Blood Oaths Beneath the Abyss

Rurik’s ragged breaths came in sputtering gasps as he forced himself upright, bracing against his twin axes. Blood dripped steadily from the deep gash in his chest where the demon beast’s claw had torn through leather armor and flesh alike. His vision swam, black dots flickering at the edges. Pain throbbed deep in his bones with each desperate heartbeat.Kaen groaned weakly from Reina’s lap, eyes fluttering open then rolling back as his body convulsed with pain. His spear lay shattered a few feet away, shaft snapped clean in two by the creature’s crushing bite. Blood pooled beneath his limp arm, soaking moss and fallen pine needles in deep black-red.

“Kaen… stay with me…” Reina whispered desperately, pressing glowing hands over his torn shoulder repeatedly. Her magic faltered, the golden light flickering dimly as exhaustion gnawed at her focus. Tears streaked down at her cheeks as she sobbed in between each incantation.
The demon beast towered above them, obsidian-scaled chest heaving with each rumbling breath. Its molten crimson eyes glared down at the scattered humans like flickering furnace coals, its jagged maw curling into something resembling a cruel grin.Kael staggered forward, sword gripped in blood-slick fingers. His tunic clung to his ribs, soaked dark with blood from the deep puncture wound just below his heart. Each step sent fresh rivulets dripping down at his leg, leaving red splashes across moss and roots.

“Kael… you can’t…!” Reina cried out, voice breaking as she pressed harder against Kaen’s wound, fighting to keep him alive.
He didn’t look back. His gaze remained locked on the demon beast as he raised his blade in trembling defiance.
“Stay behind me,” he rasped out.
The demon roared, mist curling around its jaws like a living shadow. It lunged. Kael met it head-on, slashing upward with all his remaining strength. Steel shrieked against scale, sparks and black blood spraying.
“Flash Arc-!” Kael’s voice cracked as he twisted mid-swing, dragging his blade across the creature’s snout in a crescent cut.

The beast’s claws slammed down, raking deep into his side. Bones cracked with a sharp, sickening snap. Kael’s scream tore through the forest as he was hurled sideways into an oak trunk with a thunderous crash. Bark split under his limp form as he slid to the ground, chest heaving shallowly. Blood gushed from his ribs with each rattling breath.
“KAEL!” Shin screamed, voice breaking with raw terror. His entire body trembled as he forced himself to his feet, pain lancing up his bruised ribs where the beast’s tail had struck him moments before. Cold sweat stung cuts along his cheekbones as he staggered forward, half-crawling through the moss slick with blood.
His shaking fingers closed around the hilt of his short sword where it lay discarded near twisted ferns. His vision spun, tears blurring his eyes. The air reeked of iron, sweat, and the acrid black ichor still sizzling in the soil.
Why… why am I so weak…?
Kaen lay silent, blood soaking his bandages as Reina wept silently over him. Rurik’s beard dripped crimson as he gasped against his axes, knees buckling under his stocky frame. Kael lay slumped against the oak, chest rising only in shallow jerks, blood bubbling at his lips with each rattling breath.

They’re… dying for me…. Because of me…
He gripped his sword tighter until pain lanced through his fingers.
No… I won’t… let it end like this.
I can’t die here. I can’t let them die either. Even if… even if I have to become something, I fear.
He raised his head. The demon beast loomed over Kael’s fallen body, claws twitching as it prepared to strike down the swordsman once and for all.
Shin roared.
“GET AWAY FROM THEM!!”
He charged. Each step sent shocks of agony through his battered body, but he forced his legs to move. His sword raised, his stance fluid – hips twisted, shoulders aligned, core tight. Kael’s training burned fresh in his muscles.
The demon turned just as Shin leapt. Its jaws opened in a snarl. He ducked low, sliding beneath its lunging bite, and slashed upward with every ounce of strength left in his arms.

Steel met scale. The blade screeched along its obsidian hide before catching under its chin and ripping a deep gash across its jawline. Black ichor sprayed across Shin’s face, burning cold against his skin.
“Flow Cut-!” he yelled, twisting his wrists at the apex of the slash. The blade sliced wider, leaving a gaping wound along its throat scales.
The beast shrieked in rage, whipping its tail around. Shin barely raised his sword in time. The impact sent him flying sideways, crashing into moss and dirt. His went black for a moment. Pain exploded across his ribs like shattered glass.
Move… get up… MOVE!

He rolled just as the demon’s claws smashed down where he lay, splintering earth and sending tremors through the forest floor. He gasped, chest heaving, as he forced himself upright once more.
Across the clearing, Kael coughed blood, raising his head weakly. His grey eyes widened as he saw Shin’s stance – balanced, knees bent, sword angled low in preparation.
That stance… he thought through the haze of pain. It’s not something a mere student could learn in two days…
The demon lunged again. Shin stepped in, narrowly dodging a crushing claw, and slashed upward into its exposed armpit.

“Vertical Rip-!” His voice cracked as the blade bit deep, slicing muscle and tendon. The beast howled in agony, staggering sideways as black blood poured down its flank. Its mist flickered wildly with the pain, swirling in jagged chaotic wisps.
“Rurik!” Shin shouted hoarsely. “NOW!”
The dwarf roared, forcing himself upright despite blood gushing from his chest wound. He charged, axes gleaming, and hacked deep into the demon’s injured leg.
“Dwarven Splitter-!” Rurik bellowed, his voice echoing like thunder as both blades sank to the haft. Bone cracked under the twin strikes. His vision blurred with tears, blood, and sweat as he forced his tired arms to swing again and again.

The demon shrieked, tail slamming sideways. Rurik raised his axes in a crossed guard, but the sheer force sent him skidding back, boots digging furrows into moss and dirt.
Kaen stirred weakly in Reina’s lap, eyes half-lidded. “H-Heh… look at… him go…”

Reina sobbed softly, pouring healing light into Kaen’s shredded shoulder, her own energy almost spent. “Please… just stay alive… please… we need you…”
The demon beast reeled back, injured but not defeated. Its burning crimson gaze locked onto Shin, lips peeling back in a soundless snarl. Black mist poured from its jaws, swirling around its horns and shoulders in a raging storm.
Kael coughed violently, blood dripping from his lips as he struggled to his feet. His longsword tip dragged against the moss. He raised his head, eyes blazing with iron resolve despite his failing body.

“Shin… don’t hold back,” he rasped, each word rattling with pain.
Shin’s hands trembled on his sword hilt. A cold pulse rippled deep within his chest – a whispering abyss awakening inside.
> “This… this power… is it… coming from me?
No… it can’t be…
He tightened his grip, pushing down the searing chill. His gaze burned with quiet fury as he stepped forward to stand
beside Kael, Reina, and Rurik. The four of them bled, trembled, and barely remained upright… yet together they raised weapons against a darkness that should have broken them.

> Even if I die here… I won’t let them fall for my sake. I will stand and defeat that demon.

The demon roared, shaking the forest with its fury.
And they roared back.