Chương 5: [BL] 5. New World [5]

In a flash of steel, Normund and the undead exchanged swords, neither wanting to be trapped in a grinding, so they pulled their weapons after a strike and swooped back into one another. The Undead have the upper hand as his blow proves to be more powerful, almost snapping Normund's weapon off his hand. With the opening, the Undead thrust his sword forward until Josha snapped it back down in a downstroke. A growl escaped the Undead, and he smashed his forehead into Josha, who staggered backward.

Normund's attempt to capitalise on Josha's distraction was thwarted by the zombie, which blocked and then knocked aside his sword. Willow chose this as the time for her to wade in, jabbing straight into the Undead's neck. He saw her coming. And underneath those inhumane eyes, something flickered. The Undead backed away, evading Willow's sword. She ran forward with the sword tip still pointed at the Undead's neck. Deciding enough was enough, the Undead swept Willow's sword.

And she grunted, struggling to keep her grip. That strike reverberated through her arm to her shoulder. Another swing came down upon her, and Willow forced her sword up to defend. Once again, her sword was batted aside, and the Undead flowed into an upper-hand strike when, from his flank, both Josha and Normund charged together. The Undead forgoe the attack and ran toward Josha. The young man appeared startled, and the corpse pressed on, hewing his sword in ruthless strikes.

Willow watched and recognised Josha as classless, knowing he would stand no chance, so he retreated, making space for his sword to move, and focused on his defence, warding away any dangerous strikes. Normund passed her, and Willow followed suit after gathering her breath. The Undead turned in a quick whirl and brought a sweeping arc toward Normund. The young man angled his steel down, but the undead sword swung past his defence and scored a cut to Normund's hip.

He hissed, stumbling backward, trying to dodge the Undead lunge. Willow moved forward, putting her body in front of Normund, intercepting the Undead sword, turning it upside down just above her shoulder. When her face was close to the Undead, the Undead's face scrunched, and his eyes widened. Willow thought little of it; she instead took advantage. She head-butted the Undead's chin, forcing him to stagger backward. Willow surged forward, sweeping her sword and slashing right into the Undead's padded jacket.

The sword continued its trajectory, leaving a bloody streak in its wake. She let out a small smile as she pushed one leg out and repositioned again. However, the Undead, amid his terrible balance, regained it first and struck at her. Willow raised her sword in time to redirect the quick attack. Behind the undead, Josha impaled his neck—the sword punched through and the undead gurgled, before suddenly he turned backward—neck twisting, sword still stuck.

One gnarly hand caught Josha's throat and threw the young man away in a roll. When he was about to run at Willow again, she cut into the Undead's neck, but her sword didn't dig deep as she did not get enough swing behind it. The Undead head-butted her back. Her sword saw to his neck before Willow had to retreat with staggering steps. Pulling out Josha's sword, the undead still managed to stand despite his neck bleeding down to his armour.

"How do we kill him?" Willow asked.

"I don't know!" Normund answered. He sprinted forward, pressing the Undead who, like Josha, retreated and kept parrying Normund's strike. At first glance, Normund looked like he had the upper hand as he forced the undead back. But Willow saw how he stuttered, thanks to his earlier wound. Reading the movement, Willow ran to her right, and Normund swept his blade to turn the Undead's back toward Willow, who immediately lunged for a wide sweep this time.

Before her attack connect, the Undead jumped aside, out of their reach, and Willow's sword went through the air. Both Willow and Normund glanced to their left, where they saw the undead running toward the unarmed Josha.

"Josha! Run!" Josha turned and sprinted toward the pool. With no hesitation, he plunged down. The undead stopped just at the edge of the island. His reluctance to follow was obvious. When the undead faced Willow and Normund again, a new sword skewered his right leg just above his knee.

"Now!" Normund screamed, and they rushed the Undead. Normund delivered quick strikes, swinging into the Undead's hip, which got parried. He brought his sword down again and parried again. Until he yelled and landed a solid cut to the Undead's hip. Just like Josha's strike earlier, it didn't kill the undead; instead, his sword just got stuck. The undead then used his sword to aim at Normund, but Willow was there, changing her target from the undead to his sword to protect Normund.

The Undead saw this coming and deflected her blow. Then, in one sweeping motion, he slashed across. Steel flashed through Normund's chest, deep. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Normund reeled backward, clutching his chest where blood spurted. Colour left his face, and the man crumpled backward.

"Normund!" Josha screamed, trying to pull his sword off. The undead stared down with cruel intent and stabbed down. But Willow already put her sword in motion, bringing it high up and in one deadly downstroke, cutting across the Undead's right hand. His hand fell, and along with it his sword. Josha reached and caught the Undead's sword, and once again skewered it through the Undead's other leg.

Willow drew her sword back to prepare for another slash; this time, she intended to cut the Undead's neck, but then the corpse' gaze pierced her. He lunged forward, slamming his shoulder into Willow's chest, and they went tumbling down. Unlucky for her, the Undead was above her, pinning her down. He opened his mouth, about to bite down, until screams resounded behind her. Shadows pass by her. Three humans charged in with their own swords. The Undead had reached down and swept Normund's sword.

He blocked one sword coming for his throat despite being left-handed only. In expert swordmanship, he punished his first assailant by cutting across the neck and flowing to redirect a second strike masterfully, so that the second assailant's sword blocked the third from attacking. He lunged forward, ramming his sword through one girl's neck—the young man behind was forced to catch his impaled friend's body along with the Undead, and they fell.

Willow groggily stood only to watch the Undead cut into the other young man's chest after wresting away the girl's body. He turned at her then, with one hand. Willow brought her sword up. She let her body settle. Beside her, Josha arrived with a new sword—fresh tears dropped from his chin. He looked at Willow, and they both nodded to each other. Willow screamed. She screamed to summon her courage to move. Josha lunged with a thrust, forcing the undead to focus on deflecting.

When Willow was about to bring her sword down on the Undead's neck, he jumped back again. Both of them let out a frustrated hiss. Then, behind the undead, thick blue mist drifted in, consuming his body and spreading toward Willow and Josha.

"What the hell is this—" A hand grasped Willow and Josha. Through the mist, she made out a brimhat and a prompt blare. [Frost Witch—Level 1]"Come with me," came a whisper. Willow allowed herself to be led. The cold crept through her skin and seeped into her bones. Breathing came with an overwhelming cold that spread like a heavy fog inside her throat. But she braved it all.

"Josha, you go first." The figure had a swirling cloak that rimmed with bright blue frost. Josha charged forward, his sword swinging at the undead, who deflected it in the last second. They fight awkwardly and slowly inside the thick mist. The figure went into a run, dragging Willow with her.

"Remember how you hate butchering animals? So you practice your strike to behead them in one swing? Well, Mera time to put—" No, Willow's throat tightened.

"No, I don't," Willow said, as the cold choked her throat like a ghastly hand.

"What?" Shera hesitated, but Willow did not. They were now behind the undead. Right behind the figure of Dorian, Mera's fiancée. A brief melancholy went through her body. A tear slid down her cheek. She lunged onward, drawing her sword beside her leg, and in one broad sweep, she struck, parting the undead's neck halfway. The monster's head craned to his left. His body followed, and in one motion, the undead fell down. When collapsing to the ground, his head rolled through and fell into the pool with a plunge.

Willow stood still, not moving. She did not even notice when the thick mist disappeared. Shera was there, along with Josha. They stared at Willow, who sighed and lifted her head. She held their eyes.

"She is gone?" Shera asked through a choked sound.

"Yes," Willow said.

"Get me out of here. I don't know where I am. And this." She opened her palm, letting her sword roll down.

"This. What is this? What's happening?" [You grow stronger] [Guard—Level 2] Enhancement [Strong Strike] [2 Strength] [Strong Strike]—The Guard's sword will be firmer in her hand. Her strike will be stronger as the Guard requires strength to kill to protect.

"Mera did say something about pulling a soul from the Bright Star," Josha said, hanging his eyes down. He put a hand on the sigil of the giant tree and, in an authoritative voice, said, "I'm sorry for dragging you into this. We will explain everything, of course, but it's not safe here. May I have your name, outworlder?" The last part came a bit cold.

"Does it matter!" Shera snapped. The girl's tears drenched her cheeks. Her blue collar led down into a light blue robe. She pulled her brimhat down to cover her eyes.

"They are all dead. Only us two and her…"

"Willow, my name is Willow." Shera gritted her teeth and turned around, running to her dead friend. Josha gave her a bow with his hand still clenched on the sigil.

"Let us check for—survivors." His tone was small—he clearly thought there wouldn't be any. After a minute, they finally faced Willow, who found a rock to lean on. She had been trying to avoid looking at the blood pooling across the rocks. Anger flashed within her. Anger at them for doing something so stupid. At Mera for well… this. She might be bored with her life, but that didn't mean she wished to get into a bloody fight like— She hesitated.

There were moments where she felt alive, where she didn't mind—"Are you all right?" The voice startled her. Willow almost backed her head into the rock. She opened her mouth, but closed it when Josha, with his still grief-stricken face, knelt just in front of her. He offered her a hand, and Willow took it, letting him pull her up.

"Silly question."

"I guess it is," Josha replied with a small smile. They walked, and Shera trailed behind them, still hiding her face with her brimmed hat. Passing the Liches' corpses, their chests had been cut open. Blood drenched the cave flooring behind them. Even in death, the creature still looked creepy.

"It's for the Class Stone. They found one working—a miracle that saved our lives. Don't worry, you'll be properly compensated for it. It's your kill after all."

"Right," Willow mumbled, her hand on her sword's handle just for the warmth it gave her.

"Can I go back?"

"Go back?" Somehow, Josha appeared surprised by the question, which was a normal one for Willow.

"Go back… I'm sorry, I don't think it's possible. Besides, why do you—""Do you really want to go back? After Everything? After you took her body?" Shera, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up, fire blazing in her eyes. She strode up to Willow, tears shimmering. Drawing a deep breath through her nose, she glared at her.

"You wish to be here."

"What are you talking about?" She bit her lips until blood welled. Willow did not see Shera's hand coming. The slap rang across the cave.