(---)
The forest was silent. Almost silent. The tapping of a horse's hooves could be heard, pattering on the soil.
Sten and Evelyn mounted the horse, Evelyn holding tightly onto Sten, so as to not fall.
The horse was dead. Not a rotting corpse, more so a skeleton. Its eyes were glowing blue. Although it was dead, it didn't move robot-like. It moved as if it was truly alive.
"Hey, Sten. Are you ever gonna make a unicorn?" Evelyn asked, resting her head on Sten's shoulder.
"What makes you think that I can make a unicorn?" he responded, monotonously. It felt like a similar question had been asked before.
"You can make a skeleton horse. A unicorn could be easy to make, right?"
"Unicorns aren't real."
"I know that. Which is why I'm asking you to make one. But don't call it a unicorn."
"Then what shall I call it?"
"A horned horse. But its name shall be-"
Suddenly, the horse stopped. It caught Evelyn by surprise, but Sten's face continued to be expressionless.
"We're here, Evelyn."
The glow in the horse's eyes shut off, its bones dropping onto the floor. Sten fell, and so did Evelyn. She landed on the pile of bones.
"We have to traverse from foot now, Evelyn. Well, I do, at least." Sten said as he walked over to Evelyn. She laid down flat on the pile of bones.
Evelyn climbed onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck. If she had held on any tighter, Sten would've been strangled to death.
He started sprinting.
"Hey, Sten. Why did we get off the horse?" she asked.
"I used mana to maintain that horse. If I use mana, that bastard will suck it all up."
"Which bastard?" she asked, again.
"It shouldn't matter. I'll deal with him."
Sten sped up, and Evelyn held on tighter. The further they got into the forest, the fewer and fewer trees appeared.
Finally, he came to a hard stop. Dirt flew into the air, his foot slid into the dirt.
"You have what I asked for, right?"
Evelyn nodded. She threw a shovel that she had been holding onto at Sten's way. Without looking at it, he caught it.
He stuck the shovel into the dirt. A hand sprung out, sending dirt into the air.
Sten dashed away from the hand. The sudden movement made him a lot more alert. Another arm shot out of dirt, unexpectedly.
"Fuck!" Evelyn yelled out.
"Are you alright?" Sten asked, worried. His eyes stayed on the pair of hands, though.
"I'm alright. That scared the shit out of me."
She sighed.
Finally, the creature rose out of the ground. It was human-shaped, but its entire figure was covered with mud. The only thing you could see was its orange eyes. The mud covered even its hair, but you could tell that it was quite long.
"Awake… I'm awake!" it exclaimed, joyously.
"Not for long, Yuna."
"You're too cocky, Sten. It was a close match last time. What makes you think I won't win this time?" Yuna laughed.
In an instant, Sten dashed toward Yuna. He took his sword out of his sheathe, slicing. It was meant to be a quick decapitation.
"Too slow!" Yuna said, moving her head back. The wind from the cut blew the mud off her body. She was tan, with long pink hair.
She kept her eyes wide open, which made her seem a bit insane. Her teeth were sharp, like one of a demi-human. That was her only demi-human feature, though, as all of her other features seemed very human-like.
Sten closed his eyes and dashed back.
"Why are you closing your eyes?" Yuna asked as she raised her guard.
"That's because I'm married."
"Huh?-"
His second attack began. He leaped at Yuna, his sword still in its sheathe.
Yuna leaped at Sten. At this point, they were both in the air, completely open. The only thing is that one person had a sword, while the other one didn't.
"I feel like you aren't taking me seriously, with your eyes closed and all."
"…"
Sten sliced at Yuna's arm. It connected, though it was far too shallow. In an instant, she retreated, clutching onto her injured arm. Despite the injury, her demeanor did not change one bit.
"Come on! Your blade isn't nearly sharp enough to even scratch me-"
A strand of her pink hair flew into the air, gracefully. It was carried by the wind, soaring higher and higher into the sky.
Yuna's already wide-open eyes were opened even wider, to the point where she looked... very alert.
She slid her foot onto the ground, gaining her balance yet again.
"I guess I need to be on the offensive too."
She zipped toward Sten, in an irregular pattern. To confuse Sten. Left, right, then left again, then right. But at the moment you think she goes right, she waits a few seconds, then goes right.
"How about this one, Sten!?" she exclaimed, her sharp nails becoming even sharper.
Her nails were sharp enough, where they could finally clash with Sten's blade. And so, she clashed with Sten's blade.
The sparks flew into the air, at each strike Yuna threw. A barrage of hits came Sten's way, and if he lowered his guard for even a second, he would've met his demise.
"I'm starting to enjoy this!" Yuna yelled, as her attacks became even more aggressive and rapid. But, as they became faster, they became unstable.
Sten's sword became duller and duller at every hit. This was not good.
"Yes! My win!" Yuna's arms were pulled back. She prepared for a heavy attack.
But that was her mistake.
Swish!
Instead of her hair flowing in the wind, it was her head. Her head was not even allowed to flow in the wind, as it was promptly caught by Sten.
"What a hassle," he said, as he walked over to the main body. Evelyn came out of the hole she dug.
"That was an intense battle, huh? I really thought it was the end for you, Sten!" Evelyn laughed, patting Sten's back.
"I have to bury her body again."
"Why don't you spread out all of her body parts, so it's harder for her to revive?" Evelyn suggested.
"That's... a really good idea."