The moon glowed, its translucent light cascading down upon me as my feet pounded across the dry dirt.
Each step kicked up dust, but I had no time to care.
The growls behind me came closer, shaking the air itself.
I didn't dare look back yet. I could already picture it, the monster's massive form closing the distance.
Its hulking shadow stretched across the cracked ground, its jagged teeth like a descending guillotine.
A sharp inhale. A quick glance over my shoulder.
Artoria was falling behind, her bronze arm slowing her despite her best efforts. She was fast, but not fast enough.
I was the one who had struck first, and now the monster's bloodlust was set on me.
Her right arm had been severed long ago, torn away in a battle neither of us spoke about anymore.
The wound had long since scarred over, replaced by a crude but functional bronze prosthetic.
It was heavier than she liked to admit, the dense metal weighing her down. A necessary burden.
She wore a loose-fitting blouse, its fabric torn and stained, with pieces of light armor strapped over her shoulders.
The plating on her chest was mismatched, crafted from scavenged weapon scraps.
On her back, a sword rested in a worn leather harness. The hilt was wrapped in tattered leather, bound like makeshift bandages.
The scabbard, a sleek iron sheath, curved slightly despite the blade being straight.
She drew her sword with a fluid motion and rammed her shoulder into the monster just as I spun to face it.
"Astrea, now!" she yelled.
The beast, a mutated bear, its grotesque form twisted beyond nature, let out a thunderous snarl as it tumbled across the dirt.
Clay and dust burst into the air, shrouding its massive frame.
Its grotesque jaw was barely held together by strips of dead flesh, fused unnaturally like something stitched together in a nightmare.
Its size was nearly double that of a normal bear, yet even that wasn't enough to hold Artoria back.
I unsheathed my sword, the blade gleaming in the moonlight. With my free hand, I reached into my satchel and pulled out my grimoire.
The moment my fingers traced the ancient pages, power surged through me.
Water coiled around my limbs, spiraling upward like sentient serpents.
The ground beneath me trembled as I launched forward, crashing into the beast's side.
A bone-rattling scream tore from its throat as my water magic forced its way into its body, flooding its insides with pressurized force.
A moment later, the creature collapsed.
I grabbed Artoria's hand and bolted, dragging her with me as the monster's corpse began to bubble.
"Move!" I screamed.
A second later, the lifeless husk erupted, imploding in a grotesque explosion of blood, bone, and shredded flesh.
The stench was unbearable, thick with decay and raw iron.
We barely escaped the blast radius, but our armor was splattered with fresh gore.
Artoria let out an exhausted sigh, wiping blood from her shoulder. "You need to find a better way to kill these things."
"Would you rather it kill us?" I shot back.
She didn't respond. Instead, she slid her sword back into its scabbard in silence.
I exhaled and looked up at the moon's position. We still had at least ten hours before dawn.
Three nights.
That's how long we had been out here, hunting these creatures.
Not for survival. Not for vengeance.
For recognition.
At least, that was Artoria's goal. She wanted to prove herself to the people back at Novastia.
She wanted them to see her as something more than a survivor.
Me?
I only cared about slaying these abominations. Every last one.
If we didn't rid the world of them, the rest of humanity would soon meet the same fate as these desolate lands.
The wasteland stretched out before us, barren and lifeless. A reminder of everything we had lost.
And, to make matters worse, we had no map, because Artoria lost it.
"Remind me again how you managed to lose a damn map?"
She rolled her eyes. "It's not like I did it on purpose."
"Right. Because wandering aimlessly through a monster-infested wasteland is exactly how I wanted to spend my time."
She scoffed but didn't argue.
We continued walking.
The ruins were close. At least I'm assuming such based on my memory which is pretty good.
And with them, the monster that lurked within, one powerful enough to take on an army.
Artoria and I were stronger than most, but we weren't invincible.
She had already lost an arm to these abominations.
I refused to let them take her life.
The land around us was hollow, dark, and unforgiving. A graveyard of scorched earth and shattered stone.
People still whispered about the gods. They believed in their blessings, their divine mercy.
I did not.
Thus, they called me a heretic.
I didn't mind. The title had its perks. I was immune to their blessings, but their curses barely affected me either.
Not that I wanted to be cursed.
But when you reject the gods, damnation is a certainty.
I turned to Artoria. She was gazing at the moon, her expression unreadable as its pale light reflected in her eyes.
"Do you remember the way back?" I said my eyes drifting up her body
I glanced at her neck. A fresh scratch on her caramel skin, likely from the monster's claws.
"Yeah," she said, rubbing the wound absentmindedly. "Let's just keep going north. The ruins should be up ahead."
I nodded. The land before us sloped upward into a barren hill. No trees, no remnants of life.
Only scorched earth, burned from the fires that had once rained down upon it.
When we reached the top, I looked down.
There it was.
The ruins weren't large, just remnants of an ancient castle. Crumbled walls, shattered towers, remnants of a place long abandoned.
But something else caught my eye.
Smoke.
It rose in thin wisps from a distant corner of the ruins.
"There might be people there!" Artoria said, perking up.
"Careful. We don't know if they're with us. They could be hunting alone… or worse, from Osalsia."
She shot me an annoyed look. "Always the skeptic. Come on."
Hooking her bronze arm through mine, she slid down the hill. Dust kicked up around us as we landed at the base.
For a brief moment, there was silence.
Then, I drew my sword.
"Art…" I said lowering my voice. "There's something here."
I tapped the flat of my blade against the ground. The vibrations spread through the earth.
A deep rumble answered.
The ground beneath us trembled violently.
Then, without warning, the earth split open.
A massive worm erupted from the soil, its gaping maw stretching wide, lined with rows upon rows of serrated teeth.