Chapter 6: Ashur's Stand

The robed figures turned to stare at each other for a moment after hearing Ashur's bold shout. A second later they nodded to eachother before turning back to him.

Four charged him at once, the two who reached him first swung their daggers quickly. They both aimed for vital spots, one going for the tendon in his arm while the other aimed for the jugular. Ashur saw this coming however and easily sidestepped both attacks before returning fire, cutting the two. The men both fell down, one completely lifeless from a slash to the neck while the other simply fell back after getting slashed across the chest.

The other two that had initially charged as well hesitated for a moment after seeing him easily dispatch the first two. Before they could make the decision of attacking him as well though, Ashur charged the other pair.

He went for similar slashing moves and while he easily killed one of them, the other dodged albeit barely, getting off with just a nick on his ear. The one who got nicked leaped back in an attempt to gain distance but that would prove to be a fatal mistake.

The lizard-like beast which had been surprisingly neutral for a while lunged at him. The man didn't even have time to react because in an instant- he was done for.

Blood gushed onto the dirt road as the lizard creature gave him a hard bite or two before simply swallowing the rest. After finishing its snack, the creature's attention was fully on Ashur now and it started salivating as if it wasn't full yet. It lunged at Ashur next but unlike the man who had been eaten a second ago, he was ready.

He leapt high, easily avoiding its attack. He looked down to see where he'd land and to his surprise, the lizard creature was stationary directly below him. He raised his dagger and delivered a powerful stab down on its back. Ashur expected a squeal or even for it to lash out in pain but it simply spun violently all the while releasing strange sounds. The creature was making huffing noises as if it was panting with excitement.

It was shaking so hard that Ashur couldn't stay on any longer so he purposefully let his body go limp while holding on to the blade which was jabbed deep into the creature's back. Doing that sent him flying but he recovered smoothly, landing in the open field where he'd faced off against the robed group at.

There were still a couple of the strangely robed men left but he could tell they were being extremely cautious now.

He'd half-expected for a couple to rush him as he was sent in their direction but the opposite happened, deciding to back up further away from him. He was sure the combo of him and the lizard creature which attacked whoever and whatever was super nerve-racking for the group.

Now, turning back his attention to the monster Ashur thought to himself. This thing's a monster and not just based on its appearance. It barely even flinched when I cut it just now, does it not feel pain or something? Those are always the worst kind of enemies to deal with.

It lunged at him again but this time Ashur knew what he had to do. He rushed toward it, raising his blade high in the air, preparing for a sword technique. He expected another attempted bite but suddenly it stopped running and quickly rotated- smacking Ashur with its spiky tail. Luckily he was able to raise his blade in time, allowing him to block, otherwise, he would've been impaled by one of the many spikes on its tail.

It released its tail that was interlocked with his blade before it swung it again, and again, and again. It pummeled Ashur relentlessly with countless blows.

The first tail swing, while powerful, wasn't enough to make him slip up but the repeated swings were starting to push him back.

He was now struggling to hold his ground and it wasn't letting up one bit. It released and right before it went for another swing Ashur felt a presence behind him.

He turned quickly to discover one of the robed men, the one he'd slashed across the chest earlier, charging at him with a blade aimed toward his stomach.

Time almost seemed too slow for him as his thoughts flowed quickly. Okay okay, this might be tricky. The creature is going for another tail swing and sure it won't kill me but I don't want to be on the receiving end of that. My plan a second ago was to gain distance and change my plans but this robed attacker behind me is in the way and from how he's holding his sword catching me if I jumped would be an easy task... Fine! I'll just do this.

In one smooth movement, Ashur rotated his body just enough so that the blade barely grazed his clothes before he grabbed the robed man; putting the man in front of him as he turned.

The creature's tail slammed into the robed man- killing him instantly and both he, and Ashur got sent flying back. Now Ashur was soaring through the air.

Using the robed man as a shield proved to be a wise strategy, he didn't take any damage and he was able to gain distance also. He smirked confidently. This was the second part of his plan.

His current destination once landing was straight toward the rider who was still being held hostage by the robed men.

They noticed his descent in their direction and so, two of them threw daggers to try and snipe him out of the sky. However, Ashur was able to twist and dodge the attacks, raising his own blade and slashing down at them the second he landed- killing them instantly.

"T-thanks so much for saving me!" The rider cried out gratefully, tears in his eyes.

Ashur gave a thumbs up to the side, as his attention was focused on the lizard-creature. "Sure but don't thank me yet. We still need to get you back to the carriage safely."

"Hey, Ashur!"

John was waving over at him across the field while clutching his stomach with his other hand.

"I can escort the rider back to the carriage if you can focus on defeating that monster."

"Appreciate it!" Ashur retorted, and in a rush, charged the creature once more.

The third time would seemingly be the charm.

Without outside interference from the assailants, as well as the headache of a hostage out of the way, he could fully enact his plan.

The creature was hunched over, eating the remains of the robed man he had used as a shield earlier but once it heard him- it turned, standing on its hind legs so it appeared bipedal. It reached its hand up and slashed down with its claw.

A realization came over Ashur as he skillfully dodged the slash. Each time he took a step back to get a game plan on how to take it down, the creature changed its strategy as well.

He swung his blade wildly at the beast twice and while the strikes connected- the creature didn't react.

He continued to do this time after time, after its claw slash he would not only dodge but return a slash himself. Eventually, it was covered in cuts.

It went for a slash again and Ashur jumped back to dodge but it stopped its slash mid-way, quickly rotating, going for a tail smack. He wasn't able to react in time and was smacked in his side, getting sent flying back until he crashed into a tree. A dent was now in the tree from the collision.

"Argh." He grumbled in pain while slowly standing up.

He spat out a bit of blood but wiped his mouth, a focused glint in his eye despite the hit which should have been heavy enough to break several bones.

"That was rough but I could take a couple more of those."

The creature was rushing towards him now, a mixture of blood and saliva dripping from its mouth as it snarled at him.

"Well, I said I could but I'd rather not."

He scanned the area, noticing that John and the rider were safely in the carriage a bit away.

After a deep inhale, he released a shout so loud that those miles away in Mural Town could have heard him.

"MARY! I'M GOING TO USE IT!"

Without a word, he saw the chains which were lightly wrapped around the carriage fully cover it so there wasn't even a gap now.

The creature was right in front of him, slashing and swinging its tail violently but he dodged each attack. It was knocking over trees and scratching up the earth, being relentless in its pursuit of him; its sharp yellow eyes had nothing but malice in them.

It charged at him once more but he simply slid back, now far away from the carriage.

He raised his sword up screaming out. "Lig!"

The second the words left his lips, a coating of pure light covered his blade. It shone at an almost blinding level, illuminating the dark clearing. He released a shout loud enough to pierce the heavens, slicing down with all his might at the creature.

Mary, the rider, Mr. Meyer, and John were all sitting down, awaiting Ashur's victory.

Mr. Meyers was talking to John to make sure he was alright and he nodded silently but Mary could tell he was just trying to act. John was sweating heavily, clutching his stomach. She noted that while he wasn't stabbed in a super vital organ he was still bleeding enough to warrant medical attention as soon as possible.

Mary flashed him a worried look. "Do you think you'll be okay there?"

He released a strained chuckle, clearly attempting to hide the pain he was in. "Yeah should be. Sorry to have you worry Mary, I shouldn't have let my guard down at that moment. I just didn't expect that he was holding back."

"Well here's some advice from a more experienced adventurer. No matter who you fight, one, use your full strength and two, always assume the adversary is stronger than you. That way you won't slip up, the battle will come down to who is the stronger or more skilled fighter."

"Thanks for the tip. I'll keep that in mind for the future."

Mary started to say something else but a big boom interrupted her. The sound came from outside the carriage.

There was silence and they all awaited anxiously to find out what had happened outside. All besides Mary who was smiling, sported a clueless look as they waited with bated breath.

John, noticing her calm, almost confident expression, in contrast to the rest of the group's nervous uncertain one, spoke. "What are you smiling for?"

"That was one of Ashur's special techniques. If he used that there's no way the beast survived."

John's eyes glimmered with hope as he thought to himself. I hope he did finish it! That thing looked super fearsome. If it was just me against that thing I would've definitely lost. Honestly back when all those robed men appeared I would've been done for. Ashur is really strong. It makes sense that he's one of the people in place to become the next S-rank adventurer.

Right as the anticipation seemed to reach an all-time high the first sound they heard was a whistle. Whoever whistled did it three times back to back.

Mary stood up, and the second she did so her chains, which had obstructed any view from the outside had disappeared. Now they could see Ashur, standing at the front door. Further, in the distance behind him, they could all see the eviscerated corpse of the monster.

Mary's face lit up seeing the remnants of the battlefield. "Good job handling them all."

"Yeah, I'm surprised it ended so quickly. I had to do a lot though, I'd say that earns me a reward later right Mary?"

She gave him a whimsical look. "Sure. We can discuss what that reward will be in a moment."

Ashur chuckled and reached to open the door but just then he, John, and Mary all felt a fierce murderous aura.

Mary instinctively summoned her chains and while she didn't immediately cover the carriage- she had them around the bottom, in case she needed to use them.

Ashur turned quickly behind him to try and spot the source of the bloodlust but he saw no one.

John shuddered, thinking to himself, What was that just now? That bloodlust was so strong I felt chills get sent down my spine... The feeling isn't as bad as the one Luna had all those years ago but its of the same intent; pure malice with no restraint.

Ashur's eyes were darting all around. "Who's there!?" He shouted out but there was no response.

Right before he started to walk out and check the area he saw someone in the clearing ahead.

It was too dark so while he could see the silhouette which revealed a curvy woman, he couldn't gleam physical attributes. When she spoke, her voice was squeaky.

"You did really well Ashur. Congratulations on defeating that little beasty. You showed off a magnificent attack. Your adventurer friend couldn't handle it at all unfortunately. I was told he died pitifully."

Ashur's teeth were clenched, his eyes brimming with fury.

He wanted to make her pay for what she and whoever else she was allied with had done to Floyd but now wasn't the time.

They needed information, also for all he knew she could've been lying about how he died to provoke him.

He slowly reached for his blade, placing his hand on it.

"So if I take your words at face value that means you sent that foul creature to attack us as well as those robed men?"

"The robed men for sure, not the beast however but in a sense it was allowed." He couldn't see the woman's face since she was in the shadows but he could hear a smile in her voice.

"So would I be right to assume you're the leader?"

A laugh fell from her lips. This caught him off guard but he still kept his hand on the hilt of his blade.

She was hysterical and he could see her outline from far away, reaching up to seemingly wipe tears from her face. "No. Not even close but I'm flattered you'd think so. Now, I'd like you to do me a favor and die okay?"

With that last sentence, her tone was playful and in an instant Ashur dashed towards her, blade outstretched.

"Get going right now! I'll catch up!" Ashur screamed out to the carriage.

Mary obliged, quickly sending the rider to take off and that's what they did. They were going full speed ahead, having to pass Ashur a couple feet away while he combatted the mysterious woman.

John watched on as they clashed; he couldn't see what weapon the woman was using but he could hear a sound similar to metal grinding against each other.

The last thing he could see was the two of them slashing back to back, looking to be on even ground as they moved farther, and farther away.