The Dire Fangs claw came down.
Takemi moved.
Not fast.
Not clean.
Just enough.
He twisted his body. Raised the handle—
CLANG.
The invisible blade formed again catching the strike—. The force drove him straight into the ground.
His arms screamed.
His grip nearly broke.
"…Ghh—!"
The weight of the beast pressed down on him.
Too strong.
Too heavy.
Too much.
The Dire Fangs jaws opened, inches from his face.
Hot breath.
Blood-scent.
Death.
Takemis vision shook.
This is it.
That thought came quietly.
Not dramatic.
Not loud.
Just… there.
Then—
A memory.
The throw.
The swing.
The mans voice.
What strikes without distance… yet reaches beyond it?
Takemis fingers tightened.
Not on the handle—
On something else.
A stone.
Still in his hand.
"…Not done."
The Dire Fang pushed harder.
The invisible blade flickered.
Almost breaking.
Takemi didn't pull back.
Didn't create distance.
Instead—
He leaned forward.
Closer.
The Dire Fang hesitated.
Just for a fraction of a second.
Takemi moved.
At this range—
No wind-up.
No space.
No form.
He threw.
Point-blank.
CRACK.
The stone slammed directly into the Dire Fangs eye.
This time—
It pierced.
The beast recoiled violently letting out a furious howl as it staggered back one side of its vision gone.
Takemi rolled away immediately gasping for air.
"…Got you…"
But he wasn't done.
Not yet.
The Dire Fang thrashed wildly blinded on one side—but not defeated.
If anything it became more dangerous.
More erratic.
It lunged again.
Not precise.
Not controlled.
Just raw force.
Takemi stood.
Barely steady.
His legs shook.
His arm burned.
His eyes—
Focused.
"…One more."
The beast charged.
Takemi stepped forward.
Not back.
Forward.
He grabbed another stone mid-step—
This time he didn't separate the actions.
Didn't think of throw and swing as two things.
Just—
One motion.
His body twisted.
His arm moved.
The stone left his hand—
In the same breath—
He swung.
THWACK—SLASH.
The sound overlapped.
The stone struck first—smashing into the Dire Fangs snout forcing its head upward—
The swing followed through.
The invisible blade extended.
Longer than before.
Sharper.
For a moment—
It was real.
SHRRRK.
The cut landed clean across the Dire Fangs neck.
Deep.
Not perfect—
Deep enough.
The beast stumbled forward.
Momentum carrying it past him.
Then—
It stopped.
Silence fell.
The Dire Fang stood still for a second.
Then another.
A low broken sound escaped its throat.
Slowly—
It collapsed.
No one spoke.
Not immediately.
The forest seemed to hold its breath.
Takemi stood there still holding the handle.
His arm slowly lowered.
The faint blade flickered—
disappeared.
"…Hah…"
He let out a laugh.
Then dropped to one knee.
"…That sucked."
Rauk approached first breathing heavy.
"…You're insane."
Takemi shook his head.
"No."
He looked at the fallen Dire Fang.
"…Just lucky."
Lira walked over next.
She looked at the creature.
Then at Takemi.
Then at the handle in his hand.
"That wasn't luck."
Takemi didn't answer.
Because honestly—
He didn't fully understand it either.
The instructor approached last.
His gaze lingered on the Dire Fangs body for a moment—
shifted to Takemi.
"To think a first-year would take down a Dire Fang…"
He paused.
"…With that."
Takemi looked at the handle.
"…Yeah."
He turned it slightly in his hand.
In the firelight the details became clearer now.
The wrapping around the grip was old but intact darkened with age yet somehow untouched by decay.
The guard was simple—slightly curved with faint scratch marks that looked like damage and more like… wear from countless battles.
And the pommel—
The small carved dragon seemed clearer now.
Its shape more defined.
Like it had… awakened.
Takemi exhaled.
"…It's weird."
"How so?" the instructor asked.
Takemi looked at it quietly.
"It doesn't feel like I'm holding a weapon."
He tightened his grip slightly.
"…Feels like its waiting for me to understand it."
The group slowly began to settle
Some checked the wounded.
Others just sat down trying to process what had just happened.
The immediate danger was gone.
The tension—
Still lingered.
Takemi glanced back, toward the ruins.
Toward the stone platform.
For a moment—
Everything was quiet.
Then—
Tok.
His eyes narrowed.
"…You heard that right?"
Rauk looked over.
"…Yeah."
Lira stood slowly.
"…That's not normal."
The instructors expression darkened slightly.
"No."
Another sound echoed.
Louder this time.
Tok… Tok…
Not random.
Not natural.
Rhythmic.
Like something—
Knocking.
From below.
Takemi stared at the ruins.
His grip tightened around the handle.
"…We didn't just find a weapon did we?"
No one answered.
Because beneath the cracked stone—
Something had woken up.
This time—
It was answering back.