image [https://i.imgur.com/9s19VLK.png]

A howl more terrifying than anything Taiyo had heard came from the market square. Even scarier than the knife in John’s hand which was currently pointed towards her.

“Kitsu?” John said, his eye’s widening. “Why is she here?”

John dropped the knife in his hand.

“I will come back to kill you,” he spat. “But luckily, you get to live a few more minutes.”

His figure flashed, and he disappeared.

Taiyo felt primal urges take over. She tried desperately to detach herself from the rubble. Her whole body ached, and her left leg and arm were barely working from the impact.

Adrenaline filled her veins, and only one thought crossed her mind.

I need to get out of here before he comes back

Taiyo limped through the burning fields of Sun Grains, sweat dripped down her forehead, every second feeling like minutes, and every second that passed, she could feel the surrounding Sun Energy getting weaker as the sun fell further behind the horizon.

Why, Yiho? She thought. Why all of this?

Anxiety filled her body. Just like her faith, her connection to the Sun was weakening. Soon, there would be nothing left.

Tears dropped down her face.

Ruyi is dead. I don’t know if Yuki is safe, father is gone, Victor....

The last few rays of sunlight disappeared. A desperate expression covered Taiyo’s face, and she tried channelling her magic. Her pupils lit up golden. And the surroundings darkened.

I need to use healing magic.

A warmth entered her blood as she tried to absorb all the nearby energy.

The pain in her arm alleviated slightly, however, the golden light in her eyes flickered, and a cold sensation filled her nerves. She quickly cancelled the healing before she would face magic drawback.

The sunlight, and sun energy along with it, disappeared.

Yiho had abandoned her.

He had abandoned everyone.

“We followed your teachings, didn’t we?” She shouted upwards towards the sky. “We did everything you wanted! Why aren’t you protecting us?”

There was no response, of course. And the sky remained black.

She sobbed as she fell to her knees.

“All of this was because of you!” Taiyo grit her teeth in pain. “Your teachings hurt innocent people! And you didn’t protect us!”

Taiyo didn’t know what hurt her more. That the church’s teachings caused this situation, or that Yiho didn’t protect her village. Did it even matter anyway?

I have to find Yuki.

That was the only piece of hope she had left.

That her brother, or the people she cared about, were still alive.

Taiyo pushed herself off her knees, her body felt heavy, like lead. She began to move, dragging herself towards the market square.

Please be safe…

image [https://i.imgur.com/XIZL0SH.png]

Victor stared down the Purple Demon Hound in front of him. It snarled ferociously, its two magenta eyes fixed on him.

Victor’s heart beat rapidly.

Tremors spread through the ground from the beast's feat, like a powerful engine was resting on the ground.

In my current state, he thought. Can I fight this thing?

A claw came swinging down towards him, Victor barely dodged out of the way. The claw tore a hole through the building behind him, narrowly missing him.

“Fuck!” Victor said.

In my prime, I could take this thing on. He thought. But now…

Victor backed off, but there was nowhere for him to run. The Demon Hound charged at him, opening its bloody mouth to swallow him whole.

“Not today, Bastard!”

Victor swung his cleaver forwards, the demon hound’s fangs clamped down on the blade. Victor pushed all his strength into the blade, but the hound growled with the metal in its mouth.

“This is a fine blade indeed!”

Victor let go of the sword, and used his right foot to launch a kick straight towards the hound’s jaw. Victor’s foot felt sore from the impact; like he just kicked a rock, but the demon hound dropped the sword, slightly dazed.

Victor grabbed the cleaver and dashed out of the alleyway. He stood no chance against this thing in an enclosed space, he needed room to move–

The Demon Hound Jumped. And it landed in front of Victor, blocking his escape route.

“Are you fucking serious?”

Mirth filled its ominous eyes.

This bastard is toying with me, Victor thought.

This wasn’t Victor’s first time fighting in enclosed spaces. The general rule of thumb was this.

If you’re weak, you die.

Victor chuckled.

“I’m a fucking Mythril adventurer!” he roared. “Come at me, you overgrown mutt!”

The Demon Hound watched him silently, its hackles raised up. Victor readied his stance, holding the cleaver to his side.

Victor thrust his cleaver forwards, and the sound of metal hitting something hard rang out. He felt vibrations travel through his right arm, making it go numb.

Victor thrust his cleaver again, and the hound swiped with its claws, and the sound of metal clanging rang out. Claw and blade collided, and it was unsure just who was attacking and who was defending, each attack meeting in between them, followed by another.

Victor felt himself being pushed backwards, further down the alleyway. He parried the hound’s attacks, but they were getting quicker.

The Beast grinned viciously.

Victor felt his movements get more and more sluggish, blisters appearing on his hand from the parrying.

Victor stared down the alleyway, he had been pushed halfway down the alleyway from the beast’s attacks.

I can’t keep this up, he thought.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Victor switched which hand held the cleaver. Giving him a momentary boost in speed. He managed to just keep up with the hound, though he was still being pushed back.

At this rate, he thought. My back will be wide open.

Victor felt a calmness come over him. Countless years of training in the desert, and countless life or death battles had given him this ability. The more danger he felt, the more calm he became–

”This just won’t do…”

Intense rage and hatred filled his body. Victor’s face turned red from anger, and a purple hue filled his eyes. Victor roared, and recklessly thrust his blade forwards at the hound.

“That’s it… rampage…”

Victor grit his teeth, and the speed of his attacks increased.

“Why am I… So fucking weak!”

The cleavers stabbed through the hound’s skin, leaving cuts with each thrust. The hound’s face grew more vicious, and claws came swinging down, slashing Victor’s arms and body.

Whoever is weaker, loses.

“I’m going to fucking kill you!” Victor roared, charging at the demon hound.

It smiled in response.

image [https://i.imgur.com/9s19VLK.png]

Taiyo crawled through the fields of Sun Grain. Every beast howl in the distance made her heart stop beating.

I have to get to the North, she thought. I can enter the market square, and get inside the temple.

However, this was easier said than done. She would have to get past every single magical beast unharmed, and that was without the use of magic.

An overwhelming feeling filled Taiyo’s chest, and the moon and stars in the night sky offered her no comfort.

“Is this penance for my lack of faith?” she asked. She looked up, but there was no sun in the sky to answer her questions. “Are you punishing me, Yiho?”

Three blood curdling howls answered her questions. Not as powerful as the one that lured John away, but enough to make her hairs stand on end. Two sounded further away, but one of them was very close.

Taiyo smiled, however, her eyes were full of sadness.

Father, why aren’t you here?

I can’t get to the North, she thought.

She’d end up as dog food before she made it halfway there.

There was only one option.

Taiyo gulped, and she looked at the alleyway next to the housing district in front of her. There were no live beasts in sight, only corpses and rubble.

If I can make it there, she thought. I can get through.

The same alleyway where the howl came from.

Most villagers would have prayed to Yiho by now.

Why bother, the sun was gone, after all.

Taiyo made it through the fields of sun grain. Being careful not to make too much noise. However, it didn’t seem like there were any beasts nearby.

She could feel slight tremors through the ground. They were faint, but she could feel them through her feet. She had learned to pick up on vibrations through her training in classical dance.

“Are those tremors from whatever let out that howl?” she said.

Whatever it was, it was powerful. A Rank 1, maybe even a Rank 2…

No, she thought. It’s not as strong as father.

Yuuki, hold on. She thought. I’m coming.

Taiyo could hear clanging ahead of her.

Was someone fighting?

Taiyo’s heart rate sped up.

I have to get over there!

Taiyo ran. A man’s voice shouted ahead of her.

That voice, wasn’t it–

Taiyo tripped on something below her feet, she tried to regain her balance, but her other foot caught and she fell over. She looked behind her, and her eyes widened in shock

“Miss Saba!” She covered her mouth in horror. The body was unrecognisable from whatever beasts had been eating it. The only way she knew was the two bells that adorned the corpse’s ankles.

Her dance teacher was dead.

She heard a voice shout from the alleyway.

“I’m going to fucking kill you!” Victor’s voice roared.

“Victor?”

Not having time to process the dead body. She looked down the alleyway, and Victor was charging straight at a giant purple hound that smiled at him viciously.

That’s… a demon hound?!

Why was Victor charging it? Taiyo looked at his body, and it was covered in blood and cuts. If he charged at it like that then–

Taiyo’s heart rate reached its max, anxiety filling her body.

“Victor!” She screamed with all her voice. “Stop! You’ll die!”

A terror like no other she had ever faced came to her.

Victor’s body slowed, and he stopped charging. The beast’s left claw came swinging, and he jumped out of the way just in time.

“Taiyo?” He turned around, looking at her.

Taiyo squinted her eyes, it was too dark for her to see clearly. The hound’s two purple eyes glowed in the darkness, staring hungrily at Victor.

It threw another claw, he held up his sword to block it.

Victor’s in danger, she thought.

“Victor, run!” she shouted. “We’re no match for this beast!”

“I can’t!” Victor said, blocking another blow. “I can’t turn around.”

Taiyo’s heart froze. She was behind him, if he ran, the beast would kill her.

He was protecting her.

He was going to die.

The beast spun, whipping its tail round, demolishing the nearby buildings and sending Victor flying backwards.

“Victor!” Taiyo ran to him and knelt down.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood and tried to stand up.

The beast was licking its lips.

“You need to cast your magic,” Victor said. “It’s the only way.”

“I can’t,” Taiyo said. A deep fear and pain filled her. “Yiho’s gone, I can’t do anything Victor. I’m sorry.”

Tears streamed down her face. Were they both going to die like this?

She wouldn’t be dying alone. But she didn’t want Victor to die.

Victor drove the sword into the ground, pushing himself up.

“Victor, you can’t fight that thing–”

“I can, with you.”

“Didn’t you hear me?” she said, tears pouring down her face. “I can’t cast my magic! The sun is gone! Victor, try to understand–”

“So what if your damn God is gone!” Victor shouted back at her. “Yiho this, Yiho that, where has he been this whole time? We’ve been fighting alone, your god has done nothing for us!”

Taiyo’s eyes widened.

The beast readied itself to pounce.

Victor readied himself into a battle stance.

“There’s more than one form of Sun Energy, Taiyo!” Victor said. “The Sun isn’t the only way! Just because you cannot see the light doesn’t mean it isn’t there!”

The Sun wasn’t the only way?

Just because she cannot see the light doesn’t mean it isn’t there?

Not giving her time to think, the beast pounced at Victor.

He readied himself, his back looked so strong, but she could see his arms shaking.

He’s going to die.

Her heart rate sped up.

Not the only way… She looked around herself. Where else could she find sun energy, what could she do?

Taiyo rotated the magic blood in her body, a determined look covering her face.

I can do what Ruyi did. She thought. I refuse to watch another person die.

Even if it’s just you, Victor. Live, please.

Taiyo closed her eyes, and golden light swirled within her pupils.

“Goodbye, Victor.” she said.

Just as she prepared to ignite her magical blood, she could feel the speed of her blood rotating faster.

“What?”

Sun energy poured into her body from the surroundings.

How was this possible?

Taiyo felt the ground beneath her turning cold, as if it had turned to ice.

The heat! Her eyes widened. The heat contained Sun Energy?

No, this wasn’t sun energy, nor was it heat.

It was light!

A light that her eyes couldn’t see!

The temperature in the surroundings dropped, and her body became a vortex, soaking up all the surrounding energy like a dry sponge.

The beast readied its fangs towards Victor.

He did not look back.

“Have a taste of these sun chains!” Taiyo roared in a way she had never spoken before. Thick chains of light wrapped around the beast’s legs, holding it in place.

It howled in anger.

Victor readied his sword, kicking himself off the ground. With one clean slash, he beheaded the demon.

Black blood shot from it’s head, and the beast’s body fell to the ground.

The light dissipated, and Taiyo fell to the ground, panting.

Victor approached her, putting an arm on her shoulder.

“I found… the light…” she said.

“I knew you would.” He smiled at her.

Taiyo finally got a good look at his body, and her eyes widened at seeing him. Brutal slashes covered his body, how was he even standing?

“I need to heal you–”

“No,” Victor said, stopping her.

“But–”

“Conserve your magic.”

The same terrifying howl that lured John away rang out. Now that she was closer, Taiyo could feel the ground shake from the vibrations, and her ears hurt from the pain of the sound.

“What is that?” she asked Victor.

“The true battle,” he said, his face turning grim. “Is still yet to come.”