The moonlight flickered through the trees, casting shadows over the two combatants. Travis stood firm, his feet planted like the roots of a tree, his sword glowing faintly as it pulsed with an energy that mirrored the heat of his focused resolve. His eyes never left the Goblin King, who, despite the recent blows, slowly rose to its feet. The creature’s rage only made it more dangerous, and Travis knew he had to end this quickly.
The Goblin King let out a guttural growl, gripping its massive club tighter, the wood creaking under the pressure of its iron-like grip. It swung the club overhead in a sweeping arc, aiming to crush Travis in a single blow.
But Travis was already moving before the Goblin King even completed the swing. He sidestepped, his body a blur of motion. The club smashed into the earth where he had just been, creating a crater. Travis used the opening to dart forward, his sword flashing as he swung in a precise, diagonal cut aimed at the Goblin King’s side. The blow came so quickly the Goblin King barely had time to react, but the beast brought its club up just in time to block the strike, the sword scraping against the wood.
Without pausing, Travis followed through with a series of rapid thrusts, his movements fluid and unpredictable. Each strike was a masterful combination of precision and speed—first a jab to the chest, followed by a low sweep aiming for the Goblin King’s legs, then a fast, upward slash meant to sever the creature’s arm. The Goblin King was forced to stagger backward, struggling to keep up with the flurry of attacks.
But the Goblin King wasn’t done. It roared in fury and swung its club wildly, trying to catch Travis with a devastating horizontal swing. The sheer force of the attack created a shockwave, and the club was almost a blur as it sliced through the air. Travis, anticipating the move, dropped to the ground, his body falling into a perfect roll. The club sailed just over his head, missing him by inches.
As he rose from the roll, Travis’s eyes gleamed. The Goblin King’s rage was its own downfall. Travis took advantage of the opening, stepping in close, and with a lightning-fast strike, he slashed diagonally across the Goblin King's chest. Blood splattered from the wound, the slash deep and clean, but the Goblin King wasn’t finished yet.
With a roar of pain, it swung its club again, this time aiming for Travis’s head. The blow came down like a falling tree, but Travis was faster. He ducked low, his sword slicing horizontally in an arc. The blade met the club with a clang, but he immediately pivoted, his body spinning to the side. Using his momentum, Travis’s blade flashed in a perfect arc, cutting across the Goblin King's exposed side.
The Goblin King staggered, a deep cut along its ribs. It howled in fury, but Travis wasn’t about to give it a chance to recover. With a quick step forward, Travis closed the distance between them. He aimed a thrust at the Goblin King’s heart. The creature attempted to parry with its club, but the sword struck first, piercing through the joint where the club met the creature’s arm, causing it to roar in agony.
Before the Goblin King could react, Travis was already spinning. In one fluid motion, he delivered a brutal kick to the Goblin King's knee, causing it to stumble back. The sword retracted and followed up with a downward slash aimed at the Goblin King's head.
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But the Goblin King, with a last desperate burst of strength, brought its club up again, intercepting the blow with a massive swing that sent Travis stumbling backward. The impact was enough to rattle his bones, but his feet stayed steady. He shook it off, his mind focused, never allowing himself to get caught in hesitation.
The Goblin King pressed forward, its club whistling through the air in a deadly arc. But Travis was already gone, his body blurring as he zipped to the side. He could feel the wind from the swing of the club as he narrowly avoided it, and in the same motion, he closed in again. His sword cut through the air like a bolt of lightning. The blade sliced across the Goblin King's shoulder, severing a chunk of its arm.
With a battle cry, the Goblin King staggered, clutching its wounded arm, but Travis’s strike was unrelenting. He stepped forward, using the force of his momentum to strike a series of powerful blows. His sword danced around the Goblin King's defenses like a deadly waltz. He cut at its legs, tore into its side, and smashed its shoulder with an overhead blow that sent the club flying from its hand.
The Goblin King fell to its knees, blood soaking into the ground beneath it. But it still had life left in it. In a final, desperate attempt to survive, it lunged forward, its teeth bared, eyes bloodshot with rage.
Travis, however, was faster. With one final swing, he brought his sword down at the creature’s neck, the blade cutting cleanly through bone. The Goblin King’s body crumpled, its head rolling to the side, a look of disbelief frozen on its face as its massive form collapsed to the ground.
Travis stood over the fallen giant, breathing heavily but with a fierce smirk on his face. The adrenaline was still coursing through him, but the fight was over. The battlefield was silent except for the distant rustling of the trees.
He wiped his sword clean, the emerald stains of the Goblin King soaking into the ground. The night was still, and he felt the heavy weight of victory settle in his chest. He wasn’t just stronger now—he was something else entirely.
The glow on his sword began to dissipate, fading from a vibrant crimson to a dull, flickering light. It pulsed one last time, as if struggling to remain, but the second it did, a sharp crack echoed through the air. The once-solid blade splintered at the hilt, shards of energy scattering into the wind like embers. The remaining fragments of the blade fractured, crumbling to the ground in slow motion, disintegrating into dust that slipped between his fingers. It left nothing but a faint, fading residue of power in the air, as though the sword’s very essence had been torn away.
' What was that power ?' He thought to himself, but before he could further think.
It was as if an invisible force had clenched around his heart, squeezing it with the force of an iron vice. His breath caught in his throat, shallow and quick, as the pain spread like wildfire through his veins. The world around him spun, colors blurring together as the agony intensified. He gasped for air, but it felt like the very life was being crushed out of him.
"Ahhh!" His scream echoed, a raw sound that tore through the forest. The pain coursed through his body, twisting every nerve and muscle into a contorted mess.
His veins bulged beneath his skin, and he could feel the heat of fire racing through his blood, but it wasn't the warmth of energy—it was the fiery touch of something far more sinister. His chest tightened with each passing second, as though the very core of his being was being slowly twisted apart.
His body trembled uncontrollably, muscles locking and spasming, each contraction sending more searing waves of agony through him. The force of it made him lose control, his limbs flailing weakly as if they belonged to someone else.
The pain was unrelenting, overwhelming, and Travis could feel his vision dimming at the edges. The world around him was becoming a blur, and his mind—once sharp and focused—was fading into oblivion.
His pulse hammered in his ears, growing weaker with each beat. Desperation surged through him, but it was futile. The blackness closing in on his sight was inevitable, and he had no strength left to fight it. His eyes fluttered closed as the darkness consumed him, pulling him into its cold, empty depths.
For a moment, there was nothing. No pain. No consciousness. Just the oppressive silence of nothingness.
Then, slowly, everything faded into an eerie stillness. Travis's body lay still, his chest rising and falling in shallow, erratic breaths, as if clinging to the last threads of life. The echo of his scream was the only sound, lingering in the air long after the pain had dulled.
TO BE CONTINUED