II

The crossbow-wielding Hilichurl, observing the pair of unexpected—and, indeed, unwanted—guests, shot the arrow straight at Sora's head, without hesitation.

'Look out!', shouted Paimon, pulling with all her might at her companion's cloak, only to hear the sound of flesh tearing at the passage of the crude projectile made from a bush branch and a sharp stone point, tied together with homemade rope.

'Agh!', Sora mumbled, clutching his left arm in his right hand. A thin, scarlet rivulet stream trickled down his limb, sliding down his left glove until it fell in tiny droplets that stained the grass of the hillside.

'Waaaah! Y-Y-Y-You're hurt!', Paimon exclaimed, unable to hide her concern for her friend.

'Paimon, back off!', Sora scolded her, extending his right arm. In his hand, the golden glow formed again, lengthening to reveal his silver-coloured sword.

It's useful against Slimes or individual monsters, but will it work on three Hilichurls at once?

Rushing at his opponents, the traveller swung his sword at the Hilichurls. Dodging another arrow, he managed to pierce one of the monsters with his sword. Black blood trickled down the silvery blade, gushing from the wound in the creature's abdomen. Holding the sword in both hands, he pulled hard as he pressed down on the Hilichurl with his right foot, pulling the weapon out of the fatal wound.

As he turned around, he barely avoided a direct hit on the head by the other monster, wielding a wooden club. After dodging the blow, full of fury, Sora swung his sword again, slashing at the monster's neck.

The adventurer was unfamiliar with the anatomical workings of these beasts, but from the enormous amount of blood, equally black, that gushed from the wound, he deduced that he had severed the monster's equivalent of a human jugular vein, though without actually decapitating it.

Two to the body count... Only that stupid archer is left...

'Yaaaaagh!', he shouted, lunging at the last Hilichurl. The Hilichurl, despite wearing the mask typical of its tribe, looked surprised to see the invader approaching so fast. He began to load its crossbow again, aiming it at its enemy's throat.

However, its vision was suddenly blocked by the silver glow that still splattered the blood of its companions.

Before it knew it, its head was pierced from side to side by the sword. The same dark, warm liquid gushed from the wound and, before it could even press the trigger of the crossbow, the monster died.

With difficulty, Sora pulled his blunt sword out of the monster's skull. Reaching out his right hand again, he released it, disappearing in the same golden flash with which it had appeared only moments before.

Then, he felt a blow to his back. A small, faint thump. Looking behind him, Sora saw a familiar white hair.

'I'm... I'm so sorry...', sobbed the little girl. 'It's my fault that Hilichurl hurt your arm...'

Sora smiled. He placed one of his hands gently on Paimon's head, caressing it.

'Don't worry. At least we managed to wipe out a Hilichurls' camp we didn't even know existed.'

'But... But...', the little girl continued sobbing.

'It's just a slight cut. It will heal soon.'

The girl looked up slowly. Her eyes, like two little starry galaxies, were crystallised by the thin layer of tears that kept flowing.

'Well, the camp is free now, shall we cook the meat you found?', offered the boy, heading for the campfire, which had not yet been consumed.

However, a thunderous roar made him turn around again.

'N-No... It can't be...', muttered Paimon, staring at the slope down which the previous Hilichurls had come.

Hillside down which now descends another masked monster, two or three times the size of a normal Hilichurl.

It was a Mitachurl. A huge beast, with arms like tree trunks. It carried a gigantic iron axe, impregnated with a dark brown substance that looked like coagulated blood.

Was it human blood? Animal blood? It was impossible to tell. The monster approached the duo, like an executioner approaching the town square for an execution. As it approached, it increased its pace little by little.

'Fly away!', Sora shouted, readying his sword again.

Shit, this thing won't do that beast any harm.

Then the creature lunged at the adventurer, with only one desire in its fierce instinct.

Do no harm.

Do not fracture.

Do not mutilate.

Only kill, and perhaps devour.

It would use the bones of those intruders to decorate his macabre lair, where so many adventurers and warriors had perished, with no one knowing their whereabouts.

Watching as the Mitachurl swung the huge axe, aiming it at his abdomen with a visible desire to finish him off with a single blow, Sora lunged backwards. The gust of wind produced by the sudden, heavy swing of the weapon pushed him backwards, leaving him just a few feet from the cliff he had climbed up.

'Sora, watch out!', Paimon shouted in a high-pitched voice.

The boy, still rising to his feet, watched as the beast swung the bloody axe a second time. Instinctively, Sora gripped his sword with both hands, one on the hilt and the other one on the blade.

The impact of the metal made a dull thud, releasing several sparks.

However, despite surviving the monster's attack, the monster's strength was such that it threw the invader backwards.

Towards the cliff that was several metres above the ground.

As he fell, the whistling of the wind in his ears prevented him from hearing the scream of his companion, who had rushed to his aid in horror. Pulling at his cloak futilely, Paimon did not have enough strength to even slow Sora's fall.

She could only watch, terrified, as her friend fell into the void, while she watched him fall further and further away until...

... Everything went black.