The first thing the Udwi did was to dash away and keep his spear in front of him in a defensive stance. Multiple thoughts began to run through his head as he struggled to figure out what to do and how to deal with this situation.
How? How long was the demon tracking him? More than that, since when did this enemy figure out where he was when it was in the process of dealing with a giant horde of enemies? What kind of crap was this? No, more than that, how did this demon sneak up on him? While he was having a full rest, he still was more than capable of detecting when someone was nearby. Even if he failed to do so, the spirits should have discovered the intruder and warned him accordingly. So why–
His face went pale as he realized. That’s right, he had wasted almost all of his favor with the spirits yesterday when he called on them numerous times for his own safety. That was why he wasn’t warned about the serious situation, he had spent all of his good will and hadn’t had any power left to ask them to provide any power for defense.
On the bright side, he had his long rest. He had the spirit’s favor on his side once more and he was more than ready to fight. Even though he was lacking in terms of a shield and a ranged weapon, he could take on this battle.
But that was something he still didn’t want to do at all. Again, such a battle would only end in mutual harm and that was something he absolutely did not want to do. There were no healers nearby that he could rely on and he had no medical knowledge nor did he have any good information about the foliage here.
Once more, he had to be diplomatic. Even if that truly meant if he had to suck up to this demon. Though, he was curious about one thing at this time.
“How did you survive that giant horde?” The Udwi demanded, “That should have been more than enough to cause some damage to you. No, that should have put you in the ground, such a thing should not have been easy to deal with!”
“What?” The demon cocked its head in confusion, the lifeless eyes once more drilling into his very being, “Are you referring to that swarm of brainless monsters that couldn’t do anything but rush forward with reckless abandon? If so, then you are severely looking down on me. They were far from dangerous, nothing more than a little treat for the big battle I was waiting for.”
“How? How are you able to do so even then? Even I would have trouble with such a task.”
“Truly?” The demon seemed surprised by his admittance, before sighing. “It is simple. Those monsters are so useless that they could not think of any kind of ranged attacks to overcome my spear. They would continue charging even when I pierced through every single one of their companion’s heads. Not a single moment of flanking, nothing. They were so predictable that they sapped all the fun out of the battle.”
How amazing. Truly, the Udwi had to admit that the demon in front of him was a true warrior, one that he had to admit would have been accepted quite quickly in his tribe. That made him absolutely certain that he did not want to fight this enemy even more.
It was not wrong for him to admit that he was scared. To feel fear was normal, it was the means to survive no matter what came his way. Now more than ever, he understood. He had no way of truly winning this battle anymore, especially if that demon was calling taking down a giant horde of beasts ‘boring’.
“Then I’m afraid you’ll find yourself disappointed with me then.” The Udwi said as he took another step back with sweat pouring down his back even more, “I highly doubt I’ll be able to put up as much of a fight as those monsters.”
“No. You should be able to do so, seeing as how you’re able to think and realize how outmatched you are.” The demon said as it took a step forward, “You understand. You feel fear. All of that should result in you having the capacity to defend yourself, to think of strategies to defend against any attacks that come your way.”
“Sorry, I just woke up. I don’t think I’m in the mood to think of any kind of defenses and all that to have a chance to survive to see another day.”
The demon started to shake, before it slammed the butt of its spear into the ground.
“What is this?” It grumbled as it took another step forward, the lifeless eyes having the spark of anger starting to appear, “I was promised a chance to prove myself. The opportunity to face worthy opponents, warriors from all places and times to have the chance to hone my blade. To show how effective of a weapon I am. Are you telling me that I have been scammed, lied to and forced to deal with cowards, weaklings and children?”
“I resent that remake. I am no child, I am an adult warrior.”
“Then prove it!” The demon roared as it hefted the spear directly at the Udwi, “Show your mettle right here and now! Prove you are worthy of the title as warrior! Do not dare to deny me the opportunity to have a worthy fight, a battle that can truly make me feel something!”
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“No. I refuse.” He spat as he proceeded to glare right back at the demon. “No matter what you do or say, you will not get me to fight you under any circumstance.”
It seemed to go still at that declaration. The shaking got so intense that its armor began to make clunking noises and the weapons began to beat against each other. Then, the demon slammed a foot forward.
The smell of rain began to overwhelm the area. He began to sweat even more and took a few steps back as the scent started to get stronger and stronger. The air seemed to feel some sort of energy that made every single one of his hairs stand up on end. He gulped as he looked at the demon who took another stomp forward.
“You will. You will not refuse. Right here and now, you will fight me here and now. If you do not wish to be killed like the dog you are, then pick up your spear and fight. Now.”
That demand nearly made the Udwi rush forward with his spear and strike. This entire situation was making all of his survival instincts to flare up like mad, each single bit of his body screaming at him to fight. He needed to do something, anything to get rid of this situation!
His feet unconsciously moved forward. He felt his breath shorten and his teeth gnash together. He found his grip on his spear to go firm as he aimed directly at the demon. He shot out a connection to the spirits once more.
This time, they rejected him. Shock. Confusion. Then, and only then, did he realize what he was doing.
He took a deep breath and slowly but surely relaxed himself. He put away his spear and closed his eyes, before looking the demon in its eyes.
“No. I will not fight you. Not here, not now, not ever. Not so long as I can breathe.”
“Then you will die. You understand this, don’t you?!” The demon roared as it took another step forward.
However, this time, the Udwi did not fall for its trap. He had learned, his body was more than accustomed to this tense atmosphere now. There was no way for him to fall into this pit-trap and give this monster what it wanted.
“Then go ahead. Kill me. That won’t change a single thing. You’ll never be able to get that fight you long for, that life or death battle that will get your heart beating over and over. There is nothing for you here but disappointment. Leave, for that is the only worth you will find here.”
The enemy seemed to shake and tremble as it looked him in the eyes. Those lifeless eyes burst with rage and smoldered with hate for a good amount of time. Then finally, all of that anger seemed to die down into nothingness. The demon sagged its shoulders and its entire body relaxed before it proceeded to sheath its spear, resignation and despair clearly taking over its mental state.
The stormy atmosphere with all the fear accumulated seemed to dissipate back into nothingness. The air went back to normal and the smell of the rainy skies faded away. All of this alleviated the tenseness in the air and gave the Udwi the chance to finally get his breath back.
He took in several greedy gulps of air, wiping away the mass amounts of sweat that had built up across his brow. He gasped as his heartbeat struggled to slow down, his whole being doing everything it could to relax and get rid of all the pumped up energy in his system. Then and only then did he look back at the demon in front of him.
That thing was looking at him the whole time. Despite the fact that he was the one who had to surrender, the demon seemed to act as though it was defeated. The way those lifeless eyes kept drilling into his soul, questioning and begging for a reason to strike. He did not do anything to give it that reason and before long, the enemy simply collapsed and sat down on the ground.
The two of them stayed in their respective places for a while. None of them made any moves. They stayed where they were, staring at each other waiting for something to happen to spark anything.
The one who broke was the demon.
“What am I to do then?” It asked with a forlorn longing tinged in its voice that contrasted its lifeless eyes, “What is the point of me being here if I cannot even accomplish my purpose?”
“What purpose?” The Udwi shot back as he kept his eye on this thing in front of him, “From what I can tell, our purpose is to go and take down the Usurper that reigns in the tower. Not kill each other for the desire of some bloodlust like monsters.”
“You don’t understand.” The demon shook its head, “I am no monster.”
“Oh? Enlighten me. What exactly are you then?”
“I am a samurai. An honorable warrior.” The demon continued, its gaze now lingering towards the ground, “I am a sword, a tool, a weapon. I was raised and built to kill for my lord, that is my sole purpose in life."
“What, like every warrior?” The Udwi scoffed at this so-called samurai, “Then what are you waiting for? You said you were raised to kill, right? Then go ahead and strike me down like I said before.”
“No.” The Samurai shook its head, “There is no honor in that now. There is no point in trying to strike you down when you do not wish to fight. There wouldn’t be anything to gain anyways with killing you.”
“Oh? Then what was there to obtain if you had killed me in a fight?”
“Honor. Glory. A chance to test my mettle.”
“Then you picked the wrong opponent.” The Udwi spat as he turned around. “If you want a good fight, go find someone else. You’ll find me wanting, that much is for sure. If you’re so bloodthirsty, why don’t you just make a straight charge for the tower? Maybe then you’ll get that worthy fight you’ve been ranting about this whole time.”
With that said and done, he moved on. He walked into the forest and away from his ruined shelter. He kept on going and when he turned back, thankfully enough, the Samurai wasn’t following him around anymore.
Thank goodness. He didn’t need to deal with that kind of madness anymore.