Upon leaving the crevice, the first thing Erick felt was the sun, which burned his eyes. He had spent too much time in the cave, and his eyes had forgotten the intensity of the daylight.
As he adjusted, he recalled the sensation of using the sword in his hands. It was as if he had known it his whole life, as if the blade was hungry to cut whatever was in its path—a feeling that brought happiness to Erick as he realized how powerful he was.
He looked at the trail covered with fallen leaves and logs, and the trees rising up, scorched and broken by the explosion that had thrown him into the crevice a month ago. Then he looked up towards the heights.
Erick started walking. He knew that cave was near the Cleo Mountains, a calm place as long as one didn't dare to climb them. Because within the white mantle that covered them, there were very high-level monsters.
But, unfortunately for Erick, a breeze swept through the forest, reminding him that he was a shirtless individual, walking through the woods with a sword in hand. They would most likely mistake him for a bandit, Erick thought.
"That makes sense to me," the sword said, even though it knew Erick couldn't hear it.
The sword itself didn't know why it felt so close to the young man holding it. But it was sure that...
*Zzzt!*
Without letting the sword finish its thought, a dagger whistled through the wind, aimed directly at Erick's head. He managed to dodge it with great difficulty, feeling the cold of the metal graze his temple. It was then that he looked back towards where the dagger had come from.
A group of small beastmen emerged from the dense undergrowth. Their bodies were covered in coarse hair and prominent jaws that showed sharp, yellowish teeth. They looked at Erick with an expression of greed and contempt, like a lost human in the woods—their favorite meal.
Erick, wasting no time and with the Divine sword in hand, got into a guard stance, looking confidently at the group of enemies. Looking at them closely, he saw that there were a group of four in the front and one hidden among the bushes.
Then, raising the sword to the level of his eyes and concentrating his mind, the sound of the forest went silent. His eyes were focused on his enemies, feeling all his muscles tense for any movement. A drop of cold sweat slid down his temple and fell to the ground.
*PLOP*
And like the beat of a drum, the combat began.
Erick lunged forward, not against the main group, but directly toward the nearest beastman on the flank. The movement was so sudden that the enemy barely had time to raise its claws.
The Divine blade, driven by Erick's renewed strength, found no resistance.
*ZAS!*
The cut was so clean and fast that the beastman seemed to have split in two by magic. It fell to the ground without a sound, its body separating in half just as Erick's sword returned to the guard position.
The silence of the forest was broken by the dull sound of the body falling.
The brutal and swift killing shocked the remaining beastmen. Their prominent jaws dropped into a grimace of fear, not greed. The warrior in front of them was not the easy meal they expected.
The three remaining beastmen took several slow steps back, breaking formation with nervous movements. The plan had changed. They abandoned the direct charge and, with a grunt, bent down. Quickly, they picked up stones from the ground.
While the three prepared to throw their projectiles, the beastman hidden among the bushes took advantage of the distraction. With a low whistle, it launched two daggers simultaneously.
The daggers traveled at high speed, one aimed at Erick's chest and the other at his unprotected leg. Erick used the tip of his Divine sword to deflect the dagger aimed at his chest with a dry clink, but the second one embedded itself in his thigh.
Clenching his teeth, Erick leaped forward. He knew his enemies were just as scared as he was, so he couldn't lose this opportunity where their basic formation had been broken.
*¡Zas!*
A second cut tore through the hairy monster without a problem, while another one threw its stone at Erick. Just as the stone was about to impact, Erick felt his body fill with a mysterious energy, quickly accelerating his muscles and allowing him to dodge the projectile.
*¡Zas!*
The third cut killed yet another enemy. The sword shone next to Erick, as if saying this was fun, but Erick didn't care. Just as he prepared to jump again, three more daggers were thrown at high speed.
The daggers approached at great speed, a metallic blur that threatened his head, chest, and shoulder. Erick didn't have time to fully react; he could only move the center of his body.
In that critical instant, the sword seemed to come alive in his hand. It was not a conscious movement by Erick, but a pure impulse emanating from the pommel to the blade. The sword moved with supernatural precision.
*¡Clink! ¡Clink! ¡Clink!*
Three dry, almost simultaneous impacts echoed. The Divine blade, in an almost invisible defensive sweep, deflected all three daggers, sending them to harmlessly embed themselves in the bark of a nearby tree.
Erick's eyes widened slightly at the sensation. It was as if the sword knew where it needed to be, acting on its own.
The last remaining frontal beastman, who hadn't thrown projectiles, seeing the impossible defense and seized by terror, let out a sharp cry and turned to flee.
Erick didn't turn his back. With one last roar of effort, he propelled himself from his injured leg. The final cut was horizontal, a pure line of invisible energy that followed the trail of the Divine blade.
The fourth beastman took no more than two steps before falling.
Silence returned to the forest, broken only by Erick's ragged breathing and the dripping blood from his thigh. Now only the hidden enemy remained.
Erick did not lower his guard. His heightened sense of alertness, amplified by the sword, indicated that the danger was not over. The dagger-throwing beastman was still hidden, and he was the most dangerous.
With a calculated movement to draw the enemy out, Erick pulled the dagger from his thigh with a quick tug. The pain made him gasp, but the cut healed almost instantly, a benefit he attributed to the "divine grace" of his weapon. He let the dagger fall to the ground to concentrate.
The movement worked. The hidden beastman, frustrated at seeing his last companion fall and convinced that Erick was vulnerable, made the mistake of leaving his hiding spot.
He was smaller than the others, but his face was wilder and more cunning. He charged, not with daggers, but with a pair of sharp, dirt-covered claws. His target was Erick's throat.
Erick found himself face-to-face with the enemy's final fury. Instead of backing away, he raised the Divine sword above his head. The blade, which always seemed to absorb the surrounding light, shone with a blinding intensity, creating a pure flash that momentarily stopped the attacker.
*BAM!*
The final clash was brief. Erick brought the blade down with the full weight of his body and the power of the synergy. The blow, delivered directly from above, split the last beastman in two, the sound of the cut echoing through the forest.
The silence became absolute. Only Erick remained, standing in a circle of inanimate bodies, with the immaculately edged sword resting on the ground. The breeze began to blow again, cool and oblivious to the slaughter.