Kyle's tachi, Zalrielle, carved through the air in a clean arc.
The monster's head slipped from its shoulders, black blood spraying in a foul mist before the body dropped with a heavy thud.
It twitched once, then went still.
Kyle didn't wait.
His boots scraped against the cracked stone as he ducked low on instinct.
Swish—
A claw tore through the space where his head had been. He pivoted sharply, crouched, and swept his leg outward.
The strike caught the beast's ankles, sending its towering frame crashing backward.
The moment it hit the ground, Zalrielle was already falling. The black blade pierced its skull with a sick crunch.
Ichor spilled out in thick spurts, stinking of rot. Kyle's eyes stayed sharp, his breath steady.
He hadn't been alone when he arrived. Two students had been there.
One barely clinging to life, the other...
A girl with torn sleeves and trembling hands, stood guard in front of her.
Clara Reeves. Rank twelve.
Kyle remembered the name.
