer most men.

He flicked the sword with ease, slicing off the incoming attack. The creature cried out in pain once more, just in time for the blade to pierce right through its brain. Then silence as the death throes kicked in, causing the beast’s legs to shake and tremble. Then, it went still and only then did the weapon get removed from the demon’s skull.

And just like that, the battle was over. The Crusader slammed his sword into the ground, using the weapon as a makeshift resting place. He took the chance to recover his strength, gasping for air and leaning his weight onto the crossguard.

He had never felt this exhausted before, not for a long time. The last time he was like this was when he had to harvest for several days straight due to the excessive taxes that the lord had levied upon the village that season.

However, at the very least, he had saved the people that were being assaulted. That was a small mercy considering all that had happened. Best of all, he had taken care of numerous demons and beasts that would prove to be dangerous for the other people that had to travel through these lands. So all in all, a bit of exhaustion was the least that he could endure for the sake of those he had saved.

“Sir, are you alright?” One of the men he saved asked, this one with dirty blonde hair.

He took the chance to take another breath before he lifted his head to look at the people who had talked to him. He found himself looking directly at the three people he had saved from that giant swarm, smiling to himself as he did so.

“Yes, I am. It is merely exhaustion, I am sure you understand.”

“Mere exhaustion? Sir, with that speed, no wonder you would be tired!” One of the other men, this one wearing a straw hat with brown hair, announced with amazement deep in his voice. “You went far faster than anyone I have ever seen before! It was truly an awe-inspiring sight to view!”

“Haha!” The Crusader chortled as he shook his head. “No, it was nothing. I did what anyone would do in my situation.”

“Good sir, I do not expect anyone to rush in and start massacring a horde of murderous beasts! No, more than anything, I would not blame them for running away from such a sight!”

“Then you need better men in your life.” The Crusader frowned at that. After all, despite his village being poor and incapable of defending themselves, they all were more than willing to help those in need, even if there would be a major disadvantage to doing so.

“Perhaps.” Straw Hat spoke, scratching his neck as he looked away.

Then the last member of their group, this one with a bandana around his neck, spoke up, unamused. “But that is a talk for another time and a better place. Right now, we are in the open and our weapons are not nearly enough to fend off the beasts should they decide to attack us once more.”

“Yes! We should leave, this hunting trip has been a major failure already!” The dirty blonde nodded. “I doubt we would be able to even find any kind of food at this point or any beasts that could provide sustenance.”

“And leave empty handed?” Straw Hat yelped with shock deep in his voice. “What about the children? The village? We were chosen to hunt and secure food for everyone! If we come back with nothing, then…”

The Crusader couldn’t help but grimace at those words. They were out here to find food for their village and their families? Perhaps he spoke too soon.

“Fret not.” The Crusader exclaimed as he hefted his sword out of the ground and sheathed it. “I shall assist in your quest to obtain rations for your family.”

“You will help? Truly?!” The three men’s eyes widened as they looked at him. The Crusader smiled underneath his helm as he looked at their excitement.

“Of course. Have I not saved you from that horde? Assisting with some hunting will be child’s play.”

All of them grinned at those words.

“Oh thank you glorious warrior!” The three men clasped their hands together. “We cannot bring up any other words to display just how blessed we are for you to assist us like this!”

“No matter,” The Crusader chuckled, “Just tell me what you require and I will help to provide such things.”

“Ah, well…” They suddenly seemed sheepish, at least until Straw Hat cleared his throat and looked right at their savior. “We need three of those beasts… alive.”

The Crusader blinked. He shook his head, before looking at the trio in front of him.

“Pardon?”