Conrad trembled, his fingers barely clinging to the hilt of his sword. In front of him stood a snarling demonic beast, its eyes locked onto him like a predator that had already chosen its prey.
Around him, more than seven soldiers lay bleeding, gasping, and clawing at life. Some groaned in pain, others didn't move at all. They were all one breath away from death.
The town, once filled with laughter and warmth, now reeked of blood and smoke. What was once a peaceful haven had turned into a nightmare, a slaughterhouse where shadows roamed freely.
"C-Conrad… h-help me…" a faint voice called out.
He turned slightly. A woman lay not far from him, her lower half gone—torn from her body. Her blood soaked the dirt beneath her as her hand reached out, trembling.
Conrad bit down on his lip, eyes wide. He wanted to help. Gods, he wanted to. But he couldn't. He wasn't strong enough to save them all. And if he lost focus now, even more people would die.
He had to stay sharp. As one of the few magic users left, he needed to think ahead—to survive, to protect the others, to lead.
The townspeople were rushing toward the Baron's mansion, the only place untouched by the monsters—at least, for now.
GRRRRRR
The demonic beast growled low, its thick muscles coiling like springs.
Conrad forced his breath to slow, braced his feet, and let mana flow through his body. His limbs tightened, and his heart thumped like a war drum. He had one shot.
WOOOOF!
The beast roared and lunged.
Conrad didn't back away.
He stepped forward.
At the last second, just before the beast's jaws could reach him, he swung his sword with all the strength he had—a clean, vertical slash that gleamed with mana.
Shhhhlick!
Steel met flesh.
The beast yelped, its maw split open from the blow. Blood sprayed the ground as it stumbled, then collapsed.
Dhak.
It didn't move again.
Conrad stood there, chest heaving, hands shaking. But he couldn't rest. He couldn't even breathe easy.
Because from the shadows, more emerged.
Three more hounds, their eyes glowing, their teeth bared.
And this time… they weren't alone.
*Crunch*
"AHHHHH!" He cried, as suddenly a hound made it past his defense from behind and tore his calf out, making him fall to the ground.
The hound was busy chewing on his flesh while the three in front growled and held a predatory glint—but not as ferocious as before, maybe because they already knew that their prey couldn't run anymore.
Tears welled up in Conrad's eyes. His vision blurred, not from fear—but from the crushing truth.
This was it.
His end.
He clenched his jaw and tightened his grip on the sword. If this was where he died, then he'd make sure they'd remember him.
He slammed his palms against the blood-soaked ground and forced himself up, groaning through the pain. His legs shook. His body screamed. But he stood.
Barely.
He raised his sword with trembling arms, pointing it at the three monsters that stalked toward him. His chest heaved. His heart pounded. But his eyes burned with defiance.
"If I'm going down," he muttered, "I'm taking a few of you with me."
"Come at me, you mutts!" he roared.
The hound on the left barked, low and guttural, before leaping through the air. Its teeth shone in the dark, eyes locked on his throat.
Conrad could no longer channel mana. His strength was almost gone. But he lifted his blade, both hands gripping it tight.
This was it. His final stand.
The world slowed as the beast neared. Its breath hit his face. Its jaws opened wide.
Conrad didn't flinch.
He pulled the blade back, ready to thrust it forward—
SLING.
A gust of wind tore past him.
No—someone had.
The hound flinched mid-air, its jaw snapping shut by instinct. But it was too late.
Way too late.
Thud.
A head dropped to the ground.
Then the body followed.
Conrad's eyes widened.
"…huh?"
The demonic beast's head rolled to his feet. Its lifeless body crashed beside it, blood pooling fast.
He blinked, stunned, frozen in place.
Someone had saved him.
But who?
"Ah!" Conrad couldn't believe his eyes. It was a small kid. Barely standing 4'5. Frail arms. Small back. Even his hand couldn't coil around the sword handle he was holding.
However, that aura. The blood stains on his blade and a few droplets on his face clearly stated who slaughtered the hound right now.
The one who cleaved the head of the demonic monster at a pace which he barely registered.
Even the hounds, which were showing aggression until now, took a few steps back, their ears dropped and demeanor clearly indicating the raw emotion they were feeling right now.
Fear.
"A-Arthur-" the word didn't even fall from his mouth before the boy disappeared.
*SQUELCH*
With another swing of a wooden sword, another head fell to the ground.
*GREEUOGH*
The nearby hound was left with no option but to attack. However, that pace seemed pitiful in front of what Arthur had displayed.
A tilt of his body made the hound completely miss his target.
However, Arthur didn't miss.
**SHLINK**
An afterimage passed by the mid-section of the hound, which was still airborne, and before it could touch the ground, its body was split in half.
*Thud*
Conrad...turned silent. No, speechless. He had no words to describe what his eyes witnessed just now.
A boy, merely seven years old who awakened mana a few days ago, weaved through the field, decimating every hound that came across him.
No, at some point, they were running away and Arthur was behind them.
*Awooo*
The hound howled, calling for help, but the pitiful being couldn't even finish the howl with its mouth attached to its face.
A trace of the sword and the hound was sliced in several fragments—as if a butcher had taken the charge of preparing some demonic feast today.
Then, suddenly—
**BOOOOOM**
Arthur didn't have the time to react before a club was hammered before him and the force sent him staggering back.
His chest was heaving...his small body was showing its limitations now.
He glared at the huge troll with sweat forming on his forehead.
The heat the monster was releasing was simply unbearable.
"A-Arthur...run away...I will try to buy time!" Conrad, with his legs still trembling, tried to shield the younger boy. He knew he couldn't win against the monster but he couldn't let his Captain's son die here today.
Arthur glanced at the man before saying, "Just leave the battlefield. You are in the way."
Conrad was...speechless...
He...was in the way? Wasn't Arthur also helpless in front of the troll? Why wasn't he running away?!
*Grr*
The troll smirked before it pulled its weapon and swung it toward Arthur and Conrad.
"Dodge!" Arthur pushed Conrad out of the way—landing on the ground just inches away from the impact point.
**DHAKK**
Conrad and Arthur rolled away before the younger one instantly pushed himself back on his feet and shouted at Conrad, "Just fucking go! I won't save your ass again!"
Conrad shivered at that command before he struggled to get up and dashed away.
Now left alone, Arthur took a deep breath.
The troll was huge and that body heat wouldn't allow Arthur to draw closer.
Then what was the way?
"Spirits...I need your help desperately..." Arthur spoke in a tongue that was not understandable to the monster. However, the way mana began to swirl around the boy; the monster felt excessively alerted.
*GUHOOO*
It stomped forward and swung its massive club.
However, Arthur had enough energy to dodge so he did just that.
Meanwhile, the Spirits began to gather around him, filling his vision with floating blue creatures who were quite excited at the moment
{Who is he, Art?}
{Eww....bad monster!}
{I don't like that! Bad monster!}
{Can we swallow him?}
{Art are you okay? You are sweating a lot}
{Yeaaaaa}
Their voices filled his mind but Arthur had trained himself enough to not let it overwhelm him.
Jumping over the fallen cart, he made enough distance to chant the spell.
"Lend me your hand, Tiamuth. I know I can't do it without you." As he said, Arthur raised his hand and chanted a spell which, at his level, was a foolish move.
"Water Prison!"
A massive torrent of water came crashing down, slamming onto the monster and stopping its swing cold.
Enough water to supply a whole town for a month now trapped the beast, forming a perfect, glassy cube around it.
GRUOGRR!!
The monster thrashed inside, swinging its weapon wildly and smashing its fists against the walls of water—but it was useless.
Arthur's vision started to blur. Controlling something this massive was draining him fast.
But he wasn't done.
"Water pressure… times ten!"
The monster's eyes shot wide open as the crushing force began pressing in from all sides.
Still not enough.
"Times twenty!"
The cube tightened, and the monster's body groaned under the pressure. Its thick bones creaked, and its heavy club snapped like a twig.
Blood trickled from Arthur's nose, but he clenched his teeth and pushed harder. "Times thirty!" he roared, collapsing to one knee.
Then came the sound—sickening and final.
The monster's limbs snapped first. One by one, bent in the wrong directions. Then its bloated gut caved in with a wet pop. Finally, a loud crack echoed through the field as its skull shattered inward.
The monster stopped moving.
Arthur let out a shaky breath and released the spell.
But he was spent.
The last thing he saw was a wall of water rushing toward him—his own spell turned wild and angry now that it had nothing left to contain.
He didn't have the strength to move.
'Well… I won't die… will I?'
********
A/N:- Thanks for reading.