As time passed, my power has risen beyond what many could imagine. The land I conquered became filled with cattle, however, humans are still the best source of nourishment.
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Kai’s purple sword shone with a bright light, enveloping him and creating a repelling force that sent both gobelins flying back. However, his mana core instantly drained in that very same moment, leaving no room for him to cast any spells. A cruel light shone in his eyes as he ignored the purple-black gobelin and dashed toward the green one. The violet sword shone brightly, showing Kai the way.
Anger flared up in his veins as he caught a glimpse of Onyx, who lay on the ground, limp, and almost breathless. Rain crashed on his fur, and the blood sipping out of his skin had long since dried. He barely had the strength to look at Kai after sensing his gaze, but he closed his eyelids shut as the purple sword plunged itself into the gobelin’s skin. In his haste, Kai missed the heart by an inch, and that allowed the gobelin to grab his hand.
With little effort, it flung Kai above its head, whose hand still gripped the sword which he pulled out as he smashed against the ground. His efforts to get up were thwarted by the gobelin’s large foot, which crashed down on his legs alongside a fountain of blood. Fuck, just die already you freak! Kai cursed under his breath, lacking the energy to groan, and quickly turned and slashed at its legs.
The sword seemed to have some will of its own as it flew out of Kai’s hand, severing one of the gobelin’s feet before Kai grasped it again in a matter of moments. What?… However, he didn’t dare linger in his shock as he quickly pulled his almost mangled feet away from the screaming gobelin. Dragging himself up, he leaned on the sword and shot toward the gobelin, who let go of his weapon in favor of the severed foot.
As the two severed parts met, the flesh and bones began fusing back together via grotesque tendrils. The image alone gave Kai a nauseating feeling, however he pushed it down and leaped at the creature’s shoulder. Without remorse or hesitation, he bit down, ripping apart bits of flesh until blood finally flowed down his throat. In a matter of seconds, he drank enough to recover his physical strength and trace amounts of mana.
Jumping off, he clenched his fist, the clutch he held on the sword tightened as he slashed horizontally at its arm, and it fell with a muffled thud, overshadowed by the creature’s anguished yells.
It let out an oink-like sound as it scurried to grab its hand, its foot already having reattached itself to its body, however Kai didn’t dare let it get the chance, and slashed his sword at its neck.
However, right as he neared the killing blow, the wind whistled as something rapidly approached him. He dodged to the side, leaving a big enough timeframe for the green gobelin to flee with arm in hand. Kai clicked his tongue and turned to see a short spear etched onto the cliff wall. His pupils constricted, and he snapped back to see the large purple-black horned gobelin slowly walking toward him.
It held a bland-looking metal sword in one hand, and in the other, Kai’s silver sword, which shrieked with an unwilling light. Gulping, he faced it with shivering legs. Despite his body’s overexertion in both energy and mana, he hadn’t died or collapsed yet. Yet, every muscle in his body trembled, his heart raced as it pumped blood and adrenaline, and his dried mana core struggled to pull mana from the outside to refine and store.
The only thing he had left was his father’s purple sword and the energy he managed to recover from drinking large amounts of gobelin blood. As a result, he kept on being able to fight, despite all odds, however as he looked at the creature before him, his heart wavered.
Its purplish dark skin seemed to have hardened to a greater extent than the others, and he grit his teeth upon remembering the first purple gobelin he killed. It exploded right as it died, sending bone shrapnel, blood, and guts everywhere. For that reason, he hesitated to kill or attack the purple one, however, his decision came to bite him in the ass. It stared at Kai with a rageful glare, beneath which hid a sense of intelligence that told it to be prudent.
A low, authoritative growl escaped its mouth, followed by another distant growl of obedience. Then, the green gobelin’s arm flew toward it, and it pushed it against its abdomen after catching it. Fleshy tendrils connected to the arm, and it soon became a part of it, controlling it as naturally as any other. What the fuck!? Kai’s shock didn’t last long, though, as the creature began approaching him.
As the space between the two gradually lessened, Kai gripped the sword with both hands and took a deep breath. Remembering the sword techniques Euphridia taught him, alongside the discipline she painfully imparted onto him.
Lighting hissed once again as the two rushed forward, one attacking whilst the other defended. Kai didn’t dare take the thing’s full force with the little reserves of energy he had left but instead tried to cut off the extra limb. He swung toward it as he dodged to the side, moving as freely as a river and striking as decisively as a waterfall. However, the gobelin deflected the attack with the bland sword, which broke under the purple’s word pressure.
It let out a surprised grunt and attacked Kai with his own sword whilst throwing the other one away. The boy flew to the side, the sword hitting the ground, and just as he wanted to swing, one of the gobelin’s arms reached out for him. Infuriated and disgusted, he slipped away before it could reach him, and slashed away at it.
Similarly to before, the sword flew out of Kai’s hand, slicing off a few of its fingers then swiftly returned within his clutch. After performing that, its glow lessened substantially, however, Kai’s pupils flashed with a glint of understanding. So that’s how it is!
With that new information, he took a few big steps backward and hastily reassessed the situation. However, the gobelin shot toward him right as he landed, catching up in a matter of seconds. The silver sword shone with the reflected light of the violet blade, and the two clashed.
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A heavy tremor shot through Kai from his hands all the way to his feet, and he flew backward from the force. He only stopped after rolling on the ground a couple of times, at which point a distance of a dozen meters separated the two. However, that proved to be nothing in front of the gobelin, who leaped from where it stood with enough force to crack the ground. Its velocity quickly reached a peak as its figure loomed over Kai, its shining red eyes barely visible in the darkness.
The boy’s pupils widened and he gulped, his entire body turning as light as a feather. Fuck, I can’t dodge it in time! He cried inwardly, a pit forming in his stomach and he quickly gripped the purple sword.
In a last-ditch effort to save himself, he flung it forward, its blade shining with a powerful light upon leaving his hand, shooting toward the gobelin like an arrow. Kai’s heart dropped, and he closed his eyes, unwillingly accepting his death.
All of that happened in the time it takes for a spark to fly off a piece of flint. In that small amount of time, the gobelin had almost reached Kai, its sword pointing right at his throat. However, mere inches away from death, the purple sword penetrated the thing right into its skull, the force of the impact sending it flying back. In that same moment, its violet hue completely disappeared, and the gobelin’s body began shining red.
Kai knew exactly what that meant, and he hurried to his feet. Yet, it was too late as a thundering boom echoed in the forest, large pieces of hardened flesh flying about, etching themselves into both trees and ground. A flatter piece with no sharp corners flew toward the boy, hitting him squarely in the head, and knocking him from his feet.
Luckily, that single act allowed him to just barely avoid the upcoming bone shrapnel, exploding outward, severing grass, flowers, and even trunks as they left destruction in their wake. Kai groaned as he looked toward the sky, his vision fading alongside whatever energy he had left.
Rain crashed upon him as he lost consciousness, his mind filled with worry for Onyx and the green gobelin who still lingered.
…
A tiny horned rabbit scuttled through the grass as the sun rose. Its shining rays illuminated the forest’s greenery, starting a new day in the humble forest. The rabbit’s horn shone as the light reflected off of it, and it kept hopping about, its tiny snout twitching as it took light whiffs of the air.
Soon enough, it reached a clearing that closed into a tall dirt cliff, filled with roots and stones. At its base, a spectacle lay before its black, beady eyes. A scene from a horror movie if it ever saw one. Blood littered the ground, seeping into the soil and nourishing the plants. Flesh and guts decorated the trees and grass, alongside fine pieces of bone.
It hopped, looking around with its large ears lowered, and, within the distance, it spotted something that stirred its curiosity. Jumping furiously, it soon reached its destination, greeted by a peculiar sight. A small, greenish thing whose flesh seemed to have dried up, devoid of blood, lying down in a fetal position. It was dead of course, but that didn’t stop the rabbit from hopping about, just to make sure.
Afterward, its jaw opened wide, revealing a sharp pair of buck teeth, and took a bite of the thing. A gelatinous, dry, and dusty texture reached its lips, and then it quickly spat out whatever it was unlucky enough to bite off.
With a seemingly disgusted expression, it left with its ears perked up, and looked around for other things to sniff.
At the base of the cliff, or not that far from it, a motionless, furry white figure lay there, unmoving. It showed no signs of life, neither breathing nor twitching. However, the rabbit’s eyes widened upon seeing.
A shiver ran down its back, and it quickly ran the other way, as fast as it could. It let out soft sounds as its muffled paws jumped on pools of rain and blood.
However, it didn’t have to run for long before seeing another morbid sight, completely topping whatever happened in the previous place. Guts, bones, flesh, brain matter, and blood decorated trees and bushes alike. Nothing was spared to create this portrait of death.
Uninterested in the leftover bits, it saw a dead-looking figure close by. It lay unmoving, with just enough breathing to not be considered a corpse. The rabbit quickly scurried toward the figure and inspected it closely. His eyes were closed, his body mangled and covered in wounds, and he stank of a corpse-like smell.
The rabbit’s ears twitched, and it sniffed lively as it got closer, unbothered by the fact that its soon-to-be victim still let out soft breaths. Its jaw once again opened as wide as its body, and it bit down on the boy’s neck with extreme force.
At that same moment, his eyes snapped open, revealing a deep crimson color, and he jumped to his feet. The rabbit jumped, and ran away into the forest, scurrying past bushes and disappearing into the morning sun.
…
Kai groaned as he jumped up, scared by the critter that attacked him. However, he didn’t pay it any mind, even as it ran away, its fluffy tail leaving some fur behind.
He quickly scanned the area with a racing heart and patted his body all over, then slapped himself with both hands. I’m alive! Multiple jolts of pain shot through his body as he stood up, and he couldn’t help but wince in pain. I’m alive… alright. Putting pressure on his leg, the one that almost got crushed by the giant green gobelin, provoked an unimaginable pain to spread through his body, almost making him wretch. Fuck…
Now, with his bloodstream completely void of adrenaline, and he himself out of danger, all the pains his body blocked from reaching his brain now came crashing down on him. The arrow in the thigh, the dagger to the side, getting thrown around and having his leg crushed by a monster, as well as the countless amounts of self mutilation he did.
He smacked his lips, the taste of blood still lingering on his tongue, with its perfume still present in the air. Images of last night’s battle, as few as they were, flashed through his mind. However, the thing that occupied his mind the most, the one thing he felt completely repulsed by, was the feeling of relishing in the power he had after drinking blood, and how good it felt to force his teeth in someone’s flesh.
Shivering, Kai pushed that thought away as he hurried to look for his purple sword, blasted to who knows where from the explosion. Despite the explosion’s strong force, though, the blade didn’t fly too far, as Kai spotted it with the corner of his eye, etched in a tree. Dragging his body over to it and grabbing its hilt, he pulled with as much force as he could muster. After a few seconds of struggling and wiggling it around, it came loose, sending him flying backward into the muddy ground.
Melancholy and gratitude shimmered in his pupils as he looked at its bloody surface, and swore to take better care of it right after…
Onyx!
His heart threatened to jump out of his body, and he quickly jumped to his feet, putting the sword away at the same time. He dragged his broken feet, jumping and putting as little pressure on it as possible, and hurried on toward the cut cliff. Onyx! Answer me, Onyx! He called out to his companion, however, no reply arrived in his mind. Cold sweat dripped down his back and a pit formed in his stomach as he pushed himself to the limit.
Please be alright, please. Oh, I’m so sorry! Kai’s please fell on deaf ears, however. But he didn’t need to wait long, as the morbid sight of what he had done last night revealed itself before him. His stomach churned, however, he couldn’t care less about that as his companion’s listless body appeared within his vision.
“Onyx!”