The bird stood still in time, while the trees behind it kept moving.
It was stuck upright, holding Mim and the dirt beneath her in its beak.
But even then—it did not fly away.
What is going on? I stood frozen, unable to think.
And a sound brought me back in that same instant—one that came from the beast—it was choking.
Is it the dirt?
I ran over to them, forgetting all reason.
I readied my sword to strike as a ray of light reached my eyes.
Light?
That single ray started to multiply.
With each ray taking a part of the bird.
Until it all vanished.
It left nothing behind—Not blood, not bones.
Nothing.
Except for a green ball—a bright ball that started dispersing as I approached it—revealing the girl that stood inside of it, along with the dirt she stood on.
"MIM! Please tell me—tell me nothing happened to you, please..." I dropped onto my knees as I arrived, sliding slightly before I grabbed her with both hands, and patted all over her face, arms, and body.
There is nothing... I could not even find a single speck of blood.
Until something caught the corner of my eye—
It was her bracelet.
It shone a light—bright enough to shine through her sleeve.
Why... why does he help us this much?
...Does he truly have good intentions? I clenched her sleeve as these thoughts piled up in my mind.
'He isn't suspicious anymore?'
'No... he will always be.'
'I thought so... no matter what happens—you won't trust him.'
'And pay attention, more are coming.'
'Thank you...' I stood back to my feet, and searched for the beasts that were approaching.
I hadn't noticed them yet...
I looked over at Mim who stood next to me, oblivious to what happened to her,
I don't think I have to worry about Mim anymore—I'll be the target either way. I readied my stance after finding the three beasts.
"Mim, there are more coming. So wait in the carriage—they won't come after you."
They had seen what happened to their friend.
"Okay, take care big brother." I walked over to the empty field between the carriage and lake after hearing the creaking of wood behind me.
I took my stance,
They can arrive in an instant.
They shouldn't be able to attack at the same time... A wide grin appeared with the rhythm in my chest rising.
I closed my eyes and took everything around me in.
I repeated the breaths etched into my memories—followed by the warm knocking in my chest.
That should be the core or whatever it's called.
And with the next breath, it spread through my body, reaching every corner of my body—like water filling a cup.
I opened my eyes again, and the same feeling as in the forest coursed through my body.
It's not enough... I clenched my fist.
I kept seeing Arih's grin in front of me.
The one from the west will reach me first. It was clear from their essence who was closest.
I kept following its essence—while facing it—until a change appeared.
The essence had started to rapidly move through its body—gathering in its wings and the muscles surrounding them.
It's coming—
It was right in front of me.
Its beak was held wide open—a beak deeper than the blade I held.
I stepped to my left, and held my blade against the lower part of its beak, pushing it away from me.
A blunt bang sounded—the impact reached my knees, making me lose my balance.
That's why it didn't need to gather essence in its beak.
It's already a weapon on its own. It felt like burns covered my palms.
I need to focus somewhere else... I still don't know how to charge my blade.
My knees still trembled from the impact,
I can learn it now... A grin reflected off my blade as I faced the approaching beast.
A cold gust reached my face as we missed one another.
Tsk... this is more difficult than I thought.
But it's nothing compared to the Kludd. My eyes followed the beast that circled me along with the others.
They started gathering their essence,
How can I do this?
'Do you need my help?'
'No thank you... I need to try it myself.' I twisted my fingers around the handle.
I didn't take my eyes off their essence,
I can't get away from this.
The speed they could reach was enough to crack my bones—were I to be hit.
I focused on the one from the west—which I kept facing—ignoring the ones from the north and south.
It sped up as I walked towards it, with the others following its lead.
One second before it's here.
Even a millisecond's delay would be vital at the speed they reached.
Now!
The beast was right in front of me—its beak still closed—reaching a higher speed than before.
I struck my sword down—matching the timing with its speed.
A blunt sound reached my ears followed by the tearing of grass.
I increased my essence—everything to handle the impact—while pushing the beast down,
I left a trail behind me, that was covered by the beast's that came after me.
As the beast slowed down, a heavy crash could be heard behind it—leaving red feathers flying along with blood spattering around, reaching even where I stood.
I knew it. They were unable to change their flight course at high speeds.
It has slowed down enough! I added more weight to my blade—pushing the heavy beast down into the dirt.
I lunged forward as it dug itself deeper, and cut off its left wing.
I slid underneath it, and cut down its legs—almost crushed by a body heavy enough to dent the dirt with a single step—until I had reached its right wing which I took away.
It had already freed its beak, but it was too late.
I feel bad for it... but they did go after Mim. I looked over my shoulder at the red lump of feathers—revealing pieces of their brownish beak.
I walked back to the front,
This thing is massive...
It dwarfed the kludd entirely, in both height and width.
It just lay there even when I stood next to it.
I tapped its beak repeatedly, my blade shook even with such soft taps.
It's perfect training.
I had seen the damage Wode did to the carriage, vaguely remembering him using it.
I need to infuse my blade with essence. I wiped my hand across my lips, feeling blood slip past them.
'Tjer... are you sure about this...?'
'I need to do this.' My blade descended onto its target, but the only thing I heard was the ringing of my blade—with the impact piercing through my elbow.
I couldn't lift my blade, with the pain slowly subsiding.
How do I do this...
'I won't help you destroy your own body.'
I lifted my arms once again.
I will gather it in my arms, and push it to my blade.
I closed my eyes, and brought my blade down.
I focused not on my body—but beyond it.
A flash appeared, disappearing before my blade cut through.
Almost. I flexed my arms,
I can still move it.
But my sleeves started to feel heavier.
But that did not stop me as my next strike came,
A flickering light appeared—a colorless light, one that felt empty.
But it didn't dissolve upon touch, reflecting off the beast's eye and beak,
It's working.
It was cutting through its beak,
Layer by layer.
It felt tender—like a knife cutting through steak.
"Kgh..." A pain stabbed through my entire body, spreading from my right chest.
What went wrong?
I continued to push my blade through, almost reaching its lower beak.
Blood flooded my mouth—it had been there for a while.
"Cough... cough..."
My blade got covered in red,
It wasn't the beast's—no.
It was my own.
It leaked out of my arms—hidden by the weighed-down sleeves.
My blade had started to feel heavier, but that was not enough.
I held onto my blade, and pushed it through—until it reached the lower beak.
My blade was stuck in the immobile beast, while I could no longer see the world around me.
It's still alive.
Just one more... one final burst... that's all I need... I pleaded with my own body for just one more second, tightening my fingers around the handle and continued pushing through—each layer was slowly passing by, until my blade dug into the dirt it lay on.
I fell down onto the cold body of the beast, feeling my own cold matching that of the beast.
I reached for my chest,
I shouldn't have done it...
As a dark veil fell over my falling body.
'TJER!!'
"...."
".....other"
"Big brot—"
"Big brother!!!"
I had opened my eyes, hearing a scream that I didn't want to hear again.
I could feel the weight of the girl on my back, my face pressed into the dirt where the beast had lain before.
I turned and lay on my back, and saw the bawling girl hanging over my aching body.
"M—Mim." I smiled seeing her, even when it felt like my entire throat had been burned away
"Big brother?!" She said, pulling me into her embrace with her tears falling down my face.
"You didn't come...sob... I thought it... sob... was taking you too long!"
"Sorry for worrying you... but I'm fine, I just tired myself out!" I brought my hand to her hair.
'You know it wasn't that. We will talk about this!'
'I thought so... just wait a bit longer.' I forced my sigh to stay inside—otherwise Mim would have heard it.
I tried to sit up, with her head still on me,
"Are-e you sure?" She asked, lifting her head slightly.
"Hahaha, don't worry so much!" I said, feeling my throat calm again.
Why do I recover and heal this fast? I took multiple steps, trying to find my balance as I found my legs.
I looked around, unable to see any signs of the beasts besides the imprints they left.
Where did the beasts disappear to? The same happened in the forest...
I caught a glimpse of the dropping sun.
"Mim let's go..." I looked down at my clothes,
"I'll wash my clothes first, can you look at the map for me?"
"Okay~" She sang, hopping back into the carriage.
I rolled my sleeves up while walking over to the lake,
My muscles are still sore... but my arms aren't bleeding anymore.
I looked down the edge, tilting my head,
Will it work if I jump with my clothes still on?
Splash
My hair was dripping wet as I lifted myself back out.
This is amazing... I lifted my arms—all the weight that had pulled on them was gone, not even a speck of dirt remained.
"Why would he ever give this to me..." I muttered as I hurried back to the carriage.
"Okay Mim, how far is the nearest city or town... or just a place to sleep?"
"Uhm... it's around fifteen miles—straight west! There is a town right before the crossroads!" She said, with a smile that grew with each word.
"Thank you, navigator Mim!" I exaggeratedly lowered my head to her.
We have about two hours left... following the previous speed we should make it.
"We will leave now," I said, jumping to my seat behind the horse.
The rhythm of the hooves was steadily increasing,
'Okay we're moving again—so what did you want to talk about?'
'I understood what's happening to you.'
'...really?'
'Yes. I saw the way your essence was moving, and I will give it to you straight. Each time you use your essence, your body is tearing itself apart.'
'But I will heal right?'
'Yes, for now you will—but your essence grows with each beast you kill, Tjer. And with each use of essence the amount you draw increases. And when you reach the limit—'
'I will die.'