The Body of Envy has long been raging through Elveria. Those were the words that were now beginning to be jotted down into the Envidian history books. The terrorist organization of rogue mages terrorizes the towns of the Elvish motherland. Yet, its capital, Rindale, has been fighting the battles of the land by itself as Queen Aurelia and her guard has been hard at work for Elveria.

A knight from the neighboring island of Rimu has been sent over to help their cause, first assigned to handling their goblin problem.

…

A boat crossed the waters. A young man, no older than twenty, wore black armor adorned with golden accents. He stood atop the vessel, which moved forward without needing paddles. His expression was unreadable. His skin was pale, perhaps a shade mellow than the sand he was nearing on the beach.

His hair was black and messy yet not greasy. His eyes were a gradient of purple. Bags under his eyes showed his potential tiredness. A black sword sat on the belt of his armor.

At first glance, it was nothing more than your typical sword of a knight of Rimu. Yet, if you glanced briefly, you would notice the many peculiarities of the blade, such as its refusal to reflect the sun’s light, which it took so unfavorably from the world.

The knight stepped off the boat, the steel plates of his boots hitting the gravel and sand below. The ship sat, looking like it was watching to see if he would safely make it into the dangerous forest.

The forest looked wicked. Branches twisted in jagged shapes. Green birds stirred at the top of the trees. As if camouflaged, they launched into the shadows when they flew off. The knight paused under a low branch, its bark scarred with thin grooves.

His eyes followed the path of one of the birds, which disappeared like it was guiding him. The knight thought the birds never seemed to fall. Slowly, he moved through the forest. The ground was soft yet damp, with leaves and moss sprawling from every corner.

As he walked, the knight rested his hand on the hilt, his fingers brushing the grip; a sudden cry ripped through the quiet. It was neither human nor entirely animal. The knight stopped, turning the way the cry had originated.

His blade slid from its sheath without resistance. Its edge was sharp and perfect, as if a blacksmith had recently forged it. The knight held it, its weight balanced in his grip. The sword was lively, like a pit of lava you dare not touch. Something moved in the distance, soft and calculated. The knight, his eyes not hinting towards his emotions, turned toward the noise.

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“I didn’t hide my bloodlust enough.” The quiet sound of rustling barely registered before the knight moved on instinct. A tiny gremlin lunged from the shadows, its claws aimed at the armor on his back as if it could go through it.

The knight jumped into the air with an ease that went against the weight of his armor. His body twisted mid-flip, his sword arcing through the air. The blade struck nothing but air-at least at first. The force of the swing rippled outward.

A tree was in his strike’s path, fractured at its base, leveling with a crash, spreading and revealing many more gremlins creeping toward him in the shadow from the undergrowth. Kaiser landed without a sound; the gremlin that had tried to ambush him now split cleanly in two along with the tree.

Its remains hit the ground with a wet thud, and a chorus of screeches erupted around him. The forest moved. Creatures poured from the shadows, their eyes glowing in anger after seeing their friend defaced in a way that seemed effortless. They rushed him unorganized, their claws scraping against the bark of the trees and teeth gnashing as they closed in on the knight.

He stood motionless, calm despite the swarming gremlins. One creature darted toward him, its claws slashing upward. The knight’s blade moved in a blur. The gremlin fell apart before it could complete its swing. Another came from his left. Without turning, the knight spun on his heel, the blade slicing through the air and severing the creature’s head in a single stroke.

Gremlins leaped at him from all angles, and each was met with the same result: an arc of dark steel followed by silence. An enormous gremlin, its body weaved with muscles and claws more penetrating than the others, barreled toward him, letting out a throaty roar.

“You’re a gremlin? Hm. It looks more like a goblin. Shame you won’t live long enough to evolve.” He didn’t even bother to step back. The knight slanted forward. The beast came running; the armored male stepped forward.

He invaded the arm swing of the beast as he ducked. Driving his sword into the beast, stabbing through its lungs. The gremlin coughed blood from its collapsing lungs; the creature’s acceleration carried it forward even as it fell in two and stopped in its tracks. Its lifeless body collapses at his feet.

More screeches came from the trees but didn’t sound like battle cries, perhaps more like screeches of terror. The remaining gremlins paused, circling him just beyond the reach of his sword. Kaiser tilted his head slightly, glancing at the varmint. He flicked the blood from his blade with a quick snap of his wrist; the motion was clean and practiced.

More of a samurai than a knight, the sound was sharp enough to slice through the silence. His stance adjusted subtly, and the sword rested comfortably in his grip. The blade seemed to reflect the sunlight. A gremlin stepped forward, their eyes now glowing, locking onto the knights. The creature hesitated momentarily, its claws twitching.

The remaining gremlins decided they were the chosen ones who could rake the knight into the wind. He noticed this change and felt a faint smile tug at the corner of his mouth.

“...Finisirae,” he said; as the word left his mouth, the blade pulsed violently, energy from it expanding outward in a sudden spiral. The blast was rending through the air with a deafening roar. It tore the forest like a storm, leveling trees and disintegrating every gremlin within its radius.

The creatures didn’t even have time to screech before the violet inferno consumed them, reducing their bodies to ash scattered on the breeze. When the light finally faded, the forest was quiet again, save for the creaking of splintered wood and the faint rustle of leaves falling to the scorched ground.

The knight lowered his blade. He glanced at the devastation around him, his eyes reflecting indifference. He had not come here to care about a small part of a forest. Sheathing his sword, he turned and walked deeper into the forest, stepping over the charred remains without a second thought. Whatever was waiting, he was ready. The forest, however, was not.