Eric walked toward a small improvised camp.
The horde poured out of the forest like a dark tide.
Red eyes.
Rusty weapons.
Too many bodies moving with the same intent.
The guards of Hateno formed a tense line.
Eric stepped forward, the Bow of Light already in his hand, the string humming with contained energy.
Then he heard laughter.
—Well, well… —a female voice said behind him—. Looks like we arrived just in time.
Eric turned his head.
Two tall figures wrapped in crimson and gold fabrics took position at his side.
Sun-kissed skin. Sharp gazes. Curved weapons gleaming beneath the moonlight.
—Gerudo warriors… —he murmured—
Eric blinked once. It was impossible not to recognize them. These women were… unmistakable.
—Thank you for joining the defense of Hateno —he said sincerely—
The two women looked at him. Then at each other.
And laughed.
—Did you hear that? —said the one on the left—. He's thanking us.
—Adorable —the other replied, leaning slightly to get a better look at him—. How old are you, little shiok?
Eric tightened his grip on the bow, a twitch forming in his brow.
He seemed well accustomed to being underestimated by strangers.
—Old enough to stand on the front line.
The Gerudo exchanged amused smiles.
—You don't run —the first observed—. We like that.
—Neither do we —the second added—. Gerudo never retreat. Ever.
Eric nodded at them with genuine respect.
—Then you'll fit in well here.
The first roar shattered the conversation.
Eric fired without hesitation.
The light arrow cut through the night like silent lightning and exploded in a Moblin's chest, hurling it several meters back.
Before the body even hit the ground, taking advantage of the monsters' confusion, Eric hurled an improvised bomb.
BOOM!
The blast lit up the field.
The Gerudo stopped laughing.
—Oh… —one murmured—
—What a surprise! —said the other, drawing her scimitar—. You're quite skilled.
The horde crashed into the improvised defensive line formed by the three of them.
Behind them, Hateno's local militia and several villagers prayed that Eric could contain the invasion, just as he always did.
They weren't hiding out of cowardice.
They were there because Eric didn't want unnecessary casualties if he could handle it himself.
Eric moved without pause.
He fired, rolled, hurled incendiary flasks that ignited the ground, forcing monsters to cluster exactly where he wanted them.
Then finished them off with bomb arrows.
—Left side! —a Gerudo shouted, cutting down a Lizalfos with a clean slash.
Eric loosed several arrows in rapid succession, dropping three Moblins at once.
—Little shiok —a Gerudo laughed while dodging a strike—, sure you don't want to stay back?
Eric smiled, never stopping his shots.
—If I stay back… —he released another light arrow— you'll get bored.
The explosion answered for him.
The Gerudo fought with elegant ferocity.
Spins. Precise cuts. Defiant laughter even as blood splashed across the ground.
Slowly, their expressions changed.
No more mockery.
Respect.
—That bow… —one said while blocking a blow—. That's not normal. Where in the hell is he getting so many arrows?
The horde began to fracture. The monsters realized these three were inflicting catastrophic losses.
Many fled without hesitation.
Eric fired his last bomb arrow.
The explosion tore through three Moblins at once, their bodies dispersing into the night air.
Silence.
Eric watched as many corpses dissolved into dark, mossy smoke.
He lowered the bow, breathing steadily.
The battle hadn't ended.
It had simply changed shape.
The Gerudo no longer laughed. No teasing comments. No playful glances.
Their movements remained elegant and lethal… but now their eyes kept drifting back to Eric.
Something didn't add up.
This child was reshaping their perception of Hylian warriors.
Or rather, the stereotype.
—That brat isn't normal —one of them muttered—. There's no hesitation in his eyes. He's used to this.
The other decapitated a Lizalfos and followed her gaze.
—He's… —she went silent— Are those… loot eyes?
As if he'd heard the world itself speak, Eric smiled.
A Moblin charged him with a massive club.
Eric pivoted on his heel, fired five shots point-blank, and the monster's body was flung away in a burst of light.
—Ten… —he murmured—
—No, eleven usable materials.
The Gerudo were speechless again.
—By Nabooru… —one whispered—. He's enjoying this.
Then the ground trembled.
Something bigger was approaching from the distance.
A deep roar shook the night.
The lesser monsters scattered instinctively, as if a superior presence was claiming the battlefield.
From the darkness emerged a colossal silhouette.
A Great Bokoblin. Massive. Deformed. Nearly the size of a Hinox.
Its body was covered in scars and jagged bone plates.
Each step crushed the ground beneath it.
Its weapon…
An entire tree trunk, ripped out by the roots.
The Gerudo instinctively stepped back.
—That… —one said—
—That wasn't in the count.
Even so, they didn't flee. They tightened their grips on their weapons.
The monster roared and slammed the ground, sending two nearby Bokoblins flying.
Eric lifted his gaze.
His eyes gleamed.
—Jackpot —he whispered—
The Gerudo stared at him in disbelief.
—Wait! Kid!! —one shouted—. That thing isn't—
Eric charged forward, excitement written plainly across his face.
The Bow of Light vibrated intensely as Eric drew the string once.
The arrow that formed was nothing like the previous ones.
Larger. Denser.
Light spiraled around it as if it were being blessed.
Eric closed his eyes for a brief moment.
—Goddess… —he murmured—
—Hear my prayers, and accept these humble lambs as an offering.
The Great Bokoblin raised the trunk, roaring as it prepared to crush him.
But Eric opened his eyes and released the string.
SLASH!
The arrow tore through the air at the speed of light, luminous streaks marking its path.
A compressed sun detonated before Eric, expanding outward in a devastating radius.
The wave of light swept the field, instantly disintegrating the lesser monsters.
The Great Bokoblin didn't even have time to roar before the light pierced it.
Its colossal body shattered into brilliant particles, dissolving into the night air as if purified by radiance.
Silence.
The battlefield lay empty.
Every monster had been neutralized.