SSS: Chapter 5

By the ruins of the last house in the village, there lay a familiar stick with a pointed end.

I gently lifted it out from the wreckage of farm implements that lay strewn about and wrung my wrist giving the stick a test swing.

"Hmm"

I had felt this feeling countless times before.

That familiar rush of the wind as the stick pierced through the air.

That delicate balance that made it feel as if the stick were an extension of my arm.

It was the very stick that I had swung day after day.

For some reason, my feet stopped for a moment in front of the house as my eyes strained to peer through the gloom.

The very next moment I expected Sophia to come rushing out with an all too familiar smile on her face.

This place was our refuge after all.

Where she chattered away endlessly as I sweated away resolutely.

Where our memories lay.

She didn't come out.

I took a deep breath and said to the stick in my hands, "Let's go."

There was no time to waste.

Even though my next course of action was already decided there seemed to be a certain element of indecisiveness within that stalled my progress.

Perhaps this was the primal instinct known as fear?

After all, I have never faced a demon before.

I was heading into the unknown without a safety net to catch me in case I fall.

But.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha"

As soon as I realized that I was frightened, my mouth automatically distorted into a smile and I laughed in a voice so loud that I thought I would go deaf from hearing it.

This laugh wasn't out of pride.

Nor was this a way to hide my fear.

I am not lying but it was nothing more than an outburst of my frenzied heart!

The swordsman who lived in my memories.

He used to hum whenever he prepared for a battle, remembering his jocular humming put a smile on my face.

I couldn't help laughing as the memory resurfaced suddenly.

Even as I forged ahead with my stick, more of his memories begin to stir within.

Be scared, for you are a swordsman!

Those who are not scared will not have any margin left for growth.

The emotion that encourages growth is none other than "fear".

So let me affirm, once and for all.

Was I so weak-willed to be "frightened" easily?

Ah. Ah.

Perhaps to an observer, my fear sealed my fate.

But I thought differently.

Why?

Because I was sure that this "fear" was but fuel for my growth.

Thank you for the meal. (TL: Itadakimasu!)

I licked my chops with delight.

Since this ogre was able to frighten me.

I will step on its corpse and grow stronger!

The emotion that surges forth like a raging storm is undoubtedly "fear".

To the vast majority of humanity, such an emotion is loathsome and something to be hidden away at all costs.

But they fail to realize that it drives their potential past all limits.

I however was aware of that.

Why?

Because I could feel my inner strength surging within like a coiling dragon that had seen the heavens at last.

What would be its next action?

Soaring into the skies, of course!

It is a titillating feeling, a strange prospect that never ceases to amuse me.

I affirm the fact that I was afraid.

But it was nothing to be ashamed of.

I wasn't going to hide my fear behind a mask of foolish pretense.

Fear.

It was horrible.

It made my senses sharp.

It caused my heart to pound at a furious pace.

It resulted in my mind thinking frantically.

Thus, it made my strength reach its peak.

Hiding such a major boost on the eve of battle was foolishness!

"Oh, yeah," I whispered out of excitement.

There was something different I felt while holding the stick this time as my blood rushed in waves within my body.

The stick felt as light as a feather, willing to respond to the slightest of my intentions.

The feeling of terror that had shrouded my body slowly but surely elevated my senses.

Somehow I wasn't on the ground anymore.

It was as if I was floating in the air, with my feet walking on thin air.

As these strange new feelings ascended into a crescendo, I followed them to their natural conclusion and wielded my stick once again,

Much stronger than before.

I could feel it quite clearly.

"Not bad at all."

Saying so, I turned my back to the abandoned house.

My footsteps moved away from the village.

There was one more place to check out before I headed into the forest proper.

There was a cave located in a hillock near the riverbank where Sophia and I used to hide out in case it rained.

While there was no guarantee that she would be there, it wouldn't hurt to confirm.

My eyes gazed onward with renewed determination as my feet head onward.

My father would no doubt be disappointed that I didn't turn back just now however I couldn't help that.

Once a decision had been made there was no room for hesitation.

Such was the way of a swordsman.

"Human…"

A demon with dirty green skin.

A shrill squeal came out of its mouth piercing my ears.

A gristly smile hangs wide at its horrifying face that was no doubt reveling in delight at successfully ambushing its prey.

It is without a doubt, a Goblin.

After approximately 10 minutes walking along the path that ran along the river banks a rather unwelcome intruder announced its presence.

I had been prepared for its arrival for a while now.

Even though during daylight monstrosities would never be found here, a sudden cry that had pierced through the silent night earlier had me aware that my passage wasn't going to be uneventful.

The worst part was the wait.

Waiting for the enemy to show itself.

Waiting to see whether it resembled the terrors that had spawned in my mind at that instant.

Surprisingly though my spirit wasn't diminished, at least not at the start.

Though later on as the feeling of tension continues, this uncomfortable wait wears at my spirit bit by bit.

Not knowing when you would be attacked.

Would I be attacked or not?

Had I been found or not?

On and on, my mind continues to be trapped in the same set of thoughts like the wheels of a wagon trapped in a mud ditch.

The tension slowly but surely sucks away my energy as a pile of mental fatigue accumulates in its place.

After an uncertain amount of time had passed the tension comes to an end abruptly.

"Human"

The enemy grins in delight as a barbed tongue flicks among its protruding fangs.

This seemed to be a confrontation without any doubt.

"Oh, I guess I can't just slip away quietly."

I sighed in exasperation.

I had been wishing to avoid this confrontation not only because I felt that it would waste my time and energy thus decreasing my effectiveness in a battle with an ogre but also because for some strange reason that I couldn't put in words I didn't wish to battle without any reason.

It wasn't cowardice, far from it.

Compassion?

Please.

I was certainly no saint.

Unfortunately, there was not much time to analyze further for two bright crimson eyes, the hue of blood locked in on me like a hawk eyeing its prey.

The two orbs shone in the dark like beacons however unlike the flares that shone in the houses that carried hope along with them these carried something much more sinister.

Feelings of bloodthirst, savagery, and despair radiated out from then.

For a moment, my body was paralyzed at the sight.

Like a weak mouse gazing into the gleaming eyes of a raptor swooping down towards it with its talons outstretched.

The talons got closer and closer.

"Swoosh "

I could hear the wind shivering in response to the talons breaking through an unseen curtain.

I sidestepped deftly.

A gigantic cudgel swings past the position that I had been standing in just a moment prior.

"…Fuh"

With a deep breath, I exhaled the accumulated emotions that had stirred up within including the feelings of tension and petrification that had taken hold of me.

With another breath, my mind clears.

With another breath, my pulsating heart slows to a still.

With another breath, all that I can see in front of my eyes is the enemy.

My mind working as fine as usual calmly analyzes the situation.

The longer I waste time here, the worse it will get for me.

For one thing, my stamina was undoubtedly worse than my enemy and as the confrontation gets dragged on this disadvantage would only get more and more prominent.

Next, goblins were creatures that roamed in packs.

Since this one was here, there was sufficient cause to expect it's fellows to be wandering about nearby, the longer the battle drags on the greater the chance for them to discover the scene.

Thus I had to resolve this as fast as possible.

My mind as still as the cloudless sky transmitted its decision to my mouth which then opens,

"Come! "

I made an inviting gesture to the monstrosity that is raging at the fact that its prey evaded its deadly grasp.

Even as the goblin rushes towards me with a breakneck pace, I was thinking through my final strategy.

My muscle strength was low.

The amount of skill that I had was nonexistent.

All I could do was imitate.

For some reason even as my mind calmed and my body tensed, my heart was far away at that instant.

All I could see in front of my eyes was the same action of drawing the sword.

Again and Again.

Till it was imprinted deep within my soul.

Even as I snapped back from my trace and the wind roared against my face.

My face wore a nonchalant smile.

I knew what to do.

So

I tell that to the raging beast which has made its move,

"Everything will be over in an instant! "