"Well done, team. Pretty successful first fight, if I do say so myself," Kaelith beamed. His grin as wide as ever. "Sure, they weren't the strongest monsters—in fact, probably some of the weakest—but everyone played their role well. Especially you, Elaine. Holding back two of them so Riel and I could finish the first? Not bad at all."
Elaine ducked her head, cheeks warming, too shy to bask in the praise. Riel only grunted, still filled with adrenaline, his eyes sharp and restless.
Elaine stole a closer glance at the two boys as they walked. Kaelith—tall, broad-shouldered, the moon's brightest disciple, radiating light and certainty. Riel—equally tall, but slim, sharp-edged, like he belonged in the shadows. This side of him, wild and battle-hungry, was a mask no one in class had ever seen before. He seemed like an entirely different person.
The ragtag trio pressed deeper into the wasteland.
It wasn't long before the shadows thickened, twisting into something more sinister. From the cracks in the earth, long spindly limbs clawed their way out, joints bending at unnatural angles. Ash spilled from their bodies with every twitch, staining the ground. Carapaces of slick black ink covered their frames, chitin ridged and sharp. Their heads were blunt and heavy, crowned with vents that hissed and spewed soot with each jerking movement.
The demons dragged themselves fully into view, their limbs scraping against stone, ash spilling like blood from their vents.
This wasteland must have swarmed with them, once.
"Rinse and repeat, guys!" Kaelith barked. "Same as before—we've got this!"
Fast.
Faster than anything they had ever seen.
The spindly-legged demons tore across the wasteland in a blur, ash spewing from their vents in choking clouds that burned flesh and blinded eyes.
Panic.
Elaine stumbled backward, desperately trying to keep distance. Too slow. One of the creatures' limbs lashed out like a whip, raking across her side. Fire seared her skin, a raw burn blooming across what had been unblemished flesh.
"Elaine!" Riel hurled his chain toward her, instinct overriding thought—forgetting the second demon lunging for him.
Crash.
The ashborn slammed into him, all jagged limbs and crushing weight. They tumbled into the dust in a mess of flailing arms and gnashing mandibles. Pain lanced through him, sharp as lightning, as the beast's carapace scraped his skin and its teeth snapped dangerously close.
Kaelith alone held his ground, his claymore braced against a monster's snapping jaws. Even he was straining, knees buckling as the creature drove him back. Ash poured into his lungs, burning his throat, tears threatening to sting his eyes.
"Hold it together!" Kaelith roared. His voice cut through the chaos, steady, commanding. "We know what these things are! We've studied them! Aim for the joints!"
The words struck like a spark.
Elaine's shaking steadied. She yanked a dagger from her belt and drove it into a crack of armor just above the knee. The blade sank deep—black ichor and ash spewed as the creature shrieked, collapsing momentarily.
She scrambled to her feet, bow in hand. Arrows flew, her shots forcing the demon off Riel.
Freed, Riel's eyes lit with grim fire. He snapped his chain forward, wrapping it tight around the beast's twisted knee. With a vicious pull, the joint tore apart—limb ripping free in a spray of shadows and cinders. The monster's screech curdled the air as its body buckled, collapsing into the ash it had spawned from.
Kaelith, seeing his companions recover, wasted no time. With a surge of strength, he twisted against the ashborn pressing him and used its own weight against it. The spindly horror crashed onto its back, legs thrashing wildly, kicking up clouds of ash.
"Not so tough now."
He raised his claymore high and drove it down with monstrous force, the blade piercing straight through the creature's underbelly. Shadows bled out like ink, dissolving into the barren ground.
He spun, eyes locking onto the crippled one—its leg torn off by Riel. In three wide strides he was upon it, claymore gleaming through the haze. With brutal precision, he carved through the ash, his weapon cleaving the demon clean in two. Its scream was cut short, as crumbled into black dust.
The last one loomed before him, vents spewing thick ash in a desperate attempt to blind and choke him. Kaelith didn't falter. Step by step, he advanced, dragging his blade along the stone so it screeched with every stride. The sound carried like a death knell.
The Creature's screech grew frantic.
Kaelith's claymore flared with lunar light, a cold silver glow cutting through the smog. With a final thrust, he drove the weapon into the creature's vent—light bursting from its maw as the blade tore through. Black ichor sprayed before its body convulsed and collapsed, defeated.
He ripped his weapon free, resting it against his shoulder, breathing hard but grinning all the same.
Riel's smirk vanished, replaced by a hollow weight in his chest. His eyes brimmed with disappointment. Disappointment in himself. He had treated the lesser demons like prey, convincing himself that living with nightmares beyond comprehension every day somehow made him stronger than the rest. But it didn't.
His arrogance cooled, snuffed out like a flame.
But there was no time for reflection.
The ground beneath Kaelith split apart, a vast pool of shadow erupted and from it rose a colossal paw. Fur bristling like steel wires, each strand gleaming under the sunless sky.
The paw came down in a brutal swipe.
Kaelith was thrown like a ragdoll, his body skidding across the barren earth before collapsing in a heap.
"Kaelith!" Riel's shout cracked the air.
The rest of the beast emerged, towering above them. A hulking, bear-like demon, its maw splitting twice into layered jaws that dripped with shadow. Six arms flexed, each ending in claws long enough to gut a horse. Its fangs gleamed, each the size of a sword.
It screamed.
The shockwave blasted through them, rattling their bones. Their ears didn't bleed, but their weapons did—the sound tore through metal itself. Riel felt the weight vanish from his hand. He looked down. His chain was gone, nothing but rust.
Panic clawed at his chest. Think. Think.
He glanced back. Relief—Elaine's bow, made of wood, was intact.
"Elaine!" His voice cracked, sharp with desperation. "Listen to me. Use your strongest attack. I'll hold it off!"
Her face went pale. "I need at least two minutes to chant! My soul isn't strong enough on its own—"
Riel looked to Kaelith. His friend's body was broken, crumpled, unmoving. Out of the fight. Maybe worse.
"That's all we can do!" Riel snapped, urgency burning in his voice. "My weapon's gone. We cannot let Kaelith fall here! Do you hear me? Just do it!"
Elaine's lips trembled, but she nodded, clutching her bow as the first words of the incantation tumbled out, her voice shaky but growing steadier with each syllable.
Riel turned back toward the monster. His heart hammered, fear tightening his lungs. But still—he ran, barehanded.
Throwing himself at the nightmare.