The two of them went right into defensive positions. Both the Samurai and the Udwi held their spears up as they kept their eye on the incoming blur.
They didn’t need to wait for long. The object proceeded to fly past them for a little distance before slamming down to the ground. A large splash of dirt particles and burnt silver grass went flying through the air as a cloud of dust settled throughout the immediate area. The two of them tensed up and looked towards the newcomer, ready for whatever to come.
The dust settled. What stood there in front of them was a mock representation of a human. While it had the same shape as a normal person, everything else about it was completely wrong. The skin of this thing had been twisted and warped into knots that continued throughout its body. The upper body of this monster seemed to be covered up by an armor piece that seemed to once have been made of some silver metal, at least until it seemed to have rusted and turned partially black.
The left arm was bigger than the rest of the body, with a giant spike sticking out where the hand should be. The right arm was nothing more than a mixture of bone and flesh that seemed to interlock within each other in a macabre form similar to that of rope. That ligament ended with a huge swarm of claws that curled inwards, each of them gleaming in the light.
The monster itself did not show its face, for it had a helmet made of the same metal material guarding its head. There were slits that acted as means to see and get air, with the motif being similar to that of a majestic proud eagle. That is, if that eagle had been bludgeoned several times and its eyes contained nothing but dark black beads that reflected all light that touched the surface.
Last but not least was the cloth wrapped tightly around its neck, tied as though he was meant to be hung. The fabric was red and pale, with holes here and there scattered throughout its length. It flew in the wind, though it felt as though the movement did not make sense with the way the air flowed, almost like it was merely emulating the movement.
The Samurai stood at guard. The Udwi glared with bated breath as the monster straightened itself out. The enemy stood there for a while looking between the two, before it creaked its neck.
Then, it spoke. The voice was one that was gravely and gritty, as though the being has not spoken for a long time.
“Warriors of the Fallen Lord,” the monster rasped as it pointed the spike at the two of them, “Die, for the sake of our Successor.”
With that, those spikes got launched at the two. However, this time instead of going straight, they began to curve and weave as the wings on the back of these projectiles seemed to redirect their movement. That forced the duo to dance and swerve away from the incoming spikes, using their weapons to defend and destroy the incoming attacks.
However, that let the monster rush in with its clawed hands to attack. The target it focused happened to be the Udwi as they proceeded to swipe towards his torso, only for the strike to get redirected with his spear.
That made the arm go flying back and he roared as he slammed the sharp end into the monster’s leg. The spear point proceeded to bounce off of the monster, leaving behind a small crater that bled only by a little bit. Then, it proceeded to heal up within a few seconds, leaving behind steam and nothing.
The Udwi growled. The claw came swinging once more and this time, he let the strike come. Rather, he merely readjusted his spear so that the hit would strike his weapon. He hoped that the attack would pierce through, as the momentum from the monster should pull through and hopefully rip through the flesh.
His gambit paid off. At that moment, the spear went completely through the hand. With that, he roared and pulled at the spear handle with all his might. With that, the monster screamed as the spear cleaved its hand in two, forcing some of the nails to go flying out into the air.
However, he did not let up. The Udwi kept up the momentum by slamming numerous strikes with the blunt end of the spear right into the chestplate of this monster. Each of those strikes dented and damaged the metal, causing black flakes and silver pieces to come off the armor here and there more and more. However, he wasn’t able to continue the assault as the monster realigned his body and rushed to strike him down once more with its claw arm.
That forced him to call upon the spirits to push the incoming strike away from him. They accepted eagerly and without further ado, a huge gust of wind slammed into the side of the monster and a loud cracking noise could be heard. That was when the spirits seized the monster and slammed a good force into its body. That impact stunned the enemy as the powerful attack launched it a good distance away.
However, the enemy wasn’t disorientated for long. It back-flipped mid-air and aimed its spike arm at the Udwi, before opening fire once more. Multiple shots came flying at both of the warriors, but that did not prevent him from making his move.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
He took advantage of this moment to rush in forward. Those spikes came flying towards him, but he was able to analyze their trajectory now. He bobbed and weaved and dodged each of the spikes that attempted to fly and strike him down with relative ease.
The monster landed feet first and ground to a halt. That single moment where it was still trying to reorientate itself after landing gave the Udwi the opportunity to land a finishing blow.
He would not waste this chance at all.
He rushed as fast as he could. He called upon the spirits to guide his attack. And they obliged.
The world became nothing more than a blur as the spirits pushed his speed beyond what he could imagine. He put all of his might into this one charge, the spear aimed directly at the monster’s torso with the goal to rip through all that armor and impale its flesh.
The monster recovered faster than he expected. It realized what he was planning and readjusted accordingly, quickly moving its spike arm in front of itself. Clearly, this enemy was trying to copy his maneuver from earlier by trying to make use of the speed to cause significant damage.
However, the monster made a mistake. A simple one yet lethal one. His spear was far longer than the arm. Thus, that single motion sealed its fate.
His weapon struck true, but not the target he desired. The spike arm erupted into a shower of blood, flesh and bone as the spear went through the entirety of the limb and punctured out of the shoulder. A loud gravely scream burst from the monster as its limb was turned into nothing more than threads of flesh.
It didn’t get the chance to scream for long. The Udwi called upon the spirits to redirect all of the energy towards his spear so that he would not barrel into the monster. He needed to change the trajectory of his weapon right now to destroy the enemy in front of him once and for all.
The spirits acted without complaint. His momentum halted nearly immediately as all of that power went into the spear, which realigned itself to slam right into the right side of the monster’s torso.
All that energy slammed into the armor piece, before ripping and tearing the black silver metal into nothing more than pieces and shreds. Then, just before the spear tip could pierce through the flesh, the monster grabbed the spear and began to push back.
Thus began a struggle. The Udwi who continued to push this hurricane of destruction into his enemy and the monster who was desperately trying to shove the spear away from its body. A battle of strength that would determine the outcome of the battle once and for all.
He grimaced as he found himself in a stalemate. He could not push forward, yet the abomination could not get away. At this current state, the two of them were stuck until one of them gave out.
The thought of calling the Samurai to come and help crossed his mind. That sent out of the window the instant it came as he realized one thing: that warrior hadn’t helped him in this whole fight.
They didn’t charge in with him to confront this new enemy. They stayed back and let him do what needed to be done. This must be their idea of doing right by allowing him to go through with this battle by himself. Annoying, yet understandable.
He didn’t want to fail those expectations anymore. With that, he found his resolve once more. He turned his eyes to his adversary and both of them locked eyes.
They knew what had to be done at that moment.
Both fighters roared. In that infinitesimal instant, the monster found its second wind and pushed with every last bit of strength it had left. The Udwi did almost the same, except for one difference.
He called upon the spirits for guidance. That last action of his determined the end of this battle once and for all.
All of that power overthrew the monster instantly. Without a single beat, the spear was thrust into the monster in a united front. There was no way to defend, no means to dodge. The only thing it could do was accept death. And so it did, letting its grip go limp and accepting the inevitable end.
The monster proceeded to explode into a shower of shredded flesh as the deadly hurricane rushed through the whole body. The whole ordeal lasted for a single second, before the spear embedded itself into the ground. All that remained of the enemy were its legs that remained standing.
They wobbled for a brief moment, almost as if they were to move forward. Then, they seized up and collapsed into dust.
With that, the battle was over. The Udwi took a deep breath as he hefted the spear out of the ground and strapped it onto his back. He stood there for a while, staring at the remains of the enemy he had vanquished with his own two hands.
Respect. That was what he had for his fallen prey. He had not expected to have to deal with such an intelligent foe, one that had the capacity to think and plan. This must be what the Samurai had been chasing after for the longest time, this feeling of satisfaction and pride of taking down an enemy worthy of his skills. One that pushed him to the corner and made him plan and strategize his moves.
He nodded at the remains. This truly was an enemy worthy of such honor. He truly was thankful. He got closer to the dust only to find something out of place.
A black sphere as big as his hand laid there. He didn’t know what this was, but he could see his own reflection warped and twisted on the surface. There was some kind of smoke hidden within its depths that swirled and moved all across its body.
This thing… It looks like a giant pearl. It’s… so beautiful. I need it, I must have it.
That thought kept looping over and over in his head as he found himself reaching for the mysterious object. He could hear the muted sounds of someone calling to stop, but he wasn’t going to heed those warnings at all.
His fingers brushed the object. The world seemed to twist and twirl. Then a light began to grow more and more before finally overtaking him.
He lost consciousness after that.