The village was tainted in blood, a canvas of severed limbs and shattered bones. Daniel and Klav fought through the chaos, their breaths ragged, their bodies pushed beyond exhaustion.
Daniel and Klav ascended to another bunch of five bandits, slaying them brutally, as their bodies torn into pieces. Their blood spread like a rainstorm on the ground, while Klav's skill froze them long enough for the blade to rend muscle and bone.
A bandit's arm hung by a shred of sinew, another's chest split open, guts spilling onto the cobblestones. The air reeked of copper and shit. The screams of the crackle of burning homes, an ambience in the background.
There are more than a thought. This is so... fucked. Daniel thought, gritting his teeth as he rushed to slay more bandits, with Klav closely trailing behind him, like a puppy.
At the village's edge, the Boss stood motionless, his cloaked figure a shadow against the flames. His staff glowed faintly, runes pulsing, but he didn't move. A malicious grin curled his lips, his eyes glinting with cold calculation as he surveyed the slaughter.
Daniel caught the grin, his stomach twisting. That fucker's planning something. He's just watching, waiting. The Boss's stillness was a mockery, a predator toying with wounded prey, and it set Daniel's nerves on edge.
A C-rank bandit loomed ahead, a slab of muscle wielding a spiked club crusted with dried blood.
Klav, his face slick with sweat, raised a trembling hand. "Chrono Severance," he gasped, mana surging.
The air cracked, and the bandit froze, his club raised mid-swing, locked in a temporal prison. Daniel didn't hesitate. He lunged, the Lightblade flashing gold despite his pitiful five mana points. The blade tore into the frozen bandit, slashing through leather armor and flesh with sickening ease. Ribs parted, blood welling but held by time's grip.
Daniel hacked again, carving through the man's neck, the blade biting deep. When Klav released the spell, the bandit collapsed, his body a mangled ruin, blood and entrails gushing as time resumed. His head lolled free, rolling across the dirt with a wet thud.
Daniel panted, his shoulders screaming from the graze of an earlier axe. Without Klav's freezes, a C-rank person would've been a one-on-one match, and he'd be fucked.
The difference in D- to C-rank is so vast. Plus, this five-year-old is already at its limits. I don't know how much more I can sustain, before I die again.
Klav's magic was their edge, their chance of "victory," but the boy's stamina was fading fast. High-ranking inborn or even learned skills and spells drained the user's stamina very fast, no matter how much stamina you had, you would be drained fast.
"You good?" Daniel grunted, his voice hoarse.
Klav nodded, his eyes bloodshot. "...Barely. One more. Maybe..."
Daniel's gaze snapped to two more bandits fighting, moving like they'd trained together. The taller one, a C-rank swordsman with scars criss crossing his arms, wielded a broadsword with brutal precision. Gorran, they called him, a veteran who'd survived a dozen raids. Beside him was a D-rank kid, scrawny, barely sixteen, clutching a dagger with trembling hands. Tobin, the rookie, his face pale as bone, eyes darting like a trapped rat. They were a mismatched pair, but Gorran's experience made them dangerous.
Daniel glanced at Klav, who gave a weary nod. Klav summoned two mana spheres, their glow dimmer now, and hurled them with what strength he had left. The orbs streaked through the air, aimed at the bandits' chest chests. Gorran's reflexes kicked in; he twisted, the sphere grazing his shoulder, blood trickling down his arm.
"Fucking magic!" he spat, eyes narrowing. Tobin wasn't so quick. The sphere hit him square in, the chest, and he froze, his dagger raised, mouth open in a scream that never came.
Gorran flinched, startled by the kid's sudden stillness, but his sword stayed ready. Then he saw him—Daniel, charging like a feral beast, the Lightblade gleaming with divine wrath.
"You little shit!" Gorran roared, swinging his broadsword.
Daniel ducked, the blade whistling over his head, but Gorran was fast, his experience a wall Daniel couldn't breach easily. The veteran's blade slashed again, forcing Daniel to roll, the cobblestones biting into his back.
"Klav, another freeze!" Daniel shouted, dodging a thrust that nicked his ribs, blood seeping through his tunic.
Klav gritted his teeth, mana flickering, but he managed a weak pulse of Chrono Severance. Gorran froze for a heartbeat, his sword mid-swing. Daniel struck, aiming for the man's chest, but the spell faltered too soon.
Gorran broke free, parrying with a clang that jarred Daniel's arms. "Nice try, kid," Gorran sneered, kicking Daniel in, the stomach.
This is not good! How do I defeat him. He has more vigor than this body. And we are probably evenly matched in terms of experience. Though experience isn't the deciding factor here, it's this body.
Daniel stumbled, gasping, pain exploding in, his gut. Fuck, he's good. Too good. Gorran pressed the attack, his broadsword a blur. Daniel blocked, the Lightblade sparking against steel, but each clash pushed him back.
Klav tried to help, hurling a mana sphere, but Gorran sidestepped, the orb sizzling harmlessly into a burning cart. Tobin remained frozen, useless, a statue in, the chaos.
Daniel's arms burned, his small body no match for Gorran's strength. The veteran's blade grazed his thigh, blood welling, and Daniel staggered.
"You're done, brat," Gorran growled, raising his sword for a killing blow. Daniel's eyes flicked to Klav, who was slumped against a wall, mana spent. No more freezes. No more tricks.
Then he saw it: an opening. Gorran's stance shifted, his weight too far forward, overconfident. Daniel's heart surged. Now or never. He poured every ounce of strength into his legs, lunging forward. The Lightblade sang, a golden arc aimed at Gorran's midsection. The veteran's eyes widened, too late to react.
The blade bit deep, slicing through leather, muscle, and bone with a grotesque squelch. Blood sprayed, hot and thick, as Gorran's body split in, two, the halves toppling in, opposite directions.
His torso hit the ground first, intestines uncoiling like wet ropes, while his legs twitched, blood pooling beneath. The stench of gore choked the air, a visceral reminder of the blade's divine edge.
Daniel stood over the corpse, chest heaving, blood dripping from his blade. "Fucking bastard," he muttered, spitting on Gorran's remains. The village burned around him, screams and flames swallowing the streets.
Klav staggered to his side, his dagger trembling in, his hand. "Tobin," Klav rasped, pointing to the frozen kid.
Daniel turned, his eyes cold. Tobin was still locked in, time, his dagger raised, face twisted in, fear. Klav's spell wouldn't hold much longer. Daniel stepped forward, raising the Lightblade. "Sorry, kid," he said, his voice flat.
The spell broke, and Tobin blinked, his dagger slashing wildly. Daniel sidestepped, the Lightblade thrusting forward. The blade pierced Tobin's chest, punching through his sternum with a crack.
Blood bubbled from the kid's mouth, his eyes wide with shock, before he crumpled, the dagger clattering to the ground. A crimson pool spread beneath him, his young face frozen in death.
Klav retched, turning away from the corpse. "He was just a kid," he whispered, his voice shaking.
"He was a bandit," Daniel snapped, wiping blood from his face. "They all are. No mercy." His eyes flickered towards the Boss, still standing at the village's edge, that damn grin wider now.
What the hell is he waiting for? Daniel's grip tightened on his sword, but the chaos around them demanded his focus. Villagers fled, homes collapsed in, flames, and more bandits roamed, their laughter a sick counterpoint to the screams.
Two more bandits emerged from an alley, a D-rank archer and a C-rank spearman. The archer loosed an arrow, and Daniel dove, the shaft grazing his ear, blood trickling.
Klav ducked behind a barrel, his mana gone, his dagger his only weapon. The spearman charged, his weapon aimed at Daniel's chest. Daniel parried, the Lightblade deflecting the spear, but the force knocked him back. The archer nocked another arrow, aiming for Klav.
"Move!" Daniel shouted, tackling Klav as the arrow thudded into the barrel. The spearman thrust again, the blade slicing Daniel's arm, blood welling.
Fuck, they're coordinated. Daniel rolled, slashing at the spearman's legs. The blade cut deep, severing muscle, blood spurting as the man screamed and fell. Daniel finished him with a thrust to the throat, blood gushing like a fountain.
The archer panicked, fumbling for another arrow. Klav, finding a burst of courage, hurled his dagger. It struck the archer's shoulder, blood blooming, and the man dropped his bow, cursing.
Daniel closed the distance, his Lightblade slashing across the archer's chest. The blade tore through leather and flesh, ribs cracking, blood spraying in, a wide arc. The archer collapsed, his body twitching, blood pooling beneath.
Daniel and Klav stood amidst the carnage, their breaths labored, bodies bloodied. The square was a graveyard, bodies strewn like broken dolls, the cobblestones slick with gore. Daniel's eyes locked on the Boss, who hadn't moved, his grin a taunt.
"You're next," Daniel muttered, his voice low and deadly.
Klav clutched his side, wincing. "We can't keep this up, Daniel. There's too many."
Daniel's jaw tightened. "We don't have a choice. They hit my house, Klav. They almost got Mom and Elira. I'm not stopping until every last one of these fuckers is dead." A pause, then he apologized for his language to Klav: "Sorry for my language."
Klav gave a faint smile. He finally noticed his cursing, after cursing like a grown man all this time. He thought, then he remembered how Daniel had bluntly told him the truth. I guess it can't be helped, since his mind is that of a middle-aged person.
The Boss raised his staff-sword, the runes flaring bright, and Daniel braced himself. The bastard's finally moving. The village burned, the air thick with smoke and death, but Daniel's resolve was iron.
He and Klav would fight, bleed, and kill until the Boss fell, or they did. The Lightblade hummed, hungry for more blood, and Daniel charged into the fray, Klav at his side, ready to end this.