A Glimpse of Decay: Part II – The Hollow Flame

“Who's there?!” Touma shouted at the figure.
There was no answer. The wheezing sound echoed through the forest. There were eyes. Peeking at him from behind the trees.
A twig broke. Where? Touma looked in the direction of the sound. There he saw it. The same figure, walking towards him. 
The rotten stench returned, though it was not as intense as before, it had made one thing clear – Touma wasn't alone.
There was something else. Something not human. He could feel its presence, its breath– the wheezing sound. The forest wasn't safe.
“I need to get out of this place— quickly.” 
Touma started to back away, looking in the direction of these creatures. Thud! He hit something. 
“What is it?!” Touma turned around as the thought came to his mind. It was a tree.
He looked up the tree.
His feet trembled. “W–what’s that?!” Touma shouted at the tree as he stumbled backwards – until he tripped.
It was looking. Eyes glinted from behind the branches. The wheezing had stopped, but whispers echoed in the forest.
Freaked out, Touma turned his head frantically. Until he saw another pair of eyes… then another one. The whole forest was filled with eyes. There was not just one creature. They were standing near the trees. Some of them walked towards him.
Without a second thought, Touma got up – and dashed forward. He didn't look back, he had to get out of the forest. 
There was something up ahead. It was a clearing. 
“Finally, I’ll get out of this damned forest. Just a bit more. Just a bit. The clearing is close. I need to be fast. I can get out!” 
The leaves were rustling. But not because of Touma. These things were following him. Touma was being chased.
Suddenly something hit Touma in the back. He lost his balance, and tripped.
“...Ahh, that hurt! Huh? The ground… it's not the same as before. Am I… finally out?”
Opening his eyes, Touma found himself under a clear sky. The moonlight shone upon the clearing, lighting up the area. 
The whispers didn't stop, but the stench had gone now. Touma looked at the forest from where he stood, those eyes glared at him – until they disappeared in the blink of an eye.
“What the hell were those things?”
Touma looked around for a bit. “What's that over there?” A strange crevice in a rock caught his attention. He started to walk towards it in hopes of finding some clues.
Slowly creeping up to the crevice, Touma noticed something strange. He felt a chill down his spine, followed by those chilling whispers – a guttural chant. The words made no sense, they were almost unrecognisable. He could also hear some people talking.
Touma put his head above the crevice to get a look inside. There was a faint light, almost barely enough to light up that cramped space the crevice opened into. Nobody was there, but he could still hear people talking down there.
Touma stumbled backwards, he started to look around for a bit. Running here and there to find a way, Touma's gaze fell on an unnaturally placed pile of leaves. Why was it there? Why weren't there leaves anywhere else? He felt that something was hidden there. 
Touma walked up to the pile of leaves, and started to look into it. Clang! His hand hit something, metal maybe? He began throwing the leaves around, and there it was – a strange square door hidden below that pile.
“Where does this lead to?” Touma lowered his hand to open the door – as expected, it was jammed.
“Maybe some force will do the trick.” Touma pulled on it, but the door didn't budge. He exerted all his strength, until the door was ripped from its hinges.
“Stairs?! What are stairs doing here? Wait… is this… a cellar? But, why?”  

It wasn't the time to wonder. Touma immediately stepped in. The stairs led to a dark hallway. “There's barely any light in here.” 
Touma drew out the sword that the knight had given him. “Light! That's light– that must be the way. That's where the whispers are coming from too.” 
He started walking towards the light at the end of the hallway. He could feel the whispers getting louder with each step he took. 
“Lord Malrick is really going to succeed this time, don't you think?” A voice! From the end of the hallway, someone was coming. 
“Yeah, I really wish for success this time too. I want to see Lord Cenoth at least once before I die.” There was someone else too.
Touma hid behind a barrel. He could hear footsteps approaching towards him, with each passing second, his heartbeat rose. 
“Wait, do you see that light?”“Where?”“Look, there it is!”“Isn't that the entrance to the cellar?” “Y– yes, it is!”
The footsteps became faster until it turned into the sound of running. Touma was silent, the men crossed him– unnoticed by his presence. He was saved.
“I need to find another place to hide before they come back!”
Thud! The barrel fell on the ground. “Shit! I'm getting caught this time!” 
“What's that sound?!” The men turned behind.“INTRUDER!!!!!!” One of them shouted.
Touma had been caught. The men charged at him. He felt a sudden surge of adrenaline. The men had drawn out their swords, their intentions were clear – to eliminate the intruder.
Touma took a few steps backward. One of them came in close and slashed at him.
“Wait, what? Is it just me, or is his swing actually slow? Why can I see his movements clearly? Have I become stronger?” The thought flashed in his mind like a bolt of lightning.
And just like that bolt, he drew his sword out, and swung towards the man. There was no opposite force, his sword went straight through.
The man stood there, motionless… until the sword in his hands dropped – broken. The sword wasn't the only thing that fell, Touma cut through his flesh, the man was standing – but his head was gone. He had died. Touma killed him.
“What just happened? Did I… did I kill someone? No but, he was the one that attacked me – my actions were self defence. Y–yeah, it was self defence.” Touma's hands were shaking, he was short of breath, he was freaking out– and trying to find a way to justify his actions.
“You asshole!! How dare you kill my brother! I'll murder you!!” The other man was furious. Touma could feel his murderous intent.
He dashed at him, he was fast. Suddenly he drew out his sword and swung it with all his might. Touma instinctively blocked, but the impact was strong. He lost his balance and stumbled backwards. The man didn't stop, he kept charging at him and a heavy slash followed each time.
Touma was getting cornered. He didn't have any time to think. The man slashed again, but this time– he dodged. The man's slash landed on the concrete, smashing it. He was powerful, Touma knew he mustn't get hit with that attack. His back already hurt due to that injury, but he had to attack– it wasn't the time to focus on it. One misstep and he's done for.
Touma backed off a bit, and suddenly charged at the man. The man jumped at him, their blades clashed! The sound of metal echoed in the dark hallway that got barely lit up by the sparks of their clashing blades. 
Their blades clashed again and again. Until a sword broke– it was of the man. Without a second thought, Touma charged at him – and cut through. 
The man fell on the ground – lifeless. Touma won, he survived. He knew he had committed a murder, but he felt no guilt. 
In the heat of the battle, Touma had not realized it but… he was already on the edge of the hallway, the place which was visible from the bottom of those stairs.
“Did you hear that sound coming from the hallway?” “Yeah, I did. I think something happened there.”“Let's go then. We must make sure nothing interrupts Lord Malrick in the ritual.”“Yes, absolutely! We can't let anything disturb the slumber of the hollow flame!”
Touma could hear more footsteps approaching. He knew he was in no condition to fight, hiding was the only option. He looked around for a bit, the footsteps drew closer – someone arrived. Then more people followed.
“Check if anything's wrong, quickly!”“Yes, sir!” The voice of the men echoed in the empty hall.
“I made it in time. I can't fight that beast there. He's way too strong. For now I must remain hidden.” Touma had hid in a broken wall. The space was cramped, but this was the only place he could find at that time.
“Wait, is this the same crevice I looked into? If so, then that opening must be here too. There it is! That means I'm going in the right direction. She must be hidden up ahead somewhere in this cellar too!” Touma's mind rummaged in thoughts.
“If I remember correctly, those men from before and this man here were talking about the same thing – they mentioned the same name, Lord Malrick. Who is this person? And what is the hollow flame? I have to do something fast.” 
“Sir! Look at this! There are bodies here!”“Who are they?” The giant, muscular man asked.“I don't know sir, but I think… Yeah, I know. The Vaulk Brothers were assigned to this part of the cellar!”“The Vaulk Brothers, huh?”“But sir, it's believable that Jereth could be killed in combat, but even Derrin too. Plus the fact that both of them died horribly.”“It's not time to mourn over their deaths! We have an intruder! Find him at all costs before the ritual begins!”
The men left in a hurry. Touma felt relieved, until out of nowhere – a hand smashed into the broken wall, ripping it apart as it was pulled back outside. His cover was blown! Touma looked in the direction of the hand, it was him– that beast of a man. His scar-covered face barely showed any expression. He was huge, his shadow seemed infinite. 
“No way! No way! No way! You can't be serious, right? How can I be discovered? How can I survive against this beast?!” 
“You look freaked out huh? No wonder I could feel the presence of a fly in the cellar!” The man grabbed Touma's throat and lifted him.
“You thought you'd be able to hide from me?!” 
Touma was unable to breathe. He felt his consciousness fading, until he suddenly heard a loud banging sound – followed by immense pain in his whole body. 
The man had thrown him on some barrels. He felt his strength. This man was no joke.
“You! What is your name?” His voice was commanding.“T–Touma Kisaragi.” It felt strange introducing himself like that– it was the other way around in Japan.“So, Touma Kisaragi, I am… Grather Vorn! To think you'd kill the Vaulk Brothers, I'm quite surprised. You must be pretty strong.”“What of it?”“You see, there's nobody here strong enough to fight me here. So I've been getting bored for a while now.”“So you're suggesting that–” “Fight me. To the death!” Grather cut in between Touma mid-sentence with a heavy punch to the stomach. 
The punch sent Touma flying at the concrete wall, shattering it on impact. “I can't breathe. My legs… they won't move. How am I supposed to fight a beast like him? But I can't even run! I have to do something!”
“You're pretty sturdy, but I don't think you're that strong. To think that you killed Derrin, my sparring partner – is almost revolting. He was the only one that matched my level after all!”
“What do you mean?” Something got over Touma suddenly. “By Derrin, are you referring to the man who was violent among them?”
“Yeah, he was Derrin. You see this scar on my face, it was due to him. Except for Lord Malrick, he was the only one who gave me a tough time!”
“Ahh, so that means he was on your level?” Touma had gotten up. 
“Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying!”
“Is that so, huh?” A single, cold laugh escaped him, as he leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees.“You know what? Ever since I've arrived in this world, something changed in me. I lacked confidence before, but when I met those guards at the village, something happened to me. I was talking back to them. There was no fear. 
The same was the case when those brothers attacked me, I don't know why, but I could see their moves. Even now, when you attacked me – I was quite surprised by your speed, but I could see you charge at me clearly. But still I wasn't able to dodge, maybe I was scared – but that feeling too, is long gone now.
So this is what he meant back then. I've figured it out at last. I've… gotten stronger!”
“What are you babbling about?"
“You know, you won't get it.” Touma's words were heavy, “That's why I'll say it in a simpler manner, let us begin – this fight to the death!” 
Something felt strange in the atmosphere, Touma was grinning.