Chapter 4 - The Beginning (Actual Prologue of the game)


"Lethita?"

"Yes sir."

Marrec walks towards Captain Aodhan as he gives him the name of the latest recruit.

Aodhan: "That's a weird name..."

Marrec: "Aye captain, a silent one at that too."

Aodhan: "Hmm, the other day I saw him around town; he seems quite young...as long as he's up for it I guess... Where did you say he hailed from?"

Marrec: "The boy said he came from the northwest. He was a wreck when we found him limping on the side of the road. He had his clothes torn and leather paddings worn out. He was sitting beside one of the trees breathing heavily while clutching his two swords. His head poured out buckets of blood. Poor fellow hadn't eaten in days. It looked like he's been through hell..."

Aodhan ponders while sitting in his seat in the mercenary outpost. Marrec stood in front of the table as he wonders what the captain is thinking about now.

"Wait a minute... Northwest you say? Didn't one of the recent Royal Army reports mention a discovery of a village in the northwest ransacked by Fomors a couple of days ago?"

Marrec: "Yes, but no survivors were found. The best guess was that the town had been wiped clean. The strangest part was that the town folks were all buried nicely."

Aohdan: "This may sound ridiculous, Marrec, but you don't suppose the boy's fro-"

"EMERGENCY!"

A mercenary scout runs into the outpost panting heavily.

Merc Scout: "Ca-captain..! Pant... Pant..."

Out of breath, the scout finds it hard to deliver his message.

Aodhan: "What is it?"

Unalarmed, Aodhan asks in a calm voice after losing his train of thought, although that is hardly of importance as of now.

"Wen-Wendshardt is in frenzy and is attacking the town! The guards tried to calm her down but they were bashed and slammed down!"

Marrec: "What...?!"

Marrec gasps as the shock sinks in. He looks at the scout and back to Aodhan for commands.

Aodhan gets up from his seat and organizes a series of commands.

"Marrec, gather the wounded and have the townsfolk care for them, march all readily-available mercs and man the ballistae to Wenshardt. Slowly corner her to the outside of town. I want every one of the citizens evacuated away."

Marrec: "Yes Cap'n!"


I was just sitting down on a stool in the town inn leaning on a table when one of the squadron leaders in full equipment came rushing through the door.

"Blades! Get ready to move!"

All of a sudden, every mercenary who is visible in the inn got up and packed their equipment to move out. Marrec looked my way and my gaze meets his.

"That includes you too rookie! You're one of us now. You can get a new set of the premium uniform set from Ernmass. He's probably setting up your room upstairs in the very end. Get changed and meet along with the other mercs. And make it fast!"

I nod, got up and quickly walked up the stairs towards my room, the farthest one down the hall. It has only been a bit after a week since the destruction of my village. Strangely enough, i can't remember anything past that. I was lucky enough to meet a patrol squad of the Crimson Blade Mercenaries who took me in during my time of need. Broke and homeless, I can only earn my living through selling my abilities as a mercenary.

I walk into the room to see old man Ernmass working hard to set up blankets on my soon-to-be bed. His white hair and skinny body can only suggest he's had a simple and earnest life.

"Hmm...?"

He turns his head my way with a fatherly smile as he finishes making the bed just when I walk in. His spectacles seemingly take away the wrinkles from his tired, aged face.

"Ah, you must be the new guy. I'd love to chat but I heard noises downstairs and I don't want to delay the urgency. You probably came to get your mercenary uniform huh? It's laid out on the chair. I'll just leave you to your business now."

As he leaves through the door, he looks my way once again with a smile.

"Oh, before I forget, welcome to Colhen and do watch yourself out there..."

Ernmass exits the room and his footsteps slowly sound more distant as time passes. His last words pack a powerful interpretation to me. Ernmass may not have been through many hardships, but the amount he's seen has probably shaped him to who he is today... Possibly many of them were of new mercenaries showing up for a few days and then disappearing the next...

I get lost in thought as I change into my uniform set. It has a dull grayish color and it does not seem very protective. A somewhat thin layer of paddings, very light as well. My old leather paddings offered more than this. But I can't complain. Reaching out to help me was already more than what I should be thankful for. After putting on the set, I take a look at the final piece, the helmet. It's made of metal and is a bit heavy. It just covers the whole head and the area in front of the eyes is movable. I take the helmet and snap it on. It fits perfectly onto my head. The movable plate surprisingly does not block off too much vision given the protection it offers, although the holes in between the area are quite a hindrance to my movements. I reach for my swords strapped to my sides. The blades have dulled and not taken care of since the attack on my village. I grip them as I dash outside the inn, hoping that it would last me another fight, and I run towards the crowd gathering before an under-construction bell tower. Even thought the day is setting, the sun is nowhere in sight.

A shrouding shadow engulfs the sky slowly and slowly... Still incomplete, the hollow bell tower gives off an ominous aura around it. Out of nowhere, a giant spider emerges from the base of the bell tower and smashes into the bell tower wall. Never have I seen such an enormous Fomor, nonetheless defeating one as well. My blood boils upon seeing this sight. Mercs are pushing ballistae closer and closer to the bell tower with each step.

"C'MON BLADES, LET'S MOVE!"

"YES SIR!"

Mercs march onwards. Dressing the same as them, I blend in with the mobile squadron. This familiar scene...feels nostalgic...yet sorrowful... My hands begin trembling as I walk closer towards the tower. Visions of burning town and endless bodies dropped onto the ground flash before my eyes. I try to suppress my screams and fear as I walk on. This shouldn't be having much impact on me. My hands form fists to try directing attention away from the visions.

"Get yourself together, rookie!"

One of the squadron leaders, presumably the same one as before, slaps me on the shoulder and proceeds to the front of the crowd. That slap certainly brought me back to my senses. I have changed... No survivors. None. At. All. I stare blankly at the scene once again, now wondering how we will engage the spider.

The squad leader walks up to a man in his armor attire and a single feathered large helmet that marks his leadership above the rest.

"Hey, what the hell is going on?"

The man, presumably the captain of the mercenaries, looks back at him.

"We got him cornered."

Finally reaching the base of the tower, the captain distinctly shouts out procedures.

"Ready the ballistae!"

"Yes, sir!"

The mercenaries manning the ballistae aimed the tip towards the spider still rampaging through the bell tower, causing all the construction to go to waste. Wooden and sturdy, the ballistaes creak as the arch of the mouth was lowered.

"GWEEEEEEEEEE!"

The spider shrieks as it pummels through the bell tower. Broken construction pieces and debris fall as it crashes into them while climbing to the top.

"He's climbing the bell tower!"

The captain then holds his left hand up to signal the firing.

"Load ballistae!"

The squad leader looks at the captain.

"But Captain, the tower will collapse if we fire right now."

"Doesn't matter. Prepare to fire!"

Out of nowhere, a girl, blonde haired and dressed in priestess-like sleeveless white clothing, suddenly positions herself in front of a ballista. Arms wide open to completely block the ballista's line of fire. Her graceful figure does not integrate very well with the scene before me, but I am too focused on the enormous spider crawling to the top of the tower to care.

"Stop!"

Suddenly, the captain raises his right arm to signal stopping.

"Stop! Hold!"

Immediately following his command, the squad leader turns around and waves both arms in the air.

"Hold fire!"

A chain reaction that started off with one word and one movement, all mercenaries are alert by the abrupt order.

"Hold fire!"

"Hold fire!"

By the sudden turn of events, I turn my attention to the appearance of this girl with delicate pale white skin. She has beautiful golden locked hair that swayed back and forth upon her instant arrival. Her blue eyes compliment the image of an ideal human girl and her ideal human figure. Pure beauty.

The squad leader turns around once again to face the girl.

"Tieve, it's dangerous! Move out of the way!"

The captain also speaks up to the girl.

"Tieve, what are you doing?"

The girl, Tieve, looks at the captain with a worried look on her sweet and innocent face. Her hands are grasped together and seems like she's about to beg them for something.

Tieve: "Aodhan. Please give me some time. He's not usually this violent. I'll talk to him."

Who is she? Can a civilian just walk up and stop the whole group?

Aodhan: "People's lives are in danger. That's no longer the town's guardian. It's just a monster. Move aside!

Town's guardian? That thing?

Tieve: "But... Haa..."
The girl sighs.

Aodhan: "Let us handle this. Reload ballistae!"

The captain orders the troops once again.

Mercenaries: "Reload!"

The girl runs in front of the ballistae once more. How reckless... I thought.

Marrec: "Oracle, we don't have much time!"

Oracle?

Tieve: "Marrec, don't you trust me? I must go up there! He's frightened. He's terrified. I can hear his voice..."

The captain sighs to give in to the oracle. Marrec looks at the captain for his sudden change in attitude.

Aodhan: "All right, but I go with you. Marrec, grab some men and follow."

Marrec: "Yes sir! Follow the captain!"

"Yes sir!"

I look around to see several mercenaries voluntarily started following the captain and the squad leader, while the rest stayed behind. Should I go too? I mean, I can stay behind and... No, I'm definitely going. I'm not about to let any chance to slay Fomors pass. As the last volunteer, I walk towards the bell tower. I feel my blood boiling as I anticipate what will next.

I see another mercenary walking ahead of me. He (she?) has quite a slender figure and walks with gentle sway on his hips. I can't really tell because everyone has a helmet over their head. Actually...everyone has the same gears too. The helmet, the armor, a sword and a small buckler. Other than me and the squad leader Marrec who dual wields swords, everyone else looks very identical.

This lack of variety will probably result in a lot of casualties, if the Fomors learn how to counter the mercenaries. That is, 'if'. Still, they should at least change their fighting style by a bit.

Before I even realize, we have already reached the entrance to the tower. The wooden gates stand tall and sturdy before the group of mercs.

The captain aggressively kicks open the doors and cautiously step inside, with the rest of us following closely behind.

Wow, quite the flashy entrance. And quite unnecessary.

The captain surveys the environment immediately. He then holds out his arm to signal stop to the others.

Aodhan: "Wait! Don't move!"

Captain Aodhan then suddenly stops in place, bends down and picks up a skull-like ornament from the cold stone floor. It had a strange symbol on the forehead of the skull. It probably belonged to a gnoll because of the thin width.

"A Fomorian emblem... What's this doing here?"

Suddenly, the girl screams and the sound of arrows fly through the air.

"Aaaarrrrrrrgghhg!"

The first casualty was the captain. Then followed the squad leader.

"AMBUSH!"

"PREPARE FOR BATTLE!"

Several Fomors appear from the other side and fired arrows at us. From the looks of their figure, the Fomors appear to be gnolls, covered with brown fur and very animal-like walking. Everyone has fallen except for me, the oracle, and the slender merc from earlier.

Since I was in the back line as we came in, all of the arrows struck the mercs in front. With us three left standing, I unsheathe my swords to prepare the onslaught.

Marrec: "R-rookies...pr-protect the oracle..."

With one last breath before falling unconscious, the squad leader gives us the final order.

Leaving us no time to ponder, the gnoll archers fire their arrows upon us 3 once again. The slender merc shields himself perfectly with his wooden buckler.

One arrow whizzes past my head as I get distracted to the merc performing a perfect guard. He seems quite experienced.

I shift my weight to my right side and my right foot in front in order to make my battle stance. I take a deep breath in...and I exhale slowly. My mind is clear now. I then direct my attention to the dozens of arrows flying at us.

The arrows are slow... I tilt my head to the left side to easily dodge the first arrow aimed at me. I lean forward to dodge the second arrow aimed at my face. I then take my first step forward toward the mobs. Unable to keep track of the next sequence of arrows, I duck my head and dash forward past the arrows. Every single arrow shot whizzed past me.

These Fomors are incomparable to the ones I've faced in my village. They're just too weak.

"Kyaaah!"

Just after I ridicule them, the girl screams in terror as the next wave of arrows come flying towards her.
The slender merc is still too busy with guarding himself. I guess it's up to me then.

The arrows fired upon her are a lot faster than the ones aimed at me. Their speed certainly caught me off guard.

Whoosh. Whoosh. The arrows fly at an incredible speed.

Too late to reach her in time, I sprint towards the first arrow of the wave. I slash it vertically just before it reaches the girl.

Sigh... Close call.

Immediately turning my attention to the rest of the wave, I notify the oracle to step back. I then proceed to cut up every arrow coming our way. I can't afford to make mistakes now, especially not to these pitiful arrow shots. Even though the arrows flew faster than before, they're still quite slow...compared to those goblin spear-throwers...

"Th-thank you..."

With no time to rest, I dash towards the archers on the other side. The weakness of archers is their reload time. Once they fire, they are vulnerable to all kinds of attack. That's when I go in, fast and instant.

I reach the Fomorian archers without any trouble at all. Astonished by my speed, they struggle to reload their bow and to fire again...but it's too late. I stomp forward with my left foot and with both of my swords, I swing them outward, creating a horizontal slash that shapes a fan. It perfectly executes all Fomors in its range. I then readjust my grasp and lunge to my right to cut down the ones outside the range of my fanning slash.

The Fomor archers growl in pain as they fall literally within seconds of each other. I stare coldly at my fallen enemies. Their fur looks very warm and comfortable. They can probably be made into armor or coats. Not the ones in front though, they're too blood-stained. More blood continues to trickle down to the stone floor as I am lost in thought.

"B-behind you!"

While focusing on the gnoll fur, the girl yells for the ambush with my back turned. I turn around but it's too late. A taller and muscular version of the gnolls has already swung its spiked gnoll club. There is absolutely no way to dodge this. This is gonna hurt. I attempt to block it with my hands after I drop both swords to try and pick up speed.

Just inches before the spiked club reach my head, the melee gnoll gets knocked sideways. The other merc shield bashed it so hard that it knocked the gnoll unconscious.

"...Thanks."

I quietly mumble out my thanks after the close call. He nods back in response. I'm indebted to him now.

Leaving an enemy alive is dangerous, so I picked up my swords and stabbed the throat of the unconscious gnoll. It makes a disgusting gargle sound before it completely stops moving.

"I'll repay the favor someday."

He looks at me for a while. Then he silently walks toward the wooden staircase leading to the upper floor. I can't understand his way of thinking. Doesn't a response such as 'I'll be counting on you then' or 'don't mention it' usually follow? Now isn't the time to think about that. Analyzing personality and actions can come later.

The three of us proceed successfully onto the second floor while I get bombarded with questions of concern from the girl.

"Are you alright? You didn't get hurt, did you?"

The other merc stayed silent along the way. To each his own.

Who the fuck designed this crappy tower anyways? The staircase to the next floor is ON THE OTHER FUCKING SIDE! It's like the bell tower is made to prevent invasion or something! And it's built so damn high too! From the height alone, I bet there are at least 4 floors for us to go through until we reach the bell. Why would you something so inconvenient to have access to? What if something happens and the bell needs to be rang? Are the runners suppose to run across each floor to get to the next? And by the time they reach the bell, I bet half the town is already destroyed or something.

I'm not even surprised that the second floor also have a bunch of Fomors just waiting there for us to come up, attempting to set an ambush.

I jump into the mob, slitting throats as I walk past each one. The archers aren't even trying. By the time they are ready to aim, they're already dead. With a bunch of dead bodies lying around me, I look over to the rest of the us. The merc is busy fending off other Fomor attackers while trying to keep the girl safe at the same time.

Why did we even come up here? Why not just shoot the damn spider to get it over with. Isn't the girl scared? There is death everywhere. With me alone, I have already downed quite a number of gnolls.

No... I'm wrong. She is scared. I see her shaking behind the merc's back. I should go help out.

I dash towards my companions and suddenly I had to jump to the side as a gnoll came flying backwards towards my direction.

The merc stabilizes himself after an extraordinary kick which blasted all the gnolls in front of him. Then he beautifully cuts down the rest in one fluid motion; a diagonal swing from the top right connected with a horizontal slash followed by another diagonal slash towards the top left, then he executed the rest with an all-around horizontal slash.

Although his attacks are slow compared to mine, but his steady movements allows time and room for correction or to change his attack pattern.

With the room cleared of Fomor gnolls, we move on once again across the floor to the staircase leading to the next floor.

I can't help but to wonder just what exactly makes it worth for this girl in white to come up this tower filled with ambushers and meet with an out of control giant spider. First of all, why does this town even have a giant spider? Second of all, giant spider? Maybe a human sized spider is okay but a giant spider? I mean this monster is like huge. It takes up about half a room in the tower we're in. I don't know about them town folks, but that's pretty dangerous.

The third floor had less Fomors than the previous two. I think they learned from the other floors' mistakes because as soon as we popped up from the staircase, every single one of them jumped at us. Thankfully, the merc went first, so his shield blocked everything. I'm surprised at the amount of damage that thing can take. A usual wooden buckler would be broken in pieces already, yet his is still intact, except of a few arrows stuck on it...which played a favor in our defense. The gnolls who smashed their weapons down at the merc had not expected the back of the arrows to stab them, so they died. The rest got their faces cut and slashed while they growled in pain. I walked up and ended their misery...slowly... I let them feel the sharpness of my blades' tip on their throat before I pushed them in. The others looked in fear and awaited their death, one by one. I made sure the last one had lost all hope of surviving before I ended it. It...truly felt exhilarating. Ahahaha...

The girl was too scared to know what was happening and the other merc just plain didn't give a damn. I wonder what the girl will do once we do reach the spider.

The other side did not have a staircase, but an exit. It lead to the outside. As we moved towards the exit, the ceiling suddenly collapsed right on top of us.

"Kyaaaah!"

First thought in mind was to protect the oracle. I toss away my swords to the side to lessen weight and increase mobility. The debris fell down hard as I tackled the girl to safety while turning myself back towards the floor to make sure that she lands on me once we impacted the ground.

"Fuck."

As soon as we landed, pain and fatigue both hit me at once.

"Argh..."

Long and extensive battles are...really exhausting...

Smoke and dust still circulate the air even after the collapse.

*Cough cough*

I look around the aftermath and I see the merc standing perfectly fine just a bit far away from us two.

Now the only worry is the oracle.

"Hey, are you alright?"

The girl did not respond as I sit her and myself up from the floor.

"Hey, hey! Oracle!"

It seems that she fell unconscious. The merc walks over to us to see what's going on.

"She's unconscious."

"..."
He says nothing.

"Looks like one of us is going to have to carry her. You wanna do it or do you want me to?"

He just...stares at me. I'm starting to feel uncomfortable.

"...Err, I guess I'll do it...?"

The merc nods and proceeds to the exit area. There will be less killing for me as the silent one will have to protect both of us now from any harm. I pick up my scattered swords and clasp them on my waist. They are now stained with blood and dust. These will need to be properly cleaned these once this is over. The sharpness hasn't dulled much because they have only been in contact with flesh, and I haven't stabbed these too deep into Fomor bone to dent them yet. But the dullness from the battle in my hometown still played a huge part in decreasing my performance. I feel that I can make cleaner cuts and slices with sharper blades.

I lift up the girl into my arms in a princess carrying style and followed after the guy.

A cold wind blew at us as soon as I reached the open space exit. The only path to take is the wooden planks set on the unfinished construction field. It doesn't feel stable as I walk across the platform hoping to the goddess that they won't suddenly crumble for me and the girl to fall through. I see the merc bashing a couple of melee and archer gnolls off the path. Their screams of terror grow distant as they fall deeper down towards ground. I shudder at the thought of the same result happening to me.

Somehow we managed to get across safely. No other Fomors appeared during our dangerous plank walk.

Once we have reached the other side, we felt the floor shake a bit. There are stone steps leading to the upper level. I can only deduce that the giant spider is somewhere up there.

"Gweeeeeeeeeeh!"

The loud screech of the giant spider puts us on alert. To my surprise, the screech have woken up the sleeping beauty in my arms.

"Wen-Wenshardt?"

The girl speaks some unknown word as soon as she opens her eyes. Seeing her awake, I carefully let her down. She has stopped shaking. Is she not in fear anymore after hearing the spider? What a strange girl.

"Oh... Thank you very much."

I nod at her appreciation and signal for us to move on to the next level. With adrenaline pumping in my system again, I carefully lead the two while clutching my swords for any sudden ambushes lying in wait.

The first thing come into view is THE GIANT SPIDER. It waited at the top and seemed to have calmed down now because obviously the girl thought it was still harmless so she simply ran up to it, hugged one of its furry claws, leaned in and started talking to it. I can't believe she's so trusting. And I can't believe the spider hasn't devoured her yet.

Since it seemed safe for her to far, I watched from a close distance. The same goes for the other merc as well. Once danger arises, I'll be the first to pull her out of the fray while the merc will defend against any surprise attacks. That seems to be the plan his beautiful grey eyes have told me, or at least how I understood it. Heh, he's taking advantage of my speed already. What a tactful guy.

"It's alright now."

The giant spider breathes heavily, struggling to maintain control.

"It's alright."

"Gwwwwhhhh."

"Shhh."

"Gwwhh."

"You'll be fine. Why did you attack?"

"Tell me. Why were you so scared?"

"Who did what?"

"Gwhhh."

"Who?"

The weird emblem same as the skull reappears on the spider's head and it resumes attacking.

I had a feeling that it was going to happen.

"GWEEEEE!"

The claw that the girl was holding on suddenly jerks upwards, causing the girl to fumble to the ground.

"Kyaaah!"

With a menacing screech, the claw come crashing down at the girl. It struck nothing. I had already taken her to safety as soon as the spider became fully aggressive again.

Unsatisfied, the spider prepared to lunge at us. It pulled all of it's limbs back and made a jumping motion. Since its movements were very obvious, we managed to avoid it rather successfully. I placed the girl down on the stone steps and told her to be safe.

"Let us handle it."

Her pretty face made a worried expression.

"Please be careful..."

I turn away from her and returned to the battlefield. The spider screeches once again. Giant spider vs two mercenaries. This seems fair.

Shivers run down my spine. After seeing it up close and personal, its size is just too large for us to be able to do any substantial damage. We'll get pummeled before we can even hit it!

The first move was made by the other merc. He sprinted toward the monster tried to do a round-house kick. The spider jumped backwards and prepared to lunge once again. His foot still hasn't touched the ground yet and he was completely vulnerable for the lunge, unless I do something.

I dash towards the spider's left(my right) and executed my first strike, Rising Crescent, which was readjusted for a dual wielder. I swung my right sword in a diagonal direction towards my top right, my left followed consecutively to stop the lunge of the spider. The swords dug into two left legs of the spider. The wounds weren't deep enough to cause any major damage but enough to hurt it to stop its attack. Damn, if only my blades were sharp enough to cut deeper in... The spider screech in pain and twisted itself at me at an incredible speed.

With no time nor the thought of dodging, I take the hit head on.

"Guuaaahhh!"

It's frontal left claw smashed me right in the chest. I get knocked to the side. Thankfully, it was a desperate defense maneuver, none of my bones were broken...yet. Pain remained in my upper body. My chest is now bare open after it had cut up my merc uniform. No more carelessness from now on.

While the spider turned its attention on towards me, the merc took this opportunity to successfully land a complete combo on the spider's right side. However, the carapace is just too hard to break through. The spider turns towards the merc, turning its back against me.

This is pretty stupid. If this keeps up , we'll wear it down before we're down. While it's focusing on one of us, the other one can attack. We can just win like that.

Plans don't go as well as you expect in reality though. I thought its back would be defenseless but...it jumped backwards at me and knocked me down underneath it. Pain overwhelms me as I try to attack it while being pinned under it. Its weight pushes down on me. I can't move.

"Argh!"

I groan as I struggle to get away, but it's pointless.

Suddenly, the spider jumped away and I somehow managed to get back on my feet, yet struggling hard to even stand.

*CRASH*

The sound of wood breaking as soon as the spider landed pierces through the air. The spider has smashed through the merc's shield, completely shattered his defense, and knocked the guy backwards 7 meters. That was a full force attack with all of its weight! Taking a direct hit like that... What was he thinking?! Can he even be alive?

Unrelenting, the spider went after the immobile merc. Damn... I owe him one, this is the time to repay the favor.

I clutch my sword, hard, then turning it around to throw it at the spider in a spear-like motion. The sword stabs the spider in its back shell.

"Screeeeech!"

The spider stops moving...and...slowly...it turns itself around towards me. Cold sweat trickles down my back. Haha...fuck.

"Oracle, please drag him to safety!"

Still putting the safety of the merc before me, I shout out to the girl to take him somewhere safe.

"H-him?"

The girl looks at me worried and confused. Wait. Confused?

"The merc! One that's lying down on the ground!"

"O-Ok!"

"GWEEEEEEEEEEH!"

The spider screeches yet again. Shit. Shit shit shit. I stand here before the giant monster. It...it knows. It knows that I can't take it down alone. And it knows that I have nowhere to run. Fuck.

Fear has now driven into my body. I...I can't move... My legs won't do what I want. I stand here alone, before the monstrosity. I'm tired and injured. I don't have any chance of winning... Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!

And it...just stares at me. Its creepy eyes glare at me. It knows... It knows! The feeling of despair that you have just moments before your death.

Fear...! My body won't respond because I'm too scared to do anything! There is no hope! Dammit... Am I just going to die like this? Am I just going to die in a place of nowhere?

The spider slowly crawls towards me. It knows that it can kill me any time now. I can only stand here waiting for my death.

Sure, I will die in battle... But...I haven't done enough worthy of my village's massacre...yet...yet... Yet. Yet. Yet! Yet! Yet! YET! YET! YET!

Who says I will die here and now? Who says I can't defeat this spider in front of me?! So what if I'm tired and injured?! All I need to do, is to make less movements and take no more damage! Fear? Ha! Haha! Hahaha! Yes. I am tired. And I am in pain. But fear? I'm not scared! Hahaha! Scared? Fear?

I grimace. I make the biggest grin I can ever make. I clench my teeth while I continue to smile. No. I'm not going to die here. As long as a sword is in my possession. I will fight to my last breath. I will not fall. I will not break. I...will...make a difference!

My blood is boiling. My pain is subsiding. My fatigue is disappearing. And me? I'm ascending.

"CHYYAAAAAH!"

I charge. With my sword. My brother's sword. I slip underneath the spider before it has any time to react. And...I start cutting. Firstly is its underside, completely vulnerable. I thrust my sword deep into its carapace with both hands. My strength is hard enough to penetrate its tough exoskeleton, and I continue forth to widen the wound.

"HHHNNNNGGGHGG"

I slice it open and cut a few of its limps. My brother's sword now has large dents that can be commonly found on the blade.

"GWWEEEEEEEEHHH!"

The spider screech in pain from my deep wounds. But I continue. I get out from underneath to face the spider's back. As it turns around in a furious manner, I slice one of its eye with a single Rising Crescent, which was just what I was waiting for.

Enraged, the spider lunges at me with great speed. But I dodge that quickly. A simple dash to the side was just enough to avoid its charge.

The spider crashes into one of the wall. The force of impact causes debris to fall and further damage the injured spider.

Out of nowhere, sounds of ballistae firing reach my ear. Wait. What the fuck. Why did they fire? Don't they realize that we're up here?

The spider breaks free from the collisions and charges at me once again. We have the spider AND the ballistae coming towards me now...

The spider lunges, I dodge to the side.

"Hah... Hah... Haaaah..."

My stamina is taking a turn for the worst... I can't keep this up. I can maybe dodge another 2 or 3 attacks and that will be the end of me...

The spider twists to execute a side attack, I step backwards, but not fast enough. It's claw grazed me on my chest. Fresh blood seeps out of the wound. It...hurts...a lot!

The spider swings its right claw down at me. I don't move. Rather, I can't move anymore.

Right on cue with pinpoint accuracy, one ballista arrow pierces the claw and pins it to the floor.

"GWEEEEEH"

A second and a third ballista shot come crashing down near us, and soon, many more to follow. Since I'm not a very big target, none of the shots landed on me. The spider on the other hand... The ballistae shots pin the spider to the ground, and it struggles to escape.

"GWEEEEEH!"

The spider rips its claw out from being pinned and it climbs to the very top of the bell tower, which collapses due to crumbling construction as it climbs higher and higher to dodge the ballistae shots. It falls, landing near me, and the giant bell falls on top of it, crushing it completely.

Ha! Ahahahahahaha! Wonderful. What a satisfying death for a wretched Fomor.

"GWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHH!"

As it dies, the girl runs up to it.

"Noooo! Please... Are you hurt? Hang on I'll get you out."

The girl attempts to push the bell off of the spider. What a useless attempt.

"Please... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..."

The girl cries. The spider stops moving. The silence given by the spider marks its death. Whoever shot that ballista, thank you...

I feel an ominous glare in the woods from afar. I look in the direction and see a shadow fading away in the depth of the trees. Who was that? Was I just seeing things? Heh, probably my imagination. After all, I can't even think any more.

Here I am, standing before the aftermath of the bell tower skirmish. My hands tremble. My legs tremble. My body shakes. I can't maintain a steady stand. I fall on my ass. My arms can't even support me. I lie on the cold stone floor. Everything hits me all at once. Pain, fatigue, soreness, dizziness, nausea, strains.

"Haaaah... It's...over... Finally over…"

Nah... This is only the beginning.