"Come, let's go. This place radiates a power—a dark power that I don't like. Can you stand?"
Not having any time to cope with things is starting to become a little too normal in this world. But Zeris was right. I couldn't feel it as strongly as he could, but I could sense a foreboding power leaking from the cathedral.
I felt it outside as well, but I'm not entirely sure what compelled me to enter this place. Sure, I was curious, but I'm not dumb. "Curiosity killed the cat," they say in my world, and I'm more than willing to live by that in this foreign world. So what intrigued me so much that it made me throw away my common sense?
'No more entering creepy buildings. Let's start with that.'
Grabbing Zeris's hand, which he held out, his impregnable strength quickly helped me off the ground.
We left in a hurry.
"Where are we going?"
Zeris glanced over his shoulder and then looked forward, continuing his powerful march.
"Anywhere but this forest. Ever since coming here, things have been off. The first Abomination that attacked you was dreadfully powerful; it shouldn't have been so close to the edge of the forest, but it was. Now this strange power I felt in that ruined cathedral… Ever since that sword bond…"
Zeris stopped abruptly, causing me to bump into him.
"Jeez, watch where you're stopping."
Zeris turned around and pressed his finger to his lips, stopping me mid-sentence.
I nervously looked around. A chill ran down my body as the hair on my arms stood up. The sound of my heart pounding in my chest filled my ears.
Zeris slowly unsheathed his double-edged straight sword.
"R…dy yor..sel…!"
I didn't hear what Zeris said because, at that moment, a powerful shockwave sent me flying a few feet back.
The back of my head hit the ground, and the world spun around me.
'Hot!'
The temperature rose quickly, and within seconds, I was drenched in sweat. As I sat up, trying to collect myself, my vision was still blurry and spinning, but I could see Zeris, now wreathed in blue flames, along with his sword.
'I—I can barely breathe. It's so hot!'
A cacophony of metal filled the area. Zeris was locked in battle with a fierce Abomination. I couldn't make it out clearly yet, but it was slightly taller than the flaming swordsman and had long metal blades instead of hands.
At some point, their clash reached a stalemate, and they were face to face, each trying to overpower the other. I saw the Abomination slightly turn its head and then vanish. The next moment, I heard Zeris yell.
"Ezra!!"
Time seemed to slow as I felt a sharp point pressing at my back.
My eyes widened.
Instinctively, I threw myself into a sideways roll. When I stopped, I raised myself to one knee and got a good look at the Abomination.
It stood about eight feet high. It was relatively human, with large muscles covering its entire body, pure black skin wrapping tightly around it, and long single-edged azure blades replacing its hands, reaching all the way down to its ankles.
However, its face filled me with horror. There was no mouth or nose, only two crimson eyes with no irises. The sight made my heart tremble so much that I thought it had stopped.
[Ew, creepy looking thing.]
The melodic voice in my head rang, snapping me out of my daze. The Abomination was just staring at me.
I ran.
Shortly after I started my dash, Zeris finally collected himself and blurred to the Abomination. Zeris was so fast he left an afterimage, but his incredible speed was no match for the crimson-eyed beast.
Zeris' perfectly executed pierce to the Abomination's neck was effortlessly parried.
However, I only heard this; I was running as fast as I could back to the cathedral.
[Stop! Zeris is no match for that thing. We need to help him or he'll die.]
'Are you crazy? You think I have a chance of beating that thing? I'd only get in the way, and Zeris is struggling enough. I need to run and live!'
[Yes, you are right, you have no chance. However, I do.]
As Divinus said that, a warm, soothing feeling filled my right arm. White sparks began coalescing at my palm, and within a second, the Divine Odachi Divinus had appeared.
[This may feel a little weird, and it's going to drain your mana reserves quickly, so… Don't resist. We only have one shot.]
The moment my fingers wrapped around the masterfully crafted hilt, my sprint stopped abruptly, the laws of motion sliding me forward on the loose dirt a few feet.
'What the hell?!'
I pivoted on one foot, quickly spinning around.
My body… it moved on its own, as if guided by another will. It was beyond strange; my body was thrown into a sprint back to Zeris and the Abomination. Each movement felt like my own, yet I knew I wasn't controlling it. I couldn't quite explain it.
Zeris and the Abomination were in a fierce clash, moving with precision and ease. It looked like an elaborate dance. Zeris' controlled and precise swordsmanship contrasted with the Abomination's more grounded defensive style, perfectly countering Zeris.
Zeris was dripping with sweat and blood, his body marred by cuts, his clothes torn, and his armor pierced. He was wreathed in blue flames. When there was distance between them, Zeris would send ranged slashes of blue fire.
The Abomination cut through these slashes with ease. The creature was unstoppable. And I was running right for it.
I tried to stop myself but tripped and fell flat on my face.
'Argh.'
[What did I say? Don't resist. It's the only way we're all going to live. Trust me.]
Spitting out the dirt in my mouth, a slight, agitated growl escaped my throat.
'Trust you? You're a sword! What is there to trust?!'
The voice was silent for a moment.
[You've got a point there, but what other options are there?]
As I picked myself up off the ground, the sword had a point. Either I ran, and by the way things were looking, Zeris would die, and then I'd die too. Or I stayed, trusting the strange voice in my head that claims to be this sword, and probably still die.
'Ahhh, hell. Fine… go.'
The moment I thought that, my body was in motion again. The odachi felt light as a feather now, perfect in the palm of my hand.
The sound of wind blew past my ears. Dirt kicked up in my wake as I ran, the odachi held behind me.
'Die… I'm gonna die!'
I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach as my body rushed toward the fight.
Zeris and the Abomination clashed once more, sending each other back.
[That's the opening!]
My legs moved even faster. I didn't even know I was capable of moving so fast. The forest blurred around me, wind roared in my ears, and my eyes watered from the wind pelting them.
A few steps short of the Abomination, I gripped the odachi firmly with both hands.
The Abomination barely had time to react. The horizontal strike aimed at its midsection was perfectly executed, the blade ripping through the wind with unstoppable force—until it met an immovable object.
The Abomination managed to raise its azure blades just in time, blocking the strike. The force sent the creature tumbling back, but it quickly rolled to its feet, its crimson eyes narrowing in anger.
[Damn! Was hoping to finish it with one strike. Guess it's gonna take a bit more effort.]
The melodic voice was rather calm given the current situation. On the other hand, I was mortified. I wanted to run, scream, beg—anything. But since I wasn't in control of my body, I remained silent.
There was no time to think before the Abomination dashed toward me.
Fear, the most primal fear, filled my body, but I couldn't act upon it. I was a passenger in my own body. The Abomination was too fast for me to see; now everything felt like it was moving in slow motion.
I saw Zeris, sitting with his back against a destroyed tree, unconscious. The Abomination was running, ready to kill its prey.
The demon jumped, raising both its blades above its head. As it fell, slamming its blades with incredible force, I pivoted on my foot, spinning around so we were back to back. The demon's attack was so powerful it shattered the ground, sending a shockwave through the forest that made the trees creak loudly.
My ears were ringing, but that didn't stop my body. Spinning the odachi in my hand and reversing my grip, my body thrust it backward, piercing the side of the Abomination's abdomen.
I felt the muscles convulse around the blade. If it had a mouth, it would have let out an ear-splitting screech.
Ripping the blade out while simultaneously elbowing the demon in the back sent it tumbling forward.
Even though the blade was driven completely through the Abomination, there was not a drop of blood on its pristine white blade.
Spinning around, the Abomination had already collected itself. Performing another spin of the odachi in my palm, Divinus banished it, bringing its blade slightly under my eyes while moving my left hand to my back.
A single word filled with cold, fierce malice rang through the air.
"Pathetic."
It was my voice.