Kald woke to the sound of birds chirping. Turning to his side, he saw Erina—the mage of his party and the woman he loved—still peacefully asleep.
He sat up slowly, the sheets sliding off his body revealing a scarred, chiseled chest. After slipping out of bed, he dressed, grabbed his sword, and kissed Erina's forehead before heading downstairs.
The kindly innkeeper greeted him with a nod as he passed. Outside, Kald made his way to an empty patch of grass shaded by a tree and began practicing his sword swings.
After a while of that, he started channeling raw magic—or what warriors like himself called Force—into his blade and limbs, enhancing the speed and strength of his attacks. To the average person, his movements might've looked wild and chaotic, but every swing had purpose.
Eventually, he lowered his sword and let out a deep breath.
That's when he heard footsteps behind him.
He turned quickly and saw Lea approaching. Her black hair was tied back, and she wore a loose, open-collared white shirt tucked into tight, black pants. A croissant dangled from her mouth, and in her hand was a muffin which she went to hand to Kald.
Kald took the muffin and took a bite.
"This is a good blueberry muffin," he said, pleasantly surprised.
Lea swallowed the last of her croissant and grinned. "Right?" Then she nodded toward his blade. "You nervous?"
Kald smiled. "Yeah. If you're not nervous before fighting a demon, something's wrong with you."
Lea nodded in agreement. "You wanna spar?"
Kald shrugged. "Why not?"
The moment he spoke, Lea drew her daggers and swung at his neck. Kald leapt back, dodging easily then swallowed the rest of his muffin.
This was how they always trained before facing a demon. Cunning and ruthless, demons cared nothing for honor. In fact, the opposite—they would use any method to kill. Even if Kald had declined the spar, Lea would've struck anyway its what a demon would've done.
He lunged forward, swinging at Lea's neck, but she ducked it and closed the gap, unleashing a flurry of dagger strikes.
Her attacks were fast—too fast. She was using Force.
Kald quickly channeled Force through his own body and deflected every strike, then raised his sword overhead and brought it down. Lea lifted her daggers to block, but Kald stopped mid-swing and instead channeled Force to his legs, kicking at her.
Just barley she was able to counter with a Force-powered kick of her own, and the two were locked in place, strength against strength.
But then, from the tree behind Kald, a figure dropped.
Kald turned mid-clash and shouted, "DALAN!?"
Dalan screamed mid-air and aimed a punch at Kald's head. With no time to waste, Kald overpowered Lea, shoving her back, and dove out of the way just as Dalan's Force-imbued fist slammed into the ground, kicking up stone and dirt and leaving a small crater where Kald had just stood.
Kald scrambled to his feet and pointed accusingly. "Okay it gets to a point!!!"
Dalan smirked, adjusting his glasses. "Wrong, there is no limit. A demon will resort to far worse than hiding in a tree. You must be prepared!"
"Like hell they will! Dalan, how long have you even been in that tree!?"
Kald sighed as Lea and Dalan slowly circled him.
He exhaled, focusing, and reinforced his body with Force. Both sides were ready to charge when—
A sudden magical pressure came from the right.
The three turned in unison and saw Erina standing in the second floor inn's windowsill, wand in hand and pointed directly at them.
"Shi—"
Before Kald could finish, a barrage of water spells slammed into the trio.
"AHHHHH!!!" they cried out as the blasts sent them tumbling.
When the water settled, Kald, Lea, and Dalan lay sprawled in the dirt, soaked and groaning.
Erina smiled from the window. "Come on, guys. You have to be prepared for all situations."
Still slumped on the ground, Dalan turned to Kald. "S-sorry about the tree."
Kald shook his head and coughed up water. "Nah... don't mention it…"
(And thus, Quick Fang's adventure continues!)