Chapter 3 - The Duel

Almost instantly, Aodh's hand shot to his chest, where he had been punched. Where he expected tenderness and pain, was normal flesh. He pulled up his shirt, and saw that not even a bruise remained. Does this mean I can't die? Aodh lined the blade up with his palm again and cut, this time a lot deeper. He watched in consternation as blood pumped from the wound. What if it doesn't work this time? Despite his worries, after a few seconds the cut closed up, leaving a noticeably larger scar. 

So I can die, but I may also be able to recover from serious injuries, as long as I don't die before the healing process starts. Aodh was distracted from his thoughts by a shuffling sound in front of him. He looked up, only to see another one of the white creatures charging at him, a sword held aloft in its clawed hands. Guided by some instinct Aodh never knew he possessed, he sidestepped smoothly, and batted the creature's sword off its path. 

It seemed to be surprised at the sudden response, and it wobbled on its feet, not expecting its attack to be turned away. Aodh seized the opportunity and swung for its head. Somehow, the creature managed to raise its sword to block, sending a clanging sound resonating through the air. It was Aodh's turn to be surprised, as he thought the creature wouldn't be able to recover it in time. 

The creature pressed the small advantage it had, moving to the side and letting Aodh's sword slide down its own until it met the crossguard. Then, it twisted the sword, almost pulling Aodh's one out of his grasp. Despite resisting being disarmed, Aodh was put off balance. The creature disengaged, and moved forward, ducking under Aodh's arm as it went. Before he could turn around, he felt a line of white hot pain erupt going from the side of his chest around to his back.

In response, Aodh stepped forward and pivoted, attempting to put some distance between himself and the creature. He turned just in time to catch the swing of the creature's sword, narrowly sending it off course. The vibrations as the two swords collided jarred his shoulder and arms, and Aodh had to concentrate to not lose his grip on his weapon. 

Aodh moved back a few more steps, carefully watching the creature for any sudden movement. Surprisingly, it didn't move with him and stayed planted where it was. He watched it suspiciously. He was injured. It had the advantage. Why wasn't it pressing? This suits me. I can leave the wound it gave me heal. Aodh waited for the feeling of his skin closing up, the pain fading but it never came. What if it only works out of combat? 

At that moment, the creature decided to attack, swinging its sword low, aiming for Aodh's knees. In  flash, Aodh had his sword stuck into the ground, braced for the impact. The creature's blade slid as it connected, and with a twirl, the sword was now aimed at Aohd's shoulders. 

Without questioning how the creature had been able to move so fast, Aodh took a step backwards, forced to leave his sword stuck in the ground. It would have taken too long to wrench it out of the ground and remain seriously uninjured. 

Now that Aodh was unarmed, the creature applied pressure. Somehow, Aodh was managing to fluidly dodge all of the attacks, but he knew whatever strange instinct was guiding him would not last. At some point he would mistime it, and it would be the beginning of the end. Once he was injured properly, he would be dead. 

As he was dodging, his eyes were constantly scanning the creature for any openings he could exploit, and looking for loose branches on the ground he could use. The creature swung again for Aodh's shoulders and he got an idea. This is risky. It has to work, or else I'm dead. 

He only took a half step back, causing the tip of the blade to lodge in his shoulder. He suppressed the roar of pain, and stepped forwards driving his knee up towards the creature's head. He could see its eyes widening in surprise, and its head beginning to move out of the way, but to no avail. 

There was a sickening snap as its head snapped back, and it was sent stumbling. Despite the creature looking vulnerable, Aodh didn't want to risk it. He had beaten one with a sword already, he wasn't about to try hand-to-hand combat now. He grabbed the blade with his hands, ignoring the pain, and pulled it out of his shoulder. 

He rushed over to his sword, still sticking upright in the ground, and felt a strange sense of relief when his hand closed around the hilt. He pulled it out of the soil, and turned to face the creature. Immediately, he noticed two problems. 

Firstly, the arm he previously used to wield the sword was the one the creature had injured with its swing seconds ago and to even hold the sword sent bolts of pain through his body. Without thinking, he swapped the blade to his other arms, not taking his eye off the second problem. 

Where there was previously one creature, now there were two. The other one that had just appeared was wielding a long spear which put Aodh at a disadvantage. He took solace from the fact that the sword wielder was already seriously injured, and it still looked unsteady on its feet. 

If I can kill the sword wielder, then facing off against the spear one could be a lot easier. Although, I don't know if I should throw all caution to the wind and try and kill the spear wielding one as quickly as I can. If only I took a mediaeval combat class in college. 

The decision was taken out of his control when the creature with the spear charged at him, the point levelled at his chest. He fought the instinctive reaction to immediately move out of the way, and waited for the creature to close the distance. As the creature closed the gap, Aodh could tell that something was wrong with it, but he couldn't pinpoint it. 

He briefly put it out of his mind as he sidestepped just before he was impaled. As he saw the creature's spear fly past him, he got an idea. He grabbed the hilt of the sword with both hands, ignoring the shooting pain that came from his right shoulder, and swung the sword with as much force as he could muster. 

There was a harsh crack, and his sword slid through the wood of the spears shaft, slicing it in two. Taking advantage of the creature being almost disarmed, he stabbed. It let out a quiet noise as it was impaled through the chest, before toppling backwards. 

Aodh watched it fall in slow motion, the life fade from its black eyes. He saw it hit the floor, and its head rest at an unnatural angle. What remained of the spear clattered to the ground. It was too sudden. It had gone from alive, to dead in a split second. 

Aodh suppressed the feelings welling up inside him, he still had another creature to kill. He raised his head and stared at the creature, still standing where he last saw it. It hadn't followed its companion on its charge, and remained where it was, slightly wobbling on its feet. Almost reluctantly, Aodh started to stride towards it. 

It had forced his hand. If he didn't kill it now, it could return with tens more creatures, which would surely guarantee Aodh's death. If only it had not attacked me, I wouldn't be forced to kill it. The creature seemed to come to the same realisation as him, and chose to stay and fight. It lifted up its sword, holding it parallel to the ground, pointed at him. 

Aodh stopped about fifteen metres from the creature and lifted up his sword, guided by that strange feeling. Somehow, he knew exactly what to do. He did not question his newfound ability, he attacked. He rushed at the creature, strength filling his body. His sword whistled through the air, cutting diagonally for the creature's right hand side. 

It took a step back, and brought the sword across its body in a downward motion, parrying the attack. Almost instantly, it whipped its sword back up, expecting to catch Aodh off guard. Instead, it was met with a block. After his attack was parried, and blade shoved off to the side, Aodh had quickly moved his arms to the left, and kept the sword parallel to the ground, causing the creature's strike to be blocked. 

With the swords locked together, they both stared into each other's eyes. Hoping to catch it unawares, Aodh kicked out with his leg, aiming for the creature's knee. It moved its leg back, and Aodh used the opportunity to disengage. Again, they stood and watched the other for any sign of movement, movement that would betray their intentions. 

Aodh let his sword drop to the side, hoping to portray exhaustion. The creature took the bait, and once again they erupted into action. The creature moved first, with a stab aimed at Aodh's stomach. Aodh swept his sword up, smoothly parrying the attack. The creature was left off balance slightly, something Aodh managed to spot. 

He responded with a stab of his own, only for it to be blocked by the creature. However, somehow Aodh could see that the creature was becoming more unbalanced the longer the exchange went on. So, he continued to attack. 

After his stab was parried, he didn't waste any time before bringing the sword over his head, and swinging it with a downward trajectory. He could feel his muscles begin to strain, and he knew he wouldn't be able to last much longer. I have to finish this quickly. 

The creature managed to block the overhead strike, but it wasn't prepared for the power behind it, and stumbled slightly. In a flash, Aodh had the blade streaking towards the creature's neck. Just in time the creature managed to parry, but the speed at which Aodh had attacked sent it further off balance. It stumbled backwards, eyes opened wide. 

Putting all of his power into one last strike, Aodh aimed at the creature's sword instead of a body part, and with a loud clang, the sword was knocked out of its grasp, and went spinning to the floor. Once it was disarmed, the creature collapsed to its knees, chest heaving. Despite having the fight all but won, Aodh had to resist to do the same. 

Arms trembling he brought up the sword for one final time. Simultaneously, the creature raised its head, and gazed into Aodh's eyes. Aodh froze, the blade high in the air. After a few moments, the creature gave a small nod, and lowered its head back down. Aodh took a deep breath, not believing what he was about to do. 

With a swish, the sword descended, and the creature's head rolled on the ground. Seconds later, its kneeling body listed to the side, thumping quietly to the ground. Possessed by some strange feeling, Aodh bowed to the dead body, then in a flash, the spell was broken. 

He let the sword drop to the ground, and fell to his hands and knees, retching violently. He could feel his whole body shaking, and a horrible sick feeling rise in his stomach. What had he done? He had just killed someone like it was an execution. At that moment, he wasn't even thinking about whether or not the creatures could be classed as people. They clearly had a human level of sentience, and that was enough for him. 

He felt the sick feeling rise up into his chest, and vomited all over the leaves that blanketed the floor. What have I done? He rolled over and stared up at the small piece of sky through the leaves and branches of the trees, only noticing now it was clear, no clouds to be seen. He laughed. Something about it was funny. Here he was, under a clear sky, weather he would crave during college, and now that he had it, he had turned into a murderer.