A Dance with Death

The wind grew stronger and the snow fell heavier as we climbed higher. The path was no longer visible, buried under the snow, so we walked carefully since one wrong step could send us falling to our deaths.

After following Wufy for a long time, we finally saw a cave from a distance through the trees, large enough for humans to enter.

When we got closer, Wufy stopped.

“Woof!”

Rin hugged Wufy and held him in her arms. “Is the eternal flower in there?”

“Woof!”

Silva approached Wufy and patted his head.

“Thank you, Wufy. Let’s go inside.”

Something felt strange to me as I looked at the cave. At the entrance, there was a torch fixed to the wall, which meant someone was already inside.

“Wait. It looks like we’re one step too late.”

“What do you mean…”

“Exactly. Seeing that torch means the bandits are already in there.”

Silva stepped forward and raised her staff.

“I’ll destroy them all.”

I walked up and hit her on the head.

“Ouch!”

“If you blow up the cave, how do you expect us to get inside, idiot.”

“Then what should we do? We need to move quickly or the bandits will find the eternal flower first.”

“You’re right, but we also have to be careful.”

I drew my katana and stepped toward the cave.

“Stay close to Rin and Wufy, and give me support from the back.”

As soon as I entered the cave, something felt off. There was no one in sight as far as I could see. Strange. There was no way all of them had gone inside without leaving guards at the entrance. I raised my hand, signaling Silva, Rin, and Wufy to stay outside for now.

The deeper I went, the higher and wider the ceiling became. Suddenly, I felt a strong killing intent from above. When I looked up, a group of bandits jumped down, surrounding me in an instant. Twenty… no, closer to thirty of them. I could handle this alone.

“What is this? Let me tell you something. If you think ambushing me like this will make it easy to defeat me, then don’t blame me when your heads are no longer where they should be.”

I tightened my grip on the katana and stood firm, scanning every direction.

“Haha, that’s funny, because we never underestimate our enemies.”

A tall, fat bandit with a wide mustache and several missing teeth stepped forward. He seemed to be their leader.

“We know our own strength very well.”

He snapped his fingers, and the sound of footsteps echoed from deeper inside.

Damn… this was getting ridiculous. Their numbers had doubled. Well, not like I had much of a choice. I needed to get used to this. With determination, I pointed my katana forward.

“Come at me.”

“Trying to act tough, huh? Fine, everyone attack!”

“OOOOOHHHHH!”

The bandits rushed at me from all directions, swords raised to cut me down. But I wasn’t going to let that happen. I dashed back toward the cave entrance, striking first to secure my blind spot.

One… two… three… four… I had already cut down about ten of them and secured my position. I spun around, then charged into the wave of bloodthirsty bandits that wanted my life. My heart pounded in my chest, my breath grew heavy, but for some reason… I was enjoying this.

“Come on, you bastards!”

“Kill him!”

I kept swinging my sword without stopping, attacking, defending, slashing, thrusting. I lost count of how many I had killed. They just wouldn’t stop coming.

“Keep attacking! Don’t give him time to rest! His strength is running out! There are still many of us and he’s alone! Finish him!”

That fat bandit was loud, but he was right. If this kept going, sooner or later one of their blades would land on my neck. Damn it. Some of their strikes had already cut me, leaving wounds on my body. I had to hold out no matter what.

When I pierced through a bandit, my katana lodged into his body, he suddenly grabbed the blade. His hand bled, but he held it tightly, making it difficult for me to pull it free.

“Hahaha! Everyone, attack him now!”

Damn it, I’m going to die!

Suddenly, a fireball blasted several bandits away from me.

“You really are cruel, leaving us freezing outside like that.”

“Rei, are you okay?”

“Woof!”

I kicked the bandit holding my katana, finally freeing it. Turning back, I saw them. Just hearing their voices somehow restored a bit of my strength.

“Sorry! Punish me later, but please help me take down these endless maniacs.”

“Oho… don’t go back on your words later.”

Silva raised her staff and began chanting, sending fireballs flying into the bandits, burning them alive. Not wanting to be outdone, Wufy fired blasts of wind from his horn.

I charged again, fighting alongside them. Then a sharp shard of ice pierced through a bandit in front of me.

Ice?

When I turned, I saw Rin holding the staff she had found the other day. I was shocked and curious, but I decided to save my questions for later. I gave Rin a thumbs up and returned to battle.

“Don’t be afraid! We still outnumber them! Attack the mages in the back first!”

“I won’t let you.”

I slashed at the loud fat bandit with a vertical strike, but he blocked it.

“You think I’m that easy to kill?”

I jumped back, then lunged forward again.

“Shut up, or I’ll make you shut up.”

“Haha, try it.”

I swung diagonally this time, twice in quick succession, but he dodged both with surprising ease. It was as if he could see my attacks before I even swung.

“What’s wrong? Weren’t you going to make me stop talking?”

“So, you’ve got some tricks up your sleeve. But it doesn’t matter. Sooner or later, your life will be mine.”