Walking out of the encirclement, Edith saw a wild boar approaching. Its long and sturdy teeth filled him with a sense of dread. Edith looked at the beast's large, hunched figure.
Its nose was stout, feet short and its entire body covered with sharp, tough and spike-like hair.
Its eyes were deep brown, with a thick and dark horizontal slit in them. Its mouth was drooling, drenching the ground with thick, greasy and pungent saliva.
Its legs were short and thick, supporting its huge body like four pillars.
Edith saw all of this. He took in all of this. But he wouldn't budge. He raised his sword as he took a stance. Lowering his body he saw the boar take a few steps back, pause and prepare for a charge.
At that moment, it seemed like everything around the boar had come to a halt. Even as the wind howled, no sound came. Even the sound had stopped!
Then, Edith saw the boar lunge at him at a speed that betrayed common sense. If not for the gradually enlarging figure of the boar, Edith would've thought that the boar was still at its original spot.
It took Edith not even a moment to decide to swing his sword at the boar's legs. Leaning his left leg forward and the right backward, he opened his legs wide while simultaneously turning his torso towards his right. With the sword clenched in his left hand, he very easily twisted the blade to become horizontal. Then just as the boat was about some distance away from him, he swung his sword forward!
Swish!
A wind cutting sound came as a shockwave spread away from the blade's trajectory.
But then, just as the blade was about to slice through the boar's legs, time seemed to slow down!
Edith's blade had become slower. His swing had become slower. His blinking had become slower. So much so, that he felt like he was gradually plunging into darkness, held captive for an eternity and then released just as slowly as he was trapped at first.
The boar, however, was still as fast as before!
No change had occurred to it at all!
In its charge, Edith's blade only mildly gashed a wound at its front and back legs.
As the boar ended its charge some distance away, it staggered due to the wound. Edith immediately felt time resume its pace. He immediately turned to give the boar a horizontal slash.
As his sword hit the boar, he felt his sword brush against its fur giving a sound of metal colliding with metal.
Clink!
The boar shed some fur as Edith continued his slashes. Another horizontal slash. A vertical slash. A diagonal slash. Knee blows. Elbow blows.
All this left the boar with only a few scratches. But Edith wasn't flustered. He was brimming with confidence. As a recently advanced Stage 3, he had full trust in his ability to act as a human weapon. He could hold his own.
Then, with confidence, Edith raised the sword as he held it with both arms and brought it down. The tip seemed to slow down, but even that couldn't stop the sword from piercing through the boar!
An ear-wrenching screech resounded in Edith's ears as his sword pierced through the boar's hip, leaving through the other side— its internal organs trailing along!
Edith's ears were buzzing as he saw the boar's blood flow. The crimson that gashed gave no indication of the deep wound Edith had inflicted. The pace at which the blood flowed gave the illusion that long crystals of rubies and crimson pearls were adorned at the boar's back.
Edith's eyes reflected a red glint as he turned around to shout, "Boars are weak against piercing! Things slow down around their bodies!"
His intentions being to warn his companions.
His voice roared as it first reached Horus, his companion he had "danced" with. And then Horus relayed the message. Soon everyone heard the message!
***
Horus was heading towards the unconscious Rinnie and Fortis to wake them up. They would be invaluable even if only as stage 1.
As he took his steady, controlled and attentive steps, he met eyes with a large black cat.
The cat had smooth and silky fur covering its entire body. A tint of purple spread through its fur, changing shape as it moved from place to place. Different markings appeared in its body. An ornament-like pattern decorating it's paws. A dashed line covering its forehead. The patterns, though, only adding to the cats eerie beauty.
Its eyes were sharp, clear and filled with an inhumane indifference. It glanced at Horus and gave a purring sound. It took agile steps forward as the pattern kept on changing, causing the onlookers to feel their mind turn empty, all thoughts shattering in their minds, leaving them with a sense of confusion.
Horus saw the cat gradually drawing closer, his eyes following the trail the cat treaded.The cat drew close, coming at a palm's distance from his face. It stared intohis eyes. But he could think nothing and he could feel nothing. His thoughts had been shattered.
He wasn't afraid. He was unable to be afraid. The cat did not let him understand what was happening. The cat sniffed him and then slowlt retreated back. Going towards the unconscious girl laying on the ground.
The cat drew close to the unconscious Rinnie, bent down and sniffed her down. It picked ger by her tunic, dragging her to where Horus had been. It retreated back to bring the unconscious Fortis as well. He then saw the cat unsheating its claws, glancing at Horus as the pattern on its body vanished, turning its body pitch black.
Then Horus felt himself be able to think again. He first looked at the unimaginable beautiful beast in front of me and then at Fortis and Rinnie who were lying not far away from it.
He then felt his thoughts connect together as a sense of dread engulfed him. His throat bobbed up and down, clearly an indication of the saliva he gulped down. His back was full of sweat both at the thought of the terrifying hex the cat had cast him into as well as the thought of what might happen to the two unconscious fellows. Horus roared, intending to draw the cat's attention.
"Aaarghhhhh!"
And rushed towards the cat, his sword trailing behind! He then saw the cat's indifferent glance again as his thoughts scattered again. He forgot to swing his sword, he stopped moving his feet, his grip on his sword loosened and he...fell down.
Lying in the ground, Horus saw the enchanting cat with its two paws on Rinnie. His eyes traced a shadow on the ground flying faster than what he could keep track off. The shadow trailed towards where the cat was standing. Just as it neared it, Hours saw an arrow hit the cat. Purple ripples spread through its body.
It left a screeching roar as its entire fur turned purple, its hair standing on its ends. Horus felt himself jolt awake.
Gathering his thoughts, he immediately rushed to the cat and delivered a slash to the cat's eyes. Then, kicking the cat away from Rinnie, he rushed to it as he brought down his sword on the fallen beast, killing it in the process.
Just as the beast died, a sharp voice responded in his head. He understood the meaning and immediately shouted, "Board are weak against piercing! Things slow down around their bodies!"
Then with a moment's pause, he shouted again,
"Stay away from the cats! Use arrows first!"