Vell moved.
He was so fast that only the wind tearing through the clearing was visible. His sword sang a song of death, a whisper of steel that sliced through flesh and bone.
One second, a giant ant was lunging at Yenna, its mandibles snapping. The next, it was falling, its body cut clean in half, black blood spraying the ground.
He was beside Wren in an instant, a whirlwind of motion. A mosquito, its long proboscis dripping with venom, was diving towards her. His hand twitched, and the creature's head tumbled to the ground, its body twitching.
He spun, his movements too fast for the eye to follow. Three more ants fell, then two mosquitoes, their bodies ripped apart by his sword. The monsters were helpless, their attacks clumsy and slow compared to his speed. They fell by the dozens, their bodies piling up around him, a gruesome carpet of severed limbs and spilled guts.
