A New Alliance

He blocked the thorn coming at his temple with his forearm, using his other hand to strike the creature on the stomach with the palm’s heel. The impact was a lot more explosive than he imagined, sending the hobgoblin back at least two steps.

That almost made Yuushin stop in his tracks, a soft laugh escaping through his lips before he recomposed himself. Yet the hobgoblin had done the same, moving its fists closer and faster with each strike, trying to get a clean hit. Each blow Yuushin blocked felt like cannonballs, their force enough to make his bones rattle.

“It’s annoying how tall you are. Don’t you want to have a better look at my eyes?”

Not waiting for a response, Yuushin changed his position a few steps and spun his body, kicking the monster on the back of its knees. When it fell, the ground shook enough to make the lightest rocks jump, the vibration reverberating in his own body.

Around him, the golden glow began to flicker and fade, Yuushin’s body burning as if it were on fire.

I need to end this now.

Without wasting more time, he gave two quick consecutive kicks to the hobgoblin's ribs, hearing them crack. Yuushin focused on the heat, in that sensation coursing through him, channeling them on his hand. Then, while still using the momentum of his previous movements, he pulled his fist all the way back—

And hit the hobgoblin straight on its chest with all he had.

The creature widened its eyes as blood burst from its mouth, its body frozen for a few seconds. Then, as the purple liquid still dripped from its chin…

It collapsed to the ground, face down.

And didn’t move again.

“Hah…now I’ve done it.”

Yuushin was drenched in sweat. The second the monster fell, all warmth left him, alongside his strength. Before he knew, Yuushin crashed against a tree. It was as if every single muscle, tendon, and nerve was cursing at him.

He let out a shaken breath, holding his ribs with shaken fingers. That thing he had experienced—the spark, the heat, the glow…

Isn’t it just like ‘aura’?

Well, if Yuushin wasn’t dreaming about work and was, somehow, in a different world with magic, and monsters…

Something like “aura” was not so far-fetched, right?

And though the man knew he had to move and find a way out of that forest, with a body like this, he couldn’t even bend a finger. To make things worse, Yuushin felt so cold he couldn’t stop shaking, a sharp and throbbing pain crawling from his bones to every blood vessel he had.

“At least I’m alive…though it would be nice if victory tasted sweeter.”

All he could taste in that moment was pain.

After closing his eyes, he paid attention to the sounds. The closest screams were still quite far away, and he couldn’t hear any rustling or steps either. Yet despite himself, while all Yuushin planned to do was just catch his breath for a bit, his conscience soon drifted away.

A silent, cold darkness embracing him like a sweet lullaby.

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“…ar…e…”

It took his brain a few too many seconds to realize that faint sound was a voice.

“…ou….ear me?

More than it took for his body to become aware of the hands holding his shoulder. More than it took for him to process the pain.

“…ink he is waking up.”

“Dang, he was really alive?”

Yet even when Yuushin finally recognized those sounds as voices, it took him a few moments more to realize what that meant. To have the past events flash across his mind, forcing his eyes open with a gasp.

“Hey, hey! Easy there. You all right?”

And the first thing Yuushin saw was a pair of green eyes slightly covered by a wavy, light brown hair. A gaze that, once it met his, shone not with warmth or relief, but curiosity.

Yuushin shifted his body, needing to bite down on his lip so he wouldn’t cry out.

“I’ll manage.”

The stranger gave him a brief nod, showing the faintest of smiles while extending a hand. “Glad to hear.”

As the man helped him get back on his feet, Yuushin held his breath as the pain flared across his body. It was as if he had been rolled over by a truck.

Carrying an entire mountain on its back.

“Think you can walk?”

Yuushin nodded, glancing around at the others. There were around twelve people, not counting himself and the brown-haired man in front of him. And not even a single one of them was unscathed. From torn and ripped clothes, small cuts, to a few missing fingers.

The guy in front of him, however, looked the best among them all. Apart from some small scratches and wounds, he appeared to be fine. He was a few centimeters taller than Yuushin, probably around 184cm, and wore what was left of an office shirt—one sleeve completely gone, while one side was missing its lower half.

“Do any of you know what is happening? Or what is this place?” Yuushin asked, trying to do some very light stretches. It was not helping.

They shook their heads, some almost bursting into tears. Before he could say anything in response, however, the office man turned to the group.

“It’s great that we found another survivor, but we need to keep moving.” He then pulled something from his pocket, a folded piece of paper, and showed it to Yuushin. “A guy found this. So far, it’s the only clue we've got.”

As his eyes focused, Yuushin’s heart skipped a beat in excitement. Even with all the dirt and stains, he could recognize it clearly.

A map.

And out of all the things he saw, it was a small area that drew his attention the most. A location with the drawing of a small cabin, almost like a post, circled repeatedly with a strong marker.

Yet a thought soon came to him, shadows crossing his eyes as he spoke.

“This could be a trap.”

The man put the map back in his pocket, not even a bit unfazed. “I know. But it's outside this forest, and when those creatures saw a guy with this map, they killed him on the spot—which means they really didn’t want us to have it. So I would rather take my chances.”

Yup, fair enough. “I assume you wouldn’t mind if I joined.”

Their eyes met again, the man’s green gaze going over Yuushin one last time. “You were the one who killed that thing.”

There was not a shred of doubt in the stranger’s voice, much less hesitation. Yuushin assented.

“Call it desperation, or luck. Perhaps both.”

Something shone in those green eyes then, something fierce and unyielding. “Whatever it is, we all need it.” Then he extended a hand to Yuushin for a second time, his voice strong and clear. “I’m Jay.”

They shook hands, a breeze passing between them.

“Yuushin.”

Jay took a deep breath, his smile a bit brighter. “Let’s do our best to survive through this together, Yuushin.”