Just as Willow was jumping in fright from Ghost's warning, a man shot out from behind a nearby tree, his sword instantly closing the distance to her neck. Just as Ghost reached out to block with his talons, Willow's wooden spear shot up into the blade's path.
'Huh?!'
Willow, whom both Ghost and Edol had pegged as an idiot, somehow responded in time to block the sneak attack.
"See? I told you I'd protect you, Nibbles! This guy looks a bit weak though, he probably won't even be fun to fight. Unfortunate."
Ghost could only turn his head to the girl, dumbfounded. Her opponent, revealed now that his sneak attack had failed, probably doubled the girl's body weight. Worn leather armor covered his body, and a lecherous expression was stretched across his face.
"Tombs from times of war are the best!"
Willow, who'd come across as nervous and naive for the entire day now turned her wooden spear to the enemy, a grin spreading across her face.
The enemy lunged forward, piercing his sword forward in a stabbing motion.
Only slightly shifting her head, the sword cut through Willow's hair before a force struck it. Willow's spear rotated, smashing into the man's wrist just as his arm was fully extended. The sword, knocked from his hand, was sent catapulting off into the forest.
"Ah, too bad. You really aren't good at fighting."
The spear then shot up toward the man's forehead. Throughout the entire battle, the expression on the man's face never changed, almost like he wasn't even human.
Just before Willow's spear reached the enemy's head, a faintly glowing blue shield appeared right in front of the man's forehead, right where the spear was heading.
"That sucked. I was hoping this could be fun! Oh well, I guess."
Instantly shifting its trajectory, Willow's stab turned to a slash, ripping through the man's throat in one swift motion. Blood spurted out as the nearly-decapitated man's body collapsed to the ground, spraying onto both Willow and Ghost.
"Ah! Sorry about the blood, Nibbles! I- I'll make sure to find some water to clean you off before we go to find Edol!"
'W- What the hell am I watching?! What's been going on in this world that the first person we meet might've been stronger than me back in my original life?'
Willow, noticing the expression on 'Nibble's' face, thought the bird was terrified.
"It's ok! I think I heard another one moving around in the woods, but I'll protect you from him too! I'll get you back to your papa safely!"
Moments later, five dark figures shot from the woods, sprinting at Willow, weapons drawn. As he watched the demented grin growing on the girl's face, a phrase Edol had once said weeks into their dueling popped into Ghost's mind.
"Blood for the Blood God!!"
~
While various unspeakable acts were being committed against the ambushers on the other side of the forest, Edol's poor bird calls had also attracted a potential foe.
'Shit… is that a f*cking turkey?! What is that doing in a tomb?'
Luckily(?) it didn't seem to be hostile.
"Gobble gobble gobble!"
'How exactly could someone be afraid of a turkey? Those claws might not look friendly, but they're nothing compared to Ghost's knife hands! I guess there might be some sort of suspicion about turkeys here, I'll have to ask Willow and Ghost about it later.'
Suddenly, a wooshing noise cut through the air, startling the poofy bird. An arrow cut through the air, heading straight for Edol's throat.
'Ambushers! Hah, this might be fun! I finally get to fight someone other than Ghost!'
Quickly chasing after the arrow, six men shot out from the surrounding forest, not even bothering to check if their arrow reached its target before attacking.
In his many fights with Ghost, the demon had attempted using dirt spikes as projectiles a number of times, never to much effect. It was probably largely due to dirt not being the greatest projectile that it hadn't been much use in battle, but at least the effects of those attacks could show now. Playing dodge the earth spike had prepared Edol quite well for dodging flying sharp things, and he quickly ducked under the arrow.
'A ground of enemies… let's see if they like choking on dust!'
Edol kicked down at the ground, a small mound of dirt rising from the earth to meet his foot. A plume of dust exploded up from the mound as Edol pushed off from it, making a bit of distance from the approaching enemies.
It cost Edol's entire mana pool just to pull off this meager feat of shooting some dust into the air. Sadly for the attackers, the rapidly spinning whirlpool that was Edol's legacy instantly refilled itself with mana.
As Edol's feet reached for the ground, the leaves where his feet would like skittered to the side as if afraid. Of course, it wasn't the leaves running in fear. Dampened by the waist-high fog, the leaves were slick with moisture. The dirt and mulch left behind by long-since decomposed leaves would provide a much better grip for Edol's shoes.
Using the earth to shift away the leaves before each footstep sounded impossible, but after months of predicting where Ghost's next earth spike would shoot up from, Edol was a master of planning out his footwork in battle.
Reaching his top speed in moments, Edol charged forward, weaving between four of the blinded men before pausing and turning back to face the other two.
Edol's twin earthen daggers glimmered with blood, and all four of the men Edol had run past collapsed to the ground, their throats ripped open by the jagged blades. His movement had been so quick that none of the men had even had the opportunity to use their mana to create a shield.
"Hm, easier than I thought. Why are none of these guys using magic, though? I thought they'd shoot out fireballs or something!"
Edol examined the faces of the two remaining men, noting their dark-colored hair.
'Urg, why are they looking at me like that?!'
The same lecherous faces that Willow had failed to notice were pasted on the men confronting Edol as well. Glancing to the side, the brit noted that all four of the fallen men still maintained a similar expression, even in death. The first arrow shot at Edol had clearly been meant to kill, and as he realized this, the boy's face twisted further.
'Disgusting. I've gotta say though, this person was afraid of a lot of mostly valid stuff. Lost, alone in a dark forest, ambushed by a group of necrophiliacs… and turkeys?'
Just as Edol was about to charge the last two men, a dark, turkey-sized shape shot through the air toward the men.
'Huh?! The turkey is an ally?!'
"Blood for the Blood God!"
A pure red bird was revealed to Edol's vision as a familiar voice entered his mind.