Chapter 2

I pull my sword out of its sheet and stare right into the two giant eyes of the Ushitora. In my past I have often pretended to be a hero and to fend off yokai. Even earlier today, before every ounce of hope in my body was crushed, I wanted to use my sword to battle those yokai…

But, like I just said, that was before my hope was thoroughly crushed. It died. While I survived the disaster, my hope has died.
My breath is surprisingly calm. It's not like I’m not afraid. It’s not like I’m underestimating my enemy. It’s not like I believe I can win.

I think I’ve just accepted death.

I think if I were to die right here and now, I would not be surprised.

I had it coming for me anyway; My previous survival was nothing but luck. Now my luck has finally run out and Lady Death comes back to finally claim me.

The blade in my hand feels heavier than normally. It is the very same it was before, but it feels like I can feel the black dust atop of it. And this very dust makes this blade so much harder to hold.

The Ushitora did not have an internal monologue. It did not have thoughts. It did not hesitate.

It raised one of its six legs and attacked me upfront. Its claw directly aimed at my chest, I hold up my sword. It is one last attempt to survive, but I am well aware that I will probably die here, right now.

The sword manages to block off a direct hit through my chest. Instead of getting pierced and killed without hesitation, the claw hits the left side of my body. At this point I even regret blocking it off: Instead of dying quickly and painlessly, I will suffer and ultimately die, however in a much more gruesome and cruel manner than originally destined.

Despite that, my sword still stands. I swallow up the pain I feel and instead aim the blade directly at the single leg of the beast which is now separated from the rest, on my left.

The blood cursing through my body, given to me by the warrior that was my grandfather, won’t let me back down easily. Even if I have no hope, I shall at least try and fight. I don’t want to die, after all. If given the choice, I’d always choose surviving. However, dying is nothing impossible. Death is much nearer than one would think at first.

I ram the blade into the singular leg. As the beast cries out - well, the cry sounds like that of an ox, not that of a terrifying beast as is - I make one of the greatest mistakes I could possibly make in this battle:

I feel hope.

I genuinely start believing that I can defeat this monster and live another day. I have damaged it, after all. It can bleed. I can make it bleed. I can weaken it and I can end up taking it down. I can kill it.

It is not impossible. My fate is not yet decided. If Lady Death wants to claim me so soon, she will have to send stronger beasts.

The Ushitora is an A-Rank Yokai. Yokai are commonly classified in the following ranks: D, C, B, A, S and SS. An Ushitora is said to be pretty strong and each story featuring one ultimately ends up in blood, violence and lots of dead people.

Despite that, I stand. Despite that, I try. Despite that, I cling to even the smallest shimmer of hope.

Despite that, I fight the beast.

I stop myself from hesitating another second and instantly rush right at the beast. Its legs and their respective claws have a longer reach than I have: If I want to do some serious damage, I’ll have to get closer to it. That much is obvious.

While I dash right at it, I make my next move. I can’t give the damn thing even a second to move or react. If it strikes me directly, I will take heavy damage. That much I understand and I won’t try to deny it. I am still aware of my mortality and I am - or should still be - aware that I realistically have no chance against such a beast. Precisely because I understand that I can only win due to the element of surprise, I cannot hesitate! I cannot stop even for a millisecond! I let my blade strike through the air and try to pierce the disgusting ox face of the even more disgusting spider before it can react-

However, that is all. I try.

The beast realizes. It realizes faster than my blade can hit it. Maybe it didn’t even realize. Maybe its pure instincts acted on its own. Would that be considered realizing? The mind of a yokai is not something I will try to understand.

What I do understand, though, is the beast hitting me.

It fortunately didn’t pierce right through me, so I - yet again - can live on for a few more moments. Despite that, it hit me. My body was yanked through the air without even the smallest bit of resistance and I quickly crashed right into one of the many trees that surround us. I grasp for air, but the beast in front of me is still there. I can breathe all I want, the wounds I have just suffered will not go away. In the same way, the beast will not go away.

The fight was over before it even began. I knew that at the start. Despite that, I got hope. Despite that, I tried my hardest to fight, even if I despair in the process of it.

A faint light. A closer light. A light between the two eyes of the ox head.

A small wound, a small burning.

It seems as if an arrow of pure light was shot at the Ushitora. I obviously did not do it: I am lying on the ground, trying my best to at least stand up before the beast strikes me down.

So who else?

Suddenly, a girl jumps down from one of the trees around us.